LITMIR.BIZ

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memory hit her full force then. The memory of a time when he’d spoken those same words to her.

      No matter what the future holds, you will always be welcome in my world, habibti....

      Yet she had not been welcome at all. After his marriage contract had been finalized, they had been expressly forbidden to see each other, yet they had continued to meet in secret. Those clandestine trysts had only fueled the fire between them until one night, they had made love the first—and the last—time.

      Maysa wondered if Rafiq remembered. She wondered if he recalled those remarkable moments, or if he had pushed them out of his thoughts. She wondered why she had been such a fool to believe he would have changed his mind about marrying Rima.

      She rose to her feet and crossed the room to pour a glass of water from a pitcher set out on a side table. She kept her back to Rafiq as she took a few sips, and swallowed hard when she heard approaching footsteps.

      “Have I said something to upset you, Maysa?”

      His presence upset her. Her feelings for him upset her. She set the glass on the table and turned to him. “Why are you really here, Rafiq? Why have you come to me after all these years?”

      His expression reflected confusion. “You are the one person I have always turned to for solace.”

      “Not always,” she said. “We’ve been virtual strangers for well over a decade.”

      His expression implied building anger. “You were the one who left Bajul for the States, Maysa. I have always been here.”

      “I had no choice after I divorced Boutros.”

      “A man you should have never wed.”

      A heartless, angry sultan who had almost stolen her sense of self-worth and security. Almost. “As it was with you and Rima, my marriage was no more than an edict from my father.”

      Rafiq inclined his head and studied her. “Why did you risk your name and reputation to divorce him?”

      She did not dare tell him the entire truth. “He refused to allow me to pursue my profession. I refused to allow him to tell me how to live my life.”

      He looked as if he could see right through her. “That is the only reason?”

      “Isn’t that enough? And what other reason would there be?”

      Now he appeared cynical. “Everyone is quite aware of Boutros Kassab’s reputation for suspect business arrangements and questionable connections.”

      She would simply allow him to believe that rather than reveal the harsh reality—Boutros was a sadistic, uncaring lecher. “I was eighteen when we married, Rafiq. I had no involvement in his business dealings. I was only required to play the dutiful wife.”

      He raised a brow. “In his bed?”

      She hesitated slightly. “Do you wish me to lie and say no?”

      “He is thirty years your senior. I hoped you would say he had little interest in anything of a carnal nature due to an inability to perform.”

      Many nights she had wished that had only been the case, but it had not. “Boutros is a man, and men rarely lose interest in sex, no matter what their age.”

      “Did he satisfy you, Maysa?”

      She was momentarily stunned. “That is none of your concern.”

      He streamed a fingertip down her cheek. “I am only curious if he knew how to please you. If he learned, as I did, how to make you tremble with need.”

      She circled her arms around her middle as if that might afford her protection from his magnetic pull. From the memories. “Did Rima satisfy you, Rafiq? Or did you simply go to her for the sake of producing an heir?” The moment the words left her mouth, she silently cursed her thoughtlessness.

      Rafiq reacted by turning away, crossing the room and moving to the window to stare at the mountains once more. She approached him slowly and rested a palm on his shoulder. “I am so sorry, Rafiq. I did not mean to be so unkind. I know how much you are hurting over the loss of your child. I also know that you did care very much for your wife, and you were a good husband to her. You would never ignore her needs.”

      “And in doing so, I was forced to disregard what I needed most.”

      “And that was?”

      “You.”

      Without warning, Rafiq spun around and crushed Maysa against him. He claimed her mouth with a vengeance, with a touch of desperation. And as she always had, she willingly accepted the kiss.

      She hated that he could so easily mold her into a willing, wanton woman, but not quite enough to stop him. She despised herself for wanting to give in to the ever-present desire. To do so could lead to undeniable pleasure, and quite possibly disaster. He didn’t necessarily want her. He only wanted comfort wherever available, as it had been all those years ago. And that made her furious enough to recapture her common sense.

      With all the strength she could muster, Maysa moved back, putting some much-needed distance between them. “How many women were there after me and prior to your marriage to Rima?”

      Confusion crossed over his expression. “Why does that matter?”

      “Perhaps you could call on one of them to provide the escape you so obviously need.”

      His handsome features turned to stone. “You truly believe that is all you mean to me?”

      She folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Yes, I do. You’re only seeking a temporary diversion, and after you receive it, you will be gone again.”

      “I seek the company of someone I trust. Someone I have always cared about.”

      “If you truly cared about me, you would not have kissed me.”

      “Perhaps the kiss was a mistake,” he said. “Perhaps I should not have come here.”

      She released a disparaging laugh. “You’re right. It was a mistake. Someone could find out, and that would not go over well with the elders. I am a scorned woman, remember? A divorcée and to some, the equivalent of a harlot. And let us not forget you are the almighty king.”

      “You have never been a harlot in my eyes,” he said adamantly. “And at times I wish to forget I am the king.”

      The sudden dejection in his tone tugged at Maysa’s heartstrings. “It sounds as if you could use a sabbatical.”

      “I have nowhere to go where I would be left alone.” He fixed his gaze firmly on hers as his lips curled into the familiar teasing smile. The one that had always crushed her determination. “Unless, of course, you would be willing to open your home to me. I would keep to myself. You would not know I am here.”

      She would know he was there every moment of the day, whether in his presence or not. “I question the wisdom in that plan.”

      He took her hands into his. “I only wish for time away from my responsibilities, and to become reacquainted with a friend.”

      How very easy it would be to agree to his request, but... “You have no wish to become reacquainted in bed?”

      “I would never ask anything of you that you are not willing to give.”

      That alone presented a problem—she could find herself willing to give him everything, receiving nothing in return aside from nights of pleasure and more good memories to temporarily overcome the bad. He could also break her heart once more.

      Maysa tugged out of his grasp and strolled around the room, all the while weighing the pros and cons. Then something suddenly occurred to her. She could use his presence to her advantage. She could finally show him that improvements to health care for the poor should be paramount during his reign. She could introduce him to exactly what his people endured in the face of illness. And she would do so while keeping

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