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“Sit down. Think it over for a moment.”
And not because he was a King and she felt that she ought to obey him, but because she was genuinely worried she might fall at any moment, she eased herself onto the worn sofa and stared up at him, utterly lost. “You’re serious?”
“I have never been more serious in my life.”
She sipped the coffee, and then sipped it again, until half of it was gone. “But, why?”
“I have many reasons, najin.”
“A million dollars.” She squeezed her eyes shut, pain and indignity at war in her chest.
“It’s an idea,” he said gruffly.
She nodded, but her expression was bleak. “An idea you know I’d never refuse.” Her expression was pinched. “That money would be life-changing to Lexi. I’d do anything for her.”
“Do I take that as a yes?”
Her lips moved, silently beseeching him to be patient. “Why? Why would you want to pay so much to marry me?”
His smile was more of a grimace. “A million dollars is not so much, and please, let us not think of it as a payment.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course it is.” Her cheeks flushed pink and she pulled her lower lip between her teeth; her eyes clearly showed her anguish and he felt a deep swell of sympathy for her. But he would not be shifted from his course. “I can’t even begin to know what to say.”
His eyes narrowed speculatively. “It is a simple question.”
“No, it isn’t!” She stood, her heart racing, and prowled to the other side of the room. “How long would we be married for?”
“For as long as we both shall live,” he assured her darkly.
“What if we were miserable? What if you hated me? What if I hated you?”
His laugh was without humour. “I don’t think that’s likely.
“Shows what you know,” she muttered, sweeping her eyes shut.
“You would need to move to Kalastan eventually, but for now, we would stay in America to allow you and Lexi time to adapt to your new … circumstance.”
“You’d move in here?”
His laugh was a short, sharp punctuation in the silence of her house. “No.” He sobered, softening his tone with effort. “You and Lexi would move in with me.”
She paled. “To New York?”
He shrugged. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
She refused to be pleased by his consideration on that score. “I can’t imagine Lexi in that big apartment,” she said honestly.
“I will find somewhere better then,” he agreed, as though it were not particularly relevant.
“Syed,” It was a groan of confusion. She spun to face him, and the intensity in his expression seared her soul. “This is crazy.”
“Crazy is imagining you with another man. Crazy is knowing I had you and let you go. Crazy is spending another day without you as my wife.”
The passion in his words set fire to her blood. But it was so ludicrous, she had to make a stand for common sense. “You don’t have me. I’m not yours, or anyone’s, to have.”
He closed the distance between them easily, his arms wrapping around her waist and bringing her close to his chest. She sucked in a sharp breath at the intimate contact. His hands removed the coffee from hers, placing it carelessly on a nearby coffee table, so close to the edge that it could easily have tipped over.
“Liar,” he whispered darkly. He brought his mouth close to hers. So close she could almost feel his lips on her. “You are as much mine as I am yours.”
