A Diamond for the Sheikh's Mistress

Kat lifted her hand and pointed to the drinks tray on a table near the window. Zafir strode over, more animal than man. He poured himself a shot of something and drank it back in one.

Then he looked at her. ‘Do you want anything?’

Kat was shocked. It was as if a layer of civility had been stripped away. She’d never seen him like this. Not even that night when her world had crumbled to pieces around her.

She shook her head, even though her mouth was dry. ‘No, I’m fine.’

Zafir slugged back another shot and turned around to face her. ‘You’re not, though, are you?’

Kat could feel herself pale.

How did he know?

‘What do you mean?’

‘What I mean is that for some reason you’re determined to deny us this closure.’

Relief warred with anger.

He didn’t know.

‘You’re so certain that resuming our physical relationship will end with everything neatly tied up in a bow?’

Hurt lanced her that Zafir could believe it would be so simple. But it would be...for him. Because he had no feelings involved. Only lust. She wished it could be so easy for her.

His mouth was a tight line. ‘It’s inevitable, Kat. We can’t be within two feet of each other without going up in flames. Can you handle another week of this? Because I know I can’t.’

One week. Surely she could survive one more week and then walk away, heart and soul still intact?

She lifted her chin. ‘I can, Zafir. I’m sorry for what just happened...’ A sudden flash of their two bodies welded together and how good it had felt to have him kiss her made her falter, but then she regained her composure and said, ‘But it was a mistake.’

‘A word I’ve heard more times than I care for lately,’ Zafir said.

He started to pace then, and that only drew Kat’s hungry eyes to his lean form.

He stopped suddenly to look at her. ‘What is it, Kat? Is this punishment for what happened before? This is your retribution? Because I didn’t give you a chance to explain your past? Because I judged you too harshly?’

Kat’s eyes widened. It was so much more than that. That had been just the tip of the iceberg.

He hadn’t loved her.

She backed away. ‘No, Zafir. I’m not that petty.’

She whirled away from him, afraid he’d see something of the emotion she was feeling on her face.

A bleak, futile anger rose up and she turned around again. ‘It’s not all about you, you know. There are things...things you don’t understand.’

He frowned, and then his gaze moved over Kat’s shoulder to something behind her and he frowned even harder.

She only had the barest moment of premonition before he said, ‘Why are there crutches in your room?’

* * *

Kat wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to be on her own so she could curl up in a ball and pretend she’d never seen Zafir again. Pretend that her body wasn’t pulsating with awareness just to be near him.

This was the moment of truth. It had been spectacularly naive or stupid of her to believe that she could keep her secret from Zafir. It was amazing that he hadn’t found out already. And she’d never been less ready to tell him. Especially not after that moment in the elevator, reminding her of just how explosive it had always been between them. And how it could never be again. Not after this.

‘Kat?’ There was something stark in his voice. ‘Who do the crutches belong to?’