A Whisper of Disgrace(15)



He didn’t appear to be listening to her for his eyes were trained on the closed door in the far corner of the room. ‘So is there some thwarted lover in there?’ he questioned softly. ‘Cowering in fear as he puts his clothes back on?’

For a moment Rosa was tempted to say yes, wondering if he would have the bravado to actually go in and confront some fictitious man. But deep down she knew the answer. Of course he would. She could tell from the tension in his powerful body that he was afraid of nothing. Or no one.

But then, neither was she, she reminded herself. Not any more. She’d spent her whole life being bossed around by autocratic men and being reined in by old-fashioned rules, and the new Rosa Corretti had no intention of continuing with that repressive tradition. So this Kulal—whoever he was—had better understand that, before she kicked him out of here for good.

‘No, I haven’t got anyone cowering in the bedroom—not that it’s any of your business if I had,’ she snapped. ‘I was about to go to bed myself when I was rudely interrupted by your unwanted appearance.’

Kulal felt his pulse quicken. So she was alone, was she? Alone and probably as hungry for him as she’d been the other night. And wouldn’t that be the easiest way to get her to agree to his proposition—by getting her horizontal? His lips curved with the hint of an expectant smile. Because a woman would agree to pretty much anything when a man was making love to her.

Now that he was safely in her hotel room, he allowed himself to study her closely—thinking that she looked very different to the sexy strumpet who had writhed around the pole in her tiny crimson dress the other night. Her dark hair was tied over one shoulder in a single plait and she wore a heavy, silken robe, which shimmered to the ground as she moved. A classy kind of garment, he thought approvingly. And even though it covered every inch of her body, the delicate fabric still clung to every delicious curve, reminding him all too vividly of what lay beneath.

‘You are looking very beautiful tonight,’ he murmured.

Rosa stiffened because the calculating look she’d seen hardening his eyes was completely at odds with the silken caress of his voice. And yet stupidly, her body couldn’t seem to stop reacting to him. She wanted him to pull her into his hard body and she wanted him to kiss her again. But he was trouble. She knew that. He might exude an undeniable appeal which was clawing away at something deep inside her, but she sensed an undeniable danger about him.

‘I asked what you were doing here,’ she said quietly. ‘And so far you haven’t come up with a satisfactory answer.’

Kulal frowned. She was certainly behaving very differently this evening. She wasn’t coming on to him at all, or making any indication that she wanted to continue the delicious kiss which had been abruptly terminated by the appearance of his brother’s aide.

‘We need to have a conversation,’ he said.

‘At this time of night?’

He nodded. The concealing cloak of nighttime was infinitely preferable to a meeting conducted in the harsh light of the Mediterranean sunshine. And even though this rather humble hotel was not the kind of place which usually attracted the paparazzi, his striking looks always made him the subject of prying eyes. ‘I’m afraid so.’

‘Then you’d better hurry up and get on with it, Mr …?’

He met the challenge in her voice, thinking how spectacular her eyes were, as they looked at him with impertinent challenge. ‘I think you were made perfectly aware by the interruption which took place yesterday that I am not a “Mr,”’ he said shortly. ‘In fact, I am a prince.’

‘A prince?’ she echoed, like someone waiting for the punchline to a joke.

He nodded. ‘Although I prefer to think of myself as a sheikh first and a prince second. I am Sheikh Kulal Al-Dimashqi, the second son of the royal house of Zahrastan.’ He elevated his dark brows in careless question. ‘But perhaps you have found out a little more about me since we were parted so abruptly. Was your interest not piqued by the stranger you almost had sex with?’ He gave a mocking smile. ‘Especially when you discovered that his brother was a king.’

Rosa glared at him, trying to ignore his crude taunt. ‘If you must know—I thought that you might be involved in some kind of scam.’

‘A scam?’ he echoed.

‘Yes. That man turning up and announcing that the “king” wanted to see you.’ She gave him a scornful look. ‘People pretend to be aristocrats all the time! It helps them get into expensive hotels without paying.’

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