Page 40 of Royally Promoted

‘I’m really sorry, Malik. Sylvie...what a pretty name. Was she very beautiful? I’m imagining long, straight hair, big green eyes and an elfin figure...’

‘This touchy-feely stuff really isn’t me, and whether she was beautiful or not with an elfin figure is by the by,’ Malik drawled in response, but there was a reluctant grin on his mouth. ‘But it seemed fair to put all the cards on the table because...’

‘You don’t have to spell it out. I know why you told me, and it was more than just putting those cards on the table, wasn’t it?’

‘Life, for me, is in a state of flux and I would never ask you to put yourself out to accommodate me. Like you said, you have friends and family and a social life in England.’

‘So you really think you’ll end up living here?’

‘I have no idea what that particular slice of the future holds for me, but you raised a good point when you said that there might be a need for anyone I marry to at least have a period of adjustment before heading to London to put down roots. However well-travelled and cosmopolitan a woman might be, there’s a difference between seeing the world and settling down to live in a part of it you’ve never lived in before.’

‘And while we both have this time together...’

‘We can both accept that there’s nothing beyond what we enjoy in the here and now and we both have our reasons. We understand one another. You wanted to reassure me that you weren’t going to want more than I could give, and I wanted to let you know why there would be nothing more than what’s on the table.’ He paused. ‘And what’s on the table will be...spectacular.’

‘Spectacular...’

‘I’ll leave you with memories to last a lifetime.’

Something uneasy feathered Lucy’s spine but she brushed that aside, because the slate was clean, and what lay ahead would be pure, carnal bliss...and she wanted that so badly, it hurt. Desire was powerful enough to stampede every niggling obstacle that lay in its way. They both knew the ropes; lines had been drawn. This would work, this freedom to taste, sample and enjoy one another without guilt or regret, a chapter closed once their time was up.

She wound her arms around him and drew him close enough to feel his heart beating in tune with hers.

‘Well, we might as well start with the memory box now, don’t you think?’

‘Oh, yes...’ Malik growled. ‘I very much think...’

CHAPTER EIGHT

MALIK GLANCED AT LUCY, who was staring out of the window of the four-by-four with a rapt expression.

‘What’s going through your head?’

Lucy dragged her attention away from the rolling sand dunes surrounding them. The sky was ablaze with the vibrant colours of twilight: oranges, indigos and silver. In half an hour, all those colours would be consumed by the sort of blackness she was only now becoming accustomed to.

Half an hour before, as Malik had driven away from the city and its outskirts into uninhabited terrain, she had glimpsed a group of camels lounging around under the shade of a clump of sparse, oddly shaped trees.

‘I’m thinking that this is a one-off for me. Honestly, five days at an all-inclusive in Tenerife pales in comparison.’

‘Was that your last holiday?’

‘Last family holiday that we all took together? That was a couple of years ago. Rose was tying the knot and we wanted to do something together one last time. Do you remember I told you all about it afterwards?’

‘How could I forget the bridesmaid falling in the fountain?’ Malik quipped drily. ‘Not to mention the pink dress with the frills you said you were made to wear against your better judgement but then ended up loving it when you saw the photos afterwards. Wasn’t there also a last-minute panic about the weather...which turned out all right because the sun shone at all the right times?’

‘You have an incredible memory, Malik.’

‘So it would seem.’ He slid a dark glance across to her and then tore them away with difficulty to focus on the hazardous road winding through the dunes.

‘To be fair, I talk quite a bit, so it’d be impossible not to pick things up along the way. But, yes, that was the last big family thing.’

‘Busy.’

‘Like you wouldn’t believe. When most parents were finding out that their adult kids don’t fancy going on holiday with them, my parents were making hectic plans so that we could all be together. In fairness, they’re always fantastic fun. We all contribute according to what we can afford and then pull straws to find out who’s sharing a room with who.’

‘Sounds like a nightmare.’

‘Slow down, Malik! I can just about spot some more camels over there!’

---