at her.
Unbidden, the words tumbled out. “Why are you doing this? Why are we here?”
Why have you come back into my life to tear me open all over again? And, worse, why am I allowing it to happen?
It was as if she had to hear him reiterate the reasons why she was being so stupid. Kaden’s dark eyes held hers for a long moment and then dropped in a leisurely appraisal of her body. Julia was modestly dressed: a plain shirt tucked into high-waisted flared trousers. Her hair was coiled back into a chignon. It should have felt like armour, but it didn’t. Kaden’s laser-like gaze had the power to make her feel naked.
His eyes met hers again. “We are doing this to sate the desire between us. We’re two consenting adults taking pleasure in one another. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Julia swallowed painfully. “There’s more to it thanthat, Kaden. We have a past together. Something you seem determined to ignore.”
Kaden turned more fully in his seat, and Julia felt threatened when she saw how cynicism stamped the lines of his face. And something else—something much darker. Anger.
“I fail to see what talking about the past will serve. We had an affair aeons ago. We’re different people now. The only constant is that we still want each other.”
Affair
. Julia cursed herself for opening her mouth. Kaden was right. What on earth could they possibly have to talk about? She was humiliatingly aware that she wanted him to tell her that he hadn’t meant to reject her so brutally. She didn’t feel like a different person. She felt as if she was twenty all over again and nothing had changed.
Incredibly brittle, and angry for having exposed herself like this, she forced a smile. “You’re right. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
Kaden frowned now, and his eyes went to her throat. “Why do you keep doing that? Touching your neck as if you’re looking for something?”
Julia gulped, and realised that once again in an unconsciously nervous gesture her hand had sought out the comforting touch of her necklace. Panic flared. She wasn’t wearing it, but she’d broken her own rule and brought it with her, like some kind of talisman. She blushed. “It’s just a habit … a necklace I used to wear. I lost it some time ago and I haven’t got used to it being gone yet.”
His eyes narrowed on her and, feeling panicky, Julia put down her glass and started to recline her chair. “I think I’ll try to get some sleep.”
Kaden felt the bitter sting of a memory, and with it an emotion he refused to acknowledge. It was too piercing. He’d once given Julia a necklace, but he had no doubt that wasn’t the necklace she referred to. It was probably some delicate diamond thing her husband had bought her.
The one he’d given her would be long gone. What woman would hold on to a cheap gold necklace bought in a marketplace on a whim because he’d felt that the knot in the design symbolised the intricacies of his emotions for his lover? His lover. Julia. Then and now.
He cursed himself and turned away to look out at the inky blackness. He should have walked away from her in London this morning and come to Al-Omar to make a fresh start. He needed to look for a new bride to take him into the next phase of his life. He needed to create the family legacy he’d promised his father, and an economically and politically stable country. It was all within his grasp finally, after long years of work and struggle and one disastrous marriage.
He glanced back to Julia’s curved waist and hips and his blood grew hot. He still wanted her, though. She was unfinished business. His hands clenched. He couldn’t take one step into the future while this hunger raged within him and it
would
be sated. It had to be.
Arriving in B’harani as dawn broke was breathtaking. The gleaming city was bathed in a pinky pearlescent light. It was festooned with flags and decorations, and streets were cordoned off for the first wedding procession,
Unbidden, the words tumbled out. “Why are you doing this? Why are we here?”
Why have you come back into my life to tear me open all over again? And, worse, why am I allowing it to happen?
It was as if she had to hear him reiterate the reasons why she was being so stupid. Kaden’s dark eyes held hers for a long moment and then dropped in a leisurely appraisal of her body. Julia was modestly dressed: a plain shirt tucked into high-waisted flared trousers. Her hair was coiled back into a chignon. It should have felt like armour, but it didn’t. Kaden’s laser-like gaze had the power to make her feel naked.
His eyes met hers again. “We are doing this to sate the desire between us. We’re two consenting adults taking pleasure in one another. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Julia swallowed painfully. “There’s more to it thanthat, Kaden. We have a past together. Something you seem determined to ignore.”
Kaden turned more fully in his seat, and Julia felt threatened when she saw how cynicism stamped the lines of his face. And something else—something much darker. Anger.
“I fail to see what talking about the past will serve. We had an affair aeons ago. We’re different people now. The only constant is that we still want each other.”
Affair
. Julia cursed herself for opening her mouth. Kaden was right. What on earth could they possibly have to talk about? She was humiliatingly aware that she wanted him to tell her that he hadn’t meant to reject her so brutally. She didn’t feel like a different person. She felt as if she was twenty all over again and nothing had changed.
Incredibly brittle, and angry for having exposed herself like this, she forced a smile. “You’re right. I’m tired. It’s been a long day.”
Kaden frowned now, and his eyes went to her throat. “Why do you keep doing that? Touching your neck as if you’re looking for something?”
Julia gulped, and realised that once again in an unconsciously nervous gesture her hand had sought out the comforting touch of her necklace. Panic flared. She wasn’t wearing it, but she’d broken her own rule and brought it with her, like some kind of talisman. She blushed. “It’s just a habit … a necklace I used to wear. I lost it some time ago and I haven’t got used to it being gone yet.”
His eyes narrowed on her and, feeling panicky, Julia put down her glass and started to recline her chair. “I think I’ll try to get some sleep.”
Kaden felt the bitter sting of a memory, and with it an emotion he refused to acknowledge. It was too piercing. He’d once given Julia a necklace, but he had no doubt that wasn’t the necklace she referred to. It was probably some delicate diamond thing her husband had bought her.
The one he’d given her would be long gone. What woman would hold on to a cheap gold necklace bought in a marketplace on a whim because he’d felt that the knot in the design symbolised the intricacies of his emotions for his lover? His lover. Julia. Then and now.
He cursed himself and turned away to look out at the inky blackness. He should have walked away from her in London this morning and come to Al-Omar to make a fresh start. He needed to look for a new bride to take him into the next phase of his life. He needed to create the family legacy he’d promised his father, and an economically and politically stable country. It was all within his grasp finally, after long years of work and struggle and one disastrous marriage.
He glanced back to Julia’s curved waist and hips and his blood grew hot. He still wanted her, though. She was unfinished business. His hands clenched. He couldn’t take one step into the future while this hunger raged within him and it
would
be sated. It had to be.
Arriving in B’harani as dawn broke was breathtaking. The gleaming city was bathed in a pinky pearlescent light. It was festooned with flags and decorations, and streets were cordoned off for the first wedding procession,
Similar Books
