LITMIR.BIZ

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Gracie stared at him, shocked at just how much Sam’s life—and hers—had changed. Utterly. Irrevocably. And resistance felt futile. Malik leaned over and rested one hand on her bare knee.

      ‘I realise this is a surprise. But you must see it is the right way, the only way.’

      ‘I must?’ Because she didn’t know what else to do, she railed against his autocratic tone. ‘I don’t think I must do anything. I came for a two-week visit.’ Gracie heard her voice becoming high. ‘And at the end of two weeks, I’m taking Sam back to America. That’s what we agreed on.’

      Malik withdrew his hand. The gentleness she’d seen so briefly in his eyes had vanished. When he spoke, his voice was soft and yet as lethal as a blade. ‘Do not threaten me, Grace.’

      ‘I’m stating facts—’

      ‘Then I shall state one, as well. Did you even look at that document you signed ten years ago?’

      Gracie stared at him, her jaw slack, her mind scrambling. She pictured the paper Asad had shoved at her, her quick, desperate scrawl. ‘Yes,’ she managed. ‘It said that I couldn’t contact you or anyone in Alazar ever again.’

      ‘It also said,’ Malik informed her, ‘that you acknowledged me as the child’s father, and gave me permission to take him to Alazar should I require his presence.’

      ‘What?’ Gracie gaped at him. ‘But I didn’t read that—’

      ‘Perhaps you should have been more careful,’ Malik replied, ‘before you took your payoff.’

      She recoiled, stung by his sneering words as much as this new, unwelcome revelation. Malik took a deep breath. ‘I don’t want to fight you,’ he said.

      ‘But you will if you have to?’ Gracie finished. ‘I get it now. All the nice stuff, all the smiles and kindness and the...the kissing...it was just you manipulating me to get what you want.’ Malik didn’t reply and Gracie clambered off the lounger, feeling sick. ‘At least now I know the truth.’

      Malik’s face was closed as he said, ‘It isn’t like that, Grace.’

      ‘How is it, then?’ she demanded.

      ‘I admit, the circumstances are less than ideal and there is much for each of us to adjust to. But consider Sam for a moment. Consider the legacy he has been given, the privilege.’

      ‘You never seemed to think it was a privilege,’ Gracie retorted. ‘I remember back in Rome you said you chafed at the restraints of your duty. You didn’t even seem like you wanted to be Sultan.’

      As soon as she said it, Gracie knew she’d gone too far. Malik’s mouth compressed, his features pinched. ‘I will always do my duty,’ he said in a low voice, and she realised she’d actually hurt him with those words. ‘As Sam should do his. Do you know how important securing the sultanate is? My country has been unstable for years. Ensuring my dynasty is crucial, not just to Alazar, but to the whole region, and even the world. You might think I am being melodramatic, but I assure you I am not.’

      Gracie stared at him, his eyes blazing icy fire, colour slashing his high cheekbones. ‘But he’s just a little boy,’ she whispered.

      ‘And he will not be Sultan for a long time, God willing. But his place belongs here, with me.’

      ‘And what about me?’ Gracie asked, her voice a thread of sound. She had a sudden, horrible vision of Sam living in Alazar, while she came in for flying visits. She was the one who would have the visits, instead of her son. ‘Where is my place, Malik?’ Her voice throbbed with both fear and fury.

      Malik’s gaze did not waver as he answered. ‘Your place is here, as well,’ he said. ‘With me.’

      * * *

      Malik watched as Gracie processed this information. Her face was flushed, her eyes flashing gold, her damp hair tumbling about her shoulders in unruly ringlets. She looked magnificent.

      ‘What do you mean?’ she asked unsteadily. ‘Are you going to stash me in some room in the palace? The harem?’

      ‘Actually,’ Malik said mildly, ‘this is the harem.’

      ‘What...?’

      ‘Did you know harem actually means forbidden place...?’

      ‘Oh, great!’

      ‘Because it is sacred. It is for the women’s privacy and modesty, not to keep them imprisoned.’

      She folded her arms, defensive, fearful and yet still coming out swinging. ‘That’s just a fringe benefit, then?’

      ‘You are not imprisoned, Gracie,’ Malik said quietly, although he knew that was not quite the truth. He could not let her leave Alazar. Not yet, anyway. If she chose to leave after they were married, she would be leaving Sam, and he knew she would never do that. She was a prisoner, in that sense, and he felt an uncomfortable twisting of guilt in his middle.

      Of course, at some point it had had to come to this. Peel away the flattery and the kisses, delightful as they were, and the reality was they had to marry no matter what. He could dress it up with flattery and flirting and seduction, but that hard reality would never change. He couldn’t care what she thought. Her feelings didn’t matter.

      ‘Listen,’ he said, and Gracie’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. ‘Give us all a chance to adjust. Let me show you my country, my people, and keep an open mind. There is so much good you could do here, Grace.’

      ‘Good...?’

      ‘Let’s the three of us go on a tour of Teruk tomorrow,’ Malik suggested. ‘I will show you the city’s sights, its heritage. And we can spend some time getting to know one another.’ The more he spoke, the more he liked the idea. He needed Gracie to relax and open up...and he knew he’d enjoy being with her. Already he could see her starting to soften and he reached for her hand. She didn’t resist although he could tell she’d thought about it and so he tugged her towards him. ‘You are tired and jet-lagged and so much has been sprung on you. Relax tonight with Sam, and tomorrow let’s spend the day together. The future will take care of itself.’

      ‘You make it sound so easy,’ Gracie grumbled, but with each tug on her hand she was coming towards him, until she was standing before him, her hips bumping his.

      ‘Maybe this can be easy,’ Malik murmured. He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears, unable to resist letting his fingers trail along her neck. He felt a tremor go through her and he dropped his fingers lower, to her breastbone, his fingertips skimming the tops of her breasts. Another tremor went through her.

      ‘There is so much we could enjoy,’ Malik murmured. ‘So much we could do together...’ He pressed his mouth to the curve of her neck and felt Gracie sag against him.

      ‘Don’t...’ she whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. ‘I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to weaken my resistance...’

      ‘Is it working?’ he murmured as he moved his mouth lower, over the damp swimming costume, his tongue teasing the aching peak of her breast. Gracie groaned aloud.

      ‘This isn’t fair,’ she muttered, and Malik let out a ragged laugh.

      ‘Fair? Do you know what you do to me, Gracie? You haven’t even touched me and I’m on fire.’ He brought her hand to his chest so she could feel the thud of his heart. Without even trying, she was able to seduce him. A dangerous notion he would have to keep in check.

      Gracie’s eyes widened and she pressed her hand harder against his chest. ‘I’m scared, Malik.’

      Her admission, so honestly given, undid him in a whole new and disturbing way. He covered her hand with his own. ‘Why be scared?’ he asked softly. ‘This could be an adventure, Gracie, just as you always wanted. The greatest adventure of all...for both of us.’ As he said the words, he saw her face soften, the tentative

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