Rico stretched out one hand and drew her by the fingertips towards the living room and onto the terrace. The night was sultry and warm, the terrace lit only by a sliver of moon and the wash of lights from the buildings spread out before them in a living, breathing map.
‘I want to give you this,’ Rico said, and withdrew a small black velvet box from the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket.
Halina’s heart stuttered in her chest. ‘Is that...?’
‘Yes,’ he replied as he opened it and showed her its contents. ‘It is.’
Halina gazed down at the exquisite solitaire diamond that was big enough to reach to her knuckle. It glittered and sparkled in the darkness, its many facets catching the moonlight. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered. ‘And huge.’
‘Try it on.’
Wordlessly she held out her hand, unable to keep her fingers from trembling as Rico slid the massive ring onto her finger. It felt heavy, so much so that her hand faltered and Rico caught it up in his own, drawing her even more closely to him.
Their hips nudged and heat flared. This was the closest she’d been to him since the night of the sandstorm, when amidst the fear and uncertainty she’d almost lost her head. Again. Now dizzying sensation spiralled through her, and he was barely touching her.
‘Now everyone will know you are mine,’ Rico said as he placed his hands on her bare shoulders and drew her even closer towards him. The brush of his lips against her was like an electric shock, twanging all the way through her as he deepened the kiss, turning it into a brand.
Halina swayed as Rico moved his mouth with firm, sure possession over hers, plundering its depths, taking control in this as he did in everything.
He broke the kiss first while stars danced behind her eyes and her knees nearly buckled. Blinking away the haze of desire, she saw his smugly satisfied smile.
‘We will have a good marriage, Halina.’
‘There’s more to a marriage than that,’ she returned shakily, and Rico’s smile vanished, replaced by a wintry look.
‘Not for us.’
She’d known it, of course she had, but it still hurt to have him spell it out so plainly. ‘Why not, Rico?’
‘What exactly are you asking me?’
‘I guess I’m asking you what kind of marriage we will have,’ Halina said slowly. Her heart had started beating with painful thuds. ‘Because we’ve never even discussed it.’ She held up her hand, heavy with the glittering ring. ‘I don’t even know when we’re getting married.’
‘In one month’s time.’
‘Have you told my father?’
‘We’ll send him an invitation.’
Halina cringed inwardly at his coolly dismissive tone. Despite the agonising way her father had hurt her, she still missed him and the rest of her family. She hated the thought of them not knowing how she was, or even where she was, but Rico had assured her Sultan Hassan knew she was with him—and that, Rico had said flatly, was all he needed to know.
Now she lowered her hand and gazed down at the ring. ‘In one month,’ she repeated slowly. ‘And what about our marriage? What will it be like?’ She hesitated, then dared to ask the question pulsing through her heart. ‘I know you don’t love me now, but would you ever, perhaps in time?’
She felt Rico stiffen as the seconds ticked on. ‘I am not interested in love, Halina. It’s an ephemeral emotion. It counts for nothing.’
Pain thudded through her. ‘Yet you’ve said you would love our child.’
‘That is different.’
‘It’s specifically romantic love you’re talking about, then?’
A hesitation, telling, painful. ‘Yes.’
Halina drew a deep breath. ‘So you’re telling me you’ll never love me?’
‘I’m telling you I will provide for you, protect you, seek your happiness above my own. What is love compared to all that?’
She stared at him sorrowfully, unsure of her answer but knowing with a leaden certainty that his wasn’t enough.