Only the dance had started and he couldn’t turn away from her as she mastered the routine. His gut tightened and then the dance changed and the men joined in.
They looked at him with an air of hope rather than expectancy because, of course, his father had never mixed with his people like this, preferring to rule from the lofty heights of the palace walls. If he were to take the job he wouldn’t rule that way and neither would Zach.
And then he realised what dance they were about to perform. It was the dance a man did when he was courting a woman and his instinct was to beg off but then he caught Imogen’s eyes, her swaying figure. To hell with it. He moved to stand opposite her. He had never performed it before but he had seen it done many times as a boy. She looked up at him with a shy expression. Did she know what this performance represented? That it signified undying love?
His steps faltered as he circled her. Was that what he was feeling? Love? He immediately discarded the idea. He’d never wanted to find love in his life because—as he’d learned from first-hand experience—deep emotion brought even deeper mistakes and he liked his mind clear and sharp. Not that it was exactly clear or sharp right now but that was just lust and lust could be sated.
Imogen’s words about how she only wanted to marry for love came back to him. What would it be like to have hers? Something tightened in his chest. He didn’t want that from her. It was enough that they were compatible in bed. That they enjoyed each other’s company. He stepped closer to her than he should have. ‘Let’s get out of here,’ he growled in her ear.
She looked up at him with big eyes and he thought to hell with it and kissed her before dragging her off the dance floor amidst the shocked gasps of his countrymen. Things would be changing soon enough in Bakaan. He’d just add PDAs to that long list of improvements.
* * *
Imogen could feel the tension radiating from Nadir’s big body in the car and desire made her blood grow sluggish in her veins. That dance they had performed back at the restaurant had been highly erotic even though they’d never actually touched. And Nadir had performed it like a professional. She’d guessed that it was some sort of mating ritual and she wondered if Nadir had ever danced it with another woman before. She wanted to ask, but she wouldn’t.
Instead she thought about how much his people had loved it when he’d joined in and she wondered yet again why he didn’t want to be King. He would be exceptional in the role. Was it because of his father? His sister who she didn’t feel comfortable enough asking him about? And when would she start to feel comfortable enough with him to be able to freely discuss what was on her mind?
‘Did you have a good time?’
‘Yes.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You’re biting your bottom lip. What’s wrong?’
Imogen glanced at the driver of the car. ‘Nothing.’
‘By now I understand that nothing inevitably meant something.’
‘You’re not that clever,’ she said, smiling in spite of her misgivings. But he was and it was a bit disconcerting to think that he knew her so well already.
Fortunately he let it drop as the car swung through the palace gates and stopped at the front steps. They both got out and Nadir didn’t try to talk to her until he’d closed the door to his suite.
After finding out Nadeena was okay, Imogen once again found herself standing awkwardly before Nadir when what she’d love to do was go up to him and wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
With masculine grace he moved to lounge on the sectional sofa. ‘You want to talk about nothing yet?’
Imogen sighed. ‘Okay, fine. I was wondering why it is you don’t want to be the next leader of Bakaan.’
She saw the minute the shutters came down over his eyes and shook her head. ‘And why it is that as soon as I ask you something personal you refuse to talk.’
‘I run a large organisation that is already showing the strains of my absence. I don’t have time to run Bakaan as well.’
‘You told me once that you love to take companies that are on the verge of collapse and turn them into something wonderful and, from what I can tell, Bakaan is in an identical situation.’ She studied the way he rigidly held himself. ‘If it helps, you are clearly a natural born leader, Nadir, and the people love you. You could do this job with your eyes closed.’
‘It’s not a question of capability. It’s...’ He sprang from the sofa as if he had too much energy coursing through his system. ‘I never expected to do it. And what about you? That would make you my queen. Given that you’re struggling with the whole concept of wife I can’t imagine you’d be thrilled with the role.’