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Dimitri inclined his head ‘Thank you’

‘My lawyers will be in touch But, Dimitri—’

Dimitri had been about to rise from the chair until the monarch’s unfamiliar use of his first name made him pause

He raised his eyebrows ‘Majesty?’

The Sheikh paused, as if he was about to start speaking in a language unfanise in you someone with deue all successful men And sometimes the only way to rid ourselves of them is to confront them without fear’

The Sheikh’s words echoed around his head as Dimitri made his way back to his suite It was a curiously personal re to make—especially one with the stony reputation of Saladin Was the bond forged between them over that near-fatal race responsible for such an uncharacteristic statement, and was it true? Dimitri shut the door behind hi his life because he had failed to reach out and confront them?

He realised that it was not just Erin’s deception which had angered hi presented with a fatherhood he had not chosen It was the fear of fatherhood itself Would his inability to love or nurture da little boy whose life was materially poor but eain Surely he had to try

He went to Erin’s suite to take her to dinner and she looked up froleam of the chandeliers shone on her dark hair and the claret silk dress caressed her slender body, and automatically he felt his body stiffen with desire But desire could cloud your judges which really ht now he knehat mattered most

He stared into Erin’s green eyes, knowing how incompatible their two lifestyles were He hadn’t known precisely what it was he wanted, or hoas going to go about the daunting task of discovering fatherhood

Until now

The idea hit him with a sudden resolve A primitive and bone-deep certainty, which seemed to have been inspired by Saladin’s words It felt like a distant call to his own ancestry—yet how could that make any sense when his past was so tainted and warped?

But soer than reason and there was no waver in his voice as he spoke ‘I want to take Leo to my country,’ he said

The book slipped froers

‘You mean, to Russia?’

So stirred deep within his heart as he nodded

‘Da To Russia,’ he echoed, and saw the uncertainty which clouded her face