Wrapped In Pleasure - Brenda Jackson [45]
He also knew he owed it to Delaney to let her know that he was leaving and the reason why. She deserved his honesty. Chances were that news of his engagement would go out over the wire service, and he didn’t want her to find out about it from the newspapers.
It took several moments for him to compose himself, then he left his bedroom to find Delaney.
She was nowhere to be found in the cabin, so he walked toward the lake looking for her. It was a warm, sunny day and birds were flying overhead. A part of him wished he could be that carefree, with no responsibilities and only the commitments that would make him happy. But that wasn’t the case. As his father had not hesitated to remind him a few minutes earlier, he was a prince, a sheikh, and he had responsibilities and obligations.
Jamal stopped walking when he saw Delaney. She was sitting on the dock with her legs dangling over the edge, letting her toes play in the water. A light breeze stirred her hair about her face. She tossed it back in place, then leaned back on her hands to stare up at the birds; the same flock he had seen earlier.
Leaning against a tree, he continued to stare at her. He smiled. Seeing her sitting there, peaceful and serene, was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen, and he wanted to keep it in his memory forever. And knew that he would.
A battle was raging within him, love versus responsibility. Deep in his heart he knew which would win. He had been groomed and tutored to take on responsibilities all his life. But this thing called love was new to him. It was something he had never experienced, and for the first time in his life he felt lost, like a fish out of water.
A shiver passed through him. He loved her with a passion he hadn’t known was possible, yet he had to let her go because duty called.
He forced himself to walk toward her, and when he got to the edge of the dock, he whispered her name and she turned and met his gaze. The look in her eyes and the expression on her face told it all. She didn’t know the why of it, but she knew he was leaving.
And from the way her lips were quivering and from the way she was looking at him, she didn’t have to say the words, because he immediately knew how she felt. The silent message in her eyes told him everything, just as he knew the silent message in his was exposing his very soul to her. For the first time it was unguarded…just for her.
They had both played the game and won…but at the same time they had both lost. He hadn’t played fair and she had played to win and in the end they had gotten more than they had bargained for—each other’s hearts. But now they were losing even more—the chance to be together.
“Come here,” he whispered softly, and she stood and came into his arms willingly. He held her like a dying man taking his last drink, pulling her to him and holding her close, so close he could hear the unevenness of her breathing and the feel of her spine trembling. But at the moment all he wanted to do was hold her tight in his arms, close to his aching heart.
They stood that way, for how long he didn’t know. He stepped back and looked at her, wondering how he would survive the days, weeks, months and years, without her. Wondering how a woman he had met only three weeks ago could change his life forever. But she had.
He swallowed the thick lump in his throat and said, “Duty calls.”
She nodded slowly as she studied his features. Then she asked, “It’s more than the business with the sheikh of that other country, isn’t it?”
He met her gaze. Deep regret was in his eyes. “Yes. I’ve been summoned home to marry.”
He watched as she took a deep breath, saying nothing for a few moments. Hurt and pain appeared in her features although he could tell she was trying not to let them show. Then she asked in a very quiet