Page 36 of The Sheikh's Willing Captive

She scoffed and stared incredulously at him. "We just got divorced, Razim."

His eyes narrowed and he smiled. "But we're still friends, aren't we?"

"Of course," she said sharply. "But that doesn't mean I can just act like I did when we were married. Things have changed."

"I know they have," he said.

Paige shook her head. "I just don't think that would be appropriate. Not after what we've just done."

Razim leaned a little closer. When he spoke his voice was low and gentle. That was the way he usually spoke to her when he wanted to try to win her round to one of his crazy ideas, she told herself. And this was most certainly a crazy idea. More than that, actually. It was dangerous. For her and for him.

She drew in a deep breath and resolved to resist him.

"I don't think so, Razim," she said.

"I would take it as a gesture of friendship and respect if you would consider it," he said, continuing as if he hadn't even heard what she'd said. "We've been through so much together. It would be a shame to end it all on a sour note."

His voice was deep, almost like a growl. It reverberated inside the confines of the limo.

Paige peered at Razim. "We haven't ended this on a sour note, Razim. I think we've both acted responsibly. Don't you?"

He shrugged. "But, I'm talking about our friendship. I assume we will still keep in touch."

"I'll be a long way away, Razim. And you admitted, you don't like coming to the US that much. You're hardly ever there."

He waved a hand. "There you go, then. Even more reason for us to spend this last day together. You must admit, the oasis does have some wonderful memories for us."

That was true, she told herself. More than wonderful, in fact. Blissful. Perfect. And that was the reason why she told herself she shouldn't even contemplate going there with him.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," she insisted.

He moved closer and reached out, laying a hand gently on her arm. Instantly, familiar sensation flowed through her body. A delicious electric pleasure swept up her arm and across her body. She recalled what had happened out in the garden. The way he had made her feel. That was the temptation against which she battling.

Razim could still affect her. Even with a touch. And the way he was looking at her, with his dark gaze, so intense, searching for her compliance, wasn't making things any easier.

"Come with me, Paige," he growled. "Just for one last day." His eyes darkened, temptingly and intensely. "For one last night."

Her heartbeat began to race and her mind emptied, all rational thought leaving in an instant. All that was left was an overwhelming sense of temptation. This was a man with whom she had been through so much. She had spent the last two hours preparing to leave. But, during all that time, she had continually asked herself if she had made a terrible mistake.

Regret and uncertainty, both of which had tormented her these past few months, had resurfaced, painfully. The hurt she'd felt had been almost impossible to endure. She'd never known such doubts.

Up there, in her room, packing her bags, she had asked herself, over and over, if she had thrown something precious away. And all she had been able to say to herself in reply was that she probably had. And that she might wake up one day, sometime in the future, and realize that she should have made a different choice. A wiser decision than the one she had just made.

So now he was offering her a chance to find out, once and for all, if she had been foolish. Razim was the kind of man who would constantly challenge a woman. He was used to appointing himself as a leader in their relationship. And, every time he did that, her first instinct was to push back on him. To refuse him an easy victory.

So, why did this feel so different? Why did she feel that, if she defied him, she might pay a huge price. Not now. But, sometime in the future.

Paige looked at Razim, carefully examining him for any sign that he might have another agenda. That he might be doing this out of some other motive he might be hiding from her. But, as was so often the case with Razim, it was impossible to read his inscrutable expression.

Paige sighed and gazed at Razim. "Just until tomorrow?"

His expression didn't change. He didn't show any signs of pleasure at the suggestion she might be willing to change her mind. "One night. And then, if you want, I'll bring you back here, and you can fly out to the US without me."

She pushed away the emotion that comment provoked. She didn't even want to think about how it would feel to face her new life alone, without anyone by her side.

Without Razim.

Paige swallowed and then sighed. "Okay. I'll go there with you."

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