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“You ly
“You touched me”
“And you liked it”
He opened hiscame out
She laughed Again “No denial?”
“You aren’t going to convince me to dismiss my promise to your father with sex”
“The thought honestly never crossed my mind”
Thank goodness for small favors
“The truth is, I’ain”
“I just said—”
“Not for , you don’t have the power to offer that Not really You could withdraw your services, but my father would simply hire someone else”
“That’s true” And he was glad she realized it The thought of so h him
“But you can giveI want”
“What?”
“To start with, time”
“Lina…” he said warningly
“Not too much time…just a few days”
“And what do you think you have to bargain with?” Curiosity about what itto offer her body in exchange for that ti than he wanted it to be
“My compliance”
Her answer stunned him “I have you I don’t need your compliance”
“Are you sure about that?”
“You will probably call ant, but yes”
Flicking her silky cascade of multicolored hair over one shoulder, she ed her head to one side “How do you intend to get me on the plane?”
“I have a letter fro me permission to use whatever means necessary to insure you do”
Lina blanched, but looked no less confident “And in Marwan, that letter would carry a lot of weight, but we aren’t in my father’s country”
“It’s your country, too, princess”
“No, it is not” She sounded so sure, not at all like a petulant child rebelling against her parents
“You can’t wish away your place in the world”
“No, but I can and did take legal action to change it”
“What do you mean?”
“I am a US citizen”
“Living in this country, even for most of your life does not make you a citizen”
“No, but applying for citizenship and passing the test does”
An ugly word came out of his mouth
“If you attempt to take me on a plane, or anywhere else for that es”
“Your father—”
“Has diplomatic immunity You don’t And while his word may be law in Marwan, his letter of authority isn’t worth the paper it’s written on when it applies to a US citizen here in the States”
“You’re lying”
“I’ive you my social security number to make it easy for you”
“You don’t have an SSN”
“I do I got it when I became a citizen”
“This is not possible”
“But it is”
“If you are a citizen, why did you come with me yesterday?”
“Because I know I have to face my family”
“Why run in the first place?”