The Royal House Of Karedes Collection Books 1-12. Кейт Хьюит
the hell was the matter with him?
‘Tidy your hair!’ he snapped. ‘And make yourself presentable to meet my staff.’
Eleni quickly sat up and smoothed her hands over her tousled braids, horribly aware of the position she had put herself in by allowing herself to be so easily seduced. Her heart was still thumping and her cheeks felt as if they were on fire—why, if the sheikh had not stopped what he was doing there was no saying what might now be happening.
You know exactly what would be happening, Eleni—taunted the mocking voice of her conscience.
Her colour increased as the sheikh tapped at the dark glass interconnecting panel between driver and passenger—and this must have set off some smooth mechanism, for almost immediately a shadow loomed up outside the car window, and the door was opened by a member of staff.
It was a woman—quite obviously a Calistan national judging by her dark eyes and golden-olive skin. But she was dressed in a way that Eleni had never seen before. She wore a slim-fitting skirt which came to just below her knees—and a pair of soft leather boots which looked almost like riding boots! Tucked into the waistband of the skirt was a beautiful soft white blouse and the woman wore her dark hair loose—it hung down to her shoulders in a manner which suggested that she might regularly cut it. Why, she was dressed like a westerner! Eleni blinked as the woman gave a smooth curtsey to the sheikh.
‘This is Zahra,’ drawled Kaliq. ‘She helps run my office for me in England. She will arrange everything you need. Put Eleni in the white room, Zahra,’ he added, and swept past them—his mouth hard with displeasure. ‘I am going to my office.’
Eleni watched him go, suddenly fearful. Her heart was still beating hard from that passionate encounter and, shamefully, her body was aching—but watching the sheikh walk away, leaving her alone with this rather glamorous stranger, made Eleni feel suddenly alone, and adrift.
‘How was your flight?’ asked Zahra—her voice breaking into Eleni’s troubled thoughts.
Eleni hesitated. Did royal protocol mean that she should say it was wonderful? That the prince’s flight was both luxurious and comfortable—because that much was true. But too many experiences had been packed into such a short space of time for her to be able to maintain any kind of façade. And why pretend to be something she wasn’t? ‘I was terrified,’ she admitted. ‘It was the first time I had ever been on a plane!’
Zahra bit back a smile. ‘Ah, yes, I remember the feeling well. The first time I flew from Calista, I felt as if it were happening to someone else. But you are here safely now—so shall I show you to your suite and you can freshen up and change?’
Eleni nodded, her spirits lifted by the thought of having another bath. It was funny how quickly she had become used to the luxury of running water. ‘Yes, please.’
Inside, the entrance hall was so big that it contained a huge fireplace, piled with logs and ready to be lit. And the wooden staircase was just as impressive—carved with leaves and flowers as it swept upwards. Eleni stood for a moment just looking at it.
‘By the raven’s wing,’ she murmured. ‘This is indeed a beautiful place.’
‘Indeed it is.’ Zahra glanced at her as she indicated for Eleni to follow her upstairs. ‘The Sheikh Kaliq Al’Farisi tells me that you are a great horsewoman.’
Eleni smiled. ‘The sheikh is indeed very gracious.’
‘And his office tells me that you will require English clothes.’
Eleni glanced at Zahra’s neat dark skirt and the soft white blouse. The other Calistan woman looked perfectly… decent, did she not? Yet Eleni hesitated as she remembered the way that Kaliq’s jodhpurs had hugged every inch of his hips and bottom, and she shook her head. How could she possibly go out dressed in such a way?
‘I do not wish to reject the values of my country,’ she said fiercely—and the subject was temporarily forgotten as Zahra opened the door and showed her into a room of breathtaking simplicity.
Everything was white—snowy white like the peaks of winter mountains. There were white walls and a thick white carpet which sank beneath her feet like quicksand. Muslin drapes like drifts of clouds hung from a large four-poster bed covered in dazzling white linen and beautiful embroidered white curtains framed a picture-perfect view from the huge windows.
‘This is your room.’ Zahra smiled.
Eleni smiled back, her heart suddenly light. He really does treat his staff well, she thought as she peered through an open door to see a pristine white bathroom of majestic proportions. As she turned to speak to Zahra she saw another door which she hadn’t previously noticed.
‘And where does that one lead to?’ she questioned innocently.
‘That one?’ Zahra’s face remained impassive. ‘Oh, that door connects you to the suite of the sheikh.’
ELENI was in a terrible dilemma as she dressed for dinner, defiantly picking out the most traditional outfit from the batch she had brought with her from the sheikh’s palace in Calista. And all the time, a single question buzzed round and round in her head like a fly mesmerised by a candle flame.
Had the prince deliberately put her into a suite with a door which connected to his—and was he planning to use it?
But surely it would be impertinent to ask him—as if she was questioning his motives. Even perhaps a little presumptuous—almost as if she was expecting him to try to enter her room?
And aren’t you? taunted that rogue voice in her head which kept stirring up uncomfortable thoughts and feelings no matter how hard she tried to quell it. Hadn’t she thought of little else other than the way his lips had felt as he had pushed her down onto the back seat of the car and… and…
Cheeks stinging, she finished tying back her hair before going over to the door in question to check whether or not there was a key. And why did she register no surprise whatsoever to discover that there wasn’t one?
Her hands were trembling as she heard a tap at the door and there was Zahra, waiting to lead her down to dinner.
‘I thought I’d come and get you myself,’ she said kindly. ‘Rather than send one of the servants.’
And as Eleni followed her down the sweeping staircase she made up her mind that if the sheikh came to her in the night, she would simply tell him no. Because although he was a man—and a highly virile man at his peak—she knew deep down that he would never take her by force.
But Kaliq seemed preoccupied throughout the meal, his brow furrowed deep by a frown. He kept getting called out by Zahra to take telephone calls, leaving Eleni sitting there rather self-consciously on her own while a stream of servants glided through offering her golden dishes of titbits she had no appetite for.
She was just wondering whether she could slip away unnoticed when he returned, his eyes narrowing as she sat there with a half-eaten pear in front of her—as if he had only just noticed her for the first time. He sat down opposite her, and sighed.
‘I have been a bad host tonight, lizard—forgive me.’
‘It is not the sheikh’s place to seek the forgiveness of one of his subjects,’ answered Eleni dutifully, hoping that a little protocol might emphasise all the differences between them.
‘How very prim and proper you sound this evening,’ he murmured sardonically. ‘Few would guess that you had been lying in my arms just a few hours earlier—with your body craving more of my touch!’
‘Highness!’ Eleni whispered, appalled—but he shrugged his shoulders.
‘Highness,