One touch from Asim was all it took.
Dimly she was aware of a bustle on the pavement. She turned. Heavy-set security men were trying to block a couple of cameramen from filming. But she noticed a number of mobile phones raised in their direction.
She supposed she should be concerned that he’d made her the subject of gossip just by following her down the street, but that was the least of her concerns.
‘You’re creating a scene. You should go.’
‘I don’t give a damn.’
Her eyebrows arched. ‘Those are TV cameras. You’re making a spectacle of yourself, a target for the sort of stories you hate.’
To her amazement, Asim smiled. The impact rocked her back in her chair and made her forget about trying to wrest her hand free.
‘Recent events have put my dislike of the press in perspective.’
‘Recent events?’ Her stomach plunged and she sat straighter. ‘Has something happened to Samira?’
‘No, she’s thriving, though missing you.’ He leaned close and she almost lost herself in the dark velvet of his eyes. ‘But there are far worse things than providing fodder for the press.’
Jacqui doubted that. Asim’s prejudice was strong. ‘Like what?’
‘Like losing the one woman in the world who can make me happy.’
His fingers tightened on hers as she recoiled, her spine hitting the back of her seat. The sound of traffic and people blurred to white noise.
‘Don’t!’ It was almost a shout. ‘Don’t,’ she whispered. ‘Whatever you’re up to, I don’t want to be part of it. I walked away, remember? I’m getting on with my life.’ No matter that she had yet to discover a spark of interest in anything.
‘Oh, I remember, Jacqueline.’ His mouth curved in a baring of teeth she could only call ferocious. ‘To my everlasting shame, I remember. That’s why I’m here. To tell you I’m sorry for what I did, pushing you away.’
Jacqui stared at his harsh expression but hadn’t a hope of guessing what he thought.
‘It’s a long way to come for an apology.’
‘You don’t think you deserve it?’
She leaned close enough that his spicy scent tickled her nose. Involuntarily she breathed deep, savouring it. Her automatic reaction fuelled an anger she’d hoped had passed. ‘What’s wrong between us can’t be fixed by an apology, Asim.’
To her amazement he paled, the gleam in his eyes extinguished like a flame snuffed out.
‘Don’t say that.’ His hand tightened almost to the point of pain.
‘It’s true. You want a blue-blooded princess for a cold-hearted marriage. An apology won’t change that.’ As abruptly as it had flared, her indignation died, replaced by sorrow. ‘You can’t help what you feel and nor can I. At least you were honest with me at the end.’
His other hand joined the first, engulfing hers on the table.
‘That’s where you’re wrong.’
‘Sorry?’ Jacqui gaped. Distressed as she was, she knew Asim was a man of his word. Even that last evening, her heart shredding to bleeding tatters, she’d seen his regret. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her.
His jaw looked as solid as the stone of the Jazeeri citadel. Only the double-time flick of a pulse at his throat betrayed him.
‘Asim?’ She was used to him in control, managing every situation, even the business of despatching his unwanted lover.
He didn’t look in control now.
‘I wasn’t honest with you.’ The words were a bare rumble of sound, drawing her closer till their heads almost met. ‘I told myself I was. I was even proud of myself, in a perverse way, for making us face the brutal truth that we couldn’t be together. For bringing everything into the open.’
His nostrils flared on a deep breath and his eyes flickered shut. When they opened again she read something in his expression she’d never seen. It held her trapped as surely as his hands.
Something in her chest seemed to roll over. Her heart?
‘I was afraid, Jacqueline. Afraid to face a truth I wasn’t ready for.’ He swallowed hard. She watched the muscles of his throat work and tried to understand what made him so vulnerable.
One bronzed hand rose to stroke her cheek and it was her turn to swallow as the slow caress evoked sensations she’d thought never to know again. Hot tears glazed her eyes and she fought to stop her mouth crumpling.
‘My darling.’ His voice was for her ears alone. ‘Can you forgive me? I’d spent a lifetime convinced there was no such thing as love, at least for me. I was a coward, terrified to face the emotions you made me feel. I didn’t see I’d already fallen for you.’