He had to protect her and ease her way.
Tahir Al’Ramiz, a champion of duty.
Would wonders never cease?
‘What do you think, Tahir?’ His mother interrupted his thoughts. ‘Will decentralised healthcare get off the ground? Or is it rhetoric?’
He watched Annalisa blush, guessing they’d been expounding upon the problems with the current system. Just the sort of thing she would be interested in, he realised with something like pride.
‘Since you’re interested, come to the next meeting of the working party.’
Silence greeted his suggestion.
‘It’s not usual,’ his mother explained. ‘It’s normally just officials.’
Didn’t he know it? He felt hemmed-in by bureaucracy. It wasn’t his style. Ruling a country wasn’t his style! But if he was stuck with it, he’d do it his way.
Tahir leaned forward to select a date from the platter before him. He favoured Annalisa with a long look and saw her eyes grow round again. It reminded him of her wide-eyed wonder as their bodies joined. He struggled to find the thread of the conversation.
How did she do that without even trying?
‘I’ll have one of the secretaries let you both know when the next meeting is.’
‘Oh, but I don’t think…’ Annalisa’s words trailed off as he watched her.
‘But you do think, Annalisa, and that’s why I want you there.’ Even as he said it he realised how true that was. The meetings had been a tangle of officialdom and little practical input. Besides, it would give Annalisa a chance to think about something other than her pregnancy. He guessed after living a life busy with responsibilities being cooped up here with nothing to do gave her too much time to worry.
‘You have experience in healthcare in the provinces. It would be useful to hear your perspective.’ He turned to his mother. ‘Did you know Annalisa helped provide medical care in outlying villages?’
‘I did.’ His mother’s look might almost have been called approving. He paused in the act of chewing. ‘Annalisa would give valuable input. What a good idea.’
Tahir swallowed the date and sat back, his head spinning. His royal mother sounded almost warm in her praise. What was the world coming to?
For as long as he could recall she’d been coolly polite. During his exile she’d refused to answer his calls.
‘But I couldn’t,’ Annalisa murmured. ‘I’m not—’
‘I’d appreciate your involvement. And my mother will be there.’ Tahir leaned forward and fixed Annalisa with a look he knew could melt feminine resolve in under thirty seconds. He watched her blink rapidly as a soft blush warmed her cheeks and throat.
Triumph filled him. She wasn’t indifferent, for all her unwillingness to wed.
If he had to marry, he intended to enjoy the benefits. Soon, very soon, she’d give him everything he desired.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TAHIR leaned back in his chair and silently congratulated himself.
With Annalisa’s input the working party had achieved more these last couple of weeks than he’d have thought possible. She’d done what his officials hadn’t: sought advice from contacts in outlying regions. The plans for coordinated medical care promised to be a success.
His wife-to-be was talented and able. She related to people at all levels, yet was curiously lacking in ego. She was clever, caring, intelligent.
And she aroused him as no other woman.
Even the knowledge that she carried his child couldn’t quench his desire. He’d found himself hungrily tracing her figure for some sign of the baby. Instead of shying from the idea, he found her pregnancy evoked urgent, possessive feelings that made his self-imposed distance almost impossible.
The fact that he barely slept, haunted by erotic dreams, was testament to his newfound strength. Once upon a time he’d have seduced her as soon as temptation rose.
Yet he’d found a strange contentment in restraint, knowing he did the right thing, allowing her time to adjust. The way she glowed and her renewed confidence proved he’d done right.
He nodded goodbye to his staff. The room emptied but for Annalisa, still poring over plans.
Silently he paced across to stand beside her.
The familiar wild honey scent of her skin filled his nostrils and sent a tremor through already taut muscles. He inhaled deeply. No scent was more evocative. His hands grew damp as he suppressed the impulse to pull her close.
He watched her graceful movements as she turned the pages. The way she pursed her lips in an unconscious pout. He wanted to bite that succulent bottom lip till she groaned with delight, then plunder her sweet depths. He wanted to see the glitter of incendiary fire in her warm brown eyes as she gasped in pleasure and fulfilment.