Radiz had been watching her all afternoon. His guards had taken her to a suite of rooms in the east wing of the palace. Given the charges against her, it was necessary for him to arrange for a constant security detail to shadow her every move. And for some reason, that very necessity had irked him.
Now, as the sun lent the palace a tangerine glow, and the warmth of the desert was finally relenting, he took another step towards his prisoner. She was not simply beautiful. He had known many women, and many of them exquisitely well put together.There was an indefinable quality to this British woman and it both fascinated and terrified him. She was … singularly unique.
And though it made no sense, he knew himself well enough to know that he would not be easy until he had indulged his fascination. He did not expect to feel obsessed by her for long. His interest in a woman never lasted once it had been tested. His principal love was for his country, and into this he poured all his energy.
He stepped forward, enjoying the way her cheeks flushed and her pupils dilated at his sudden nearness. “You are beautiful, young, and a woman of the west.” Here, he allowed his hand to lift and tuck a collection of her sunflower yellow hair behind her ear. “No crime you could ever commit would make me want to see you languish in that prison, under the care of those wardens.”
Her heart was pounding against her chest; her hands were shaking. She wrapped her fingers together to disguise the betraying gesture. “That’s rather superficial.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is it? Why?”
She compressed her lips. “Have you heard of the Magna Carta? Or the Rule of Law, perhaps?”
He laughed. “That all men are equal? And entitled to the same rights and protections?”
“Yes.”
“This does not work so well in a society such as Fasiya.”
“Why not?” She pushed. It was hard to think. If she took a step forward, they would be touching. A tiny step and his chest would be against hers. She forced herself to picture Steph. Her best friend, who would certainly regard it as a betrayal if Miranda were to develop a crush on her brother.
“In a country such as this, there is no law that can contain me.”
She frowned, and her brows knitted together. “Not, perhaps, one enshrined into legislation. But surely you realise there is always civil law. The threat of civil revolt. No government exists in a void. You work to please your people, and if you fail to do so, they will overthrow you.”
Her perception was exactly right. How often he had thought that his supreme power was all an illusion. But he didn’t say as much. “And yet, if I wished to kiss you, for example, there would be no law against it.”
Miranda would have sworn her heart actually stopped beating. “But you will not kiss me,” she choked out, her voice strained and desperate. “For many reasons, least of all that I hardly know you. And I’m a prisoner here, regardless of the fact my new cage is spectacularly gilded.”
“Ah.” He nodded shrewdly and stepped back. “It is true. But your prison sentence is dependent entirely on your cooperation.”
“Is it?” She wondered aloud, her heart still beating a frantic tattoo.
He nodded. “As soon as you tell me the full truth behind your motives for breaking into my sister’s apartment, and once I have independently verified that your story is true, you will be released.”
Miranda’s heart sank. She could never give him the information he sought. “Then you might just have to get used to me, your highness.”
“May I make an observation?”
She nodded.
“You don’t seem like a woman who is worried for her future.”
“Worried?”
He made a noise of assent. “Do you realise that I could have you detained for life? That I could tear up your passport and keep you here for good?” Oh, God, he felt his arousal stir at the very idea of imprisoning her. He was in trouble. King of a country, and he couldn’t control his own body. At least, not around this woman.
Miranda sucked in a deep breath, her cheeks drained of all colour. “Oh. I… but you just said…”
He pushed aside the unwelcome feelings of desire. “And you just said you wouldn’t give me the information I seek. Which puts me in a rather difficult position.”
He put a hand on her back and propelled her forward, into one of the rooms she’d been invited to use for her stay. When two of his palace guards made to follow them, he shook his head and clicked the door closed in their faces.
“What is it?” She demanded nervously, her voice like a breeze of breath.
He couldn’t believe what he was thinking. Worse, he couldn’t believe he was going to say it. “You do have some choice in the matter.”
Miranda lifted a hand to the column of her neck. “Do I?” Her heart fluttered hopefully.
