be on the ward for at least another hour afterwards. She had too much paperwork to catch up on. Never mind that it was Friday night.
‘I have a booking at a very nice restaurant.’
‘And of course you don’t want that booking going to waste.’ Kassie maintained her slight smile, despite the disappointment edging into her.
The guy was probably nice enough, but already her temperature had dropped at the thought. And he was only suggesting dinner—totally tame—anything more intimate would have had her freezing in a nanosecond. Sadly, it was going to be another no from her.
‘Fortunately there are plenty of others about to end their shift,’ she said.
‘But I don’t want to go out with any of them. Only you.’
And there was a line she’d heard before. ‘You don’t even know me,’ she pointed out gently.
But he’d heard about her—she knew that.
‘You know Kassie doesn’t date anyone in the hospital,’ Zoe, one of the nurses, piped up with a smile, quickly shooting Kassie a glance of pure sisterhood solidarity. ‘Why don’t you ask Terese? She’s super-fun and a great dancer.’
Super-fun and a great dancer. Two things Kassie wasn’t.
The doctor looked at Kassie, but she avoided his gaze by studying the chart she was carrying, happy to let Zoe rescue her.
He finally turned. ‘What about you?’ he asked Zoe. ‘What are your plans tonight?’
Zoe shrugged and her smile turned coquettish. ‘You tell me.’
He smiled back. ‘Half an hour at the main entrance. I’ll be waiting.’ He sent Kassie a smug glance and strode down the corridor.
The nurse giggled before he was entirely out of earshot and turned to Kassie. ‘Are you sure you didn’t want to go out with him, Kassie?’ she asked. ‘He’s totally hot.’
‘Dr Hot is all yours.’ Kassie sighed deeply. ‘And thank you.’
‘Oh, no—thank you! I’m delighted to take him off your hands.’ Reassured, Zoe giggled again. ‘I just don’t understand why you don’t date any of them. If I were you I’d—’
‘Be getting back to my work—which is what I’m going to do,’ Kassie interrupted swiftly with a firm smile.
But she appreciated Zoe’s assistance. It wasn’t worth the embarrassment of trying to date any more. She just didn’t feel things the way normal people did. But that was fine. She’d long since accepted it and chosen to focus on building her career.
Zoe had turned away and Kassie became conscious of the nurse’s sudden silence. In fact the entire ward was abnormally silent. The gentle bubbling hum of soft conversation had ceased. A prickle rasped down her spine and she turned around to see what the issue was.
‘Good evening.’
A man stood right in front of her. As she stared up into his face her lips parted but she remained wordless—silenced by the hard glow of his striking green eyes and the furiously cold glare he was directing her way. Dazedly she recognised that this tall, imposing figure wasn’t just anyone. She was used to the King’s sister, Princess Eleni, visiting the hospital, but not King Giorgos himself.
How long had he been standing there? Had he heard all that conversation? To be caught out talking dating by anyone was mortifying—but by the King? Why was he here at all? Why hadn’t they been notified? Why hadn’t there been the usual security sweep before anyone royal arrived?
A billion thoughts flooded her feeble brain, but the one that her mind locked on to was the most banal and the most unbelievable—so handsome. King Giorgos was so incredibly handsome.
She’d lived here all her life but never seen the King up close before—and had certainly never imagined he’d be as good-looking in reality as he was in print. Impossibly, he was more so. As he towered over her she was conscious of his physicality—of the broad shoulders and muscled body that his perfectly tailored suit hinted at. It struck her that the immaculate stitching and fabric was nothing more than a fragile veneer, masking his raw masculinity. His dangerousness.
And where had that idiot thought come from?
She mentally slapped herself. So he was tall, dark and handsome? She knew that. Everyone knew that. So what? More importantly, where was everyone? Where was her ward manager? She tore her gaze from his to see Zoe a short distance away, walking with a uniformed soldier who must have accompanied the King.
‘Don’t you know who I am?’ he asked.
Her attention snapped back to the column of masculinity blocking her path. Of course she knew who he was.
‘Yes, I do,’ she muttered breathlessly, instantly mortified by the brevity of her answer. ‘Sir,’ she added. ‘I mean, Your Highness.’
Oh, hell, was she flustered? Kassie was never flustered.
He was still staring at her. His piercing green gaze narrowed, deepening his frown to appear even more disapproving than before. Another prickle rippled down her spine—and it was not only awareness, it was edged with something else. A foreign kind of anger kindled. What was he waiting for? Was he expecting her to curtsey? Bend her knees and scrape the floor? Roll over before him?
But then a sudden image sprang to her mind—of herself on her back and him arching over her—sensual, inappropriate and so unexpected and shocking she gasped softly.
His gaze sharpened. ‘Will you show me around the ward?’ he asked with stinging sarcasm, as if he shouldn’t have had to.
The last thing she wanted to do was spend another second in his company when her dormant sensuality had decided to spark up—and malfunction.
She cleared her throat, panicking. ‘Is there anything in particular you would like to see?’
Why on earth would he want a tour, last thing on a Friday? And, crucially, how quickly could she get this over with so she could step outside and examine the fact that she’d just had a flash of an X-rated fantasy for the first time in her life—ever? A totally alien heat flooded her body.
‘I’d like to understand what my sister likes to see when she visits.’
Kassie tried to pull on a sympathetic smile and get her mind back on track. ‘We missed the Princess today.’
‘You usually see her.’ He was coldly confirming a fact more than asking a question.
‘Every week.’ Kassie nodded, happy for the distraction. ‘Is she well?’
The icy expression in his eyes instantly slid into steely hostility. She stared back at him, stunned by the animosity so apparent in him. Had the question been rude? Should she not have asked? Why not show concern for the poor woman?
The temperature plummeted as the silence stretched, tearing at her equanimity and customary conciliatory manner.
‘The Princess likes to spend time with the younger patients,’ she said crisply, deciding to end this as quickly and as politely as possible. Fortunately she was experienced at building barriers to distance herself and end conversations early. ‘Most of them are having their dinner and will then be prepared for sleep.’
‘Are you saying this is an inconvenient time?’ His query would have been perfectly polite if it hadn’t been for that slight edge in his voice.
‘It’s outside of customary visiting hours,’ she replied, with as much diplomacy as she could summon.
‘Then let’s not disturb them.’
Relief bloomed in Kassie’s chest and she managed an actual small smile as she waited for His Arrogance to depart. But he too waited, watching her far too