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Her eyebrows shot up while eddies of warmth sprang up inside her. ‘You want my input?’
He shrugged. ‘I find that not every answer can be arrived at with linear thinking. The obvious answer is to refuse and let him stick to our original agreement, of course. But perhaps you have another solution?’
‘You automatically assume my reasoning is going to be radical?’
A twitch that wasn’t quite a smile flashed at one corner of his lip. ‘I recall a few instances when you’ve adopted such a stance successfully.’
Tahir watched her contemplate his response.
Did she realise she was drawing closer? That the spark she’d claimed she’d wilfully abandoned was right there in her eyes? That she’d adopted that challenging posture that made his blood rush a little too fast through his veins because he knew he was in for a heated debate with a woman who thrived on such verbal skirmishes?
Thiswas the woman he remembered. And for good or ill, the impulse to reawaken her was why he’d summoned her parents to Jukrat. For his own peace of mind, this matter would be settled once and for all with the woman who wasn’t a shadow of herself.
Is that the true reason?
Tahir held himself still and reassured himself that it was.
But it was a lie that shook through him with far more fervour than he welcomed. ‘Let’s hear it, then,’ he said briskly, hoping his stern tone would shake off the other disconcerting emotions weaving through him.
Lauren berated herself for her foolish heart skipping several beats. Tahir was merely seeking an opinion—probably one of many—not planning to base his entire life model on it. Nonetheless, she couldn’t quite halt the thrill snaking through her.
‘Has he done something like this to you before?’
‘In varying degrees but nothing this drastic before now.’ Tahir’s lips twisted. ‘Unfortunately, more often than not, asking Adnan to keep a promise is like placing a sweet in a toddler’s hand and asking them not to eat it.’
‘What are you going to do?’
A chilling smile curved his lips, triggering the reminder the blood of marauders ran through his veins. ‘I’ve tried the velvet gloves, perhaps it’s time for the steel hammer.’
She pursed her lips. His eyes narrowed on her. ‘You disapprove,’ he surmised. Then before she could respond, he pushed. ‘You have an alternative?’
‘Maybe.’
‘I’m listening.’
Why did that please her enough to make her heart leap? ‘Put him in a position where he has no option but to do the right thing.’
He grimaced. ‘How? He’s as intransigent as they come. He digs his heels in even when it’s not necessary just to be bloody-minded.’
‘People like that often do it for the attention. He probably craves yours.’
‘I can’t pander to him just to make him behave himself,’ he grunted.
‘But dragging things out indefinitely will not just hurt him, it’ll hurt you too in the long run. Make him an offer he can’t refuse.’
A frown creased his forehead for a full minute. ‘He’s found himself in this position because he’s brash and impetuous. His policies often fail because they’re rarely thought through efficiently.’
‘So he could benefit from some guidance? From someone like your brother? In a different advisory role, perhaps?’ His lips flattened and Lauren knew he didn’t like the idea. ‘You won’t have to lose your brother’s diplomatic services. But having a man like Javid in his corner might be just what brings him around?’
Slowly his scowl cleared. ‘I may not have had much time for him when we were younger, but he got on well enough with Javid. And there’s no reason why Javid can’t continue his duties alongside. Perhaps that might even curb some of his less salubrious activities,’ he mused with a throb of satisfaction in his voice.
‘There you go, then. Problem solved.’ Lauren wasn’t aware she was smiling until his eyes scoured her face and dropped to linger on her mouth.
‘Indeed. How alive you come when you’re in your element.’
Something passed between them...a potent connection that stole her breath for several seconds before delivering a heart pounding she knew she should ignore.
But on the tail of it, that disquieting sensation lingered until she knew she had to air it. ‘Tahir...this latest thing with Adnan isn’t happening because of...my presence, is it?’ His nostrils flared, and she wanted to kick herself for ruining the atmosphere. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to know—’
