Startled, she glanced at her watch and realised she’d been in there half an hour. ‘Thanks, I’ll be right out.’
Rushing out, Allegra washed her hands and reapplied her lipstick. She didn’t need extra colour in her cheeks because her mortification had taken care of that.
Striding onto the stage, she offered quick smiles to her fellow speakers as she took her seat. In the time she’d been locked in the restroom the conference room had filled to capacity.
Allegra told herself the intense tingling along her spine was because she was the centre of attention. But as the organiser and first guests took the podium, the sensation escalated from a tingle to shivers of awareness that wouldn’t abate.
When her name was announced, Allegra rose on shaky legs and approached the podium. Reaching the lectern she adjusted the mic, and looked up.
Straight into the icily condemning eyes of Rahim Al-Hadi.
CHAPTER NINE
RAHIM STARED AT her from his seat on the front row. He had to hand it to her. Not once did her mask of professionalism slip, despite the tension that seized her body when their eyes met. A pulse of satisfaction went through him at the reaction. To everyone else, she was merely waiting for the applause to die down before she spoke. But Rahim had caught the tiny gasp which had escaped her parted lips and the darkening of her blue eyes before she regained her composure.
Had he received a cold, callous dismissal from her, he wasn’t sure that he would’ve been able to remain seated. The depths of her duplicity notwithstanding, the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Allegra had been a mild irritation at first but then had grown into an insidious ache that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. Rahim hadn’t been able to understand it at first. He’d had great sex with countless faceless women, but never had he woken up to a gnawing bewilderment as to why a woman’s absence from his bed would disturb him enough to become a problem.
And Allegra had become a problem. Quite apart from helping herself to property that didn’t belong to her, her barbs about the state of his kingdom and the women in particular had stuck long after she had stolen away from his bed like the slippery thief she was. Rahim told himself it was the only reason why he’d made the trip to Geneva. The sexual aspect of their encounter would die down once he’d got rid of the blemish she’d attempted to stain his character with and walked away for good.
He refocused on her face, listened to her impassioned speech about equality and the empowerment of women through the granting of greater rights. The sound of her voice, husky and beautifully cadenced, threatened to cut through the cold rage locked in his chest. Much like had been happening with far too much frequency in the past few weeks, he recalled her heated implorations as he’d trapped her beneath him and scaled new heights of ecstasy with her. Like every rapt member of the audience, he’d been enthralled with her, enough so tha
t as he’d fallen asleep that night two months ago, he toyed with the idea of prolonging their encounter.
Even waking up and discovering the theft, Rahim had been willing to consider letting her keep the box if it meant convincing her to stay in Dar-Aman a little while longer. Discovering her gone, and the piercing ache of disappointment that had followed, had sent an icy premonition down his spine. The reminder of his father’s weakness where his mother was concerned and the parallels to what he was willing to let slide because of one woman had been shocking enough to bid Allegra good riddance. But, Rahim thought bitterly, out of sight hadn’t meant out of mind.
She paused in her speech, allowing the captive audience to share in her joke. For a brief moment, her eyes slid to his. The shock she hadn’t quite been able to hide reflected in her eyes and in the tiny quiver of her lips. But alongside that, Rahim read fear, stark and real.
A lesser man would have been thrilled to be in the position to leverage her actions against her both publicly and privately. To pay her back for daring to invade his thoughts day and night where no other woman had consumed him with such fervour. But all Rahim wanted was to be alone with her. To test this insane attraction and see if it was as real as his mind and body insisted it was.
He would satisfy himself that Allegra Di Sione was forgettable. Then he would show her the progress he’d made in the past two months in Dar-Aman. It was strictly a matter of pride that she not continue to believe that he was content to live in his opulent palace while his people suffered from his father’s neglect.
The moment her speech was over, he surged from his seat. He waited, hands clenched by his sides as the room erupted in rapturous applause. Again her gaze cut to him, wary questions chasing through the blue depths, before quickly skittering away.
He followed her slender figure as she returned to her seat. Impatiently, he waited as the chairman officially closed the conference before he mounted the podium to where Allegra was indulging in photo ops with a few first ladies. Uncaring about the flashing camera, he cut through the throng surrounding her and stopped in front of her.
Her sleek head turned towards him, and Rahim knew, in that moment, he hadn’t exaggerated the powerful chemistry between them. Every fibre in his body hungered for her with a desperation that was blindingly visceral.
‘Allegra,’ he rasped her name, and just the act of doing so seemed to expand the pressure in his chest.
‘Y-Your Highness. I wasn’t informed you would be attending this conference, or I would have made time to meet with you...’
The formal address, falling so stiffly from her lips, made him want to pull her close, take her mouth in a ruthless kiss and shame her for daring to keep him at arm’s length.
‘Make time now.’ Rahim made sure his tone conveyed he wasn’t making a polite request. ‘I insist.’
She glanced beyond his shoulder and spotted the two burly bodyguards behind him. Her vivid apprehension thickened, reached out and curled around them.
‘I can’t just...leave,’ she parried.
Rahim raised a mocking brow. ‘I think we both know you can do exactly that.’
Every last trace of colour fled her face. Her lashes swept down and she breathed deep before she looked up at him. Against his will, he devoured her lovely features, cursing himself for being this captivated with her despite all she’d done.
His breath caught as she took a step closer and leaned towards him. ‘I can’t do this here, Rahim. Please,’ she whispered shakily.
He caught the delicate scent of her perfume, felt the heat radiating off her body and reined in enough control not to reach out and pull her tight against him. ‘Then leave with me. We’re going to talk, Allegra. It’s your choice whether you want an audience or not. You’re an intelligent woman. Choose the latter.’
She swallowed, and stepped back. Glancing to the side, she smiled at a younger woman who hurried forward. ‘Zara, please cancel my lunch appointment, and send my apologies to Lady Sarafina.’