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How could a man’s voice be so quiet and yet be filled with such menace?
No wonder he had a reputation for being a staggeringly successful businessman, Emily thought weakly. He probably intimidated his opponent so effectively that no one ever dared say ‘no’ to him.
‘You’re obviously wondering why I’m here instead of my brother,’ she began hesitantly and his dark eyes gleamed with mockery.
‘I am not a fool, Miss Kingston,’ he said silkily, ‘and it is entirely clear to me why you are here instead of your brother.’
His gaze slid over her in a blatantly masculine appraisal and suddenly she felt hot all over. He didn’t actually need to speak to intimidate her. Just a look from those dangerous black eyes was enough to turn her legs wobbly.
‘He sent me because he couldn’t come himself,’ Emily muttered, feeling a sudden urge to clarify that fact just in case he thought—he thought—
Zak al-Farisi lifted a dark eyebrow. ‘My command of English is sufficiently advanced that I know the difference between “couldn’t” and “wouldn’t”,’ he drawled. ‘I am intrigued as to which one of your many and varied charms were supposed to soothe my anger at your brother’s absence. Which one of your skills is guaranteed to take my mind off the debt, I wonder?’
Moving away from the window, he paced towards her, walking around her as if she were an exhibit in a museum, a predatory smile on his handsome face. He paused and lifted a hand to her face, tilting it slightly so that he could study her more closely. ‘Your purpose here is to persuade me to cancel the debt.’
‘Not cancel exactly—’ Emily was finding it difficult to concentrate, frozen to the spot by a tension that she couldn’t identify and by the touch of his strong fingers against her hot cheek ‘—more postpone.’
His hard mouth tightened. ‘Before you dig yourself deep into a hole from which there is no escape, you should know that deception is not a quality I admire in a woman.’
‘I am not deceiving anyone,’ Emily said indignantly, ‘and I’m not asking you to cancel the debt. Just to give Peter more time. He wants two more months. Then he’ll pay back every penny. He’s given his word.’
‘Is this the same word he gave when he first arrived in Kazban to persuade us to let him handle certain investments?’
Her heart missed a beat and she shifted uncomfortably. The truth was that her brother always refused to discuss business with her and she certainly wasn’t in a position to answer in depth questions. She was only here to help her brother; he couldn’t make the trip and because she loved him—she was happy to represent him.
‘I don’t know anything about that,’ she admitted reluctantly, ‘but I do know that all he’s asking for is two months.’
Those pitch-black eyes lasered into hers. ‘And why should I give him two months?’
Emily looked at him in confusion. It hadn’t occurred to her that the prince would deny the request. True, Peter owed him money, but Zak al-Farisi was rich beyond fantasies so a two month extension on a tiny debt was hardly going to cause him a problem, was it?
She gave an uncertain smile. ‘Well, I’m sure you’re a nice guy—’
‘Then you are a poor judge of character, Miss Kingston, because I am not a nice guy,’ he delivered softly, his black eyes narrowing slightly as they raked her increasingly pale face. ‘I’m not a nice guy at all.’
The air thickened with tension and then with his free hand he reached out and removed the clip from her hair in a swift, purposeful gesture that she didn’t anticipate.
Her wayward blonde curls, so carefully tamed for this one meeting, tumbled down her back in glorious rebellion and shimmering black eyes fastened on her hair in blatant masculine appraisal.
‘Oh!’ She gave a gasp of dismay and clutched at her hair. ‘What did you do that for?’
A sardonic smile touched his hard mouth. ‘I told you that I don’t appreciate deception. Presenting yourself here dressed like a virgin in a dress buttoned to your neck and your hair pinned back doesn’t fool me in the slightest. Your brother sent you because of your feminine charms. The least you can do is to display them. That, at least, would be honest.’
Emily gaped at him.
He thought—
He was suggesting—
Aghast, she shook her head, one hand still on her tumbled curls that were now cascading freely over her shoulders. ‘You’ve got it all wrong—’
‘I don’t think so. In fact I am finding myself forced to admit that your brother is evidently not the fool I believed him to be.’ Having made that announcement, he dropped his hand and strolled around her, his gaze sweeping over her with embarrassing thoroughness. ‘You are very beautiful.’
Beautiful?
Momentarily distracted by his surprising declaration, Emily stared at him.
He thought she was beautiful? Not just beautiful, but very beautiful.
Indoctrinated from adolescence into thinking that she was too tall to be considered beautiful, she struggled to breathe, trapped by the novelty of being on the receiving end of raw male appreciation for the first time in her life.
And then she saw something flicker in his eyes and reminded herself that this man didn’t have a heart. He was refusing to give Peter more time and he seemed to think that she was offering herself as some sort of consolation prize.
From somewhere she found her voice, jerking away from him and smoothing her tumbled hair with shaking hands. ‘I don’t see how the way I dress has anything to do with this—’
‘Do you not?’ His hard mouth curved slightly. ‘And yet you agreed to come here, Miss Kingston.’
He was standing so close that she could feel the heat throb between them, feel the tension rise to such a pitch that she could hardly breathe.
‘I came to deliver my brother’s message.’
He smiled. ‘Consider it delivered. Now we can move on.’
Her cheeks flamed under his steady gaze. ‘I don’t know what you’re implying,’ she said frostily, ‘but—’
‘Miss Kingston—’ his tone was lethally soft and he took a step closer to her, his eyes locking on hers with magnetic force, his powerful body dominating hers even though they weren’t touching ‘—I ought to warn you that I never play games. Not in my business dealings or in my bedroom dealings.’
Emily flushed, wondering which category he thought she fell into. ‘I’m not playing games, but you’re tying me in knots and you’re being so inflexible about the money—’ She broke off, totally quelled by the contempt in those black eyes.
‘I am not known for my flexibility.’
Or for warmth or kindness, Emily reflected. She’d never met anyone so cold and unapproachable in her life. He was totally intimidating and he was standing so close that she could almost feel the heat of his body burning through the thin fabric of her dress.
‘My brother sends his apologies for not coming himself,’ she said formally, raking a mass of blonde curls away from her eyes and suddenly wishing that she’d dug a little deeper and found out exactly why her brother hadn’t been able to attend. Had he known the prince would be this angry? ‘He’s been working really hard and I agreed to come in his place, to explain.’
Night-black eyes settled on hers and Emily felt her heart beat faster. He might be heartless but he had truly amazing cheekbones. In fact he was gorgeous, she thought weakly, wondering how she was supposed to concentrate faced with all that rampant, pulsing masculinity.
Suddenly all she could think about was sex and she dragged her eyes away from his, just mortified by her own thoughts. What was the matter with her? She never thought about sex. She thought about love and marriage and babies, and of course sex was part of that, but she never thought about sex on its own.
Until now.
There was something about Zak al-Farisi that was so powerfully sexual that it took her breath away. She glanced around her again, half expecting to see desperate women pouring through every door of his palace and an unsettling thought occurred to her.
Did Arab princes still have harems?
She glanced at that cold, handsome face one more time and felt her knees weaken alarmingly.
If there was a vacancy in this man’s harem then she was definitely applying.
Or maybe not. She couldn’t think of anything more terrifying than being in this man’s bed.
Or more exciting—
‘So—’ his voice was soft and slightly accented ‘—I confess I am intrigued. I await your explanation with almost unbearable anticipation.’
Roused from her fantasies by the raw bite of his sarcasm, Emily decided that there was probably a waiting list for the harem. A very long one. And she wasn’t exactly qualified for the position. What she knew about sex could be written on a thong.
Realising that he was still waiting for an answer, she drew breath. ‘There’s nothing to justify,’ she said, puzzled and disconcerted by the flash of anger she saw in the prince’s eyes. ‘The investments aren’t doing well. He told me that much. But he anticipates that the markets will improve soon. In the meantime, he’s just asking you to give him more time.’
Those black eyes showed not a flicker of warmth. ‘We’ve already established that I’m not a nice guy, Miss Kingston. I won’t be giving him more time.’
She frowned, refusing to believe that anyone could be that unsympathetic. ‘But none of this is Peter’s fault,’ she said and Zak lifted one inky-black eyebrow, his expression sardonic.
‘He is no longer responsible for his own business?’
Emily nibbled her lip. ‘Well yes, of course he is, but—’
‘He was not responsible for investing the money?’
‘Yes, he was, but—’
‘So why is none of it his fault?’
His eyes were hard and Emily lifted a shaking hand to her head, just hating every minute of the conversation. He was setting a trap for her and she was galloping into it head first. She loathed confrontation and had absolutely no experience of business negotiation.
‘Investing money is always a risky business,’ she ventured and Zak tilted his head in silent question.
‘You are no doubt an expert?’ His voice was silky soft and loaded with mockery and Emily coloured.
‘N-no—of course not,’ she stammered awkwardly, trying really hard to ignore the pounding of her heart and the warmth that was spreading through her body. ‘Actually I teach small children—but Peter told me that the investments have under performed and that it just happens that way sometimes.’ She curled her fingers into her palms. ‘Please give him more time. Just two months. That’s all.’
She gave a helpless shrug that was supposed to indicate that she was asking for very little, but the expression in those ebony eyes was forbidding.
‘All?’ The prince continued to watch her, his sudden stillness unnerving. ‘In two months a family can starve, Miss Kingston.’
She stared at him, her mouth drying.
A family? What family? And why would they starve?
They were talking about a few investments, not a fortune.
Emily glanced around at her opulent surroundings wondering if she was missing something.
It was perfectly obvious that the prince was unlikely to starve any day soon.
The palace was amazing. From the first moment she’d set eyes on the golden domes and the honey-coloured stone she’d been enchanted. It was like something straight out of a fairy tale.
‘T-two months isn’t very long,’ she suggested hesitantly and his jaw hardened.
‘And yet to some it can seem like a lifetime.’
Feeling that she was definitely missing something, Emily clasped her hands in front of her and tried one more time. ‘I know it’s inconvenient, but Peter will deliver the money,’ she said firmly and saw the prince’s eyes narrow.
‘Such loyalty is most commendable, Miss Kingston, but I’m afraid I don’t share your confidence in your brother’s ability to pay back that which he has taken. Your presence here is proof of his intention to default on the debt.’
‘No!’ Emily was quick to defend her brother. ‘Peter will pay back the money.’
‘So why didn’t he come here to tell me that himself?’
Emily licked dry lips, shivering under that icy gaze. She’d asked herself that same question repeatedly. ‘He—is busy,’ she said lamely and Zak gave a wry smile.
‘Of course he is. Ripping people off is a full-time job.’
Emily gave a gasp of outrage, her shyness forgotten in the face of the insult to her brother. ‘My brother is not ripping people off—he just needs more time.’
‘And I am not prepared to give him time, Miss Kingston.’
‘But that’s totally unreasonable,’ she blurted out before she could stop herself. ‘What has Peter ever done to you?’
A dark eyebrow swooped upwards, his arrogant dark head lifted in challenge. ‘You are questioning my decision?’
Emily flushed scarlet, realizing too late that obviously no one ever questioned Zak al-Farisi’s decisions.
‘Well, yes, I mean, no,’ she amended hastily. ‘It’s just that Peter will pay you eventually, and I can’t see why the money matters to you so much.’
Evidence of his staggering wealth was all around her.
Nothing he could say would ever convince her that he needed the money in a hurry.
‘Can you not?’ His tone was as hard as his gaze. ‘Then your judgment merely confirms that you are as lacking in morals as your brother. You are prepared to see people suffer as a result of your actions.’
Emily dragged her eyes away from his handsome face, totally unable to see how he was likely to suffer.
How could a small sum of money matter so much to him?
How could anyone be so selfish?
The Crown Prince was obviously totally unreasonable when it came to matters of money.
‘All right.’ Deciding that there was no point in arguing with someone who clearly had superior skills in the art, she lifted her chin, anxious to get away from him before she stopped remembering that personality was more important than looks. ‘So you won’t give him more time. I’ll make sure I pass on that message to Peter when I return home.’
She made a move towards the door but lean, bronzed fingers closed around her wrist and she was held in an iron grip.
The prince gave a grim smile. ‘You won’t be returning home, Miss Kingston. You chose to come in your brother’s place and for the time being at least I intend to keep you. As insurance.’
There was a ghastly silence while she digested his words. ‘Keep me?’
‘Of course.’ His black eyes met hers, his gaze unflinching and totally devoid of sympathy. ‘I expected your brother, but you have offered yourself freely in his place. If your brother wants me to release you, then he must come here himself.’
Emily blinked. ‘You’re asking me to stay here?’
A ghost of a smile touched that hard mouth. ‘Not asking, Miss Kingston,’ he drawled softly, releasing her wrist and pacing around her slowly, like a predator sizing up a potential prey and deciding whether it was worth the kill. ‘It is my decision that you will stay here until such time as your brother comes in person.’
Emily gaped at him. ‘I’m your prisoner?’
‘I prefer the term “guest”,’ the prince replied, his voice silky smooth. ‘For as long as it pleases me, you will remain in the palace.’
For as long as it pleases me—
The air throbbed with tension and Emily felt an inexplicable heat spread throughout her body.
Just exactly what form was this pleasure going to take?
‘No! You can’t do that.’ Emily was so shocked that she forgot protocol for a moment and just glared at him. ‘I—I’ll contact the ambassador, or the consulate or the—the…’ Her voice tailed off as she realized that she actually didn’t have the first clue whom she should contact.
Zak al-Farisi surveyed her with maddening indifference, totally unmoved by her outburst. ‘You have broken our laws and will stay here until your brother decides to show up and face me in person,’ he responded, his tone dry and cynical as he stroked his fingers through the length of her tumbled blonde hair. ‘In the meantime I feel sure that we will find a mutually agreeable way of relieving the boredom. Welcome to Kazban, Miss Kingston.’
CHAPTER TWO
SUPERB actress, Zak thought to himself, watching as Emily’s cheeks paled and her deep blue eyes flew wide.
Suddenly she looked lost, scared and very, very young and had he not learned long ago to his cost just how convincingly women could act when they wanted something, he would have found himself taking her in his arms and reassuring her.
He gave a wry smile and reminded himself that she had travelled to Kazban in the place of her brother with the express intent of evading punishment for a serious crime. She was the sister of a criminal and he had no doubt that Emily Kingston wouldn’t know innocent if she fell over it.
Doubtless her mode of dress and innocent approach were all part of her plan to persuade him to release her but he had no intention of doing anything of the sort. He would keep her here as a bargaining tool and Miss Kingston could use the time to dwell on the consequences of greed and avarice.
Did she not care that thousands of innocent citizens of Kazban had lost their entire savings?
She pleaded for two more months and yet she must have been fully aware that even two more years would not have been enough to see the debt repaid. How could it, when his investigations had shown clearly that her brother was on the verge of bankruptcy and involved in some extremely shady dealings?
And how could one so beautiful be so greedy and morally corrupt?
He stared at her face in fascination, captivated by her wide eyes and lush mouth and by the gentle flush that touched her cheeks. He felt muscles tighten throughout his body, felt the powerful flame of arousal kindle and burn, and gritted his teeth in irritation, forced to concede that the mixture of sexy and innocent was having a shockingly powerful effect on his libido. Even knowing what she was, it seemed he was unable to control his body’s primitive response to her exceptional beauty and suddenly he found himself fighting a powerful impulse to strip her naked and spread her over his desk to await his pleasure.
For a brief moment black eyes clashed with blue and then he muttered something in Arabic and exercised the will-power for which he was renowned, stepping away from her and pacing once more towards the window. But that brief glance into her eyes had told him what he wanted to know.
That she was as aware of him as he was of her. The heavy throb of sexual awareness had hung in the air from the moment she’d stepped into the room and he recognized the same white-hot sexual excitement in her that he was experiencing himself.
But it made not an iota of difference to his plans.
Once before.
Once before he’d allowed his desire for a woman to overrule his common sense and he’d learned a painful lesson. He did not need to be taught that lesson twice.
Despite her pretence at innocence, he had no intention of releasing Emily Kingston until her brother arrived in person, no matter how much her lower lip trembled or how powerful his own arousal.
‘You can’t just keep me here against my will.’ Her voice was strangled. ‘What do you intend to do? Lock me in your tower?’
Despite the defiant lift of her chin her voice shook and Zak gave an amused smile. ‘You have been reading too many fairy stories, Miss Kingston. This particular prince has a much more contemporary approach to incarceration.’ His eyes swept her face. ‘You’ll find my bed much more hospitable than any tower and I promise that any form of bondage will only be with mutual consent.’
She gave a soft gasp of shock and Zak watched with interest as her breathing quickened and bright spots of colour appeared on her cheeks. She was obviously determined to keep up the innocent act to the last. He wondered idly whether she’d still be protesting innocence when she was stretched naked beneath him and decided to play her game for a little bit longer.
‘Y-you can’t be serious.’ She stammered the words out, the confusion on her pretty face interesting to watch. ‘I— you can’t possibly want me to—I mean—’
‘I can do anything I wish, Miss Kingston. You are in my country,’ he pointed out calmly, ‘and will remain so until your brother chooses to repay the debt.’
She shook her head and strands of that delicious blonde hair wafted around her heart-shaped face.
‘This is ridiculous. You have to let me go—’ There was a catch in her voice and Zak surveyed her with a mixture of admiration and amusement. He’d had endless experience of the application of feminine tears, but, even so, she was impressive. Her display was all the more effective for the fact that she didn’t actually let the tears fall, he reflected. Instead she lifted her chin and struggled for control so that she managed to make herself look brave.
‘Doubtless you were banking on that when you foolishly agreed to take your brother’s place. When he arrives, you are free to leave,’ he said shortly, turning away from her and striding over to the window, inexplicably irritated by the definite sparkle of tears in her eyes.
Women, he thought to himself, sucking in a breath as he fought to control the powerful and thoroughly unexpected reaction of his body to her award-winning performance.
‘But all he asks is for two months more to sort things out,’ she persisted. ‘Is it really too much to ask? Does the money really matter that much?’
He whirled round, deeply offended by her implication that he was the one at fault and by her repeated dismissal of the debt. His temper rising steadily, he paced around her like a caged tiger, searching for some evidence of remorse on her part.
She was so close that he could count every one of those thick lashes that fringed her eyes, see the tiny pulse beating in her creamy throat, and he gave an exclamation of distaste as lust, basic and powerful, gnawed greedily at his body once more.
Beautiful on the outside maybe, but not on the inside.
‘Your brother has committed a crime which is punishable by imprisonment here in Kazban.’ His tone was harsh and he stopped pacing and took a step towards her. ‘If he truly believed that by sending you in his place he could evade our justice system, then he made a serious error of judgment. I shall keep you here until he comes in person to face the charges against him.’
‘C-crime?’ Slim fingers pushed her blonde hair out of her startled eyes. ‘The value of investments has fallen for everyone. That’s just a risk you take, surely. It certainly isn’t a crime.’
Zak watched her in incredulous disbelief, appalled by the fact that she was still pretending to know nothing about the fact that her brother had embezzled the money. How long could she keep that up? he wondered cynically. Peter Kingston had lost every last penny. He’d mortgaged the family home and was virtually bankrupt. How long could his sister continue to pursue the defence that the loss was attributable to the vagaries of the markets?
‘My brother will pay you what he owes you,’ she said firmly, her chin lifting as she looked at him. ‘You can’t keep me here.’
Her chest rose and fell as she breathed and a man less experienced with women than Zak might have missed the sudden parting of her soft lips or the press of her hardened nipples against the thin fabric of her dress as she stared at him in terrified fascination.
But with the razor-sharp intuition that had guaranteed him staggering success in both the boardroom and the bedroom, Zak didn’t miss a single signal and he gave a grim smile of masculine satisfaction.
Having failed to secure her release, she was already thinking about being in his bed—
His eyes dropped to her mouth and sexual awareness throbbed between them. She might be corrupt but she was astonishingly beautiful. Zak gritted his teeth, battling against the powerful reaction of his body. Suddenly the bed option held considerable appeal.