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Instead, he inclined his head in an ambiguous gesture. He not only didn’t want to let her go, but there was still the small matter of further seduction to accomplish because as much as he might hate the way this was being done, sex and marriage to Sarah was not a hardship. In fact, with each passing moment, he felt that there had been nothing in his life so far which felt as right as being together with this woman.
It had to be that night.
“It would be my pleasure if you would dine with me tonight. Would you please?”
The world seemed held in a delicate balance, as the twilight faded a little more and the first star came out into an increasingly inky sky. Then the tension broke as she smiled again.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
“Good. So would I.”
He watched her enter her suite of rooms. Yes, he would seduce her again tonight, and he woulddefinitelylike it.
CHAPTER 9
Sarah had no choice but to do as she did at the desert castle and borrow one of the dresses which hung in the suite of rooms which had been allocated to her.
They definitely belonged to the same woman. But who that woman was, she didn’t know. And no one seemed willing to tell her. She only hoped the woman wouldn’t make an appearance any time soon. Because somehow she doubted the owner would have been pleased to see her dresses worn by other people. Whoever the owner was, she certainly wasn’t modest. Sarah had had her work cut out to find something among the flamboyant clothes which didn’t scream that she wanted to be taken to bed. Because, while she might wantexactlythat, she refused to give in to her desires. Not yet anyway. First, she needed to know the son wasn’t like his father.
Because, despite her thoughts of anger and betrayal about Kadar keeping his status secret from her, she felt very different now. It seemed just being with Kadar could do that to a girl. She was still wary— after all, wasn’t he the son of the king who’d ordered the deaths of her parents? But when she reflected on all the different conversations they’d had during the afternoon, when she remembered what a generous lover he’d been—howtender as well as dominating—she couldn’t believe he was anything like his monstrous father.
So she’d agreed to dinner, hoping she could somehow discover something—anything— that would confirm her instincts that the son was nothing like his father. Because without that, there could be nothing between them. And, with every moment they were together, she knew she was in danger of slipping under his spell. She needed her fears assuaged before she slipped under it entirely.
She took one last look in the mirror. Her glossy hair was pulled back into a French twist from which tendrils were already escaping. She sighed. It felt like an indication of her self-control—barely there.
And then there was the dress. She’d selected a black satin. She’d been surprised that the woman had any black in her wardrobe amongst the other gaudy colors, but now she could see why it was there. The cut was superb and the satin’s sheen highlighted her figure in ways which the more complicated designs couldn’t. But it was too late to change now. She looked into her eyes.
“Focus, Sarah, focus!” she told herself sternly.
Find out if the sins of the father are also the sins of the son and then either get the hell out of there, or… Her eyes darkened with desire. She turned away and walked out the room, knowing that the ‘or’ option would take her straight back to his bed.
Kadar stoodup a second before Sarah stepped out onto the terrace. Even though her approach was silent, he could sense her before he saw her. Every part of him had been on edge, waiting for her. He didn’t understand why. Guilt maybe for tricking her over her passport, or was it something else? Something which henever thought he’d be afflicted with? Because this woman got to him in a way, he’d never been got to before.
“Sarah,” he breathed involuntarily at the sight of her. The long locks of hair which had escaped her clip gleamed in the subdued lighting, like the satin of her dress. And what a dress. If she’d imagined she’d selected a conservative choice, she couldn’t have been more wrong. He realized she hadn’t yet seen him, standing under the boughs of a tree, away from the lights. So he indulged in a few more moments when he could watch her unawares.
At first she hesitated as she looked around the terrace and betrayed her nerves by smoothing down the satin which swept her curves in the most delicious way. And in that moment, he knew that his desires and those of his vizier were in perfect accord. He wanted her back in his bed and he’d do whatever it took to make that happen.
“Sarah,” he called, louder this time.
“Kadar,” she said, turning to him.
“I’ve asked for dinner to be served on the terrace. I thought it might be more private, more enjoyable.”
Instantly, he regretted his comment as a frown descended on her brow. “More private… for what purpose?”
He shrugged. Her suspicions were fair enough because they were also accurate. He’d have to tread more carefully.
“I simply mean it will be less formal, easier to relax with fewer staff hovering around you, cooler, the stars…” He pointed to the canopy over their heads. “Should I go on?”
He was rewarded with a relaxed smile, the kind of smile which made him melt somewhere deep inside.
“No, no need. I get it.” She looked around, up at the stars and inhaled a deep breath, her breasts rising in a way which made him forget anything about strategy. “And you’re right,” she shot him another smile, “itisbeautiful out here.”
He opened his mouth to say that it had become more beautiful the moment she stepped foot onto the terrace, but closed it again. It was too soon.
“Would you care for a pre-dinner drink?” he asked instead.
“Just sparkling water, please.”
