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‘Of course it’s not to gloat,’ he said impatiently. ‘I am here because I want to help you.’
‘Funny way you have of showing it. I’ve already told you I’m not interested in your insulting offer and even if you’ve come here today to increase your price—my baby is not for sale!’
‘I haven’t. In fact, I’ve given the matter more deliberation. Perhaps I was a little hasty before.’
Her voice was bitter. ‘You don’t say?’
‘I should have considered all the options before I spoke.’ Kulal drew in a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to do was the right thing. The only thing he could do, no matter that it went against everything he’d ever wanted. He tried to smile, but his face felt like a piece of concrete, against which the movement of his mouth barely made an impression. He looked at the tiny woman with the belligerent expression. ‘I have decided I will marry you after all,’ he said heavily. ‘It will be a marriage of duty and of sacrifice on both our parts—for the sake of our baby.’
She was staring at him like someone waiting for the punchline. She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is this some kind of joke?’
‘Why would I joke about something as serious as offering to make you my Queen?’
‘I thought we’d already had this conversation. We both agreed that marriage between two people who don’t even like each other is a bad idea.’
It was not the reaction he was expecting and Kulal couldn’t quite believe it. He searched her face, wondering if it was a feigned response designed to make him push his case more strongly, but her consternation seemed genuine. Surely she was not opposed to a proposition which most women would have leapt at? He studied her more closely. The sharp pallor which had been in evidence when she had flown to Zahristan had given way to a healthy glow, against which her eyes sparkled like pale blue stars. The pregnancy had made her dark hair even more lustrous than before and it hung in gleaming waves around her shoulders. Perhaps it was time to take charge. To show her he had strength enough for both of them. And wouldn’t action be more effective than words—reminding her that they had a rare chemistry between them?
Closing the small space between them, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, recognising from her instinctive shiver of pleasure that sometimes a woman could crave a man’s touch, even if she didn’t want to. He ran his thumb down the side of her cheek, giving her time to move away, because no way would he be accused of coercion. But she didn’t move. She stayed right where she was and her mouth was trembling with unspoken invitation as he lowered his head towards hers.
Their lips collided—first hard, then soft.
A meeting and then a slow exploration.
He heard her moan and the sound was enough to fuel his rising need. Barely a whisper of breath passed from her mouth into his—but it contained a hunger which mirrored his own. His arms tightened and he could feel her breasts pressing into him, her nipples hardening like tiny bullets against his chest. And Kulal found himself driven on by an urgent hunger because never had a kiss tasted as sweet as this. As sweet as any battle victory, he thought longingly, as his tongue laced with hers. Was it because she was pregnant with his child, or because she was the only woman who had ever opposed him and that in itself was a huge turn-on?
‘Hannah,’ he husked out, aware of the rocky hardness between his thighs and longing to lose himself deep inside her. ‘Be my bride.’
Afterwards, he would curse himself for having spoken because his words shattered the erotic interlude—more than that, his momentary sexual hunger had given her all the power. Suddenly, the spell was broken and she pulled away from him, her eyes blazing. She swayed a little and automatically, he put out his hand to steady her, but she waved him away.
‘Are you out of your mind?’ she demanded, untidy locks of hair tumbling around her flushed cheeks. ‘Coming onto me like that when we’re supposed to be having a discussion about our baby?’
‘Are you trying to deny that you wanted me?’ he mocked.
She shook her head. ‘No. I can’t deny that, but it was...inappropriate. Just like your proposal of marriage was inappropriate.’
‘Why?’ he demanded hotly.
‘Do you think I’m a fool, Kulal? That just because I make beds and clean rooms for a living, I’m incapable of understanding what’s staring me in the face?’
Momentarily wrong-footed by such a mercurial switch of mood, Kulal narrowed his eyes. ‘I make no such judgment of your character.’
‘Are you sure? Did your advisors tell you to marry me after your initial aversion to the idea? Did they suggest that if I wasn’t prepared to sell you my baby, then a king’s ring on my finger would mean you coul
d get hold of your child by legal means instead?’
‘You think that I would take such advice from my advisors?’ he thundered. ‘They would not dare presume to tell me how to live my life!’ He drew in a deep breath. ‘The decision is mine and mine alone—and besides, marriage to me would protect you, not weaken you.’
She shook her head. ‘No, it wouldn’t. It would simply make me your possession. We both know that.’
Frustratedly, Kulal turned away from her, staring out of the tiny window which overlooked a courtyard, in which plastic bins were lined up like sentries. Rain had begun to slant down in a thin grey curtain. Everything looked so grey, he thought, and as he tried to imagine his child growing up in such an environment, a feeling of powerlessness washed over him. Once, he had vowed never to allow himself to feel that way again, but suddenly he recognised that you couldn’t always dictate events. That sometimes life took you along a path you hadn’t intended, and having a royal status made no difference to that journey. He had grown up with all the riches in the world, but that hadn’t made a bit of difference to the fact that he and his brother had been at the mercy of a manipulative mother who had wanted only one thing. And it hadn’t been them.
His mouth hardened. His mistrust of the opposite sex was rooted deep in his psyche and Hannah Wilson was reinforcing all his worst prejudices. He knew only too well how unpredictable women could be and here was a prime example of someone who manifested that dangerous, innate quality. It hadn’t taken long for the humble chambermaid to morph into a self-possessed creature who was airily rejecting a king’s marriage proposal, had it? She was far less of a pushover than she should have been, given her status. Did the knowledge that his flesh grew inside her give her the confidence to address him as if he were any other man?
He was tempted to tell her that she would obey him because his wishes were always acceded to. Yet he recognised it wasn’t that simple. He couldn’t force this Englishwoman to marry him, but maybe he could persuade her.
Once again, he allowed his gaze to linger on the cramped dimensions of the tiny staff room. ‘So where are you planning to live, once you leave your job?’
Hannah had thought about this. A lot. She hated the fact that economically, she and Kulal were poles apart, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it. She thought longingly about money she’d saved. Money which had taken so long to accumulate and which was nearly enough for the deposit on a tiny apartment. It didn’t look as if that little dream of independence was going to happen now, but sometimes you had to let your dreams go. ‘I have savings I can live on.’
