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But the connection she and Kamal shared had become so much more than that. He respected her, even as he challenged her. He needed her, more than even her family. Why did that suddenly seem so much more seductive than his incendiary ability to make her climax on demand?
‘Is he the fool who did not take your virginity when he had the chance?’ he asked.
Oh, for the love of...
Fire leapt into her cheeks as her skin became hot. ‘Kamal, how about we don’t talk about this here?’
She’d never considered herself to be shy, but something about the way he was looking at her, with both rich appreciation and grim determination, made her feel brutally exposed.
He nodded. Then gripped her hand and proceeded to drag her through the crowd towards the gated entrance to the garden and the steps back into the embassy.
‘Kamal, where are you going? We’re the guests of honour tonight and the event’s not finished.’
‘It is for us.’ He threw the words over his shoulder, the autocratic reply unbearably compelling. ‘I wish to know why that woman upset you, and if we cannot talk here, we will do it in private.’
The last thing she wanted to do was talk about Clara and Colin. Short of creating a scene, though, she didn’t have much of a choice. But as he marched through the crowd, ignoring anyone who tried to waylay them, she found her heart ricocheting into her throat. When had she begun to find his arrogance so compelling?
The Zokari ambassador approached them. Kamal ignored him too and ploughed on to the exit as Liah threw a few parting pleasantries over her shoulder... From the indulgent smiles and shocked expression on the faces of many of the guests, most of them probably assumed he was marching her off to seduce her.
Dignified, much?
Leaving the scent of roses, the chill of the evening air and the flicker of torchlight behind them, Kamal strode into the embassy and along the darkened corridors of the empty residence to lead her up the stairs to their adjoining suites.
‘For goodness’ sake, Kamal. Every single person there will think we’ve run off to have sex. And our sudden exit is bound to be reported in tomorrow’s press,’ she said breathlessly, trying desperately to sound reasonable. And to actually care what anyone else thought, while her insides were in turmoil and the pulse point in her sex was about to explode if he didn’t touch her soon.Verysoon.
Since when had she begun to find his ruthlessness, his dictatorial behaviour, so arousing? After taking the stairs two at a time, trying to keep up with his long strides—not easy in four-inch heels—she struggled to catch her breath, desperate to control the deep pulse of yearning which felt like so much more than desire.
Leading her into his room, Kamal slammed the door behind them and swung her round to face him. Her back in the plunging gown touched the cool wood of the door. But that wasn’t the reason she shivered as he tucked a knuckle under her chin and tipped her face up to meet his gaze.
‘This Colin, he is the man youwishedto take your virginity?’ he asked, his voice rough with something that sounded oddly like regret, his amber eyes dark and intense, but also full of an emotion which matched her own.
Why did she feel as if she were at the centre of a gathering storm? A storm she couldn’t control but had no desire to escape.
‘What?No!’ she said, struggling to get a grip on the conversation when everything inside her was yearning for... It wasn’t sex...or notjustsex. When had she begun to want more? To need more? They’d only been together a couple of weeks. And yet the connection between them had begun to feel so strong, so important, ever since their night together in the encampment—maybe even before that. How could they have built something so vivid, so all-consuming, so quickly? How could this stark, stern, unknowable man feel like her soul mate?
‘But he is the reason you will not marry me. Yes?’ Kamal demanded, his gaze filled with the same yearning as her own.
‘No, Kamal.’ She touched his cheek, shocked to see the flash of intense longing in his gaze.
Was this more for him too? Why hadn’t she seen it before now?
‘Why, then, will you not make this engagement real?’ he demanded, his voice raw with desperation. ‘If it is not him, who is it?’
‘It’s too soon, Kamal,’ she said weakly. ‘We hardly know each other,’ she murmured, trying to cling to practical considerations, but even those felt like lies now, pale, cowardly excuses.
‘You know more of me, more of my past, than anyone alive,’ he said, so simply her heart ached for him. He moved his head to bite into the swell of flesh under her thumb, the soft nip sending sensation shooting through her body. A sob of desire issued from her lips. He pressed a hand over hers, to kiss the tender flesh, then turned to her again, trapping her in that smouldering gaze.
‘I know all the ways to make you ache, to make you beg. We are a team, Liah. We could rule together, both Narabia and Zokar. With you by my side, I feel whole for the first time in my life.’
Her heart hammered her chest wall as his urgent words, the fierce yearning in his voice and the approval in his eyes struck down all the insecurities she had lived with for so long.
She had always been terrified of one day taking the Narabian throne, terrified of trying to live up to her father’s and mother’s legacy. But it suddenly occurred to her, they had not done it alone. What if Kamal was right? What if they could rule together too, bind their two countries?
But, as her heart thundered against her ribs and her pulse raced, she knew such practical considerations had nothing to do with the emotions battering her as she looked into those dark eyes and saw a man she wanted with every part of herself.
I don’t just desire him. I don’t just want to rule with him by my side... I love him. For who he is...who he has made himself...against all the odds. And because I know he could love me too. Not just the princess I am, the queen I will be one day, but who I am inside—the reckless, impulsive, insecure me, with all my imperfections. All my flaws.
Because Kamal had seen every one of those flaws in the short time they’d known each other and he still wanted to marry her.
