Page 22 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

His eyes narrowed and belatedly she recalled his warning about the use of that title. More precisely, she remembered what he’d said it made him want to do, and her pulse tripped into a chaotic rhythm.

‘I was just exploring the garden,’ she murmured, gesturing to the trees. ‘It’s such a beautiful evening, I wanted to get out of the palace for a while.’

She was babbling. The silence stretching between them made her need to fill it—an uncharacteristic gesture for someone who was usually self-possessed.

‘Your horse is beautiful,’ she added.

‘I don’t think Bahira would appreciate that adjective.’

‘He’s too alpha for beauty?’ she asked, a smile tickling the corners of her lips.

‘Oh, absolutely.’

‘Handsome? Buff? Striking?’

‘Tough,’ he corrected, amusement in his tone.

‘Well, he’s lovely.’

This time, Tariq lifted a single, thick brow, then grinned, so her heart stammered.

‘Anyway,’ she took a step backwards, ‘I won’t keep you.’

‘You’re not.’

Her expression was laced with irony, yet she didn’t move. ‘Do you...ride often?’ She cringed as soon as she’d asked the question. She sounded like a love-struck teenager.

‘Yes.’

She took a step backwards. She really needed to leave.

‘Does the Princess ride?’

Eloise told herself she was glad he’d brought up Elana. Every time she could remember why she was here, the better. ‘She knows how to, but it’s not her favourite pastime.’

‘Oh?’

‘She was thrown, as a child. She’s never got over it. She was made to continue riding, after that, but it was a pretty traumatic experience for her.’

His eyes roamed her face. ‘And you?’

She swallowed, her throat thick and dry. ‘I... No. I’ve never learned.’

‘Have you ever been on a horse?’

She shook her head.

‘Why not?’

She pulled a face. ‘I grew up in England.’

‘Last I checked, horses existed there too.’

She laughed. ‘Sure, but not for people like me.’

‘Meaning?’

‘My parents didn’t have much money. They were aristocratic, but like so many in their position, death taxes and the high cost of maintaining big country homes drove them into debt, Your High—Tariq.’ But now, his name felt like a caress. All she could remember was how she’d whispered it into his mouth, begging him to hold her closer, tighter, begging him to take her. It pushed all thoughts from her mind for a moment, so she had to concentrate to grab hold of what she’d been saying. ‘And horse riding is an expensive hobby.’

---