Everlasting - Iris Johansen [19]
“Sedikhan.”
“Then that's where we met. I was really in seclusion in Switzerland, putting together a pharmaceutical combine, but only a few people know that. It wouldn't have been unheard of for me to fly to Marasef for a conference with Alex Ben Raschid and run into you there. I took one look at you and—voilà—instant passion.”
She frowned. “I'm not the kind of woman who inspires instant insanity in men, Zack. Do you think anyone will believe it?”
He slowly shook his head. “What am I going to do with you? In case you didn't notice, only this morning I gave an extemporaneous demonstration of how insane you're capable of driving a man.” His finger gently touched the hollow of her cheek. “I promise to be very convincing. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said softly. Happiness bubbled up in her like a clear, golden stream. She turned away as the door of the Learjet opened and stairs were rolled up to the entrance. “If you don't think Stefan will think something is fishy.”
“Let me take care of it. I've probably handled more difficult customers than your brother Stefan. Corporate types are far more ruthless than diplomats.”
“I just might do that. I haven't had any great degree of luck in influencing Stefan up to the present.”
“I've noticed,” he said dryly as he took her elbow and urged her toward the door. “I'm surprised that Marna didn't just put a spell on him instead of your unfortunate suitors.”
“She couldn't. It would have been a gesture of disloyalty to the royal household and would have broken the tradition that binds her people to the Rubinoff dynasty.” She suddenly frowned as her gaze swept over his big body, still garbed in the sweatshirt and jeans he'd put on that morning. “Where is your jacket?”
His eyes widened in surprise. “What?”
“You can't go outside like that.”
He went still. “Is Her Highness ashamed to be seen with me?”
“Don't be stupid,” she said crossly. “It may be hot in Tucson, but it's autumn in the Balkans, and it can be very cool here in October. You can't run around just in jeans and a sweatshirt. You might catch cold.”
“Really.” A flicker of tenderness transformed the wary hardness of his face. “Well, I certainly wouldn't want to do that. A cold in the head might prove very inconvenient at the moment.” He opened a shallow closet, pulled out a beige suede jacket, and slipped it on. “Satisfied?”
She nodded contentedly. “Yes. Now you're being sensible.”
“I'm known to be a very sensible man.” He directed a grin at her before he stepped back to allow her to precede him down the stairs. “Sometimes.”
“Your dual personality?” she asked over her shoulder. “I would think you'd feel very Jekyll and Hyde with—”
“Who's that?” Zack's gaze had focused on someone beyond her shoulder and his voice was so sharp it startled her.
Her head turned to follow his gaze and she unconsciously tensed. “We're evidently about to be honored,” she said quietly as she watched the tall, lean man approaching them with leisurely catlike grace. “It's Sandor Karpathan.”
Zack gave a low whistle. “This little junket may prove more entertaining than I thought. I can see why he made you uneasy. He has—”
“Condar. Strength,” Kira finished flatly. “Marna says he is a disek, one of the exceptional ones who can be anything he wants to be. But diseks can be evil as well as good. She doesn't trust him. She says there is something not as it should be.”
Condar. Yes, the word suited Karpathan, just as the impression inherent in the word power fitted Zack. He was in his middle thirties and his slender body was clothed in a flawlessly tailored three-piece beige suit, which he wore with effortless grace. His hair was dark and barbered by a master hand, his shoes shined to a mirror gloss. His features were just as perfect as his dress and he should have looked a trifle effeminate. But there was nothing effeminate about Sandor Karpathan. He appeared to be tough, intelligent, and dangerous.
His smile was a brilliant flash in his bronzed