Harlequin Presents January 2015 Box Set 1 of 2(18)

“Indulge me,” he said.

“Fine. I don’t see why you would care because you’re a sheikh. Because you’re important. Because you have money and that means other people rarely matter in a sincere way.”

“Is that what you think? It seems a very cynical way to view the world.”

Her cheeks colored, her mouth pulled into a tightly drawn line. “Hey, I’ve earned my worldview, on that you can trust me. I wasn’t from a family with a name anyone recognized. That made me lesser. So you can see why I feel a little bit surprised that someone like you would care to hear about me.”

He was happy to use this moment to keep the microscope on her. To keep her in the iron sights of this conversation rather than submitting himself to an examination. “Your surprise is misplaced. Now that you’ve said all that, I find I’m even more curious.” What she was talking about was something that was far outside his experience in many ways. People had always treated him with a certain amount of deference because he was a ruler. Because he had power and, as she had mentioned before, money. However, he also knew far too well that it did not erase all of one’s problems.

“There isn’t much to be curious about. I grew up in your standard low-end neighborhood. On a small street, with smaller houses. I had a single mother who worked quite a bit, so I was left on my own a lot. But it didn’t bother me. It gave me time to study. I decided from a really early age that I wasn’t going to settle for the kind of life my mother had.”

“It sounds to me like your mother was admirable. Working to keep you fed.”

“I don’t disrespect that. But my mother had an unhealthy attachment to my father. And I watched it destroy her. I watched it kill any chance she might have had at happiness. She didn’t ever want to move because he had bought the house for us. She didn’t want to go where he could not easily come and visit. She didn’t want to get too invested in a job, because she needed to be able to drop it at a moment’s notice if he came for her. He rarely did. And as I got older he stopped coming at all. I swore I would never be that way. I swore that I would be independent. And I knew that the only way I would manage that was by getting an education, and getting a job that could support me. So here I am.”

“That is very admirable indeed.”

“You don’t have to sound so dry about it. It actually is admirable. I worked hard. I’m still working hard.”

“I didn’t mean for it to sound dry.” He knew how hard it was to change yourself, how hard it was to break patterns of behavior. He had done it with himself. Though he had not had the type of obstacles she’d had. In fact, all of his obstacles had been self-built. But in the end he knew the sort of thing she was talking about was no simple task.

“Well, then your sincerity is unexpected, and appreciated.”

“Very good.” They finished their meal, and when they were done he stood. “Would you like to accompany me to my study?”

“I assume there you will discuss business.”

“You assume correctly. You answered my questions. Now, I will answer some of yours.” He extended his arm, and she looked at it as though he was offering her a lizard. “I will not bite you. I am simply being chivalrous.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I missed it somehow. You know, considering our history together.”

“Fair enough.” But he kept his arm extended.

She took a step toward him and curled her slender arm through his elbow, her body sliding close to his. And in that moment he knew he had vastly underestimated the dress. Because the moment she touched him he burned. The moment she touched him he thought of nothing but pressing her up against the nearest wall and bringing his mouth down on hers.

It was a wild and errant fantasy. The kind he had not had in more years than he could count.

While he had not given up sex entirely until his engagement had become official, he had given up this. This kind of intense heat. The driving sort of need that transcended everything. From duty and honor to decorum and appropriate behavior for the public. Because once he had her against that wall, once his mouth touched hers, he would be hard-pressed to stop.

He shut down that line of thinking. It would not happen. He would not touch her.

His engagement to Christine would be honored. Though he and his fiancée did not have a physical relationship, they had made an agreement. And he would respect that.

If Samson had had the foresight to stay away from Delilah, he would’ve been spared quite a bit of trouble. Zayn intended to spare himself the trouble. He would not touch Sophie.