Ella’s eyes widened and her lips parted. No words came out. She looked so comically stunned that Philippe almost laughed. Except this was no laughing matter. He wanted more than anything for her to say yes. He wanted her to come back to his hotel, and he wanted to make love to her.
Finally her mouth curved in a tiny, trembling smile. “If I overreacted about a single kiss, how do you think I might react now?”
He laughed softly. “I’m willing to take the risk. I want you, Ella. I realize we’ve only known each other for a few days—”
“One day—”
“But I care for you. I feel more for you than I have for any woman in a long time.”
Her mouth twisted. “I’m not sure that’s saying much.”
Philippe grimaced. Damn his playboy reputation. “Even so,” he said quietly. “Do you want to come with me?”
Ella didn’t answer for a long moment. Then she looked up, meeting his gaze with her still-wide eyes, and nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Then let’s get out of here,” he said, and without wasting another moment he linked his hand with hers and led her from the museum.
He hailed a cab outside and within seconds they were speeding away in the darkness, toward his hotel. Ella’s face was angled away from him, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Feeling.
“Ella?”
“You don’t act like a prince.” She turned to him suddenly, her voice soft in the darkness. “You don’t fly in a private jet, you don’t have a private car. Your security guys don’t shadow your every step.”
“I gave them the day off.”
“You don’t live in a castle, and you don’t even want to be king. You’re not what I expected at all.”
He reached for her hand and brushed her knuckles across his lips. She shivered in response. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” she said slowly. “No, it’s not. But it…it scares me.”
“Scares you? Why?”
“Because I don’t know who you are,” she whispered. “Only who I want you to be.”
His heart gave a strange and rather frightening lurch. “I’m the man you’ve gotten to know over this last day,” Philippe said, sincerity making his voice throb. “That’s exactly who I am.” Not the playboy prince of the tabloids or cocktail parties. Not the man she seemed intent on believing he was, despite what she said she wanted.
He needed the world to believe he was that man. Even when he wasn’t. But with Ella he wanted it to be different. He wanted her to know the real him…even if their relationship couldn’t go anywhere.
The cab pulled to a stop and Philippe glanced out at the entrance of the hotel. He squeezed Ella’s hand. “We’re here.”