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“I’m sorry, kalila. But there was no time.”
“I imagined the most awful things, Caz. Terrible things.”
“Sweetheart.” Caz stood up and reached for her hand. “Forgive me for putting you through this.”
His expression was contrite. She thought of her role in all this, and her anger faded as swiftly as it had taken hold.
“It’s my fault,” she said softly. “I made a mess of things.”
“No!” Caz gathered her in his arms. “I should never have brought you to these mountains. I should have seen through Ahmet’s lies. He wasn’t ill, he only wanted me to bend to him. And, like a fool, I did.” He paused. “But you’re right. Awful things might have happened. They won’t,” he added quickly. “I promise.”
Megan laid her hands on Caz’s chest. She could feel the steady beat of his heart beneath her palms.
“I thought of what he might do to you.” Her voice shook. “Caz, I thought—”
“Ahmet behaves like an animal when it suits him, but he’s not a fool. He wouldn’t harm me. He knows the other tribes would avenge my death and show him no mercy.”
She laughed shakily. “And here I thought he was going to feed you to a pack of hungry wolves.”
“You’ve seen too many bad movies, kalila,” Caz said softly. “In fact, he went out of his way to be…gracious.”
“There’s a word I’d never use for him.”
“You impressed him, Megan.”
“I’ll just bet,” she said, with a little laugh. “He’d probably like to toss me off the top of a mountain.”
“On the contrary. He finds you interesting.”
“I’m sure there’s a less polite word to describe it.”
“He says he’s never known a woman like you. And he’s right.”
Caz’s eyes were like flame on her mouth. She felt her lips soften, her muscles turning liquid in sweet anticipation of his kiss, but he didn’t kiss her. Instead he circled her wrists with his hands and drew back.
“We have a problem,” he said quietly.
In an instant, the mood in the darkened room had changed. Megan stared at Caz and the expression on his face chilled her to the bone.
“A problem?”
“Ahmet wants…something.”
“What?”
“He wants you.”
“What?” She forced a laugh. This had to be a joke but Caz wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t even smiling. She could feel the col
or drain from her face. “What do you mean, he wants—’’
“He wants to take you as his wife.”
“Well, that’s—that’s…” Her stomach lurched. “You told him, of course, I’d never—that I would never, ever—”
She cried out as Caz clasped her shoulders and lifted her to her toes. “Listen to me, Megan. As he sees it, he’s offered you a great honor.” His voice softened. “Don’t look like that, kalila. Do you think I would let this happen? He’s not going to have you.”
Megan slumped against him. “For a minute, I thought…But Hakim said things had gone well. He said that was why you’d had so much to drink. He said—”
