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His possession His pawn Whatever he made her Whatever he desired

She had to leave him

While she still could

CHAPTER SEVEN

“YOUR WIFE IS ENCHANTING!” the Italian business, especially when he had his equally enthusiastic hands on Cleo while he was saying it

But Khaled s and they were in the full glare of a very public gala, and restrained hi the man’s bristly mustache away from Cleo’s outstretched hands Barely

Mine, he thought, the way he always did, because even dressed in for politely for the cameras, Khaled was little more than a caveman where this woman was concerned His woman

It was the height of winter in Vienna and he was already weary of this nonsense They’d been traveling for several weeks now, hitting one event after another across Europe so that Khaled could court captains of industry like the one currently slobbering over his wife He was tired

He was tired of touting his vision of a new Jhurat like a snake-oil sales all the reasons this or that industry should plant new roots in Jhuratan soil He was tired of dancing and s the many over-titled idiots who cluttered up the European ballroohtest idea of what it

And he was tired, so very tired, of the icy cold perfection of his wife

He had to hand it to her, Khaled thought darkly as he watched her latest perfor the besotted Italianthe equally smitten Swiss banker on her left Cleo learned her lessons quickly Especially the ones he’d taught her

She was perfect tonight She’d been perfect for weeks, corace froiven that everyone who saw her kneho she was and that she hadn’t a drop of blue blood in her Since that awful night in his bedchaainst hilorious sh She’d woken up that followingand she’d simply beenperfect