AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He had read them with fury at first and, as the weeks went by, with muted anger and disbelief and, finally, with guilt and regret. She didn’t deserve this.
‘Has she read them?’ he’d asked Zahrah on the fifth morning.
‘I believe so, Your Highness.’
A grim line had lodged on his lips and it hadn’t lifted since, and after three weeks of feeling as if he wanted to see her, to ensure she was okay, but resisting that impulse because she’d asked it of him, he was close to the breaking point.
So it wasn’t precisely Malik’s fault that they argued. Sariq had been ready to unleash his fury at anyone who looked at him the wrong way, let alone what Malik said.
‘You cannot blame these people, sir. She is not suitable and it will take time for the country to adjust their expectations.’
Fire had filled Sariq’s blood. ‘In what way is your Emira not suitable?’
Malik hadn’t appeared to realise he was on dangerous ground. ‘Her nationality. Her marital status. Her pedigree.’
‘If I have no issue with these things, how dare you?’
Malik’s head jerked back. ‘I beg your pardon, sir, I did not mean to offend you. I have spent my life protecting your interests...’
‘My interests are now her interests.’
Malik was silent.
‘You will organise a ball. Invite the parliament and foreign diplomats. It’s time for the people of Haleth to meet my wife.’
Malik dipped his head but it showed scepticism.
‘She is pregnant with my child.’ Malik scraped his chair back and moved towards the open doors that led to the balcony. A light breeze was lifting off the desert, bringing with it the fragrance of sand and ash, and a hint of relief from the day’s warmth. ‘I wish, more than anything, that it hadn’t been necessary to marry her.’ His shoulders were squared as he remembered the way he’d had to bully Daisy into this. Regret perforated his being. ‘She is now my wife. That’s all there is to it.’
It was another baking-hot day. Daisy stood where she was, on the balcony that wrapped around this segment of the palace, staring out at the shimmering blue sky and desert sands that seemed to glow in the midday sun until a raised voice caught her attention. She turned in that direction right as a door pushed open and Sariq strode out, his frame magnetic to her gaze, his expression like thunder.
She stayed right where she was, frozen to the spot, her eyes feasting on him, her brain telling her to move, her blood insisting that she stay. It had been three weeks since she’d seen him. True to his word, he’d left her in peace, and she knew she should have been gratified that he’d respected her wishes, but deep down she felt so lonely, and so afraid.
Emotions she’d never show him, though. She tilted her chin in defiance. At least he looked as surprised to see her as she felt to see him. His chest moved with the force of his breathing; it was clear he was in a bad temper.
But why?
The raised voices—had one belonged to him?
Her mouth felt dry, and that had nothing to do with the arid desert climate.
He stared at her as though he was trying to frame words and she stared back until the silence became unbearable. What did she have to say to this man, anyway?
His eyes roamed her face in a way that sparked fires in her blood. How she resented his easy ability to do that! She felt her nipples pucker against the lace of her bra and her abdomen clenched hard with unmistakable lust. A biological response that she had no intention of obeying.
A bird flapped overhead, its wingspan enormous, drawing Daisy’s gaze. She watched as it circled the desert and then began to drift downwards, its descent controlled and elegant.
It flew beyond her sight and so she looked away, back to Sariq. He was frowning now, but still regarding her with the full force of his attention, as though he could understand her if only he looked for long enough. But she didn’t want to be understood.
Swallowing to bring much-needed moisture back to her mouth, she said quietly, ‘Excuse me,’ before turning and heading into the blessed cool of the tiled sitting room of the palace. Her heart though wouldn’t stop hammering. She knew their suites of rooms were in close proximity, but she hadn’t realised this balcony was shared by both. It seemed to create a greater intimacy than she was comfortable with. She used this space often, particularly in the evenings when the sting of the day’s heat had dropped, and she was able to sit beneath the blanket of jewels dotted through the inky night sky, reading or simply existing, quiet and contemplative.
‘Daisy.’ His voice held a command. She ignored it. ‘Daisy.’
Damn it. He was closer now, his voice right behind her. She stopped walking and turned, but she was unprepared for this—the full force of attraction that would assail her at his proximity. But attraction was beside the point—she wouldn’t give in to that again.
‘Yes, sir?’
He closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled. ‘Sariq.’
