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Men like Tahir Al-Jukrat were destined for the kind of dazzling, meteoric lives mere mortals could only stand back and admire in goggle-eyed awe. They wielded the very power she was here to petition for on behalf of her brother. She needed to remember that.
‘Well,’ she said briskly. ‘That’s my choice. I don’t need to justify it to you.’
‘Justify? Maybe not. But you have a task to complete. And I want that task to be performed by a woman not shrouded in mystery. The true woman buried beneath this stiff and inferior copy.’
That stung.Hard.Because damn him, it wastrue. But she didn’t plan to take it lying down. ‘You want me to bare my soul to you? Well, that’s not going to happen.’
He stepped to the side, then proceeded to circle her, drawing ever closer until his intoxicating scent teased her nostrils. ‘Nothing so melodramatic. We can start with why you’re sacrificing yourself for the sake of your ungrateful family,’ he tossed out, so casual it took a fraction of a second longer for the barb to spear her.
‘How dare you? You don’t know anything about my family.’
‘I know enough about your father’s previous business dealings to know the route he took to achieve his goals.’
Mild nausea rumbled through her belly. ‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that your choice to become a humanitarian was admirable but surprising to me because it was at the opposite spectrum of who Charles Winchester is. To be honest, I was astonished to discover you were connected to him at all.’
Lauren bit her lip. She’d never told Tahir she was adopted, not because she was ashamed of the fact. No, the reason had been deeper than that. She’d been ashamed because she’d always felt...lacking. A puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit the perfect picture she’d longed for as a child.
Disclosing that to a guy as entrenched in his beliefs and heritage and steeped in destiny as Tahir was had felt like admitting a deep flaw.
‘Or is it more accurate to ask what hold he has on you to make you jump to do his bidding without question?’
Panic joined the nausea, the feeling that he was skating far too close to the truth sending chilling alarm all over her body. ‘I’m not sure where you’re getting these outlandish ideas from. I love my parents. I’d do anything to not make them suffer the pain of seeing their son in prison. Isn’t that enough? You have a brother. Wouldn’t you do the same were you in my position?’
‘My brother is my diplomatic envoy and the international representative of my kingdom. I’m confident he would move mountains with his bare hands before he let himself be caught in a situation like Winchester’s,’ he responded scathingly.
‘Well, we can’t all be flawless like you and your family,’ she said, striving to not give away a hint of the jealousy and longing that wove through her at the unwavering certainty in his voice.
But when he faced her again, she caught shadows of bleakness and bitterness in his expression before it was wiped clean. Before she could wonder what had triggered the reaction, he was speaking again.
‘Are your parents here in Jukrat? Did they make the journey with you to support their son?’
‘Why do I think you already know the answer to that?’ she snapped.
His lips twisted. ‘So, your role is perpetual whipping post?’
She pivoted to face him as he stepped to move around her once more. ‘Why are you so interested in my family dynamic? What bearing does it have on my presence here?’
The twist deepened, drawing her attention to the far too sensual curve of his lower lip. To the firm smoothness of it. To the memory of feeling it pressed in carnal pleasure against hers. ‘You were about to tell me who dimmed your light.’
The statement caught her on the raw, making her belly clench against the verbal punch. She raised her chin and tried to brazen it out. ‘Don’t we all have lofty ideas about who and what we want to be when we’re young?’ She pulled off a nonchalant shrug.
For the longest time, he simply stared at her. ‘Lie to yourself if you must. But don’t lie to me,’ he said through gritted teeth, his piercing gaze pinning her in place.
Frustration clawing through her, she threw up her arms. ‘Why does it matter?’
‘Because you pulled the wool over my eyes once. I don’t intend for you to do so again. Tell me the real reason why, Lauren.’
Her breath shook out of her, the sound of her name on his lips snaking familiar sensations through her. She battled past it and gave him the only answer she could. ‘My father can’t afford any hint of a scandal right now. You probably know he’s lobbying for a different cabinet position. He asked me to come, and I agreed. If I seem like a...different person from who you think I was before, it’s because I entered the real world and accepted that certain ideals were best left behind.’ Ideals her father had warned her off the bat he would oppose once he was in office when he’d announced his intention to seek a cabinet ministerial position six years ago. He’d cautioned her not to embarrass him...or else, then coaxed her to join his staff, with a promise of backing her once he left office.
Lauren had had no choice but to place her goals on ice, praying her father would be done with politics in the four years he’d insisted he intended to be minister. But Charles Winchester had tasted true power. And when his party had won re-election, he’d fully embraced that power.
Two years, she silently repeated to herself.
Two more years and she’d be free.
Until then...
