‘Of course I heard, as I hear the splash of rain on the windows. I hear the sound, but it doesn’t stop me in my course.’ He lifted her chin. ‘Be patient, Diamond. Did I not tell you that the pleasure lies in the anticipation? And we have much to look forward to. When the moment comes, we will be as no man and woman have ever been before.’
It was hard to deny it when his fingertips were stroking her mouth, but she forced herself.
‘That will never happen,’ she said. ‘I refuse. If you think that this-’ she made a sweeping gesture around the room ‘-and all your power makes any difference, you’re fooling yourself.’
He laughed softly. ‘I think you’ll find that it does make a difference. But fight me if you like. It will only make my eventual victory the sweeter.’ He sighed ruefully. ‘Let’s hope that affairs of state don’t detain me too long, and I can find time for you soon.’
She stared as his incredible meaning sank in. Then something in her snapped.
‘No!’ she screamed.
Evading his grasp, she darted to the door and began to hammer on it. ‘Somebody-help!’
In a flash he was with her, putting both arms around her and lifting her off the floor to carry her into the middle of the room. She thrashed and kicked but his grasp was unbreakable, and all she achieved was to loosen the towel, which began to slip away from her.
‘Let me go!’ she screamed.
The sound was cut off by his mouth over hers, in the most ruthless kiss he had ever given her. It was not a caress but an assertion of dominance, silencing her completely. She put out all her strength to resist him. She would not let herself be kissed like this.
But he kissed her anyway, as never before. Their other kisses had been like fencing matches, with the power evenly balanced. This time he was determined to overcome her. The towel fell, unnoticed, to the floor, and he was holding her naked body in his arms, while his lips told her silently that she belonged to him, whatever she might say.
When he felt her still trying to struggle he murmured, ‘Don’t be foolish, my Diamond. You could overcome me more easily than you know, but not by force. You have weapons that could enslave a man.’
He turned her in his arms, putting a hand under her knees and raising her to carry her to the bed. Without removing his mouth from hers he lowered her onto the satin cushions. She clung to him, perhaps to steady herself, perhaps because she couldn’t do anything else.
She became aware that his embrace had changed. The fierceness had gone out of it, leaving behind only tenderness, and coaxing. Something deep in her took fright at that coaxing. It contained a greater power than any threat. His lips were seductive, teasing her into compliance, persuading her that there was nothing she wanted to do but this.
He left her mouth and began to kiss her down the length of her neck, then down further to the place between her breasts. He lingered a moment, and Fran knew he must be able to feel the hammering of her heart.
‘Does your heart beat with love or hate, Diamond?’ he whispered.
‘With hate,’ she managed to say.
‘And mine?’ He took her hand and placed it over his own heart, which was beating as strongly as her own. ‘What of mine? Is that love or hate you feel there?’
‘Neither,’ she gasped. ‘All you want is possession.’
‘Perhaps. There has never been a woman I wanted to possess as much as you, or for whom I would take such risks. Ask whatever you will of me.’
‘Let me go,’ she said fiercely.
The words stopped him in his tracks. He released her and drew back, his face a cold mask.
‘You ask the impossible,’ he grated. ‘It’s time you faced the truth. You’ll stay here until I’m satisfied.’
‘And when will that be?’
A strange, distant look came into his eyes, as though he was communicating with a vision only he could see.
‘When you yield to me completely, in your heart as well as your body. When you say that you are mine for all time and desire only to remain with me. Then, and only then, will I be satisfied.’
Moving quickly, he rose and backed away.
‘But I won’t stay here,’ she raged. ‘I’ll escape and expose you to the world.’
She was talking to a closed door.
Fran was too intelligent to keep fighting the same battle with the same discredited weapons. So she calmed her temper and assumed an attitude of compliance, to hide her inner rebellion and her determination to escape.
She realised she was exhausted. She hadn’t slept the night before. Now she was determined to keep up her strength, so she slipped between the sheets of the lavish bed, and slept the sleep of the jet-lagged.
When she awoke her maids were present, bowing and smiling, and indicating a meal that was ready for her. It was a meal for an honoured guest-veal and apricots, followed by stuffed dates and wine. It was delicious and she realised that she was very hungry.
While she’d slept her bag had been returned to her. Diving into it, she discovered that something was missing. Her notebooks and Dictaphone machine were there, but not her mobile phone.
So, no chance to call for help.
The maid who understood some English, and whose name was Leena, explained that the rest of the afternoon would be taken up by a visit from a maker of materials, who would produce samples for her choice.
‘Then make-to your liking,’ she said.
Fran would have liked to say that she wasn’t going to be here long enough to make a new wardrobe necessary, but she merely nodded and smiled. An appearance of agreement was simply part of the role she was playing for the moment.
But her pose was shaken when the merchant appeared and tossed bolt after bolt of fabric at her feet, until the floor was covered with a myriad colours.
‘Where do I start?’ she gasped.
‘My master says-everything you wish,’ Leena said, smiling.
Fran pulled herself together. She absolutely would not let herself weaken because of a few bolts of silk, even if one of them was guaranteed to highlight her eyes, and another would bring a peachy glow to her skin.
Since it was clearly expected of her she ran her hands over the material, feeling the luxurious sensation against her skin. It was her undoing. Suddenly she was a teenager again, pressing her nose against the shop window, yearning for the clothes within. Only this time someone had removed the window, and the clothes were hers.
A subtle intelligence had been at work here. Somebody understood what would make her weaken-if anything could. She would select only the bare minimum.
Two hours later the merchant departed jubilantly, with the largest order he’d ever been given, even from the palace.
Fran was left aghast, wondering what had come over her. It wasn’t just the material, but the fortune in jewels that Leena had calmly ordered to be sewn into the garments. When Fran had asked if these were real jewels Leena had been shocked. As though the Prince of Kamar would give anything less!
‘But of course these are only little jewels,’ she had explained. ‘The master will present you with the big ones himself.’
‘The-big ones?’ Fran had said, dazed.
‘You are to be greatly honoured. He has said so.’
Honoured with everything but my freedom, Fran thought.
But she held her tongue. When she next saw Ali she would have plenty to say.
It was early evening. Fran went out onto the balcony and watched the last few minutes of daylight before the light vanished and it was pitch-dark, almost as though somebody had thrown a switch.
Even in her present mood she had to admit that this was a magic place at night. Below her were the palace gardens, hung with a thousand coloured lamps, glowing against the velvety blackness. Beyond that was the city, with its own lights, hinting at a rich, busy life. From somewhere below the sound of music floated up to her.
Looking down, she could see the paths that crisscrossed in the garden, and the figures that strolled in the blessed cool of the evening. One of them might almost have been Ali.
