'Ms Torrance?' he invited, in a voice that warmed every part of her, a voice that was entirely professional and emotion-free. 'Would you like to give us your suggestions now?'
She had a few for him, Beth thought, feeling hurt rise up inside her. How could Khal have just walked away after everything that had happened between them? And she didn't just mean the sex-they'd drawn closer and seen inside each other's minds; they'd made love. Well, she had. And he hadn't even said goodbye to her before she'd left the country.
What was the point in going over everything in the past? This was the present, this was business; this was real life, and not a fantasy of her own making in Q'Adar.
Khal had taken over the room with the sheer weight of his presence, and as he sat forward attentively Beth knew she had to be as professional about this meeting as he was. She was good at presentations when she believed in something, and she was here to represent her team. She had no intention of letting them down.
He had invented the flimsiest of reasons to be at a meeting he knew she would attend. No one had questioned him; no one had dared. He had taken over the Managing Director's office for the day, and now he was forced to sit here as if he had nothing more on his mind than the Christmas window-displays at Khalifa, when the truth was he wanted Beth. He had tried and failed to put her out of his mind, and so he had come for her.
But as the meeting progressed he found himself drawn in and captivated all over again. He had always thought Beth younger than her years, but in this formal business setting he was seeing another side of her. He could understand why she excelled at her job now. This presentation was thorough, disciplined and innovative. Beth had researched her subject well, and had the statistics to hand to prove her case, as well as an impressive line in persuasion. She would get the budget she requested; favouritism didn't come into it. Where was the need, when Beth's proposal succeeded on two fronts: originality and sound business-sense?
'You've got it,' he said, refocusing when she displayed her final budget calculations. She looked at him then for the first time, straight in the eyes.
'I have?' She flushed, unable to hide how thrilled she was. For him that was pure Beth. His senses stirred as he realised when he'd last seen that sort of colour on her face.
The meeting concluded without any suspicions being aroused as to why the owner of the Khalifa brand had decided to make a surprise visit, and later Beth brought her portfolio of ideas to the office he was borrowing as he'd asked her to. The secretary had already left for lunch, and so it fell to him to take them from her. 'You can leave them with me … ' For her sake he had meant to keep it brief, but he had forgotten how she affected him. She walked past him and went to stand in the furthest corner of the room, with her back turned to him.
'How could you do that to me?' she said, without turning.
'Walk away?' he said, thinking back to Q'Adar. 'I needed time to think. We both did.'
'I don't mean in Q'Adar. I mean just now in the boardroom.' Slowly, she turned. 'First you arrive without warning anyone, and then-' She stopped, clearly fighting back emotion.
'And then?' he prompted gently.
'Why did you look at me like that?' she asked him in a small voice.
'I thought I was being extremely professional.'
She shook her head. 'Couldn't you see what you were doing to me? I couldn't speak, I couldn't breathe.'
And how had he felt? 'Stunned' didn't even begin to cover it. He could never have been prepared for seeing Beth again, he realised now. 'You made a great presentation.'
She ignored his attempt to return to safer ground. 'I couldn't think straight … not with you staring at me.'
'I was listening to you.' He was trying to stay calm, but for the first time in his life something inside him snapped. 'Do you think I want to look at you? Do you think I want my mind full of you when I should be thinking about my country? Do you think I should be here, while my people wait for me in Q'Adar?'
'So why are you here, Khal?'
'I think you know.'
Pressing her lips together as if she didn't trust herself to speak, she shook her head.
'I'm here for you,' he told her bluntly, tiring of the act.
'What? You're here for me? Oh, Khal, please!' She gave a short, angry laugh that spoke of all the hurt inside her. 'What happened to all those other women?'
'Other women?'
'Here, look at them.' From under the pile of documents, she took a magazine and thrust it at him. 'Take a look at that and then tell me again why you're here.'
He only had to look at the first one. 'When tensions began to heighten in Q'Adar, my first thought was to divert attention from you. Clumsily, now, it seems.'
'Yes,' she said, sounding bitterly hurt. She glanced at the headline on the cover and read it out loud to him. '"Princess Layla comforts the ruler of Q'Adar on one of his rare breaks from leading his army against the insurgents" … Or what about this one? "The Sultana Lydia enters negotiations for an arms deal with the warrior sheikh" … A clever play on words, don't you think, Khal?' Snatching the magazine from him, she flung it on the floor at his feet.
'What better way is there to get a message across than through the media?' he said grimly. 'I was trying to protect you, and I could hardly make an announcement on the news. Those women were nothing more than props.'
'Props?' Beth's mouth worked. 'And what am I, Khal?'
'You're the woman I want.'
'Just like that-you decide? After all these weeks, you decide?'
'You … ' He searched for words that properly expressed his feelings. 'Preoccupied my mind.'
'You mean you want sex?'
'No!' The word exploded from him. 'Don't demean yourself. I left a country enduring the birth pangs to come here for you. And I came the first moment I could get away.'
'So now you want me-as what?' she said in a small voice. 'As your mistress?'
He stared at her intently. 'And you don't want that?'
She flinched. 'No, I don't want that.'
'But I want you. Only you … '
It was as his mother had told her, Beth thought helplessly; she could be as strong as she liked, but the invisible bond between the ruler of Q'Adar and the Liverpool shop girl would never break. Closing her eyes, she inhaled sharply, and when Khal reached for her and slowly pulled her towards him she didn't resist. She was strong enough for most things, but not for this. As heat rose up inside her he backed her oh, so slowly towards the door. She was sure her legs would crumple beneath her before they reached it, and when they did she gasped with relief, hearing Khal slip the lock. He started kissing her, gently, tenderly, on the brow and on the eyes, and on the lips and on her neck, keeping her moving all the time, backing her towards the desk until she felt the smooth wood pressing against the top of her legs.
The desktop was at the perfect height. Grasping the lapels of his jacket, she pushed it from his shoulders. As it fell to the floor she reached for the buckle on his belt, and unfastened it. Loosening his tie, she freed the buttons at the neck of his shirt, excited even more by the sight of the familiar smooth, bronze skin with its shading of dark hair. Moving on, she released the catch on his pants and undid the zip. That was the signal for Khal to drag her to him and kiss her with a savage intensity that matched her own. When he released her she tugged his trousers down and wriggled free of her briefs. He nudged his way between her thighs before they even hit the floor. She felt him grow bigger, harder, in her hands.
'How much of me do you want?'
'All of you,' she commanded hoarsely, throwing back her head. 'I want all of you,' she gasped as Khal plunged deep.
It was so much more pleasure than she remembered. It was amazing. She screamed out, not caring who might hear her. And once wasn't enough. Once wasn't nearly enough. She moved fiercely while Khal worked his hips, just as she wanted him to, until finally she slumped exhausted in his arms. 'You don't need me?' he said.
She didn't answer.
They took a long, warm shower in the small private bathroom, but even there they couldn't keep away from each other. She was frantic for him, like a man without water in the desert who had found a well. With Khal's arms braced against the tiled walls, and her legs locked around his waist, their shower had turned cold without them realising it, and she was trembling with exhaustion again by the time Khal lowered her to the ground.