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She frowned. "I'm sure my father didn't mean anything by it."
Kadeem shrugged. "Maybe."
She could tell the snub had affected him. Even if he'd tried to ignore it, he still looked slightly annoyed.
"Weren't you lonely here?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject. "I mean, being an only child."
"I was pretty spoiled," she said. "Although, I guess that was inevitable. My mother always wanted me to have the best. And to be happy."
"She's American, isn't she?" Kadeem asked.
Eliana nodded. "She came here to work and then she met my father, who was just about to take the throne." Eliana smiled warmly. "I guess they just fell in love. It was a huge thing, here in the kingdom. The outsider coming into Zahram and marrying into the family."
Kadeem frowned. "Do you think she found it difficult?"
"Fitting in?" Eliana replied. "I suppose she must have. Although she never really talks about it. Of course there were the usual dissenting voices who were unhappy about a foreigner taking her place here in the palace."
"Did that bother your mother?" he asked.
Eliana smiled and shook her head. "You've seen what my mother is like. She never lets anyone bother her. Not for any reason."
"She does seem pretty single-minded," Kadeem admitted.
Eliana gazed at Kadeem. "She really likes you. You know that, don't you," she said.
She saw his face color slightly. "Why would she even tolerate me. She saw how we behaved toward each other. I would have thought she would have hated me right from the start."
"I think she can see the truth," Eliana said.
He halted and she stopped and faced him. "Which is?" he asked, his gaze softening.
She drew in a deep breath. "I don't know, Kadeem," she said. "What do you think?"
He glanced around at the garden, just to make sure that no-one could see them. Then he came closer, and wrapped his arms around her waist. He drew her against him. Once again, she savored his heat, the sheer power contained in his body. He leaned in and his scent filled her nostrils. It was more intoxicating than any of the myriad of flowers all around them.
He gazed into Eliana's eyes. As he did so, she felt heat flare in her middle. And at her core. "I think we both know the truth, Ellie," he said.
She felt the satisfaction as he murmured her name like that. Unlike before, she didn't bristle at his use of that word. He'd earned the right, as far as she was concerned.
She lifted up her hand and stroked the side of his face. She felt the dark stubble, gloriously rough against her fingers. This felt so perfect. As if there was nowhere else in the world she would rather be than with him. She was glad he'd come here with her. Glad that he could get a taste of the kind of life they might be able to have together.
He drew her closer and sighed contentedly. She felt his firmness, his desire obviously growing, his need instantly apparent.
Suddenly, for a brief moment, she felt a twist of unease in her middle. She wanted that sensation to go away immediately. It only interfered with the delicious pleasure she felt being in his embrace. Being held by him. She tried to force the intruding sensation away, but it was stubborn. Just like she could be sometimes. The bitter feeling was insistent.
"Everything has moved so fast, Kadeem," she murmured. "It's been amazing."
"Isn't that the way this is supposed to be?"
She lifted an inquiring brow but didn't say anything.
He leaned closer. "Love, Eliana," he growled. "I'm talking about love, habibti."
She felt her mouth open. No-one had ever said that word to her before. Not in this way, at least. Did he really think she was his beloved. Because that was what he'd just said. Beloved was a word reserved exclusively for the one who you believed destiny had placed in your path. Beloved was a word you never used in jest. It signified so much, meant that he believed the bond between them was something that could never be broken.
Was that true? Did she believe the same as Kadeem?
Eliana swallowed, feeling her throat suddenly tight. He seemed to take note of her sudden unease. He placed a fingertip beneath her chin and lifted her face up to him. "You know I speak the truth, Ellie," he said.
