Page 8 of Sheikh's Quarantine Triplet Baby Daughters

"I know that tone," she said, and Samyar frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"That's how you sounded right before you broke things off in Paris," she said with a slight smile. "I'm going to get a shower."

She started to slide off the bed, but Samyar took her wrist. He was gentle, but there was a firmness to the gesture that would not be denied.

"Diane. Please."

She shook her head, because, God, he was reasonable. He was always so reasonable. The need to be fair, the need to be kind, they were as much a part of him as the passion was, and she remembered saying that she loved him as much as a whole as she loved him in pieces. It hurt to think of that now, and she shrugged off his hand angrily.

"Look. What's changed?"

He gave her a slightly exasperated look.

"One could point to the presence of a global pandemic as being a fairly huge change."

"No, I meant between us. I'm still me. You're still you."

She thought for a moment he would take her in his arms again, but instead he passed a hand over his eyes.

"You make that sound incredibly damning."

"It's true, though. We're still the same people who can't be together, and while a quickie in the middle of the day—"

"Wait, is that what you think this is?" he asked, and she had to turn away from him because she couldn't take the incredulous look on his face.

"What else can it be?" she asked. "You're still the King of Alraed. I'm just the wandering academic who got trapped at your house, basically."

He was quiet, and she had to stop herself from reaching out to touch him. If she was going to survive being kept in captivity with him for who the hell knew how long, she needed to learn to keep her distance.

"You underestimate yourself," he said quietly. "You've never been just anything."

Diane ignored it. She couldn't afford to entertain thoughts of how kind he was, and how generous.

"This was a good time," she said. "And that's all it should be. For both our sakes."

This time, Diane couldn't resist the urge to touch his hand. Samyar allowed it, and then he pulled back, shaking his head.

"You are likely right," he said, and it was like watching a veil drop over him.

He was still naked, his hair still rumpled from where she had dug her fingers through it, but something had changed. Now he was the ruler of Alraed, the man who put duty to his country before all. He was the man who had left her, and her heart screamed with the renewed pain of it.

"My quarters are right down the hall if you need anything," he said. "However, there is also a list of numbers by the phone that will connect you to a variety of palace services, including the gym, the pool, the media rooms and the kitchens. No matter how involuntary, you are still a guest and you deserve every accommodation."

Diane couldn't help uttering a soft laugh at his words. It was either that or she was going to break down in tears.

"Very full-service," she joked weakly.

"We strive to please," he said a little grimly.

After that, there was nothing for her to do but to pad to the shower. The hot spray distracted her from the fact that the love of her life was right beyond the closed door. The man that she had longed for and missed and loved for years was right there, and there was a significant part of her that simply didn't understand why she wasn't with him right then, why they weren't touching right now.

She knew why.

If she let herself get pulled into her feelings for Samyar again, it was going to hurt even more when he gave her up for the good of his country.

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