of colour.
‘No! That wasn’t what Peter intended.’ Her tone was frantic. ‘He’ll be expecting me home—’
‘And when you don’t arrive, then presumably he’ll follow you here.’ Zak surveyed her through lowered lids, finding her passionate defence of her brother entirely distasteful. Clearly she supported her brother’s dishonest dealings and was determined to pretend that nothing was wrong. ‘Unless he is too much of a coward to face me in person.’
‘My brother is not a coward.’ Her blue eyes sparked with anger and spots of colour appeared on her pale cheeks.
Zak watched with interest, intrigued by the change in her and wrestling with a basic desire to increase the colour in her cheeks still further with physical activity. ‘Tell me, Miss Kingston…’ he kept his tone conversational ‘…why did you agree to come here?’
‘Because Peter was too busy to come himself,’ she said immediately and then blushed slightly. ‘And because I thought it might be an adventure. But it didn’t occur to either of us that you’d make me stay instead,’ she said stiffly. ‘After all, I’m no use to you whatsoever.’
Her pretence at indifference was laughable.
Zak gritted his teeth, irritated that he could still want her even knowing what she was. ‘Prepare yourself for adventure, Miss Kingston,’ he advised softly. ‘Your brother has committed a crime and unless he arrives in person to stand trial, then you will face that trial in his place.’
‘Trial?’ Her face blanched. ‘But I haven’t done anything.’
‘You have come as your brother’s representative,’ Zak pointed out smoothly, ‘which makes you liable for his crimes. That is justice.’
‘Justice?’ She shook her head and then brushed aside the blonde hair that wafted over her face. ‘It doesn’t sound like justice to me! You keep calling it a crime but none of this is his fault. And you can’t make me face trial. You—’
‘I can do anything I please,’ Zak interrupted her, suddenly fighting an impulse to power her back against his desk and seek immediate payment in kind. Irritated by the extraordinarily powerful attraction that he suddenly felt, he hardened his tone. ‘This is Kazban, not England, and our laws are somewhat stricter than yours when it comes to theft.’
She lifted a hand to her throat as if she was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. My brother hasn’t stolen anything. Investments are always a risk. They can go down as well as up.’
Zak blinked, unaccustomed to being lectured by anyone on the subject of finance. He had a degree in economics and an MBA from a top American university, and since he’d been forced to take over responsibility for running the country as a result of his father’s ill health the economy of Kazban had gone from strength to strength. There was very little anyone could teach him about investments. And very little anyone could teach him about risk.
He thrived on risk.
Did the Kingstons really expect him to believe that the loss was a result of changes in the stock market when he knew full well that the money had never been invested?
Deciding to play her game for a little longer, he kept his features impassive. ‘Then you’d better pray they go up, Miss Kingston.’ He surveyed her thoughtfully, wondering for how long she could maintain this pretence. ‘And you’d better pray that your brother arrives here soon. Otherwise I advise you to prepare yourself for an extended stay.’
‘But—’
‘This audience is now at an end,’ he said coldly. ‘There are others waiting to see me. You will stay at the palace until your brother arrives. That is my decision.’
She had to get away.
She’d come here to help Peter, but her presence had made things worse.
The prince obviously intended to use her as leverage against her brother.
‘You’ll find my bed much more hospitable than any tower—’
Suddenly finding it hard to breathe, Emily grabbed her few possessions and stuffed them frantically into the one, small overnight bag that she’d brought with her. It was perfectly obvious that Crown Prince Zak al-Farisi wasn’t going to listen to reason and release her, which meant that she needed to take matters into her own hands.
The man might look gorgeous, but he was ruthless and cold and not at all a nice person.
Why was he pressing her brother for the money when he was obviously rolling in it?
Just how much money did one man need?
Never having been in the slightest bit interested in material possessions, Emily struggled to understand why someone would strive for unlimited wealth.
Having lost both her parents when she was twelve, her own idea of riches was to have her own family. A man who loved her. Children.
She swallowed hard as she stuffed the rest of her clothes into the bag.
One day she would have that, she told herself firmly.
And it would be with a man who was kind and loving and—and safe.
Not a man like Zakour al-Farisi who was hard and unforgiving and obviously only thought about money.
Her hands stilled and suddenly her breathing quickened as she remembered the betraying throb of her body and the heat that she’d felt when he’d stood close to her. No one had ever made her feel like that before. In fact before today she hadn’t known that such powerful emotions existed except in books.
The blatantly sexual intent in his cold, hard gaze had made her shivery and dizzy and—and—shocked.
No man had ever looked at her the way he did.
No man had ever made her feel so—so… She closed her eyes and slid a hand slowly up her body. No man had ever made her feel so much like a woman.
She lifted a hand and touched her face, remembering the cool brush of his fingers against her cheek and then her hair. Remembering the race of her pulse and the melting of her limbs.
He’d barely touched her and yet the burning heat in his dark eyes had been enough to have her swaying towards him in an instinctive feminine response to his powerful masculinity. But then Zak al-Farisi was a man so skilled in the seduction of women that someone as inexperienced as her would be child’s play to him.
Emily gripped the bag tightly with slender fingers and tried to pull herself together.
That she could respond that way to someone that she didn’t even like filled her with dismay and confusion.
She’d always thought that for her sex was something that would happen within the confines of a loving relationship. Unlike some of her peers, she’d never seen the attraction of casual sexual encounters. Until now.
You want him, she mocked herself gently. Go on, admit it. Zak al-Farisi might not be a nice person but you want him. And the thought of being taken to his bed—
She
