And revealing it certainly was. It left the other shoulder bare, a quantity of smooth golden skin on show, and clung to the rest of her figure, outlining her curves to perfection. It ended mid-calf, revealing enough leg to drive a man to distraction with wondering if they were as long and as toned all the way up.
Yes, a goddess. Tall and lithe and powerful in her beauty.
Desire clenched inside him, and along with it came a faint uneasiness. She was not like the usual submissive women he preferred in his bed. The soft, safe ones. The ones who never challenged him. The ones who didn’t wake the darkness inside of him. Lily was nothing like those women, which meant he shouldn’t be feeling this inappropriate and seemingly inexplicable attraction.
Then, she turned into the light and his uneasiness intensified. Her face had lost that cool, self-possessed look, had relaxed instead into an expression of such open warmth it made his chest feel tight. Her lovely mouth curled into a smile as different to the pretense of one he’d seen earlier, as the heat of summer was different to the chill of winter.
This smile was genuine. And this smile was beautiful.
She laughed, low and husky and sexy, and he wanted to hear it again. Immediately. Preferably because he was the one who’d made her laugh.
Who was she talking to? Who made her drop her armor like that?
Isma’il stepped out from the shadow of the pillar and Lily’s head turned sharply. Brown eyes met his and instantly all the barriers came up, the warmth leaving her face, the smile fading.
The loss of it made him feel cheated.
“I have to go,” she said softly to whoever it was on the phone. Then, she disconnected the call, turning away to the side of fountain where a little gold clutch rested.
“Who was that?” He kept his voice smooth. “Your husband perhaps?”
Lily said nothing as she picked up the clutch and slid her phone inside. The soft lighting of the gardens shone over her, gilding her hair the color of wheat, once again drawn back from her face in a gleaming chignon. He found himself wishing it wasn’t. Wishing she’d left it loose and free down her back. So he could see what it looked like.
“No,” she said levelly. “Not that it’s any business of yours.”
“Of course, it is my business. You are supposed to be in the ballroom attending a function given in your honor, not outside attending to personal phone calls.”
Lily’s dark eyes were unreadable and he felt as if he’d revealed himself in some way.
Restlessly, he moved closer to her. “Or do you not care about this contract after all?”
“You look a little angry, Sheikh.” She folded her arms across her chest. “You look as though you might need Harkness after all, despite your alternative options.”
The darkness inside him stirred in response to her challenge, a certain, intense hunger waking. He obliterated the feeling. That hunger could never be allowed to rise, could never be indulged. Control over himself and his emotions the only thing that held it in check. A control that could not be allowed to slip.
A slick feeling seemed to coat his fingers. The feel of blood.
He thrust his hands into his pockets. “I am not angry. Merely irritated. If you want to waste this opportunity, that is your own affair.”
Lily’s hand rose to grasp at something at her side, her fingers closing on empty air. She frowned, her hand falling awkwardly away again. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “As it happens, I was talking to my father. He wanted to know how it was all going.” She hesitated a second. “He still has a lot of interest in making sure this contract is successful.”
So she hadn’t been talking to a husband or lover then. For some reason, this made his irritation recede. “I can imagine. You must be under a lot of pressure.”
“Yes, but that’s the nature of the job. I’m used to pressure.”
“I suppose you had enough of it as a swimmer?”
Her features abruptly smoothed over. “Quite.” The word sounded flat. “Shall we go in?”
An unwilling curiosity sparked to life inside him. Was her swimming career a touchy subject? If so, why? He wasn’t quite sure why he felt suddenly so interested, since this had nothing to do with the oil deal. But then, this was neither the time nor the place to indulge in such interest.
“We shall,” he said instead, dismissing the curiosity. “After you.”
Chapter Three
Working a room when it came to business was easy. Lily knew what she was doing and what she wanted to achieve. But tonight, in Dahar’s royal palace, faced with unconcealed doubt from some of Dahar’s ministers and open contempt from others, Lily finally began to understand why this was going to be a difficult task.