He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but closed it again instead, waiting for her answer.
“My Ruler, I am honored by the offer,” she said. “But I don’t think it would be appropriate. After all, I’m leaving in the next day or two.”
“What if I make you a palace consultant?” he added quickly. “It pays nearly double what the nanny position pays, and you can keep that salary, too.”
Now it was her turn to open her mouth and closed it again without speaking.
Double? Plus the nanny salary. So triple what I make now?
It was hard not to be insulted to hear that some silly consultant would be paid twice what he paid the person who cared for his precious children. But to earn three times the already handsome salary she was drawing now?
The numbers were staggering. She could support her entire extended family back home if he still covered her room and board.
And to be able to stay on with Pia and Jax would be heaven.
And to stay on with him…
You disgust me.
His words echoed in her head, cutting like a knife, no matter how many times she played them back to remind herself why she couldn’t fall for him.
Even if he admitted he was wrong afterward, his first assumption had been that she was a vicious, gold-digging Terran, trying to pull one over on him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he would always see her that way, at least a little.
“I can’t,” she said, shaking her head.
“Yasmine,” he sighed.
“I just can’t,” she said, looking down at her feet. “I’m sorry.”
“I was wrong to lose my temper with you,” he told her gently. “I suspect I’ll be regretting it for the rest of my life.”
She glanced up at him, stunned at the honesty in his tone. Men like Ruler Kreed didn’t apologize to their employees, and they certainly didn’t apologize twice.
“But if you won’t do it for me,” he begged. “Do it for Pia and Jax, so that they don’t have to make the journey with a brand-new nanny. And do it for my people, because they will talk to you. Do it so that no more residents of Pirn have to die without reason.”
She bit her lip, considering.
“If you come with me, I’ll let you go when we come back,” he offered. “No begging, no bribery. I’ll let you leave with dignity, if you still want to.”
He was so handsome in the moonlight. Somehow, the desperate passion in his eyes only made him seem more powerful. And he was admitting to her there was something he couldn’t do. Something he thought she could.
“I’ll go,” she said.
His brows arched, and she smiled in spite of herself, nodding to assure him she meant what she said.
His smile back at her was as radiant as both of Ulfgard’s suns. He looked like he wanted to sweep her up in his arms and spin her around.
But he quickly rearranged his features into a more fitting smile for a great Ruler.
“Thank you, Miss Hall,” he said stiffly. “I am very glad you can join us. We’ll be there for a few days. My wardrobe consultant will come see you first thing tomorrow morning to make sure you have everything you will need for the journey. We leave at noon.”
“Tomorrow,” she breathed.
“I am told we should strike while the iron is hot,” he said with a half-smile. “After all, the news cycles can be fickle.”
“I’ll be ready, My Ruler,” she told him.
He went to the door, but paused in the threshold.
“Thank you,” he told her softly. “I really am grateful.”
He turned and disappeared down the hallway before she could reply.