A Diamond for the Sheikh's Mistress

She shook her head. ‘The answer is no, Zafir. Now, please leave. I’m tired.’

But of course Zafir didn’t turn around to leave, much as Kat wished he would. Even as she felt the betraying hum of awareness that flowed like illicit nectar through her blood.

‘Obviously I wouldn’t expect you to do this for free, Kat. I would be willing to pay handsomely for one of the world’s most sought-after and elusive models. I’m well aware of the fees you once commanded, and as your credit history shows a lack of ability to hang on to your earnings, it looks like you’re not really in a position to turn down such a lucrative contract.’

He illustrated his point with a sweeping glance around her studio apartment.

Kat’s hands curled into fists. Of all the patronising—She stopped just as she was about to blurt something out. Something that would make those far too incisive eyes narrow on her and make him start asking questions again.

It was the last thing she wanted to bring up, but she had to. Maybe it was the thing that would finally push Zafir to leave. ‘Have you considered the speculation that would inevitably be sparked about us again?’

He waited a beat and then said, ‘Yes, I have, and I see no harm in it—not when it’s likely to be confined to the duration of the tour and then it’ll die away again.’

There was a rough quality to Zafir’s voice that sent a rush of awareness through Kat’s blood—as if her body was already reacting to some secret signal. For a moment she couldn’t really comprehend the way he was suddenly so watchful, but then it sank in with horrifying clarity.

‘You can’t seriously mean for us to—’ She stopped, afraid to speak the words out loud. Afraid to make herself look a fool again. Afraid she might be right.

Afraid she might be wrong.

‘Can’t seriously mean for us to what, Kat?’

Zafir moved closer and she was rooted to the spot. He stopped within reaching distance, the harsh lighting of her apartment

doing nothing to leach away any of his sheer gorgeousness.

‘I can’t seriously mean for us to be together again?’

Kat looked at him, horrified and excited in equal measure. She half shook and nodded her head.

Zafir’s face suddenly took on a harsh aspect. ‘That’s exactly what I mean. I want you back in my bed, Kat. We have unfinished business. When you walked out—’

‘You mean when you cast me aside!’ Anger flooded Kat’s veins again, giving her the impetus to move back out of Zafir’s dangerous proximity, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.

‘We’re not going to rake over that ground again,’ Zafir said harshly. ‘Suffice it to say that our engagement might have been over—there was no way I could have presented you as my future Queen after those headlines and pictures—but our relationship didn’t have to be over.’

Shock mixed with affront, and hurt poured through Kat, making her tremble. She was back in time, standing before Zafir in far more luxurious surroundings saying incredulously, ‘You don’t love me.’

He’d slashed a hand through the air. ‘This isn’t about love, Kat. It’s never been about love. It’s about mutual respect and desire and the fact that I believed—mistakenly—that you were the perfect choice to be my wife and future Queen.’

‘Perfect...’ She’d half-whispered it to herself, never hating a word as much as she had then.

Her whole life she’d been told she had to be perfect. To win the next competition. To get the commercial over the other pretty girl. To get enough money to save her mother... Except she’d failed—miserably.

She’d looked at Zafir and said in a hollow voice, ‘Well, I’m not perfect, Zafir. Far from it.’

And she’d walked out, leaving her engagement ring on the hall table. And now she was glad—because clearly he would have demoted her from the position of future wife, but kept her in his life as his mistress.

And she’d never been further from perfect than she was right now.

‘Get out, Zafir, this conversation is over.’

But her words bounced off him as if an invisible shield protected him.

‘Think about what you’re turning down, Kat. A chance to restart your life and return to where you belong. Have you thought about what you’d be turning down?’

He mentioned a sum of money and it was literally life-changing. Kat felt her blood drain south.

He reached into an inside pocket and took out a card, holding it out to her. She unlocked her arms from her chest and took it reluctantly.