quick.’
‘I want to take advantage of every moment with you.’
A flush tinted her cheeks rose-pink and she turned away. ‘One day,’ she murmured, and he couldn’t tell if she was warning him—or herself.
Grace hadn’t brought too many serviceable clothes with her, at least not the kind she thought Khalis had in mind. While working she dressed with discreet professionalism, clothes that were flattering without being obvious. After a few moments’ consideration she chose the slim black trousers and white fitted T-shirt she’d worn earlier in the week, and threw a cardigan in charcoal-grey cashmere over her shoulders, in case the breeze from the sea was strong.
Where could he be taking her? Alhaja Island hadn’t looked that large from the air. Besides the enclosed compound, there were only a few stretches of beach and a tangle of trees. Yet Grace knew it didn’t even matter where he might be taking her, because she simply wanted to be with him—for one day. One day that posed no risk to her heart or her time with Katerina. One day out of time and reality, a memory she would carry with her in all the lonely days and nights ahead.
Khalis was already waiting in the foyer when she came down the stairs, wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt, open at the throat, so Grace’s gaze was inexorably drawn to that column of golden-brown skin, the pulse beating strongly. She jerked her gaze upwards and gave him a tentative smile.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Just to the beach,’ he said, but there was a glint in his eye that told her he had something planned. Grace followed him outside to an open-topped Jeep waiting in the drive. She climbed in and fastened her seat belt as Khalis drove through the forbidding-looking gates and then out along a rutted dirt road that looked to circumnavigate the island.
Grace pushed her hair from her face and shaded her eyes as she glanced at the rocky outcrops and the stretch of golden beach, the sea jewel-bright and winking under the sun in every direction. ‘This island’s not very big, is it?’
‘Two miles long and half a mile wide. Not large at all.’
‘Did you ever feel … trapped? Living here?’
Khalis slid her a speculative glance and Grace pretended not to notice. ‘Yes,’ he answered after a moment, his hands tightening reflexively on the steering wheel, ‘but not because of the island’s size.’
‘Why, then?’
His mouth curved grimly. ‘Because of the island’s inhabitants.’
‘Your father?’
‘Mainly. My brother and I didn’t get along very well, either.’
‘Why not?’
He shrugged. ‘Ammar was my father’s heir, and my father poured everything into him. He was tough with him, too tough, and I suppose Ammar needed to take it out on someone.’
‘He was a bully? Your brother?’
Khalis just shrugged again. ‘Boarding school was a bit of a relief.’
‘What about your sister?’
He didn’t answer for a moment, and Grace felt the tension in his body. ‘I missed her,’ he finally said. ‘I’m sure she felt more trapped here than I did. My father didn’t believe in educating daughters. He employed a useless governess for a while, but Jamilah never had the opportunities Ammar and I did. Opportunities she would have had if—’ He stopped suddenly, shaking his head. His expression, Grace saw, had become shuttered. Closed. ‘Old memories,’ he said finally. ‘Pointless.’
‘Do you think,’ she asked after a moment, ‘the helicopter crash was an accident?’
‘It’s not outside the realm of possibility that one of his enemies—or even his allies—tinkered with the engine. I don’t know what they would have hoped to gain. Perhaps it was an act of revenge—my father did business with the dregs of every society. People like that tend not to die in their beds.’
Grace felt a chill of trepidation at how indifferent Khalis sounded, as if the way his father and brother had died was a matter of little concern. His
‘I want to take advantage of every moment with you.’
A flush tinted her cheeks rose-pink and she turned away. ‘One day,’ she murmured, and he couldn’t tell if she was warning him—or herself.
Grace hadn’t brought too many serviceable clothes with her, at least not the kind she thought Khalis had in mind. While working she dressed with discreet professionalism, clothes that were flattering without being obvious. After a few moments’ consideration she chose the slim black trousers and white fitted T-shirt she’d worn earlier in the week, and threw a cardigan in charcoal-grey cashmere over her shoulders, in case the breeze from the sea was strong.
Where could he be taking her? Alhaja Island hadn’t looked that large from the air. Besides the enclosed compound, there were only a few stretches of beach and a tangle of trees. Yet Grace knew it didn’t even matter where he might be taking her, because she simply wanted to be with him—for one day. One day that posed no risk to her heart or her time with Katerina. One day out of time and reality, a memory she would carry with her in all the lonely days and nights ahead.
Khalis was already waiting in the foyer when she came down the stairs, wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt, open at the throat, so Grace’s gaze was inexorably drawn to that column of golden-brown skin, the pulse beating strongly. She jerked her gaze upwards and gave him a tentative smile.
‘Where are we going?’
‘Just to the beach,’ he said, but there was a glint in his eye that told her he had something planned. Grace followed him outside to an open-topped Jeep waiting in the drive. She climbed in and fastened her seat belt as Khalis drove through the forbidding-looking gates and then out along a rutted dirt road that looked to circumnavigate the island.
Grace pushed her hair from her face and shaded her eyes as she glanced at the rocky outcrops and the stretch of golden beach, the sea jewel-bright and winking under the sun in every direction. ‘This island’s not very big, is it?’
‘Two miles long and half a mile wide. Not large at all.’
‘Did you ever feel … trapped? Living here?’
Khalis slid her a speculative glance and Grace pretended not to notice. ‘Yes,’ he answered after a moment, his hands tightening reflexively on the steering wheel, ‘but not because of the island’s size.’
‘Why, then?’
His mouth curved grimly. ‘Because of the island’s inhabitants.’
‘Your father?’
‘Mainly. My brother and I didn’t get along very well, either.’
‘Why not?’
He shrugged. ‘Ammar was my father’s heir, and my father poured everything into him. He was tough with him, too tough, and I suppose Ammar needed to take it out on someone.’
‘He was a bully? Your brother?’
Khalis just shrugged again. ‘Boarding school was a bit of a relief.’
‘What about your sister?’
He didn’t answer for a moment, and Grace felt the tension in his body. ‘I missed her,’ he finally said. ‘I’m sure she felt more trapped here than I did. My father didn’t believe in educating daughters. He employed a useless governess for a while, but Jamilah never had the opportunities Ammar and I did. Opportunities she would have had if—’ He stopped suddenly, shaking his head. His expression, Grace saw, had become shuttered. Closed. ‘Old memories,’ he said finally. ‘Pointless.’
‘Do you think,’ she asked after a moment, ‘the helicopter crash was an accident?’
‘It’s not outside the realm of possibility that one of his enemies—or even his allies—tinkered with the engine. I don’t know what they would have hoped to gain. Perhaps it was an act of revenge—my father did business with the dregs of every society. People like that tend not to die in their beds.’
Grace felt a chill of trepidation at how indifferent Khalis sounded, as if the way his father and brother had died was a matter of little concern. His
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