Page 34 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

Up until a few days ago, she would have given her standard answer: that she liked being on her own. Inwardly, she would have admitted that she hated the idea of being part of a family, given what her experience of family was like. Seeing the way her father was with her mother had given her a unique prism through which to view promises of love. She was naturally suspicious of the whole idea. But then she’d met Tariq and a different kind of resistance had stitched its way into her soul. How could she ever think of marrying and having children with anyone else?

It terrified her to realise how completely he’d taken over her soul in such a short period of time. When had that happened? And why hadn’t she stopped it? Because she couldn’t? Because she hadn’t realised it was happening until it was too late? It was immaterial. The damage was done and she’d have to live with the consequences.

‘Eloise?’

She flinched a little, then forced a tight smile. ‘It doesn’t matter, does it?’

Because that was true. They needed to remember why she was there, and it certainly wasn’t to discuss her own future plans. They were, in any event, in such disarray, she couldn’t have elaborated on them for a million pounds.

‘For some reason, it does. Humour me.’

The car drew to a halt but Tariq put down his window and, with a single hand gesture, stopped the four armed men from approaching the car. His place within the kingdom was formidable, but it wasn’t simply a birthright. This man had a power that came from within, a way of speaking and being that spoke of true authority with every part of him.

‘I’ve never been able to picture myself playing happy families.’

‘Because your family was so far from that?’

Her eyes widened at his perceptive comment. Ordinarily, she might have obfuscated but with Tariq, a need to be completely honest drove through her. She nodded quickly, not meeting his eyes.

‘Was he physical with her?’

She didn’t look at him but nodded again.

His breath hissed from between his teeth.

‘She was just as bad,’ she muttered. ‘It was an incredibly volatile relationship, swinging from over-the-top love one moment to deep, vitriolic rage and hatred the next. Some people might have, romantically, described it as “passionate”, but it wasn’t. It was madness. Utter, overpowering, lunatic behaviour. They should have ended it years earlier, but they were too addicted—to each other and the drama. Watching it from the sideline was hard enough, but then, more often than not, I was right in the middle of it.’

He reached out, pressing a finger to her chin, lifting her face to his, and the compassion she saw in his eyes made her want to weep.

‘Please, don’t look at me like that,’ she asked, trying to rally her features into a mask of courage.

‘How am I looking at you?’

‘Like I might fall apart if you let go.’

His eyes shuttered closed for a few moments, his lips parting as he inhaled. ‘That’s not what I think.’

‘No?’

‘I think you are strong,’ he said quietly, moving closer by degrees, so their mouths were only an inch apart. ‘I think your life has made you strong, as mine has me. I think we share a lot, Eloise.’

It wasn’t a declaration of love, and she couldn’t have accepted that anyway, but his words sent her heart soaring into the stratosphere, and the smile that lifted the corner of her lips was genuine and immediate. She hated herself for feeling this way around him, but she couldn’t stop it. All she could do was hold herself back from acting on it, and that she intended to do with every last fibre of her body.

She pulled away from him until her back was against the seat and her eyes were on the building beyond them, and when she could trust herself to speak, she said, ‘What is this place?’

She wasn’t sure if his rough expulsion of breath denoted frustration or something else, but she didn’t look at him, and when he spoke, his voice was bland, all the emotion carefully flattened out of it. ‘One of my palaces. My favourite, in fact. It’s where I thought my family might live.’

That pulled at her. She whipped her face to his, lips parted. He’d brought her here to assess it for Elana. It was a relief, on some level, but also, a pain.

‘When I finished school, I joined the army. I was stationed out of the city here. They were some of the best years of my life; I have an affinity with the east.’

A thousand questions blew through her. ‘I remember reading that you’d served in the army,’ she said quietly. It was one of the many things his people adored about him—his genuine love of service.

His lips flattened a little. With disapproval? ‘I wish that you did not know so much about me.’

Her eyes widened. ‘I didn’t research you for the fun of it. My job demanded that I come to Savisia prepared.’

‘I know. Of course. It’s only—’ She waited, watching him carefully. ‘There are things about me thatIwould like to tell you. Because I like speaking with you, Eloise.’

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