LITMIR.BIZ

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would be waking up in the desert, but those towering heels, which still only contrived to lift her a couple of inches in height, were downright dangerous. At the same time, there was something absurdly feminine and cute about those tiny glittery sandals with their plethora of straps. He dragged in a deep breath, gritted his white even teeth. Cute? What was he thinking?

      That it was safer to look at her feet than her breasts or her legs when his body was behaving as though it belonged to a sex-starved teenager. Since when had he been unable to control his libido? He could not recall ever having that problem before.

      Zoe was very stiff, picking up on the undertones in the atmosphere while reading the physical tension he was putting out in waves. ‘Our situation?’ she queried, surprised by that designation.

      ‘Ours,’ Raj emphasised. ‘I don’t know how much you know about me.’

      ‘Well, you told me that you were nobody of any importance but Farida told me the truth—that you are the King’s son,’ Zoe countered in a tone of reproof. ‘I also know that you were sent into exile.’

      ‘Eight years ago,’ Raj clarified sombrely. ‘I refused to marry the woman my father chose for me because I was in love with someone else. There were other factors but essentially that is what caused my long estrangement from my father. You may not be aware of it but in my world a son is expected to be obedient and, to be fair to my father, I was a rebel from day one.’

      More than a little disconcerted by that very personal explanation of his troubled relationship with his parent, Zoe coloured, her green eyes clinging to his brooding dark features and the fluctuating emotions he was striving to hide; only those expressive eyes of his continually gave him away, glimmering and glittering, alive with all the passion he struggled to contain. Unwilling fascination gripped her and she gave way to her curiosity. ‘What happened with the woman you loved? Did you marry her?’

      ‘No, she cheated on me,’ Raj admitted flatly.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered automatically, wishing she hadn’t asked.

      ‘You don’t need to apologise. It happened a long time ago when I was still young, trusting and naïve. I am not the same man now,’ Raj parried wryly.

      Because that woman had broken his heart, Zoe registered, recalling her sister, Winnie’s heartbreak when she had had to leave the man she loved, after discovering that he was married. Zoe had never experienced anything that intense and she wasn’t sure she wanted to either. But then she had never had a boyfriend. After the attempted rape she had fortunately escaped, she had feared and avoided men. She had had one or two male friends at university who had stayed close to her for a while to test her boundaries, hoping she would warm up to them but it hadn’t happened. She had stayed apart and untouched and was much inclined to think that that was the best way to live. Without risk, without hurt, without disappointed hopes and unrealistic dreams of some fantasy happy future.

      ‘You said “our” situation,’ she reminded him, keen to steer the conversation out of deep waters. ‘What did you mean by that?’

      ‘My father has offered me a most unexpected suggestion,’ Raj framed with care, brilliant dark eyes locked to her heart-shaped face and the eyes bright as emeralds against her porcelain pale skin. The contrast was breathtaking. ‘He has asked me to come home and take my place as his heir again.’

      ‘My goodness, that’s wonderful news! I mean...’ Zoe hesitated ‘...if that is what you want?’

      ‘I want to come home with my whole heart. This is the first time I have been home in eight years,’ Raj admitted harshly, his sincerity bitingly obvious. ‘But unfortunately, the King’s proposition came with a key stipulation attached. My father has asked me to take Hakem’s place as your bridegroom and marry you.’

      Zoe blinked several times and continued to stare at him, her heart thumping rapidly enough that it seemed to thunder in her ears. ‘But...but why? That’s a crazy suggestion!’

      ‘Not if you consider who you are,’ Raj pointed out with a wry twist of his wide sensual mouth. ‘Half our population are originally from your grandmother’s country and they were most resentful when my father and their Banian Princess failed to marry at the same time as the two states allied to become one. As a result, the royal family does not reflect the origins of both countries. If the King’s son were to marry Princess Azra’s granddaughter, it would be very popular with our people. Principally, that is why my father wants us to marry.’

      ‘But I never even met Azra. She died before I was born,’ Zoe argued. ‘It’s just an accident of birth.’

      ‘No, it is your heritage and a vital and proud heritage to those who remember the Princess and a country that now only exists as part of Maraban,’ Raj contradicted. ‘I should also mention that your grandfather and my father have been in touch—I should imagine only through an intermediary—and this suggestion that you remain here to marry me instead has been discussed by them.’

      ‘Good heavens... Grandad knows about all this?’ Zoe gasped, already shaken by Raj’s serious respect for her ancestry, which was, she realised finally, far more valued in Maraban than it would ever be anywhere else.

      ‘Your grandfather is agreeable to the exchange of bridegrooms,’ Raj delivered.

      Zoe turned slowly pale with anger. ‘But what about me? What about what I want?’ she demanded starkly.

      ‘That is why I am here...asking,’ Raj stressed sardonically. ‘Your grandfather and my father are quite happy to believe that only their consent is required. I am not that foolish.’

      Her anger drained away again. ‘Thank goodness, someone here has some sense,’ she mumbled.

      ‘You were willing to marry Hakem sight unseen,’ Raj reminded her.

      Zoe’s knees felt weak and she flopped down on a cushioned seat as if her breath had been stolen from her. She was at a crossroads. ‘That’s different, that was before all this happened and I realised Hakem had abandoned his wife for me and stuff like that,’ she argued uncomfortably. ‘It was a mistake to agree. Now I just want to forget all this nonsense and go home again.’

      ‘But I am asking you to stay here and marry me,’ Raj stated with precision. ‘And it is an entirely selfish request.’

      Taken aback at that confession, Zoe tilted her head back to look up at him. ‘Is it?’

      ‘Yes. It would mean the end of my exile and my estrangement from my father,’ Raj pointed out grittily. ‘And not only that, my marriage to Azra’s granddaughter would delight my people as well. What is in it for you other than the acquisition of an entirely useless title, I don’t know, but it would at least be as much as you would have received from my uncle. I can also promise to treat you as well as he would have. He is a decent man, regrettably poisoned by his pointless need to compete with my father.’

      What is in it for you? Zoe appreciated his honesty with regard to the advantages to him should he marry her. Even so, her understanding of his position did nothing to stop her brain from whirling with wild indecision. She had been ready to go home and give up on her quest for greater independence but now Raj was offering her another option. Yet somehow marrying him struck her as a far more intimidating prospect than marrying a much older man, who had sworn he would treat her like a daughter. Raj was so much younger, more aggressive, more virile... Her brain ran out of descriptive words as she glanced warily at him.

      He was so poised in his long white buttoned tunic, a black cloak folded back over his broad shoulders, his lean, darkly handsome face grave and cool while he awaited her answer, those glorious dark-as-the-devil eyes gleaming with an impatience he was too polite and intelligent to voice. A positive reply would mean a lot to him. She understood that, she really did. She also still yearned for the opportunity to live an independent life, unfettered by the expectations of her family. But most of all, she wanted to prove herself to herself and she wanted to be strong without leaning on anyone else for support. Even less did she want

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