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He had to accept the idea that he might be reading something into their interaction. Something he had never done in his life. Not even once. When a woman wanted him, he knew.
“I’m not sure what you intend to teach me,” she said, sitting down at the table and reaching out, piling pastries onto her plate before grabbing the coffee pot and pouring herself a measure of strong, dark liquid.
She took a sip, took a bite of croissant, then sighed.
“You seem an entirely different woman than the one I left last night.”
“A mental breakdown can do wonders for the spirit. Sometimes giving into despair is the beginning of fighting your way back up.”
“Funny, I’m not sure I trust you.”
She shrugged, then licked some sugar off her finger. He felt the action echo along his length and nearly cursed out loud.
This was unconscionable.
He could not want her. She was for Riyaz. Riyaz, who would have to be tamed into something much more civilized before he could ever go near her. Riyaz who... It was entirely possible that Riyaz had not touched a woman in sixteen years. And then... Given his age when he was taken into the dungeon... It was entirely possible he never had. He looked at Ariel, and he wondered what that might mean for her. If that would mean a brutal, unpracticed experience for her.
She was a beautiful woman. Undoubtedly she’d had her share of lovers. He could only hope that her skill would compensate for the lack of it potentially found in Riyaz. He did his best not to think of it. “I’m asking you again,” she said, “what is it you intend to teach me? Because you know that I was schooled in the customs of your country from the time I was a child. I spent summers there. I learned the language. I have been in training to be the sheikha for years. So what is it that...”
“There were things you were never taught. You had not been walked through the customs that would be present at the wedding. The dance. It is important that you know. It is important that you walk in armed. Is it not?”
And he wondered who this was for.
This was education Riyaz would be doing if he was not being put back together. And so... He would do this. She was afraid. She did not want to lose everything. She did not want to leave it all behind. That was understandable. He would see her well prepared to go toe to toe with his brother. To be the bride at the spectacle of a wedding that they would be throwing. The wedding that would signal their true return to power. The sheikh is dead. Long live the sheikh.
“I didn’t realize...”
“There is a maze of customs to navigate. And strengthening the customs of the nation is part of my sworn duty. Showing them that all is well. The wedding must go off without a hitch.”
“You are truly not used to anything opposing you.”
“Very rarely has anything tried. Except you.”
“So I’m to get princess lessons?”
“It is more than that. You are correct. You cannot live as a prisoner. It will not do. You must be strong, you must be traditional, a symbol of all that was good, and a symbol of all that is now better.”
“How nice for me. And what do you get to be a symbol of, Cairo?”
“Endurance. Of never giving up. Hope. While Riyaz is a symbol of our strength. He is not broken. Not truly. I will not allow that to be so.”
He couldn’t let it be the end of his brother. The truth of him. If Riyaz was broken beyond repair then Cairo’s life didn’t matter at all.
“You love him.”
“I always have. He is my older brother. My idol. My future king. When we were younger... He had both everything and nothing that I wanted.”
He realized the words could not make sense to her. But it was true. He had never envied Riyaz’s duty. Not ever. He had envied him Ariel. But that was all. Yes. He had envied him Ariel. But mostly... He had simply admired his older brother. Seen him as a great and glorious leader. And the best older brother. Strong. Intelligent. Quick with it. He had seen Riyaz but briefly in the time since he had been extracted from the dungeon. He spoke with no concept of what was appropriate and what was not. It seemed at times he lived to be deliberately provocative, and yet he could see there was nothing so calculated in his brother. He acted on animal instinct. And there were rages...
Yes. The rages.
“I will lay down my life to protect him,” Cairo said. “Already, I have sacrificed many years to protect him. I will continue to do so.”
“It’s quite sad,” she said suddenly, her eyes going vacant.
“What is?”
“I don’t have anyone in my life I feel that way about. I’m defending my... My business. I love my business. I love what I do. I’m so very passionate about it. But it was not piecing a country back together. I’m angry at you, Cairo. But I cannot deny that you have done more with your life than I have with mine. In sheer terms of what you have given to others. Every employee that I have met is slavishly devoted to you, and it is because of what you’ve done for them. And then you really mean it. You’re giving everything for Riyaz. And I was weeping in the desert over my fashion label.”
