Royal Seduction by Donna Clayton Page B

this.
    As she waited for Faye’s signal, Catherine was plagued with many emotions. She grinned. Excitement, yes. Exhilaration, yes. Mischievousness, oh yes! But shame? Not even a smidgen.
    Well, maybe a smidgen, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from going through with her plan.
    When Catherine saw Riley enter the clinic, she took a quick moment to ogle those broad shoulders of his and then she ducked back behind the corner so he wouldn’t see her. She had no idea what it was about Riley that had her feeling this overwhelming…something.
    She couldn’t even put a name to what he made her feel. All she knew was the urge to see him, to be with him, was great. She felt like a schoolgirl in pursuit of her first beau.
    But you aren’t a schoolgirl, the voice in her head warned. You’re an adult. A grown woman.
    â€œAll the better,” she whispered gleefully. The tactics employed by a mature woman could be oh-so-much-more seductive. Catherine had to slap her hand across her mouth to keep from snickering out loud.
    True to her word, Faye fell into step with Riley when he was about halfway down the hall. Catherine listened as they greeted each other and then chatted about various issues pertaining to clinic business. They stopped, as Faye had predicted, right in front of the door that led to the staff break room, not two feet from where Catherine was hiding.
    â€œSo everything’s running smoothly,” Faye said.
    â€œThanks for the update. But what are you doing here on a Sunday?” he asked.
    Catherine tensed, but Faye’s tone was completely relaxed as she replied, “Oh, I didn’t have any plans and I thought I’d just check in. How about you? Do you have any plans today?”
    What a nervy woman that Faye was, Catherine silently surmised. If the von Husdens ever wanted to usurp a country some day in the future, Catherine wouldn’t hesitate to recruit Faye as a spy.
    â€œNah,” Riley said. “I’m just going to get a cup of coffee and then head to my office. There’s a stack of journals waiting to be read.”
    â€œSounds exciting.” There was a smile in Faye’s voice. “Well, I’ll see you around, then.”
    â€œFaye—” Riley paused, then Catherine heard the leather soles of his shoes scuff as he shifted his weight. “Did you change your hair? It looks nice.”
    Elation welled in Catherine. Riley was sweet to notice that Faye was wearing her hair down today. It would boost Faye’s ego, Catherine knew.
    â€œThanks, Riley.” Pleasure brightened Faye’s words, and then Catherine heard her friend’s footsteps retreating down the corridor.
    The handle of the break-room door clicked and the hinges gave a slight squeak. Then Catherine heard the door close, presumably behind Riley.
    He was in the break room. All alone.
    Trapped.
    With her heart thudding a powerful beat, Catherine stole from her hiding place and stood in front of the break-room door. Faye turned around, gave her a smile and a thumbs-up sign for luck. After returning the signal and adding a hasty wave of thanks, Catherine inhaled deeply and focused all her energy into launching her attack.
    Riley’s dark gaze widened when she entered the room.
    â€œCatherine.”
    Surprise, surprise!
    A smile trailed over her lips. She couldn’t have stopped it had she wanted to, which she didn’t. For some reason, she didn’t care if he spoke her name with surprise or happiness or irritation. All she knew was that she liked the way her name rumbled from his throat.
    â€œHi, there,” she greeted softly, silkily. “I know it’s only been a few days, but I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”
    â€œYeah.” He looked nervous as he poured coffee into his mug. “I’ve been busy with meetings and…well, more meetings. Coffee?”
    â€œI’d love some.” She sauntered across