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She exhaled softly, then nodded and said, “Agreed.”
Chapter Eleven
Holly wandered through the palace, awestruck all over again. She might have been here now for two weeks but she was yet to get used to the extravagance of the gold-plated walls, the pools, fountains and unlimited water, and the mix of modern and antique furnishings that had to have cost millions.
That Hamid seemed so blasé about the whole thing, as though he could take it or leave it, left her in a constant state of amusement and despair.
She could never get used to such…excess. Not that she’d be here long enough to become familiar with the concept anyway. She’d photograph every square inch of the building, then she’d go on her merry way, where she’d take more magnificent shots of the rest of the world.
That her heart ached knowing she’d never see Hamid again was a bittersweet emotion she kept strictly in check. She’d enjoy these last two weeks with him and tuck their shared memories away for safekeeping. She’d never wanted a relationship or permanent ties and she wasn’t about to start wishing for otherwise.
She stepped inside a huge ballroom with a black and white tiled floor. She gazed around, impressed by the sheer size of it. An arched dome with a mosaic glass skylight was centered above the huge dance floor. To one side a raised platform was where she guessed an orchestra would play and opposite that was an intimate, dark-stained wooden bar with a number of high-backed cane stools.
Her feet echoed eerily on the floor while workmen carried on with completing their work. Her nose wrinkled at the centuries old dust motes that floated in the beams of sunlight pouring through the skylight.
She’d heard work been done in the palace not even a week after she arrived, but she hadn’t expected to find this ballroom. That it’d been transformed so quickly left her reeling. She should have been taking before and after photos!
She lifted her camera and took some snaps, amazed by how gorgeous the dancing motes looked under the colored skylights. If this ballroom was already gorgeous she could only imagine how beautiful it’d be once it was finished.
But she couldn’t help but think it was way too pretentious for someone like Hamid. He wasn’t the type to host ballroom parties let alone have one in his palace…was he?
It seemed the more she thought she knew Hamid, the less she really did. He was an enigma. Her desert rat rolled into sheikh all in one. That she was growing closer to him instead of farther apart had her acknowledging once again how she needed to protect her heart at all costs.
She stepped out of the ballroom and walked around the corner of yet another unexplored corridor when she thumped with anoomphinto another woman. Holly stepped back and blinked at the gorgeous lady with long, ebony hair, her liquid dark eyes outlined in heavy kohl, and her slender yet curvaceous body barely hidden beneath a diaphanous silver gown that flowed over her like a waterfall.
Holly pressed a hand to her chest, the other holding her camera. “I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t hear you coming.” How could she have when the woman wore shoes that were more like ballet slippers that whispered as she walked?
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Do I know you?”
Holly blinked. She made it sound like Holly was an outsider, not an esteemed guest of Hamid’s. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve only been here a short time.” She lifted her camera, the new one that Hamid had bought her. That he’d also managed to get her old one repaired had been a lovely, added bonus. “Is it okay if I take some photos of you?”
The other woman visibly relaxed. If she’d been a bird she would have preened. She most definitely wasn’t shy. “Of course.”
Holly lifted her camera. “Just act natural.”
Click. Click. Click.
It could have been a real photo shoot. The other woman played up to the camera like a model. So unlike most of the women Holly had met inside the palace. The dark-haired beauty had no reservations. She was uninhibited and self-aware. She knew she was sexy and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it.
Holly froze.Holy shit.Was this one of Hamid’s women from the harem? She oozed sex appeal. But he’d told Holly he’d pay them out, hadn’t he?
Her heart did a slow, painful somersault. Had she been too trusting, too naïve? She almost didn’t blame Hamid for wanting this woman around. That Holly had never felt so plain and inadequate wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on. She wasn’t the jealous type.
“I see you’ve met my sister, Aisha.”
She jumped at Hamid’s voice behind her, then sagged as the truth slowly seeped into her pores. She should have known better. With their full lips, high cheekbones and brilliant eyes, there was a distinct family resemblance between Hamid and Aisha, their DNA seemingly drenched in sex appeal.
“So this is the woman everyone is talking about,” Aisha giggled behind her hand.
Hamid glared at his sister. “What are you doing in those clothes?”
Aisha fluttered her eyelashes. “If they were fine for your lovers, then they must surely be fine for your little sister?”
“No, they’re not. You’re a sheikha, you need to dress like one.”
Holly blinked. “This probably isn’t any of my business, but shouldn’t she be allowed to dress like she wants. Her body, her mind. Her rights.”
Hamid twisted to Holly, his nostrils flared and lips tight. “This is the one time I don’t want or need your western influence and ideals. My people don’t expect the world from me, but they would never tolerate their sheikha dressing like this!”
