overwhelmed him. Suddenly his loneliness-the loneliness of a man who had everything except that which he truly wanted-had seemed to fade.
They had said very little, but that little had opened up long vistas of understanding. Her beauty and sexual charisma had heightened her magic, but been only a small part of it. He had ached to take her into his bed, but also into his heart.
When he’d been called away on business, he had cursed inwardly, and cut the call as short as he dared. But he’d never doubted that this woman whose soul spoke to his own would be waiting, still held in the enchantment that was woven around them both.
When he’d found her gone, it had been as though she’d punched him in the heart. He’d had no experience of rejection, and he’d felt like a young boy, floundering to get his bearings. He’d been compelled to hide his feelings and laugh it off, lest his servants suspect that a woman had mocked the Prince of Kamar. It had been a lesson in reality, and like all the lessons of his life it had taken place in a cruel spotlight.
Later, of course, he’d understood that she had never meant to go through with it. When she’d reappeared as a journalist he’d realised that it was a set-up from start to finish.
And now here she was, ostensibly in his power, yet still teasing and challenging him, still leaving him empty- handed. A man couldn’t win with this woman, and that was something he had to alter.
Fran was still talking, apparently oblivious to his mood.
‘After that it was just taken for granted that I’d go on taking useful subjects because I was good at them. So I went to college and did economics, which I must admit was fascinating.
‘You wouldn’t think stocks and shares and financial forecasts could be as thrilling as all that, but they were. And when I discovered that I had a “nose” for the markets that sealed my fate. I’ve got a friend who never buys new shares without calling to ask what I think.’
‘Indeed!’ Ali said coldly. ‘A little more wine?’
‘No, thank you. I want to tell you what they say about your companies on the Stock Exchange.’
‘I’m not interested in what a woman has to say about my companies, or the London Stock Exchange.’
‘I can tell you what they’re saying in Wall Street too,’ Fran went on, unperturbed, ‘and the Bourse in France.’
‘But I have no wish to hear.’
‘I’m sure you haven’t. But there’s not a lot you can do about it, is there?’ she asked lightly.
‘You are making a big mistake,’ he informed her.
Instead of answering in words Fran extended her index finger and beckoned to him. Her smile was enticing and her eyes full of mischief. Ali felt his head swim, and before he knew what he was doing he had leaned towards her. Fran came closer, and when she spoke her warm breath whispered against his face.
‘It’s very simple, my darling,’ she murmured. ‘If you don’t let me say what I want,
‘And do you think anyone will come?’
‘Of course not. But they’ll hear, and they’ll know that you paid a hundred thousand for nothing.’
Ali drew a long breath, a prey to conflicting emotions. The skittering of her breath on his face was sending tremors through him, causing reactions that infuriated him. It was maddening to know that this woman could make him want her to madness as the very moment she was mocking him. She must be resisted and taught a lesson.
But she had called him ‘my darling’.
‘You,’ he said with deliberation, ‘are descended from a rattlesnake. Your father was a vulture. A man foolish enough to love you will end up with his heart shrivelled and his bones bleached white in the desert.’
‘And you,’ she returned, ‘are making a big mistake in trusting Lemford Securities. The man who runs it lives on the edge. He’s borrowing short and lending long, and I’m sure you know that’s a recipe for disaster. Or don’t you? Well, let me explain-’
‘I can follow that kind of kindergarten economics,’ he snapped.
‘I’m so glad, because then maybe you can understand the rest.’
‘I’m warning you-’
‘And I’m warning you that the man in charge of your Wall Street operation isn’t what he seems. He’s changed his name several times to hide his involvement in some very dubious operation-’
‘I have men whose job it is to discover this kind of information-’
‘Then fire them, because they’re letting you down. Take this.’
She took out the notebook that had been returned to her. Ali regarded her grimly.
‘I never travel without it,’ she told him, tearing off a sheet on which were written some internet addresses and giving it to him.
‘Visit these sites,’ she said. ‘You’ll learn enough about him to alarm you. But
‘Do you have any further orders for me?’ he asked frostily.
‘Don’t you dare come the heavy sheikh with me,’ she warned him. ‘If you do what I say, I’ve just saved you a fortune.’ She couldn’t resist adding, ‘Much more than my purchase price.’
‘I wish you’d stop talking as though I’d bought you like a commodity.’
‘It’s the impression you strove to give. I’m merely taking up where you left off.’
Ali took the paper, meaning to toss it contemptuously away. But he didn’t, and at heart he knew he wasn’t going to.
Fran was too wise to press her point any further, and they finished the meal in light, meaningless conversation.
‘It is late and you will be tired,’ he observed, leading her into the room where his great bed stood. His eyes met hers. ‘Nobody will disturb you.’
She almost had a moment of regret as she saw him walk away into a small side room. The door opened just enough to reveal that this was an office. Then it closed, shutting her out.
The bed was so large and so empty even when she lay down. It was a bed made for passion, where two people could forget the world in each other. And deep inside part of her wanted to do exactly that with this intriguing, fascinating and disturbing man. But it must not be. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.
She lay worrying at this dismaying thought, until she went to sleep.
He woke her as the sun was rising. He looked tired, like a man who’d spent all night in front of a computer and on the telephone. He didn’t volunteer anything, but she thought she detected a new look of respect in his eyes.
‘Your bearers will be here in a moment,’ he said, ‘and they will return you to your quarters for the last time. Later today you will be escorted to your new apartments.’
He took her hand to lead her to the litter.
‘Don’t think this is the end of the matter,’ he said. ‘Our battle has moved onto new ground, but it is far from over. You’re not as cold as you want me to think. Before I have finished, you will beg for my love.’
‘In your dreams,’ she said softly, and the bearers arrived before he could reply.
All that day the palace was in a bustle. Everyone knew that the prince had taken his new concubine to his bed, and enjoyed a night of passion with her such as no man had known before. Rumour said that this western woman was possessed of exotic arts that had won his heart and soul, and no reward was too great for her.
Nobody knew her true identity, but that was unimportant, as the prince’s favourite had no life beyond his pleasure. He had decreed that henceforth she would be known as the Lady Almas Faiza.
Leena explained to Fran that Almas meant diamond, and Faiza meant victorious. Fran brooded over the intriguing word. Was Ali saying that she had scored a victory over him, or referring to the victory he was determined to have over her? But he had hinted also that they would find victory together, and, try as she might, Fran couldn’t escape a thrill of anticipation at the thought of that joint victory.
With awe the servants prepared the lavish apartments that were kept for the favourite. The mosaics were washed, the floors polished, all the hangings were replaced, and the air was sweetly scented.
Finally came the ceremony without which her status would not be official. A litter was brought to her door. It was unlike the other one, in that it had no curtains or roof, for in this one she must be seen.
