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‘Are you asking if it’s true that thousands of years later his heart lies still bleeding?’ He saw her sag a touch at his dismissal. ‘Anyway, if the prince was so weak as to die of a broken heart then he probably did his country a favour.’
‘Love doesn’t make you weak,’ Maggie countered.
‘Of course it does. He should have been focusing on the job in hand.’
‘You’re not very romantic.’
‘Not in the least.’
‘So it’s not true, then?’
‘I never said that.’ He was trying not to smile at her obvious frustration. ‘Tell me what else they said.’
The wind was swirling outside. They were surely nearing the eye of the storm, for they kept having to lean in just to hear each other. ‘They told us about the palace, and how it was built on ruins that were once a harem. How the noise of the wind is really the sounds of debauchery crossing time...’
He laughed.
It was low and it was deep and just so unexpected that she almost joined in, but Maggie had enjoyed hearing the legends and let out a small wail.
‘I liked it,’ she admitted. ‘Is it all a lie?’
‘Not a complete lie,’ he said. ‘The palace isn’t built on ruins—there is a hugehammamunderground and a large network of caves.’ He told her about the caves and the fountains and how, though underground, some of the cave entrances were exposed to the desert. ‘There is a ledge at one entrance,’ Ilyas said. ‘No one else is permitted there other than me. There, it is like standing in the middle of the sky,’ Ilyas said. ‘Sometimes when it has been a difficult day and I stand looking out, it feels as if the ground has disappeared from beneath me and I stand alone in the sky.’
The way he described it in his rich, smooth voice made her shiver. Their heads moved closer, though not so much to hear better, more to be near each other. She could feel the warmth from his skin on her cheek and her mouth felt too heavy for her face.
‘In days of old,’ Ilyas told her, ‘the early leaders would meet at the waterfall to discuss business and the problems with the Bedouins. Back then it was the closest they could get to the desert. Today, the royals rule the entire land but within the palace are the stone benches where they first sat. After their meetings they would retire to thehammam. In time, the palace was built over and around it. First it was small, and now it’s the masterpiece that it is.’
‘So there once was a harem?’
‘There still is,’ Ilyas said. ‘I would guess that the debauched sounds that carry across the desert are more likely to be current ones than ghosts of the past...’
She pulled her head back and looked at him. Her face was on fire.
‘And do you...?’ She swallowed, not really sure how to word the question that she had in mind.
‘Do I what?’ he asked. They were still close enough that he could actually feel the heat from her blush and then he understood what she asked. ‘Of course.’
He watched as the blush rose and lit like a flame and he saw her eyes flash in anger.
‘You have the gall to haul me here on the assumption I slept with your brother, when all the time—’
‘You were brought here because it was believed you were blackmailing the palace and threatening to damage the reputation of my brother,’ Ilyas pointed out.
‘Reputation?’ she gave an incredulous laugh. ‘If the people knew what you were up to...’
‘You think if the people knew that their crown prince had a healthy sexual appetite they would be shocked?’
Her lips pursed.
‘The harem is beautiful, the women are looked after and are free to leave if they please. There is no entrapment and certainly no desire to share the encounter with anyone else for personal gain. It is about mutual pleasure.’
‘Mutual?’ she sneered.
Ilyas said nothing. Instead he carefully selected a fig from the selection of fruit and took up a knife, separating the fruit into two and offering her a piece.
‘No, thank you.’
‘Please,’ Ilyas said. ‘They are exceptional right now.’
