demands that threatened to tear apart her entire life. ‘And if I was to say, no, I’m not going anywhere and let’s forget we ever crossed the boundaries?’
‘I believe you are too sensible to challenge me.’
This time around she felt the distinct chill in the air and it raised goosebumps on her exposed skin. His dark gaze was black and cold. For the very first time, she sensed the steel of him, the fierce ruthless purpose that powered him beneath the charisma. The discovery of what lay at the core of him unnerved her. He was determined that she leave Woodrow Court and if that was how strongly he felt, she did not see how she could remain and live in constant fear of her wanton behaviour being exposed. ‘I wish I had known what I was getting into,’ she breathed starkly.
‘You do now,’ Jasim pointed out silkily.
Elinor wanted to shout, but she was too shaken by what had happened to let go of her temper until she knew exactly where she stood. In her own heart she was committed to him but she did not like the way he was treating her. What were the chances that a royal prince would treat her with respect? Or come to truly care for her as anything other than a sexual partner? She realised that she had thrown the dice in a game without knowing what she was really playing for and now it was too late to go back and argue about the rules. As long as she could get a reference she would soon get another job in London. Whatever, it seemed she had thoroughly burned her boats at Woodrow Court.
She managed to return to her room, mercifully without running into anyone. She stood in the shower with tears running down her taut cheeks, trying to overcome the suspicion that in sleeping with Jasim she might well have made the biggest mistake of her life. He was turning her life upside down but she wasn’t ready yet to give up hope of a better future and walk away. As soon as she was dressed she sought out Zahrah and told the little girl that she had to leave to go and see her family. She hated telling a lie and Zahrah was quite tearful until her beloved nurse took her off for breakfast. Elinor knew her charge would be fine without her. Zahrah’s main source of security was the elderly nurse who had always been with her.
She skipped breakfast and packed. A manservant came to the door for her luggage and Jasim called her on the house phone at noon. ‘I’ll see you in London,’ he told her. ‘I’m grateful that you’re being sensible about this. I couldn’t hide our relationship and I don’t intend to.’
Strengthened by what felt like a far-reaching pledge of faith on her terms, Elinor got into the car waiting outside for her and it was only then that she marvelled at her failure to demand to know exactly where she was being taken. Mid-afternoon, she preceded her driver into a lift in a tall block of luxury flats. He had not a word of English so she couldn’t question him and she wondered as she was shown into an apartment if it was where Jasim lived when he was in the city. Was he moving her in with him? Surely not? She reminded herself that she had a healthy bank account and was far from powerless when it came to looking out for her own best interests. But, even so, the sudden changes had cost her dear; she had a cautious personality and her strong attachment to him added entire layers of complexity that made her feel out of control.
An hour later, Jasim strode through the front door. He hauled her straight into his arms and kissed her as if he was set on reminding her of his power over her. Pink lit her cheeks and butterflies fluttered inside her. Everything, she promised herself as she gazed up into his breathtakingly handsome face, was going to be fine. She just had to give them both a little time and space.
But time, she soon learned, was at premium.
‘This evening I’m flying to New York for two weeks,’ Jasim imparted with a casualness that made her vulnerable heart sink like a stone. ‘That’s why I had you brought here. I own this apartment and you’ll be comfortable here while I’m abroad.’
‘I can afford my own accommodation, although I may not need it for long. Most nanny jobs are live-in and if you can sort out a reference for me, I’ll have another job by the time you get back—’
Jasim studied her in wonderment. Unable to believe that she could possibly be serious in her desire to be self-sufficient, he released a slightly harsh laugh. ‘There’s no need for you to look for another position. Nannies must work hellish hours—how would I ever see you? Don’t you understand what I’m offering you?’
Elinor stood there very still and straight-backed and increasingly pale. ‘No, I must be incredibly thick because I haven’t quite worked out yet what you’re offering me …’
His charismatic smile slashed his lean dark visage and he took a measured step forward. ‘Naturally, I want to take care of you …’
‘No, thanks.’ Elinor forced a smile that felt rigid on her tense mouth and mentally willed him not to demean her with some sordid proposition. ‘The only man who will ever take care of me with my agreement will be my husband. I’m willing to wait for you to come back but I’m not willing to be kept by you. I’m a very independent woman and what I give, I give freely.’
Jasim frowned. ‘You make it all sound so serious.’
‘What happened between us last night drove a coach and horses through my life and left pure chaos in its wake,’ she reminded him gently, a slender hand resting on the lapel of his pinstripe suit jacket. ‘Right now, I don’t know whether I’m on my head or my heels. I’ll stay for a while because I have nowhere else to go in the short term, but I need to fall back to Planet Earth again so maybe it’s good that you’ll be away for a while.’
Jasim pulled out his wallet to extract a card. ‘My private number,’ he told her, presenting her with it as though it was a precious gift—which indeed it was. Many women would have done just about anything to gain access to that direct hotline to him, but his staff guarded his privacy with scrupulous care.
Before he could close the wallet, his thumb brushed over the condom packet slotted into it and his blood ran cold in his veins in a deeply disturbing wake-up call. He realised that in his excitement the evening before he had neglected to use contraception with Elinor. Consternation rolled through him. How could he have made such a serious oversight? Although he was usually very careful, they had shared numerous encounters of unprotected sex during the night. What if he had got her pregnant? He reminded himself that, according to Murad, a woman didn’t fall pregnant that easily. Certainly, Yaminah had been most unfortunate in that regard. He thought of all that he had read about ‘morning-after pills’, but he had too much respect for the gift of new life to persuade a woman into taking that option as a preventative measure. He decided that he could more easily live with hoping for the best. Yet, he knew that an unplanned pregnancy would engulf his life like an avalanche, crush his freedom and suffocate him. He barely stilled a shudder at the threat of such an outcome and thought how ironic it was that what his older brother had longed and prayed for to secure the line to the throne should strike Jasim as an absolute disaster.
Within twenty-four hours of Jasim’s departure, Elinor quietly signed up with an agency as a relief nanny and found herself plunged straight back into regular, reasonably well-paid employment. Going from one family to the next and staying only a few days in each household was surprisingly enjoyable and kept her too busy to brood. She knew she wouldn’t like dealing with a merry-go-round of change for ever but, just then, the freedom from having to forge new meaningful relationships felt like what she most needed. Every night she returned to the luxurious but anonymous comfort of the apartment and fell asleep within minutes of getting into bed.
Jasim phoned her almost every day. The conversations were curiously impersonal and unsatisfying and only made her feel more insecure. The only information he gave about himself was superficial. He never mentioned the future, or that he was missing her. Her period was due at the end of that first week and when it didn’t arrive as expected she tried not to worry. She started to feel that she had been very foolish once she acknowledged that she had no memory of Jasim taking precautions that night at Woodrow Court. Had he falsely assumed that she was taking contraceptive pills as so many women did? How could she have been so dense? When her nerves could stand the waiting game no longer, she bought a pregnancy test. The test was guaranteed to give an accurate result within days of a malfunctioning menstrual