‘I am not judging these women for the sake of judging them,’ he bit out. ‘But it is my duty to marry a virgin princess! That is what is decreed in the Qurhahian statute, as it has always been decreed.’
‘But times change, and so do people. In every way. Think about it, Murat.’ Pushing the mug out of the way, she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the Formica table. ‘Once, your country relied solely on oil for energy, you exported it and you used it, you told me that yourself. But now you’ve expanded into wind farms and you said that you’re investing in solar energy as well.’
‘This much is true,’ he conceded.
‘Years ago, you would have relied on messengers riding on horseback across the desert to relay news but now you use the Internet and telephones, just like everyone else. I remember you telling me about that guy you brought in to shake up Qurhah’s international profile—the one who ended up marrying your sister.’
‘Gabe Steel,’ he said automatically.
‘That’s right. And you told me what a brilliant job he did. But hasn’t it occurred to you that you’ve modernised everything except the man at the top—you? You’ve moved with the times and yet you’re sticking to some outdated law which says that you’ve got to marry a virgin, when hardly anyone is these days.’
‘But you were,’ he said suddenly. ‘You were.’
His words swiftly brought her to her senses and Catrin’s mouth closed, her objections fizzling away to nothing as she wondered what on earth she was trying to do here. Was she trying to argue her corner in some mistaken belief that Murat would consider taking her as a bride? Did she really think that was ever going to happen—especially now, when he’d just seen what dodgy genes she had?
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s none of my business. You must marry who you choose.’
He leaned forward himself, mirroring her own elbowed pose, so that their faces were close as they looked at one another across the table.
‘But if I could choose with my heart rather than with my head, then I would choose you, Cat,’ he said softly. ‘Because you are the woman I love.’
Her heart gave a hard and painful beat. ‘Don’t.’
‘I must. I need you to understand,’ he said. ‘No matter what happens, I need you to know what you mean to me.’
‘Murat...’
‘Because after everything that has happened, I owe you this much,’ he said, then took a deep breath. ‘You captivated me from the first moment I set eyes on you. You fulfilled every fantasy I’d ever had. You were beautiful and spirited and, yes, you were a virgin, too—and I will not lie when I tell you how much that meant to me, once I’d got over my initial shock. So I brought you back to London with me, not thinking beyond the first month or even the first week.’
‘Neither was I,’ she whispered.
He lifted his fingertips to her face, running them down over her cheek and Catrin could do nothing to stop herself from shivering beneath his touch.
‘I had never lived with a woman before you,’ he said. ‘And I suppose if I’m being really honest maybe I was trying it out for size. Seeing what it was like to share your life with someone.’
Like test-driving a new car, thought Catrin, but she didn’t say anything.