Page 9 of At the Sheikh's Command
“That didn’t exactly work out, did it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m no longer married. The divorce from my wife was recently finalized. And we have no children.”
She was stunned. She hadn’t known that. But there was no reason she could have known. Sifra wasn’t a country whose news hit the international headlines. Sifra was a country like its king—closed, private, baffling.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “that must have been… difficult for both you and your family.”
He nodded his head slowly but didn’t elaborate.
“You have not married,” he said.
She was startled. She wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. She decided to interpret it as a question, because she couldn’t handle the fact that he might know about her private life, that he might have been watching her from afar.
“No, I’ve never married. But I am,was, engaged.”
He was perfectly still. She’d have thought he hadn’t heard if she hadn’t seen the muscle flicker in his jaw and his eyes darken.
“Am,was. It doesn’t sound as if you know what you are. I pity the man. It sounds like you still don’t know what you want.”
The injustice of what he’d said made her gasp. He believed she’d left because she didn’t know her own heart? But she’d written a letter, telling him she was leaving, to avoid the inevitable scene when he’d have to tell her to go. But, before she could say anything, he turned away. She’d been clear about her choices at the time. But now? Now what he said was true. Her mind and heart were in turmoil.
“I just mean that he wants us to get back together.”
“And you? What do you want?”
She shook her head in confusion. “I… I can’t move forward with him.”
“And the reason for that is?” he asked patiently, as if guiding a student through a lesson.
“You. I can’t move forward until…”
“Until you know for sure you no longer want me.”
“Yes,” she whispered, unwilling to confirm, but unable to tell him a lie.
“I, too, want you gone from me. You haunt me, like the threads of a dream I cannot rid myself of.”
She nodded, dry-mouthed. It was the same for her.
“Threads which tie me,” she said, “which make it difficult for me to move forward.”
“Maybe I can help you there,” he said. He dipped his head, and his frowning brow cast a shadow over his eyes.
She flexed her hands, forcing herself to focus. She was here only to find the diamond, not to rekindle anything with Darrius. The opposite, in fact.
“Help me find the diamond?”
He shrugged. “That as well. It depends.”
“On what?”
“We have unfinished business, you and I.” He leaned forward and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. Desire flared within her such as she’d never known with the lovers she’d had since Darrius. “I suggest we finish it.”
She was shocked. “Finish it?”
“Come to my bed, Nora, tonight and then the next night, however long it takes for me to get you out of my system. I imagine a few days should suffice.”
