Page 11 of Kismet

“I’ll be all right, Isabelle. Go back to Brant, and I’ll join you in a few moments.” When her friend looked ready to protest, she gently urged Isabelle in the direction of her future husband. “I’ll be fine.”

Although it was obvious she didn’t want to go, Isabelle acquiesced, but only after sending the Viscount a sharp glance of warning. As her friend moved away, she turned her gaze back to the man in front of her.

“I’m surprised to see you in Marrakech,” she said quietly.

“I’m here on family business.” He grimaced as she arched her eyebrows. “It’s the truth. I’m looking for my cousin, the Viscount Newcastle. The last I heard he was here in Marrakech.”

“Please don’t take me for a fool, Charles.” She sent him a look of disgust.

“Allegra, I swear I didn’t know you were here this evening. If I’d known you’d be here, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Why? You’ve not let it stop you before.” It was impossible to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She’d been exceedingly fond of Charles and when he’d maligned her publicly, it had been a betrayal of their friendship. To her amazement, she saw him wince.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

For a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. She shook her head in bemusement as she watched the remorse in his expression. When she didn’t say anything, he stretched his neck as if to swallow a large lump in his throat.

“I’m sorry, Allegra. For all of it. I was a bastard.”

“What do you expect me to say, Charles?” She eyed him with mistrust. “That an apology makes everything all right?”

“No.” He grimaced. “I said some ugly things and hurt you. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t, so the only thing I can do is tell you how sorry I am.”

“Very well. You’ve said it,” she said coolly and started to move away from him. He immediately grasped her arm to hold her in place.

“Do you think you might be able to forgive me?”

She glanced down at her arm in a pointed manner before meeting his gaze again. He immediately released his grip. Taken aback by the regret on his face, she looked away from him. Any other time she would have found it fairly easy to forgive him, but tonight her nerves were raw. She couldn’t trust her instincts where Charles was concerned. Her mysterious sheikh had rendered her far more vulnerable than she cared to admit. She’d been powerless in his arms, and the confidence she prided herself on was shaken badly.

If she gave in easily to Charles’s request, it might make him think there was still hope for him. Worse, what if he were simply playing her for a fool? She’d already played that part once this evening and had no intention of doing it again. With a sigh, she returned her gaze to Charles’s remorseful expression.

“It’s not that easy, Charles. I need time to think about it.”

“I understand,” he said softly. “Will you at least let me call on you in a couple of days?”

“I don’t know . . . I’m not sure—”

“I know I can’t have your love, Allegra, but I’ll settle for your friendship. I’ve missed our debates. Of all the women I’ve ever been with, you’re the only one who could ever best me when it came to a sound argument.”

The admission tugged a small smile to her lips. She’d enjoyed their debates as well. “In a couple of days, then.”

Charles smiled with delight as he captured her hand and brought it to his lips. It reminded her that it was his smile that had attracted her to him in the first place. He brushed his lips across her knuckles. “Thank you, Allegra, you won’t regret it. I promise.”

With a nod, she gently eased her hand out of his and moved toward where Isabelle stood with her fiancé. She’d only gone a short distance when a frisson across the nape of her neck made her pause. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a tall shadow just beyond the reach of the salon’s candlelight. A shudder rippled through her. It was impossible to read his expression, but instinct told her that she would see him again. And the next time she wouldn’t find it so easy to escape.

From the shadows of the terrace, Shaheen watched Allegra join the group of people surrounding Hastings and his fiancée. It was clear the man she’d been talking to was someone she knew well. They had the look of lovers arranging a tryst, and the idea put him in an ill temper.

He uttered a soft noise of disgust. Damnation. Why the hell should it bother him to see the woman with one of her lovers? Because she’d gotten to him. She’d managed to make him doubt his assumptions about her.

Damn it to hell, he’d never meant to indulge in a game of seduction. And it had backfired on him in a way he’d never expected. How the devil was he supposed to know she was a courtesan with principles? Frances had never been so idealistic.

“Merde, what the hell were you thinking, you bastard?” he muttered as he paced the length of the patio.

None of this would have happened if he’d simply warned her away from Hakim instead of trying to prove she was just like any other whore. Particularly when she’d quite effectively proven him wrong. He grunted with anger as he wheeled about and walked the length of the stone terrace for the second time. It had been a hell of a lot easier to consider her unprincipled than a woman with scruples.

He now understood the fascination other men had with her. All he’d done was kiss the woman and his body had been on fire for her. His lust for her had been all-consuming and unlike anything he’d ever felt for Frances, or any other woman for that matter. Even now, his cock ached to slide into the tight silky warmth of her. It would be a simple thing to relieve his physical ache with his hand or even by a visit to one of the local brothels, but he doubted there would be any satisfaction in it.

At the moment, there was only one woman he wanted. The image of Allegra kneeling in front of him, her round buttocks cupped in his hands as he slid in and out of her slick, velvety heat made his erection jump. Making it worse was the fact that he could still feel her softness against him, smell her fresh feminine scent in his nostrils. She’d left her mark on him.