Page 29 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

CHAPTER SIX

ITWASSOMEtime later that night, when he should have been fast asleep, that he found an idea spinning around and around until it took a shape he couldn’t shake. An idea he should have known better than to indulge, that somehow went from preposterous and wrong to plausible and possible to finally, imperative.

He would take Eloise to see Ala Shathi. The city in the east was, to borrow her word, magical, but it was the mountains surrounding it he more particularly wanted her to see. Mountains that flowed with pristine water were covered with vegetation that offered privacy and seclusion and had long been a port in the storm for Tariq. Even before the business with his father, and the truth of his birth, he’d been drawn to the wildness of Ala Shathi. It was there that he felt most like a man, most unshackled from his royal duties and obligations, from the sense that he carried upon his shoulders the expectations of a country.

Where better to take this woman who couldn’t fit into his world in any way, who he couldn’t get from his mind?

It was not to seduce her, but to show her the beauty of the east, and to be alone with her, without the fear of being seen, judged, of things being complicated by outside appearances.

He simply wanted to be alone with her. Just for a while. Not to touch her, just to speak to her. To listen to her. To unravel more of what made her tick, to understand her, to lose himself in her.

It was a fantasy; she was forbidden, and he wouldn’t forget that. But just for a night or two, he wanted to be selfish. After that, he’d resume his life. He’d get back on track, focusing on the marriage first, and then the business of begetting an heir.

His lips pulled downward grimly. He couldn’t turn his mind to that yet. It was across a ravine, with no bridge in sight. He would swim there, or claw his way there, because it was essential to his country and his father’s legacy, but he wasn’t quite ready yet.

There was something he had to get out of his system first.

‘I’m sorry. What did you say?’

‘His Highness has the itinerary planned.’ The woman spoke more slowly, as though Eloise might be hard of hearing. ‘Please, come with me.’

‘But where did you say we were going?’

‘To tour the eastern provinces.’

‘But, why?’

The servant’s smile was cool. ‘I’m not aware, madam. Would you come this way, please?’

Arguing was clearly pointless. She’d simply have to ask Tariq when she saw him.

She grabbed her handbag on the way out of her suite, keeping pace with the staffer. They emerged onto a driveway about five minutes later and a light breeze rustled past, so Eloise caught at her skirts right as Tariq stepped out of a black four-wheel drive with darkly tinted windows.

Something about it made her mouth dry.

Like his horse, Bahira, it was a car that was so perfectly suited to him. Powerful, enigmatic, thrilling.

‘Your Highness,’ she murmured, desperate to put them on a more formal footing.

His eyes flashed to hers though and a distillation of memories made her cheeks flush warm.

‘Miss Ashworth.’ Something twisted in her belly. ‘This way, please.’ He gestured to the car, at the same time a man in a military uniform opened the back passenger door, making her want to form a joke about being off to execution. Only the intensity of Tariq’s expression stalled another word from leaving her mouth.

She stepped up into the seat, aware of Tariq’s eyes on her the whole time, so she was reminded of the way he’d helped her on and off the horse the night before and her pulse quickened.

She clipped her seatbelt in place quickly, mind zipping, and when he slid into the backseat beside her, the air in the car zapped with awareness.

Two men took the front seats: a driver and, going by the size and build of the second, a security guard.

Eloise told herself she was glad for the company, glad they weren’t alone, but a moment later, Tariq pressed a button and a screen came up, separating them from the front of the car.

She did her best to assume an air of businesslike authority. ‘Where are we going, Your Highness?’

‘Weren’t you informed?’

‘Just that we were going “to the east”.’ She waved a hand in the air, panic threatening to creep into her voice.

His eyes narrowed speculatively. ‘It’s a beautiful part of the country. I thought you’d like to see it.’

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