A Whisper of Disgrace(21)
Not in a million years.
She looked at the black eyes which glittered in his hawk-like face and in that moment she suspected he knew exactly what she was thinking. She could feel her skin tightening as their gazes clashed in recognition—as if her body was silently acknowledging the sizzling connection which blazed between them. She might not like what he stood for and she might disapprove of his views on women, but she wasn’t stupid enough to deny that she wanted him.
The fact that he could treat his ex-fiancée so badly told her he wasn’t a man to be trusted, but what man was? Even her own uncle had cold-bloodedly bedded her mother! She wasn’t looking for trust, or softness—or any of the things which most women wanted when they took a husband. And with her family background, she certainly wasn’t looking for love. Her mouth flattened. Definitely not love. She wanted someone to show her how to become a woman in the fullest sense of the word—and Kulal would be the ideal candidate. She would take from him everything he was prepared to give and then she would walk away.
‘I’ve decided to waive my conditions,’ she said, her airy tone matching the careless shrug of her shoulders.
Kulal saw the way her colour had heightened and again he smiled. ‘I rather thought you might,’ he murmured, his gaze drifting down to where her luscious breasts were jutting against the satin of her robe. He could see the nipples hardening as he watched them and he felt the responding jerk of desire. ‘And that pleases me.’
‘But I don’t want my brothers finding out,’ she continued. ‘Because they’ll try and put a stop to this wedding, if they do.’
For a moment he contemplated the idea of challenging her brothers—or laughing aloud at the very idea that their supremacy could challenge his. But why fight a battle which was ultimately pointless? They would get their precious Rosa back when the year was up. ‘There are things we need to decide, but we can easily put them on hold.’ His voice was husky as his gaze drifted once more to her nipples. ‘And start occupying ourselves a little more pleasurably.’
She looked at him. ‘Meaning?’
‘You know very well what I mean, Rosa. Your body certainly gives every indication of doing so. And there’s a bed right over there, just waiting.’
Rosa flinched as she crossed her arms over the betraying tightening of her breasts. ‘Don’t treat me like a whore, Kulal,’ she said quietly. ‘Or I’ll walk away from this proposed union right now.’
He saw the way she had lifted her chin. Saw the glint of steel which had entered her dark eyes—and in that moment she looked very proud and very Sicilian. A formidable woman, he recognised as he inclined his head in a gesture of grudging acknowledgement. ‘Very well,’ he said softly. ‘If such games amuse you, then we will obey convention and wait a little longer—and the anticipation will add spice to my growing hunger. I shall send a car for you in the morning. And in the meantime, you might want to give some thought to some appropriate attire.’
Her fingers touched the slippery silk lapel of her robe. ‘What do you mean—appropriate?’
He wanted to say that stark naked would be his first choice and the skimpy crimson dress which had done such dangerous things to his blood pressure would be a close second. But not in public. In public she was going to have to play the part expected of her. They both were.
‘Something which a future princess might wear on the way to meet her prince.’
She thought about the few clothes she had flung into her suitcase just before her impetuous flight from Sicily. ‘I’ll try.’
‘And make sure you bring all your belongings with you.’
She looked at him warily. ‘Why, where am I going?’
‘To Paris.’ He gave the ghost of a smile. ‘To begin your new life.’
CHAPTER SIX
A NEW LIFE.
Kulal’s words played repeatedly in Rosa’s mind the following morning as she crammed down the lid of her suitcase. Was it possible to just shrug off your old life and emerge without any traces of it clinging to your skin? She snapped the suitcase closed. All she knew was that she was going to try—she was going to lose her troubled past and step out into a new and unknown future as the sheikh’s bride.
Remembering Kulal’s directive about appropriate attire, she chose a silk chiffon dress the colour of raspberry sorbet and black shoes which made her feel very tall—but she wore no jewellery, not even the ring her father had given her for her sixteenth birthday. Platinum bright and studded with emeralds, her hand felt strangely bare without it for she was never without it glittering on her little finger. But now it seemed to mock her and the relationship she’d enjoyed with her father. It made her question whether that, too, had been false, like everything else around her.