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CHAPTER ONE

DR LAUREL MARTIN placed the test tube into the rack with great care, her pulse racing in anticipation This could be it The breakthrough she’d devoted her career to finding The process to stop the ene in the X chronancy and corrected then thousands of lives could be changed, in so that link

To find the answer she had to have funding That money was difficult to co out Still she held out hope that would change She’d subrant application and should hear about it any day

The study of he Into realize her co with patients and their loved ones She didn’t like to tell the an introvert further hindered her ability to do so Research had become her safe spot

A tap on her labher attention She pushed up her goggles in an effort to adjust them on her nose Stewart, the director of the lab, stood on the other side of the glass Hisbeside him

Oh, my Laurel’s heart jueous She hadn’t had that type of reaction to a e when she’d first seen her ex-boyfriend, Larry A college football player, he’d been shockingly good looking as well She’d learned the hard way that good looks didn’t always equate with being a kind person

The ht be of Middle Eastern decent His skin had a warreat aave him an aura of authority, as if he knew his place in the world and had no trouble holding it The black tailored suit jacket covering his broad shoulders rooaze locked with hers

To her surprise his eyes weren’t like ink Instead they were chestnut, re stallion she’d seen once as a girl One of his well-shaped brows rose slightly as if he suspected the effect he had on women and wasn’t surprised by her reaction

His look bored into hers,her feel like one of her petri dish specimens under a microscope The devil of it was, he was the kind of man she’d always been attracted to The type of male who had always looked past her ent personality in favor of a tall blonde, with perky breasts, long legs and an engaging giggle that stood just behind her Laurel allpaper and his sort was interested in the chandeliers

Men like hi The one tied her that much So much so she’d sworn off h to become so absorbed in her work she had little life outside it Laurelto do with the man before her

The wave of Stewart’s hand, indicating he wanted her to co stranger Laurel checked her test tubes again and pushed the rack further away fro her chair back She exited the room door with a swish of the airlock seal

behind her In the outer roolasses She pulled herher in a simple round neck T-shirt and jeans

Shrugging into her starched lab coat, she touched the bun at the back of her head, lanced over her shoulder The stranger’s intense gaze reh her, disconcerting her even ?

Shaking off the response, she moved with cool proficiency into the main lab It wasn’t until she’d aler ones standing a few paces behind the ures? Because she’d been so absorbed by her reaction to the er, with bulkier shoulders and had even grimmer faces, if that was possible Their hands were clasped in front of thes apart as if ready to move into action Who were these people and what did they ith her?

Laurel’s hands trembled She shoved the? Her eyes narrowed and she gave Stewart a questioning look, relieved to have an excuse to break off eye contact with the others there

Stewart’s voice shook slightly as he said, “Laurel, this is Prince Tariq Al Marktum, and he would like to speak to you” Stewart enunciated thein order not to stumble over it

Prince? What would a prince ith her? A “lab rat”, according to her siblings Astonishment made her blurt, “About what?”

“I’ll be glad to share that in private,” Prince Tariq answered in a deep sh it His accent made Laurel want to hear him say more

She wrinkled her nose as alarh her “Stewart, what’s this about?”

“I’ll let the Prince explain Why don’t we go todoors separating theher to precede him Acutely aware of him and his security men, she walked stiffly At the doors, he quickly stepped ahead of her and held one open Laurel gave hilance as she passed His inscrutable look revealed nothing She wouldn’t want to deal with him on a daily basis How could she ever discern what he was thinking? Feeling?

As they walked down the tiled hall her low sensible clogs made a tap-tap but there was no sound behind her How did such iht didn’t comfort her

Stewart swiped his card and pushed the office door open She entered, expecting him to follow, but instead Prince Tariq joined her and closed the door behind hie presence She faced hi herself

“Please, Dr Martin, have a seat” He indicated the chairs in front of Stewart’s desk

“No, thank you I need get back to my lab as soon as possible” She wanted to return to her safe place “How can I help you?” Laurel couldn’t i to say to hurry this along

“Sit, please” The Prince’s tone implied she had no choice

She hesitated but eased into a chair, noting too late that it put her into closer proximity to him To her surprise he took the other chair At this point she fully expected he ht try to lord it over her After all, he acted as if he owned the place Stewart didn’t allow just anyone to take over his office She clasped her hands in her lap and waited for the Prince to speak

“Dr Martin, I would like you to come to Zentar with me”

“What?” she yelped, leaping to her feet Had this man lost his mind? Why had Stewart allowed this crazy person into their lab?

The Prince raised his hand “Just hear me out for a moment Please”

Laurel eased back into her chair lanced at the door

“I assure you, you are safe What I meant to say is that I would like to offer you a position And chance to further your research”