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‘I really wasn’t expecting you to go to all this trouble,’ she started.
‘But you will humour me nonetheless, yes?’
Unable to think of a way to dissuade him, she nodded. ‘If you wish.’
‘I wish.’
The satisfied smile her response produced drew her attention to his mouth. As male specimens went, Rahim Al-Hadi had inherited more than his fair share of good looks. It was no wonder he’d been voted the world’s most eligible bachelor more times than Allegra cared to count. It was probably also why he thought that smile could win any man, woman or child round to his way of thinking.
It’s won you over, hasn’t it?
She suppressed the irritating observation and followed his finger as he pointed out a sprawling group of buildings nestled on a hilltop. ‘That’s our state university. Dar-Aman University boasts world-class academics and state-of-the-art facilities.’
Within ten minutes he’d drawn her attention to several more of Dar-Aman’s highly regarded treasures. When he pointed out yet another monument, whose sole purpose was to provide superficial pleasure, she couldn’t hold her tongue.
‘Fountains and memorials with gold-plated plaques are all very nice to look at, I’m sure, but Dar-Aman’s current economic situation is a little bit more pressing, don’t you think?’ Allegra’s earlier anger began to resurface.
The arm he’d raised to indicate yet another statue dropped a fraction. ‘My mother loved beautiful things. And my father couldn’t say no to granting them to her. As to my country’s economic situation, I have it well in hand, Allegra.’
‘Do you? Not according to world views,’ she replied before she could curb her response.
He stiffened, his eyes narrowing as his gaze zeroed in on her. ‘And do you believe everything you read in the papers?’ His voice had turned arctic.
Allegra cleared her throat, the knowledge that the information in the report she’d read on the plane had been hastily put together by her assistant suddenly flaring in her mind and giving her pause. ‘I didn’t mean to cause offence.’
‘On the contrary, I think you meant to make an exact point. Perhaps you want to elaborate on what you mean?’
They stared at one another for a charged moment, the tense atmosphere burning between them. Allegra shook her head to clear it, and also to backtrack a little before things got out of hand.
‘I didn’t mean to put it quite that way. Trust me, I’m a lot more diplomatic than that usually, or I’d be out of a job by now.’ She gave a little laugh in the hope of alleviating the tension, but his continued stony regard tightened her skin. Almost afraid to breathe in case she’d done irreparable damage to her chances of retrieving her grandfather’s treasure, she continued hurriedly. ‘I simply meant I know that not everything is shiny and rosy in the Kingdom of Dar-Aman so this tour really isn’t necessary.’
His mouth tightened. ‘Look around you, Allegra. My country is in the middle of a rebirth, yes, but things are far from dire. The tour wasn’t intended to pull the wool over your eyes. I was merely extending the hospitality that is afforded any invited guest. Unless things have changed in the States since I lived there, your president doesn’t parade his state guests through the ghettos on the way to the White House, does he? In all things he puts his best foot forward, does he not?’
Feeling chastised, Allegra nevertheless cursed the heat washing into her face. ‘No, he doesn’t, but I can’t help but mourn what was once a unique and powerful kingdom...’ Her voice drifted off when she realised she was letting her personal feelings cloud what should be a clinical transaction. What Rahim Al-Hadi chose to do with his wealth and about his people’s suffering wasn’t part of her visit. ‘I just didn’t want you to waste your time with all this...schmoozing.’ She bit her lip when his eyebrows elevated and a mildly censorious look crossed his face. Then his face turned thoughtful before he nodded. Pressing an intercom next to his elbow, he spoke rapidly in Arabic.
‘We will head to the palace now. When you’re better rested, I hope you’ll be more receptive to what my kingdom has to offer.’
She frowned. ‘I’m not sure I know what you mean.’
‘It’s clear you have preconceived notions where my kingdom and I are concerned.’
‘Do you blame me?’
His jaw tightened briefly before he exhaled. ‘No. And while it’s understandable, I assure you that some situations—as well as individuals—are not irredeemable if things are handled expertly.’
‘I think that depends on who does the handling, don’t you?’
To her surprise he nodded readily. ‘Indeed it does. And I prefer to think of this period as the darkness before the light shines once more on my people.’
She firmed her lips. ‘True change comes not with words but with actions.’
‘Then I look forward to showing you what I mean.’
He’d once again become the charming host whose smile upset the regular rhythm of her heartbeat, but Allegra didn’t miss the shrewd and assessing gleam in his eyes each time he looked at her, or miss the fact that his gaze lingered on her face, and brushed down her body a few more times than her flailing senses could deal with.
By the time their convoy rolled through wide pillared gates manned by armed soldiers, Allegra understood why women fell over themselves to be his playthings. Rahim Al-Hadi wielded his voice, his body and his keen intelligence the way a composer wielded his baton.
Had she not vowed a long time ago never to get involved in relationships, especially volatile ones like the one that had ultimately seen her parents dead at a young age, Allegra was sure she’d have been swayed by Rahim’s magnetic charm.
But she’d been immune to the charms of men for a long time, ever since she’d recognised that she didn’t have what it took to make a man happy or to build a loving home. Even after watching her mother fail ceaselessly to change her father and to make a home in which her children were secure and safe, Allegra had believed she could take a different path, succeed where her mother had failed. Seeing her every effort turn to dust, and her sisters and brothers grow apart, had spelled her own spectacular failure in her ability to create a home or make another human happy.
Divesting herself of emotional entanglements after her one attempt at a relationship had failed had almost been a relief. It had freed her to pursue a cause she excelled in.
Her work was her life. She was safe from lethally charming, emotional landmines like Rahim Al-Hadi.
Suitably rearmoured, Allegra turned her attention to her surroundings. They were driving down a dual carriageway, the palm-lined road made of white stone. To the left and right, the blue waters of the Arabian Sea sparkled like a million tiny jewels in the distance. Before them, set atop a sprawling hill, the royal palace sat, a white, elaborate, triple gold-domed structure that could’ve been reproduced straight from an Arabian fairy tale.
Even from the outside, she knew the magazine pictures hadn’t done the palace justice. And despite reminding herself what the cost of this palace meant to the rest of the Dar-Amanian people, Allegra found herself leaning forward, absorbing the breathtaking structure as the Rolls Royce slowed and stopped.
‘My God. It’s stunning!’
‘Yes. It’s the jewel in the crown that is my beloved homeland. I hope you will make it your home too, for a short while.’
CHAPTER THREE
RAHIM WATCHED HER eyes widen at his words, and wondered if he’d overplayed his hand. He was still irritated by her veiled comments about his leadership and the general state of Dar-Aman. As much as he’d wanted the disapproving Miss Di Sione delivered to the airport and sent on the next plane back to the US, he’d curbed his tongue, and laid on the charm.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured in response to his offer of hospitality.
‘I looked further into your foundation’s work and must commend you for the extraordinary results you’ve achieved in so short a time.’ Everything he’d learned so far had solidified the belief that she was the one who could turn things around for him.
What he hadn’t counted on was her sharp tongue. Or her beauty.
Despite willing himself not to do so, he found his gaze drawn back to her as a light blush rose up her neck. Her rich, chocolate hair was pulled back a little too severely and knotted with a clip at her nape for him to know whether the tresses were the sexy waves he preferred or straight. And her flawless skin had a golden hue to it, as if she’d recently spent time in a hot climate.
‘My team and I are committed to what we do, but the people we work with do most of the work. I find that if the people I try to help want that change it happens quicker and lasts much longer than if they’re spouting rhetoric simply to garner whatever political clout they need to attain immediate power.’ Her words flowed with an innate passion that caught and held his attention. Her mouth, painted a neutral colour, was naturally full and plump, with a mole above her upper lip that drew his attention every time she spoke.
‘You’re passionate about your work.’
‘I am. I take what I do very seriously.’
‘As do I, Allegra.’
Deep azure eyes met his. Despite their heavy scepticism, the colour reminded him of the whirlpools he used to play in as a child at his family’s beach house outside the city.
From nowhere his mother’s voice cautioning him to be careful lest he got sucked into the water flared across his mind. The memory was vivid and unexpected, enough to make him frown.
Shrugging away the mildly unsettling feeling as an inevitable consequence of the decisions he knew he had to make concerning his kingdom, he looked at Allegra, and found her staring back at him.
‘Is something wrong? I really don’t mind staying at the hotel if...’
‘I’m a man of my word, Allegra. I extended an invitation. I will not take it back.’
Alighting, he extended his hand to help her out. He saw her hesitate a moment before accepting his aid. A whisper of a smile touched his lips.
He’d also experienced the sizzle when they’d touched back at the airstrip. Back then he’d thought it a figment of his imagination. Or a product of his year-long abstinence. Sex had been the last thing on his mind once he’d found out his father had fallen ill and died without Rahim’s knowledge. Guilt and bitterness had effectively killed his libido, and he’d been in no hurry to resurrect it once he’d arrived in Dar-Aman and seen what his father’s apathy and neglect had caused his people. What the result of his own disinterest and self-imposed estrangement had wrought.
Allegra’s hand slid into his. Heat flared in his belly and arrowed straight to his groin. Beneath the flowing robes of his abaya, his heart thundered as he stared down into her eyes, then to the colour surging beneath her silky skin.
He had no intention of bedding Allegra Di Sione, but he’d bedded enough women to know his effect on them. Sexual tension was a hugely effective tool. One he would shamelessly use to get Allegra to do his bidding if that was what it took.
Holding on to her hand, he let his thumb caress the soft space between her fingers. She gave a tiny gasp and tried to pull her hand away.
Rahim held on, absently aware that he was getting just as equally affected by the attraction crackling between them. But he had enough control not to allow it to go too far. He would play on it only until he got what he needed from her. He blithely ignored the sting of his conscience.
‘Welcome to my palace,’ he murmured.
She blinked, then jerked and looked around her before glancing back at him. ‘I... Thank you.’
With one last caress, he allowed her hand to drop, aware that Harun and a few advisors lingered close by.
He strolled through the quadruple doors that led into the extensive space too large to be named a hallway. Two dozen pillars, which had provided endless amusement to play hide-and-seek as a child, rose from the floor and flared in gold and silver painted tentacles to the ceiling.
Beneath his feet, gold and silver inlaid marble floors gleamed and echoed his and Allegra’s footsteps as they crossed the wide expanse to the east wing.
Rahim was aware of Allegra’s suppressed gasps with each new visually stunning Moorish archway and new room they passed through. For the first time in his life, he was forced to see his home through another’s eyes. Objets d’art and rare, priceless paintings he’d taken for granted since birth took on a new meaning. The precious collectibles his father had showered on his mother were laid out in cabinets and displayed on shelves and walls at every turn.
A touch of unease fizzed through him at the thought of the excessive display of wealth—which, now that he took a moment to acknowledge, bordered on the obscene—and he gave a small sigh of relief when they walked through another archway and reached the double doors he sought.
Allegra glanced behind her. ‘We’re alone,’ she observed. Then she blushed, hurrying to elaborate. ‘I mean, I thought your advisors were accompanying us so they could speak to you.’
‘They are, but they’re not allowed in the women’s wing. Only I am.’
Her lips pursed in an unmistakable show of anger. Her eyes flashed before she lowered them. ‘The women’s wing? And you have the access-all-areas pass because you’re the sheikh, I suppose?’
‘Naturally.’
‘And here I thought you were a modern man, Your Highness. You do realise that some would think you positively archaic that you still segregate your women?’
‘I’ve never been one for popularity contests. And there is a good reason for keeping separate sleeping quarters for the women under my roof.’
Her mouth worked, as if she wanted to challenge him as to what those reasons were. Before she could, the doors to the suite were thrown open.
The young girl who emerged took one look at him and dropped to her knees with a loud gasp.
‘Your Highness, everything is ready as you requested.’
‘Good. You may stand up now, Nura.’
She scrambled up, but kept her head bent low.
He turned to Allegra. ‘Nura will be your personal maid while you’re here. If you need anything...’
‘It really is unnecessary. I don’t need a maid.’ Allegra sent a stiff smile the young girl’s way. At Nura’s crestfallen expression, she added, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m used to taking care of myself, and I don’t want to waste your time. Time I’m sure will be better spent elsewhere?’
Irritation bubbled beneath Rahim’s effort to remain a civil host. ‘Nura will remain here. Every member of the palace staff has a role. Nura’s is serving you during your stay.’ When Allegra continued to look mutinous, he exhaled in frustration. ‘Things are done a little differently here, Allegra. The earlier you accept that, the smoother your visit will be. I’m sure we both want that?’
‘We do,’ she replied tersely.
‘Good. Then it’s settled.’
Her gaze clashed and battled with his, but she didn’t respond. Instead she followed Nura into the suite, the young maid’s eagerness garnering a less stiff smile from Allegra.
He followed, despite the pressing awareness that he was needed elsewhere. While she was absorbed in the room that his own mother had used as a girl before marrying his father and relocating to the royal bedchamber, Rahim’s gaze traced her elegant neck, lower to her slender waist and rounded bottom, to the slit at the back of Allegra’s dress, which displayed her elegant legs.
Again heat stamped through him, harder this time, reminding him that he was very much a red-blooded male, who’d gone too long without the release that had been his to take once upon a time.
He’d taken and indulged a little too much in hindsight.
A predicament he wouldn’t be able to fix without Allegra’s help. The reminder curbed the insane need to reach out and trace his hand over that trim waist, change that expression on her face from condemnation to something more...malleable.
Halting the direction of his thoughts, he refocused his attention higher. She held one of the many trinket boxes that had been his mother’s personal joy, her interest keen as she examined it.
Sensing his regard, she hastily placed the Russian artefact down and faced him.
‘When will we have a chance to talk, Your Highness?’ she asked.
‘I have back-to-back meetings this morning, and engagements outside the palace this afternoon. We will speak after the banquet.’ It would give him time to summon a few key people he trusted to meet her tonight. Rahim was confident once he laid out his immediate and long-term plans for Dar-Aman, she would revise her preconceived views.
‘Oh. I’d hoped we could speak sooner.’
Rahim shook his head. ‘My meetings this afternoon are outside the city. The tribal lands aren’t exactly a hospitable place for...’
‘A woman?’ she inserted, her chin raised in challenge.
‘For anyone not used to a harsher climate. Besides the rough terrain, I’ll be travelling when the sun’s at its peak. Heatstroke is a credible threat, one I would be remiss not to point out.’
‘Oh...well, it won’t be a problem for me. I came prepared.’ She left the display cabinet and moved closer. In her heels, she came up to his chin. Her eyes met his, bold and clear. ‘I could come with you. We would make efficient use of the time and talk on the way?’ Her head tilted and the subtle scent of her perfume hit his nostrils.
Rahim breathed her in, struggling momentarily with the desire to lean in closer, place his mouth at that juncture between neck and shoulder where her pulse throbbed. Dragging his gaze from that tempting area, he looked down at her.
‘Are you always this impatient, Allegra, or just efficient to the point of risking your health?’ he murmured.
Harun had voiced his suspicion that her visit might be a secret scouting mission, to see if Dar-Aman fitted the criteria for the Di Sione Foundation’s charity work. Rahim had dismissed the idea, but now he wondered whether his aide was right. She had made her opinion clear of what she thought of his kingdom.
‘I’m just not one to sit around twiddling her thumbs. I’m here, and I’m not as frail or susceptible to the harshness of the desert as you think, so if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to come with you.’ The determination in her voice spoke of a will that intrigued him. Not to mention his inability to look away from her alluring face. ‘Please, Your Highness. This is important to me.’
Her soft plea echoed the softer look in her eyes. Had he not witnessed her displeasure before, Rahim would’ve been fooled into thinking she was trying to seduce him.
But his instincts warned him that despite the vivid, unmistakable attraction that whipped between them, Allegra Di Sione, the head of the Di Sione Foundation, was here for one reason only—to vet his kingdom.
Releasing an inner smile, Rahim nodded. He would play along. He had no intention of granting her a meeting until he was sure he’d satisfied every criteria her foundation needed to work with him. ‘Very well. Provided you’re rested and ready to go at three, you may accompany me.’
Her smile hit him off guard, its dazzling brilliance striking the heart of his awakening libido. As he stepped back and prepared to walk away, he experienced a tinge of regret that the possibility of Allegra Di Sione in his bed would never materialise.
‘Thank you, Rahim.’
His brisk nod didn’t dissipate the effect of hearing his name said seductively in that polished New York accent. In fact, he heard its sultry echoes long after he sat down to his first meeting of the morning.
* * *
Soft, insistent beeps from her phone’s alarm woke Allegra three hours later, giving her ample time to get ready so Rahim wouldn’t have any excuse to leave her behind.
She didn’t need a crystal ball to guess that his reluctance stemmed from the need to hide the true extent of Dar-Aman’s deterioration from her. Although why that would bother him now, when he’d failed to do much in the years as crown prince and in the six months since he took the throne, was beyond her. It was true that his kingdom was undergoing a resurgence economically, but the change was new and shaky, and in Allegra’s view, far too late in coming.
Disappointment flared through her, but she curbed it and focused on her goal.
She might not have achieved the quick meeting, followed by a swift departure after they’d agreed terms for Rahim to sell her back her grandfather’s long-lost box, but she was still on point. With any luck, she’d be back in New York within twenty-four hours.
Tilting her head back on the pillow, she sighed and allowed herself a brief, awed absorption of her surroundings.
The headboard above her head was beyond anything she’d ever seen before. Made up of richly embroidered panels in red and ochres connected together with gold thread, it rose halfway to the ceiling. Resting on a raised dais, the bed itself boasted expensive satin sheets and a heavy coverlet in colours that complemented the rest of the room.
Allegra had grown up with enough wealth for her not to be reverential over most luxuries, and yet each new discovery in the Dar-Aman palace took her breath away.
Her gaze lowered and swung across the room to the exquisitely carved console table, on which rested six stunning pieces of art. The intricately designed eggs were immediately recognisable as the much-fabled Fabergé eggs once belonging to the Russian dynasty. And those weren’t the only jaw-dropping items in the room.
Everywhere Allegra looked, objects of priceless beauty graced surfaces, from rare Egyptian coins in glass cabinets to solid gold bridal head ornaments from India.
The article she’d read on the plane had mentioned Rahim and his parents as being great collectors of art. But how could they find beauty in inanimate objects while the economy suffered?
A knock came on the door before she could let loose the frustration growling through her belly. At Allegra’s beckon, Nura entered, her slippered feet gliding silently across the marble floor.
‘Mistress, can I get you anything? Some tea and sandwiches, perhaps? Or I can summon your personal chef to prepare a light meal if you wish?’
‘No, Earl Grey tea with a dash of lemon and sandwiches would be perfect, thank you.’
Nura lifted a nearby phone and relayed the request, then turned just as Allegra was making her way to the bathroom.
‘You are travelling outside the city walls with His Highness this afternoon?’ she enquired. At Allegra’s nod, she continued. ‘You’re going to visit the Nur-Aram tribe. It is the place I was named after.’ She smiled, then worry creased her youthful face. ‘It is a difficult place to get to. The journey can be quite rough.’
‘It’s fine,’ Allegra reassured. ‘I’ve visited worse places, I’m sure.’
Nura continued to look worried, but then dashed forward when Allegra reached the wide marble bathtub. ‘I will draw your bath for you, Mistress.’
‘Please, call me Allegra.’
Nura looked horrified, her soft brown eyes widening in alarm. ‘No, I cannot.’
Surprised, Allegra asked, ‘Why not?’
‘Because it would be disrespectful to call a mistress of His Highness by her first name.’
Allegra wasn’t sure why her stomach dropped and rolled with such acrobatic skill it would’ve made an elite athlete proud. She was pretty sure something had been lost in translation. Or assumptions had been made because of where Rahim had placed her in his palace? ‘Are there a lot of mistresses in this wing?’ she blurted before she could stop herself.
Nura nodded. ‘At this time of the year, all of the fifteen residences are occupied.’
Nausea rose in Allegra’s belly. She tried to bite her tongue, but the next question spilled out anyway. ‘And all the fifteen occupants...they’re related to Sheikh Rahim?’
Nura looked puzzled as she straightened from checking the temperature of the four gold-plated taps that gushed water into the cavernous bath. ‘No, they are not His Highness’s relations. But they’re very important to him.’