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you doing out here?”
    â€œI asked first. Come now, I am sheikh and I am accustomed to being answered.” He said it with no irony. Nothing but the absolute certainty of a man who only knew how to get his way.
    She shifted her weight to one leg and put her hand on her hip. “You’ll have to be disappointed then, sugar.”
    He narrowed his eyes, clearly annoyed. Good. “Then I’ll settle for giving you my reasons. I couldn’t sleep.”
    She shrugged. “Oh, funny. I could. That’s why I’m out here. You’re just seeing my astral projection. I’m sound asleep in the house.”
    â€œYou have such a mouth on you,” he said. “I am not complaining. I’ve benefitted hugely from your use of that mouth.”
    It was her turn to be annoyed. “A gentleman wouldn’t bring such things up.”
    â€œI’m not a gentleman,” he said, his tone rough.
    â€œAh…no of course not. You’re a sheikh.”
    â€œSit,” he said, gesturing to the fountain.
    She crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Come on now, Taj, you should know me better than that.”
    He kept his dark eyes trained on her, his face shadowed in the dim light of the garden. He moved to the edge of the fountain and sat down, then touched the place beside him. “Please, sit with me.”
    The change was so abrupt, so unlike him, that it made her chest feel tight. It made her feel like maybe he did know her. Like he might at least try to be the right man for her, instead of just asking her to be the right woman for him.
    She turned and sat down beside him, her hands in her lap. “What is it, Taj?”
    â€œI might ask you the same question since you’re wandering the gardens at night.”
    â€œAnd so are you.”
    â€œI thought…” He frowned. “I was certain I heard you, but I know that isn’t possible. My rooms are on the other end of the palace. But…I was certain I did.” His brow was furrowed, his forehead lined with concentration.
    His admission made her stomach tighten, made her chest feel full. “I’m all right, I just…”
    â€œYou aren’t,” he said, turning and cupping her cheek, his thumb sliding lightly over her cheekbone, the movement sending a shiver through her body.
    â€œI will be,” she said, not sure if that was the truth or not. “Your family has ruled Rahat for…for generations, right?”
    â€œA thousand years.”
    â€œYou believe in…in fate and destiny, I’ll bet.” She looked down at her hands, still folded in her lap.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œSo tell me, did I ever have a chance of escaping this?” She looked up, around the courtyard. “Or was I always meant to be Queen of Rahat, the mother of your heirs, no matter what? Is our fate written in stone or do we have…do we have any control?”
    He frowned. “Angelina…” He looked away from her, appearing to change tactic. “We both had a choice that night in Santina. We chose to follow our desire.”
    He touched her again, his fingers sifting through her hair. And she could feel the unsteadiness in his hand. “But did we have a choice in that?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
    He slid his hand down to her face and she looked at him. She saw heat in his eyes, lust, but there was something deeper. A longing that went further than the need for physical satisfaction. She knew that longing. It went so deep, felt so essential, it was painful. She wondered if he truly felt it. For her, as she did for him.
    â€œThere is always a choice, Angel,” he said, leaning in, firm, hot lips touching hers, shocking in the cool night air. “What choice will you make now?”
    â€œI…” Her lower lip trembled and she caught it between her teeth, the tremor working its way through her body. She released her lip. “I choose you,” she