Page 57 of Desert King's Forbidden Temptation

‘I know,’ she whispered, because it did, and it was Elana’s hope that the marriage would come to pass. ‘That’s why you have to marry her.’

‘But then, there’s you,’ he said quietly. ‘Can’t you see how this complicates things?’

‘No,’ she groaned, heart breaking. ‘We both know it can’t.’ The two people she loved most in the world had everything to lose if the marriage fell through—Eloise wouldn’t be responsible for that.

Silence fell. It was too early for the sweet chorus of night birds. The sun was still high, the sky blue; the warmth of the day surrounding them, even when her heart was cold.

He reached for her fingers, lacing them through his. ‘What if you were to stay in Savisia?’

Her heart stammered. ‘How would that work?’

‘Stay for me,’ he said, his voice rumbling. She felt like she was in free fall.

‘And your marriage to Elana?’

‘Purely for the sake of a royal heir,’ he said. ‘That would be unavoidable. But beyond that, she would be nothing to me.’

Eloise’s heart splintered. ‘She’s my best friend. You can’t think I’d ever want that for her?’

‘And what about you? What do you want for yourself?’

‘This,’ she pressed a hand lightly to his heart, ‘is a poisoned chalice. The thing I want, the thing I want with all my heart, would ultimately destroy me because of what that selfish choice had cost my friend. I could never do it, and I think you know that.’

He swore softly. ‘And you saidIwas running away?’

‘I’m not,’ she said quietly. ‘I’ll continue to serve Elana’s interests from Ras Sarat. It’s my home.’

‘Stay here, Eloise,’ he said with urgency. ‘As a friend, if that’s all you can offer.’

‘That would never work,’ she said thickly. ‘Please don’t ruin this moment by asking me to do something I cannot even contemplate.’

His features were etched with determination. ‘You can do whatever you want. You’re afraid.’

‘Yes,’ she agreed without hesitation. ‘I’m deathly scared of hurting the friend who’s been with me through thick and through thin, who would give her life for mine. And yet I’m here with you, doing exactly that. Don’t ask for more.’

It was what she’d said in the cabin. She felt it as strongly now as she had then.

‘You won’t even think about it?’

It was anathema to her. Every cell in her body rejected the idea of an ongoing betrayal of Elana, and she knew that the marriage had to proceed. But she nodded slowly, because she was greedy for just a few more moments of beauty with Tariq, the last few moments she’d spend with him, ever. She wanted to drink this in, to nourish her soul, so that when she left—and she would leave—she would have something to sustain her through the long years ahead.

He alone would have her heart, for as long as it beat in her body, it would beat solely, always, for him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DUSKBREATHEDACROSSthe desert, gentle and iridescent at the same time, electrifying the atmosphere. The stars began to twinkle and it was like the falling of a hammer. They both knew it was time to leave.

Eloise shifted first, moving her head from his chest, trying not to think about the future, about how much she’d miss him. She had to be able to live with herself, and only by leaving him could she achieve that.

A poisoned chalice indeed.

‘Have dinner with me tonight.’ His command curled around her, tempting her, making her doubt her firm resolution to end this now, before things could go further. Before she could weaken.

‘I think that would attract the wrong kind of attention.’

His eyes flared. ‘We’ve eaten together before.’

‘It’s different now,’ she chided gently. ‘Everything’s different.’

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