Page 10 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

‘I wouldn’t see any point in delay,’ he said with a shrug, as though it barely mattered.

That gave her a moment’s pause, and she couldn’t say why.

‘Is that a problem?’

‘I can’t speak for Ellie.’

‘Isn’t that why you’re here?’

‘To see for her,’ she corrected with an involuntary smile. ‘There’s a difference, Your Highness.’

‘Indeed.’ He gestured to a banquet style table behind them. ‘I presume you haven’t eaten lunch?’

‘In fact, I haven’t had breakfast,’ she said. ‘I was late to the meeting this morning and didn’t get a chance.’

‘Then let’s eat while we talk.’

Right on cue, her stomach gave an almost audible growl. She fell into step beside him, and at the table, he put his hands on a chair, pulling it back, dark eyes watching her intently, indicating she should take a seat.

Her heart had lodged firmly in her throat. She stared at him for a few seconds too long then moved to the chair, consternation rioting inside her at his gesture. The last thing she wanted was to move anywhere near that close to him. Steeling herself for the inevitable, she approached the chair warily, eyeing it, before sliding into it quickly, her breath rushed as he eased the seat into the table. As he went to move to his side, his hand brushed her shoulder and a thousand sparks ignited through her bloodstream, so her eyes flew to his face, wondering if he’d felt the same searing connection, the electric shock of awareness.

He gave nothing away, and she felt like a fool for such an obvious response.

He took the seat opposite, and despite the size of the table, it felt far too intimate. It was absurd. They were in a state dining room, and yet, the fact they were alone made her all too aware of him as a man, rather than a sheikh. Suddenly, she wished, more than anything, that she had more experience with men! A few dates in college, one semi-serious boyfriend a couple of years ago, didn’t exactly leave her with the sort of blasé attitude she suspected would come in handy right about now.

It was simply the novelty of this, that was all.

‘Do you think the Princess would prefer to wait before starting a family?’

It was surreal to lurch from fantasising about him one minute to imagining him married to her best friend the next. She almost had whiplash at the conflicting notions.

‘With respect, I’ve told you, Your Highness, it would be indiscreet of me to speculate.’

‘Shouldn’t this go both ways?’

‘Meaning?’

‘You’re here to learn what you can, but it occurs to me you can provide information about my prospective bride that I don’t currently possess.’

‘Wouldn’t you prefer to get to know her in person?’

He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘That will come.’

A shiver ran down her spine and she looked at the food, simply for something to do, as a distraction. Tariq changed gears, gesturing to the dishes and explaining each delicacy carefully, before easing back in his chair and watching her through hooded eyes.

She took a few scoops of various meals, then a sip of her drink, before she felt brave enough to meet his eyes again.

‘Does it make you uncomfortable?’

Feeling utterly transparent, her eyes widened. ‘Doeswhatmake me uncomfortable?’

‘Talking about Elana.’

‘Oh.’ Relief rushed through her. ‘Not talking about her,per se.But sharing her personal details and wishes, yes.’

‘And yet, you expect me to bear my soul—’

‘I expect no such thing, Your Highness,’ she promised, instinctively shying away from the idea of that. This man’s soul, she suspected, would be every bit as dangerously fascinating as his body and face.

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