‘I imagined you’d be leaving soon?’ she said, clearly unaware of his physical discomfort.
A flowing robe would have been more accommodating than designer jeans, he acknowledged, masking his discomfort. ‘And so I shall. My work is done,’ he confirmed, sounding harsher than he’d intended, but the need to rearrange himself was becoming more pressing by the moment.
* * *
I will not allow myself to be distracted by a pair of knowing black eyes, Millie determined. And if Khalid thought he could just walk away from her, he was wrong. ‘I find older vessels fascinating,’ she said, determined to keep him in front of her. ‘So much experience under their belt.’
He actually groaned as if he were in pain. ‘I hope you’re not referring to me?’
His voice sounded strangled, but if that was an attempt at humour, it saved him. He might actually be human. ‘I hardly think so, Your Majesty.’
People were watching them with interest, she noticed. Gossip would spread quickly on the marina. The ruler of Khalifa and a local laundress, chatting together like old friends. She didn’t care, but did he? And if he did care, he might bring this to an end at any moment, before they had chance to arrange that private talk. ‘You invited me here to talk,’ she said. ‘When can we do that?’
‘I need time with my guests. At least an hour.’
‘Of course,’ Millie agreed promptly. ‘And my apologies if I’m keeping you.’
‘I choose to talk to you.’
And when you no longer choose to do so, you’ll move on, she thought. Determined to pin him down, she confirmed, ‘An hour. Where?’
‘I’ll send someone to find you.’
‘Do you delegate everything to someone else?’
The words just popped out of her mouth, and there was a moment when she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, ‘Not all things, Ms Dillinger.’
And now she really, really wished she hadn’t asked the question, as the expression in the Sheikh’s eyes took hold of every nerve-ending in her body and rattled it until it squeaked.
‘Don’t worry about me,’ she said on a dry throat. ‘I’m happy people-watching, just so long as we have that promised talk.’
‘I won’t forget,’ he said in a way that left her in no doubt that he meant it.
‘Okay.’ She shrugged and smiled politely as he left.
* * *
That shrug. That smile.
Millie’s wildflower scent taunted his senses as he walked away.
It stayed with him—she stayed with him as he met and chatted to his guests. To a casual observer, the ruler of Khalifa had been exchanging small talk with a beautiful local woman who had happened to catch his attention. There was nothing unusual about that. On the surface, maybe, but beneath the apparent calm there was a lot more going on, like a fault line in the ocean with a volcano simmering underneath.
* * *
She needed a lot more time to relax on the Sapphire. Being back here was upsetting, and disturbing, Millie thought as Sheikh Khalid walked away. Needing something to take her mind off the past, she began to circulate and introduce herself around. She might have worried that she was walking in her mother’s footsteps, if the guests at this party hadn’t been so very different from those of eight years ago. Millie gave no explanations and none were needed, other than the fact that she lived locally, as the Sheikh was a generous host and had invited people from all walks of life. His guests were so open and pleasant that for a while she lost herself in conversation, but revisiting the place where she’d last seen her mother alive had affected her more than she’d thought.
She kept hearing her mother’s last words ringing in her head. ‘Get her out of here! You’re nothing but a little killjoy. You always spoil my fun!’
Her mother had been a victim and Millie was anything but, she reasoned, and she had to be strong for both of them. But that wasn’t easy when her feelings were in turmoil, and the past kept rolling over her like a storm that threatened to engulf her in grief and guilt. The Sheikh had the knack of putting everyone at ease, she noticed. She also couldn’t help noticing that he looked amazing. He had no need of royal robes to point up his blistering masculinity. Dressed casually in jeans and a shirt, he was every fantasy hero made real. Tall, tanned, hard-muscled and obviously super-fit, he radiated undeniably compelling sex appeal.
The biggest shock of all came when she bumped into her friend Lucy. It was a double shock to identify Lucy’s stunningly good-looking companion.
‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’ Lucy exclaimed as they hugged.
‘You’re on a date with the Emir?’ Millie whispered back.
‘Don’t sound so alarmed. We met dockside. He’s a man, I’m a woman. What’s wrong with that?’ Everything and nothing, Millie thought as Lucy added, ‘How are you and the Sheikh getting on?’
‘There is no me and the Sheikh. I already told you, I’m here to make up the numbers and nothing more.’
As if sensing their interest in him, Khalid, who was some distance away, turned to look at Millie and frowned. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was surprised to see her at the party. Was she supposed to go home until the hour was up and then come back? He’d invited her, and she’d rather be here, dicing with danger, than fretting about all the questions she wanted to ask him, back at home.
‘He shouldn’t be allowed to wear robes—’
‘Sorry?’ She glanced at Lucy, who had been having a one-sided conversation, Millie realised now.
‘The robes?’ Lucy pressed. ‘They hide his body. Sheikh Khalid owes it to the world to only ever wear snug-fitting clothes, like the ones he’s wearing now.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Millie said vaguely.
‘You’re not listening, are you?’ Lucy teased. ‘What’s a nice girl doing staring at the Sheikh?’
‘I’m not staring at the Sheikh,’ Millie defended. ‘It’s what’s inside the package,’ she murmured distractedly.
‘Depends on the package,’ Lucy put in. ‘Personally, I can’t wait to unwrap Tadj.’
They said laughing goodbyes, and as Lucy walked off Millie reassured herself that they could both look after themselves, even in the company of these devastating-looking men.
‘Are you ready to talk now?’
She almost jumped out of her skin, hearing Khalid’s voice so close behind her.
She could handle this.
‘Has an hour passed already?’ she asked lamely as his heat invaded every inch of her body.
‘I thought you would have been eating by now.’
‘But...’ She looked at the dining table and frowned. His guests were only just sitting down. ‘The canapés did look delicious,’ she admitted, thinking he must mean the trays of bite-sized appetisers the stewards had been handing round, ‘but I didn’t want to spoil my dinner.’
‘Quite right,’ he said, but now it was the Sheikh’s turn to frown.
What was going on? He’d invited her to supper.
Leading the way through his guests, he greeted everyone who wanted to speak to him. He even introduced Millie as an old friend. An old friend? she thought as they mounted the companionway to a higher deck.