Page 16 of At the Sheikh's Command
But suddenly her skin prickled, and she froze. She knew he was there. She could sense him in every fiber of her body, could feel his eyes on her hair where her scalp prickled deliciously, and then down her back, as if he trailed his fingernail along her naked spine. She sucked in a shuddering breath and, after she heard a light tap at the door to her terrace, she turned to see him standing in the open doorway, his shadow extending across the marble floor to her.
“Darrius!” she said, jumping up.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said. “May I come in?”
She shrugged. “Does it matter if I agree or not?”
His lips tweaked at the corners. “No, not really.”
“Then be my guest,” she said, with an exaggerated flourish of the hand.
He stepped inside and shook his head in disbelief as he noted her packed bags. He walked up to the bed on which she’d spread the last of her things she intended to take with her into the mountains. She held her breath as he took in everything—from her electronic devices to her underwear and maps. He turned slowly back to her, his eyes narrowed, and her stomach flipped with desire. He’d always been able to do that to her. All of his moves were deliberate. He never did anything, never said anything without meaning it. And that sense of latent power in everything he did, lurking under the surface, when directed on her, disintegrated every resolve, except one. She wanted him, despite all her rational thoughts to the contrary.
“You’re leaving,” he said quietly.
She licked her lips, trying to control the nerves and desire which fought for ascendancy in her stomach. She shot him another quick smile, trying to shift the severe look from his face. She shrugged. “Just for a few days. Catch the sights, that sort of thing.”
But his expression didn’t change. It was as immobile as if carved from stone.
“Don’t lie to me, Leonora.”
She didn’t know whether it was the fact he didn’t call her ‘Nora’ or whether he knew she was lying, which got her the most.
“Why…” She cleared her throat. “Why do you think I’m lying?”
“Besides the fact I can see it in your face, you mean?” He shook his head. “You always were an open book.” He sighed, as if irritated by memories. “Besides, I know about the people you’ve contacted and the travel arrangements you’re trying to make. You really don’t expect to be a visitor at my palace and for menotto know what goes on?”
Anger destroyed the last of her nerves. “Visitor? You call me a visitor here, when you have my every move, my every phone call monitored? Really? Is that how you treat all your visitors?”
“Yes.”
She did a double-take before shaking her head. Why did she even bother asking the question? Of course he controlled everything. He was an all-powerful monarch who exerted control over every aspect of his country, and especially over every aspect of his palace, just as his father had before him.
“I came here for a reason, Darrius. To find the diamond. And that’s what I intend to do. Alone.”
He shook his head. It was a slight movement, but she didn’t know what he was denying. Some hidden argument with himself, or her intention.
She gestured helplessly. “What? Are you saying I can’t?”
“Of course you can.”
She frowned, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Did I say anything about preventing you?” he asked.
“Not exactly, but it hardly sounds as if you approve. And, as for checking on my communications with the outside world…” She stood tall, and took a step towards him. She refused to allow him to dominate her. She could hold her own with senior members of the university, with argumentative students, with vocal colleagues, and she could deal with this one man. But the closer she got to him, the more she was aware of the flare of heat in his eyes, the sharp intake of his breath, and knew exactly what was on his mind. After all it had only been a few hours earlier that they’d been intimate. “Well,” she continued firmly, avoiding looking him in the eye, “that is unconscionable.”
He did something then which surprised her. The frown disappeared, and he laughed. She blushed hotly, annoyed that her serious concerns were simply being laughed away.
“What are you laughing at?” she demanded.
“You. ‘Unconscionable!’ Is that how you academics talk to each other? Like you’re something out of a nineteenth-century novel?”
She gritted her teeth. “It doesn’t matter what word I use, the meaning is still the same and you cannot laugh it away. It’s an erosion of my rights!”
All traces of humor vanished. “Your rights?” He shook his head. “You lost those the minute you set foot inside my country.”
She gripped her shaking hands tight to stop him from seeing exactly how scared his words made her. “You mean to tell me that none of your citizens have any rights?”
