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“Thank you,” Ariel said.
It was funny how, even now, her manners seemed important. What a strange thing that was. Though none of the staff here had been rude to her. Other than the whole...not caring that she’d been kidnapped thing.
It made her feel compelled to be polite.
The woman left, and she began to undress slowly, shivering as she realized she stood naked there in front of the windows, gazing out at the wilderness. There was no one and nothing there, of course.
The sun spilled into the room and illuminated her naked body, gold poured out on her curves. It warmed her.
And it felt to her a rather wanton thing. And she had never played the part of a wanton in her entire life.
It was thrilling. Standing there looking out with her body exposed, and she could not say why. But it was like she was on the precipice of flying. On the edge of freedom.
You are not free. You’re a captive.
That sobering thought cut off the strange fantasy she’d found herself caught in, and she began to walk into the water.
She moaned as the warmth enveloped her body. She really was exhausted. The bath was deep, and huge, and she swam to the window. She was still entirely exposed. Even covered in water.
She thought of Cairo, his intense, hot gaze, and she felt her nipples go tight, her breasts get heavy.
Something began to throb between her legs.
And she was so tired she couldn’t even shut the feelings away.
In her mind’s eye, she saw him hand her the orange again. But this time, it was Cairo the man. And she was naked. In a pool of water.
His eyes were hot. Dark with hunger...
She had to wonder if she was here because he’d forced her, or if because part of her had waited fifteen years to be with Cairo again...
She gasped, snapped herself back to reality and went over to the scrubbing salts.
She put some on her hand and began to work them vigorously over her body, abrading herself, punishing herself for such thoughts.
She shivered. Then she rinsed herself and got out of the water. She dried herself on the plushiest towel that had ever made contact with her skin, and put on the heavy, jeweled garment she had chosen for herself.
A moment later, there was a knock at the door. “I am here for hair and makeup,” said a woman that she had not yet seen before.
“I’m sure that isn’t necessary.”
“You are having dinner withhim.” She said the pronoun as if it were capitalized. Singular. “Of course it is necessary.”
What was it about this man? All of these employees talked about him as if he was the sun and the moon.
And she decided she would ask the woman just that. She wasn’t too polite to not be nosy. She sat down in a chair in front of the mirror.
“How many of you work here?”
“At least fifty are employed here. To keep house, to cook, to take care of the grounds. As security.”
“And why are you so loyal to Cairo?”
“He saved us,” the woman said, admiration overtaking her voice. “After the royal family was deposed, many politically connected families were in danger. And there were some of us who were impoverished before, and in danger of going hungry. He ran missions where he smuggled many of us over the border. And he ensured that we were well cared for afterward. Sheikh Cairo never forgot his people. And now, he is on the verge of bringing us home. On the verge of restoring that which the locusts have eaten. He is our savior.”
“No wonder he has a god complex,” she said. But a knot had begun to form in her chest, because she could not deny that what he had done was good.
And why was he treating her as he did?
