‘And you should have told me you were pregnant.’
‘I tried—’
‘And I tried. Can we not do this? Again?’
Her body sagged. ‘I’m so confused, Malik,’ she whispered.
As was he. He’d enjoyed this time with Gracie, talking to her and, yes, most definitely kissing her. That had been exquisitely sweet. But such enjoyment and desire clouded what he knew in his gut had to be a business arrangement, for the sake of Alazar as well as his own.
‘All will become clear eventually,’ he promised. ‘To both of us.’ He brushed her cheek with his fingertips; her skin was impossibly soft. Letting out a shuddering breath, Gracie closed her eyes.
* * *
Gracie felt as if her emotions were in a tumble dryer; she felt a thousand things at once, and it was near impossible to separate the fear from the hope, the excitement from the uncertainty. One moment her blood had been singing with reawakened desire, and the next she was backing away in trepidation. She needed to calm down. She needed to accept this for what it was—two weeks to figure out her and Sam’s next steps in life. And maybe she could enjoy it. Once she’d been determined to suck the marrow out of life and toss away the bones. She’d been so happy and hopeful, back in Rome. She wanted to win a little of her youthful self back.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled. ‘So tell me, what are we going to do in Alazar, exactly?’
‘I want to show you my country. The palaces, the capital city of Teruk and of course the mountains.’
‘Sam mentioned that Alazar has the highest mountain in the Middle East.’
‘Did he?’ The look of pride on Malik’s face made Gracie smile. ‘He is a very intelligent boy.’
‘He’s curious. Always wanting to know more.’ She took a bite of the couscous salad and found it was delicious. As she took another mouthful, she realised how hungry she was. ‘Were you like that, as a boy?’
‘Once.’ Malik was silent for a moment, and Gracie could tell he was considering what to tell her. How much to tell her. ‘Things changed when I was twelve.’
‘Why? What happened then?’
Another silence; Gracie held her breath, sensing the import of what Malik might say. Wanting to know. ‘My older brother, Azim, was kidnapped then,’ he explained quietly. ‘And I became the heir to the throne.’
A soft gasp escaped her. ‘Malik, I’m so sorry. That’s terrible. What...what happened to him?’
Malik spread his hands, his powerful shoulders moving in an elegant shrug. ‘No one knows. There were no ransom notes, no demands, nothing. He just disappeared, right from the palace gardens. No one saw anything.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Gracie couldn’t imagine that kind of loss. Her five siblings infuriated her at times, but she loved them fiercely. She couldn’t imagine having one taken away so abruptly and terribly. ‘Were you close to him?’
‘Yes.’ The single word held a world of pain. Malik looked down at his hands flat on the table. ‘Yes, I was very close to him.’
‘What about your parents?’ She was realising afresh how little she knew about him. And she wanted to know more, to understand this intriguing and complex man.
‘My mother died when I was four years old, from cancer. It was swift. My father...’ He paused, and Gracie watched as he attempted to rearrange his features into the blank, hard mask she’d become familiar with. He didn’t quite succeed. ‘My father adored my mother. When she died, he...he lost himself. I have very few memories of him. When Azim was kidnapped...it was the final straw for him, I think. He ended up removing himself from the succession at my grandfather’s request and now lives in the Caribbean. I haven’t seen him since I was twelve.’
‘He just abandoned you?’ Gracie exclaimed, horrified by the thought.
‘He was a weak man.’ Malik’s voice sounded hard.
So at twelve years old Malik had lost almost his whole family. Gracie was starting to understand how much he’d endured, how brutally he’d been shaped. And how much family might mean to him. ‘So then it was just you and your grandfather,’ she stated, and he nodded.
‘Yes. He hadn’t paid me much attention before, preferring to focus on Azim as heir. But with Azim and my father gone...’ Malik shrugged. ‘I needed a different education. A different life.’
‘Which was?’
‘The proper training and protection for an heir to the throne.’
‘That’s why you were so sheltered...’
‘I couldn’t be allowed to be kidnapped the way Azim was. I was always surrounded.’
‘Which was why I was your first kiss,’ Gracie whispered, and then flushed. Why had she said that? And why was she remembering the sweet slide of Malik’s lips on hers, the gentle wonder of it as they’d stood by the Trevi Fountain and the whole world had seemed to fall away? And remembering more than that...the feel of his body on hers, in hers, and then just an hour ago, when he’d pressed against her so insistently and thrillingly...
‘Yes,’ Malik answered, his voice a low husk. The moment spun out between them, the room dim and hushed and expectant. Gracie felt her body respond, long-dormant parts of her coming alive with an insistent, pulsing ache. She took a deep breath, trying desperately to quell the tide of yearning that was now threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn’t afford to feel this much now.
‘Sometimes I wonder,’ Malik said, his voice still low, ‘what might have been.’
Gracie tried for a shaky laugh and didn’t quite manage it. ‘That’s always dangerous.’
‘I know...but don’t you wonder, too, Gracie? What could have happened between us?’
‘You made it clear that nothing could, Malik, when you sent me from your bed.’ Yet strangely the memory didn’t hurt as much as it once had.
‘I had no choice. But if I had...’ He left the sentence unfinished, unspoken possibilities dangling between them.
Gracie’s breath hitched as she registered the intent look in Malik’s eyes, felt the answering pulse of want in herself. ‘We can’t do this,’ she whispered. ‘For Sam’s sake...’ Unsteadily she rose from the table. ‘I should go check on him.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ Malik rose as well, tossing his napkin aside and striding towards the door. They reached it at the same time, their hands colliding on the knob, sending sparks through Gracie yet again.
How on earth could she keep resisting him, when every single simple touch set off a firework inside her?
The truth was she couldn’t. With his other hand Malik turned her around so she was facing him. Gracie didn’t resist as his mouth came down on hers, but instead of the wild kiss of an hour ago, this was gentle, like a promise.
His mouth moved lingeringly over hers, exploring and tasting her with thorough sensuality. She swayed on her feet as she steadied herself with one hand bunched on his shirt. Malik rested his forehead against hers.
‘Let’s go find Sam,’ he said, and wordlessly Gracie nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak.
Sam was ensconced in the media room, playing a video game with intense concentration.
‘Hey, buddy.’ Gracie came over to her son, ruffling his hair, grateful for the distraction from the intensity she’d just experienced with Malik. Her lips were buzzing from that shockingly gentle kiss. ‘Having fun?’
‘Yeah.’ Sam looked up from his game for a mere second, his eyes glinting with excitement. ‘This game is one