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‘When will you have finished your work?’ he asked with an edge of i her conclusion that she was not his ravishment of choice

‘I have finished, Your Majesty Please call the laundry if you need anything more’

‘I’ll be sure to tellamusement

Fortunately, she’d always been able to take a joke, though the thought that he ht have a sense of humour only made it worse If he was actually human, how had he allowed her ht, it had changed the course of Millie’s life, and had tragically ended her ry eyes

They came from different worlds, Millie concluded In her world, people were answerable for their actions, but in his, not so much

This was no milksop princess with a desire to please hiry wo She old hair and draw back her head so he could taste her neck The girlish figure was long gone and had been replaced by curves in all the right places Her features were pale from lack of sun, but her complexion was flawless ‘We will talk,’ he promised as his senses sharpened ‘And sooner rather than later’

‘Weher fists, which were held stiffly at her side

She’d had years to ponder what had happened that night, so her anger was excusable The death of herhe was involved in so wound It was a reasonable supposition, he conceded

‘It must have been hard for you to return to the Sapphire’

‘Ghosts?’ she suggested with a level look

‘Memories,’ he countered

‘Life goes on,’ she said flatly

‘As it reed

‘Forgive me, Your Majesty, but if you don’t have time to meet with me now, I have work to do on shore’

She was dis him? he wondered with amusement

‘We’re very busy at the laundry,’ she excused, no doubt realising she had overstepped the mark

On the contrary, he thought her a breath of fresh air It would be all too easy for him to slip into the belief that because everyone else bowed the knee, Millie Dillinger would, or that other people’s deference made him special in some way A dose of Millie medicine was exactly what he needed ‘I will see you in my study in ten minutes’ time’

She seeht away ‘My tiuard will escort you,’ he explained, ‘and my PA will call the laundry to explain your delay’

‘But—’

‘Miss Francine is an intelligent woman,’ he interrupted ‘She’ll understand’

Millie’s frown deepened

‘Ten minutes,’ he repeated before he left the room

Millie wasn’t sure she had breathed properly for the entirety of that interview Sheikh Khalid was so , wide space, and absolute silence to get used to it And the guard didn’t give her any time He quick-marched her out of the sumptuous suite, and didn’t pause until they stood in front of an i teak door The entrance to the hawk’s eyrie, Millie presuhtly shut, she sucked in a deep, steadying breath, and prepared for round two

At souard dee back, he allowed her to enter Sheikh Khalid was seated at the far end of his study behind a sleeksome documents He didn’t look up as she walked in The scratch of his pen was a stark res ran to his schedule, and she would have to wait until His Majesty was ready to receive her

Forget pride Any opportunity to interview a potential witness frolanced around with interest Order predoraphs to soften the ambience—a fact that filled her with unreasonable relief—there was just a bank of tech and the desk piled high with official-looking documents

Shouldn’t he invite her to sit?

This ht be the private space of a very private man, but Sheikh Khalid had invited her to come here What about the so-called politeness of Princes? She’d explained that she was busy too Ten minutes, he’d said Did he ti, Millie counselled herself, because if Sheikh Khalid was so meticulous, he could hardly deny what he reht

‘My apologies,’ he said at last, straightening up to fix her with his hawk-like stare ‘Millie,’ he added softly