His face softened as he looked at her. 'And you're beautiful,' he said, kissing, stroking, and reassuring her.
He wanted Beth to feel like the most cherished woman on the face of the earth, which was how he felt about her. Yes, he wanted her, but each time he brought her into his arms it was as if his world exploded with possibilities. Kissing her tenderly, he cupped her face and stared into her eyes, and what he saw there told him she felt the same.
They made love until the setting sun had thrown its last dart into the estuary, and reflection off the glass had bathed the room in crimson light. They slept a little, and when Beth finally woke it was to find Khal staring down at her. 'What?' she murmured, groggily, reaching up to touch his face.
'I was just thinking,' he said softly, 'that I can't wait for you to take a proper look around the apartment, and see if you could be happy here … '
Frowning as she tried to compute Khal's words, Beth tried to stop him getting out of bed. 'Do we have to do that now?'
'I'm impatient,' he said. 'I just want to be sure you like it before I sign it over to you.'
'Before you what?' She was fully awake now.
Khal looked at her. 'Why are you so surprised?'
'I would have thought that was obvious,' she said. 'I don't want a penthouse. I don't want anything from you.' She could tell from the expression on Khal's face that she might have been talking gibberish, but then he never had seen the gulf between them. Slipping out of bed, she grabbed a robe. 'You can't hand over a property to me as if it's a sweater you're tired of!'
'I'm not tired of it, I bought it for you.'
'You bought it for me?' Beth clutched the top of her head as if she had to contain all the confused thoughts jostling inside there. 'Are you mad?'
Khal ignored this. 'It's a good investment,' he said, swinging out of bed. 'But, if you don't like it, we'll look for something else.'
'I don't want anything else-I don't want this-'
'You must have somewhere suitable to live.'
'Why must I?' Beth's hackles rose as the penny dropped. 'What do you mean "somewhere suitable", Khal?' she said tightly. 'I already have a house.'
'And where is it?'
As Khal's drew himself up, she felt like stamping on his toes to bring him down to earth. Okay, her small modern townhouse wasn't a palace or a penthouse like this, but it was her home. And there were special reasons why it meant so much to her. She had received a surprise legacy on her twenty-first birthday from the father she'd never known. She had stared at the cheque when it had arrived from the solicitors for a long time, knowing she would have given it back in a second to know her father, and that it was too late. She wasn't about to throw that away as if it meant nothing. 'My home might not be what you're used to,' she told Khal. 'But it's all mine. Well, mine and the mortgage company's.'
'And this penthouse could be yours without a mortgage.'
'If I agree to what?'
She stood there with a look of anger and disappointment on her face. 'For goodness' sake, Beth! I'm giving you a penthouse. How much more can you ask of me?'
And there was the rub, Beth thought sadly. Khal wanted to give her so much in the monetary sense, but in her eyes his gift was valueless.
'If you want something bigger-something with a proper garden-'
'Khal, stop this! I don't need expensive gifts from you. That's not what I want-' Beth stopped in case her feelings for him poured out.
'Then what do you want?' he demanded with exasperation.
They were so far apart in outlook, in everything that really mattered, he would never understand. She settled for, 'My house suits me fine, and I don't need anywhere else to live.'
'We'll discuss this when you've calmed down.'
'No, we won't,' Beth said firmly. 'Where I live isn't up for negotiation.'
'But things have changed now.'
'What's changed? What do you mean, things have changed now? Oh, I see,' Beth said as the penny dropped. 'You're assuming that wherever I live can't possibly be upmarket enough for the ruler of Q'Adar to visit when he's in town … '
'That's not what I said.'
'It's what you meant, though.' Firming her lips, Beth turned away. She didn't know when she had felt so hurt. 'If you think I'm going to become your mistress-'
'Think again?'
Khal's face had turned colder than Beth had ever seen it, and though she could never agree to this it was a stark reminder that people devoted their lives to the ruler of Q'Adar, and considered themselves fortunate to be able to do so.
She only had herself to blame for falling in love with him, Beth thought, hugging herself unhappily as she turned away. And she was twice the fool for imagining Khal might love her. 'I can't do this, Khal.' She could never agree to become just another one of his possessions. 'I can never be the woman you want me to be.'
Beth wondered why it was so quiet, and why Khal hadn't answered her. When she turned, she saw he was on his way to take a shower. She felt a chill pass over her as he paused and turned to face her at the door. 'There's another bathroom over there,' he said, pointing across the room. 'Use it and then let yourself out.'
Her jaw dropped. For once she was lost for words. She was stunned, angry, hurt, bewildered … and, most of all, full of grief and loss. How could a life that had felt so full only moments before feel so empty now? How had this happened? How had she allowed this to happen? How in her wildest dreams had she imagined the ruler of Q'Adar could ever love her as she loved him? Burying her head in her hands, Beth realised that her overriding feeling was shame. Everything in Khal's life came easily to him, and she had made herself available like all the rest. So much for all those brave thoughts at the ball-she had fallen into bed with him as eagerly as any of the other women there might have done. And now … ? It had taken a single act of defiance on her part for Khal to discard her like a pair of ill-fitting shoes.
His timing was out. Everything was out. His world was off-kilter. How else could he explain exiting his bathroom at the same time as Beth? He was still battling his internal demons, wondering where he'd gone wrong. He'd bought her the best property in the whole of Liverpool and she'd rejected him. She had rejected him. 'My apologies,' he heard himself say stiffly. 'I thought you would have gone home by now.'
'It's usual in Liverpool for a host to make sure their guest gets home safely,' she told him tightly, with not one iota of her courage stripped away. 'Can you call a taxi, or shall I?'
Her steady gaze shamed him. He was so accustomed to having a car at the kerb everywhere he went, it hadn't occurred to him to call a taxi for Beth. And it was dark outside now. What had he been thinking? 'Of course I'll call a taxi for you.' His voice reflected anger with himself, but she wasn't to know that. 'Or you could use my car.'
One taupe brow rose. 'A taxi will be fine for me, thank you.' Her lips pressed together as she held his gaze.
For once he didn't know what to say and just made the call. He had been confident of her enthusiasm for his scheme. He had believed this to be the perfect solution. 'What's wrong with you, Beth?' he said as soon as he finished the call.
'What's wrong with me? No, don't answer that,' she told him. 'I know what's wrong with me. I'm naïve-and that's just for starters.'
'You must have known-'
'Why you brought me here? You're right, I should have known. I should have expected it, because that's all I am to you.'
'Beth,' he warned.
'Don't "Beth" me!'
'Look what I'm offering you … '
'You're offering me nothing,' she said angrily. 'And the saddest thing of all is you can't see it. You've killed off any hope of a future we ever had today. You've suffocated my love for you beneath your gross gift of a fabulously expensive penthouse, when an ice cream would have made me happy.'
'Don't be so ridiculous! I'll buy you anything you want.'
'But not this!' She gestured wildly, crying now. 'You're trying to buy me, Khal, and I can't be bought. You think you're offering me a million-pound home, while I think you're trying to turn my life into a theme park for you to dip into whenever you feel like playing at being an ordinary person. But when you tire of that, Khal, when you don your crown and forget about me, what am I supposed to do then?'