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He reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers together so briefly that I doubt anyone would have seen. It’s the smallest contact, just enough to reassure me at the same time as setting a flock of birds loose in my chest. At least, that’s what it feels like. I’m swirling with confusion and uncertainty. Here in this faraway town, surrounded by people who clearly adore him, I’m starting to forget that he’s a man I’ve sworn I’ll always hate.
“The day is almost done, Amy. Soon we will be alone.”
Chapter 9
Amy
“SO?”
ALONE AT LAST, I’m aware of him on a cellular level. I move to the other side of this vast bedroom, lifting a bottle of something that looks alcoholic and smelling it. Yes, definitely alcohol, sweet and strong. I pour two measures into the delicate gold cups at its side, carrying them towards him.
“So?” I prompt, handing him the glass.
“You enjoyed yourself today?”
We’re staying in a large house on the edge of the city. It’s not a palace, exactly, but it’s definitely close to a mansion. I don’t remember it from when I was a girl, but then, we lived several suburbs away, so there’s no reason to think I ever came here.
“I did,” I agree, a smile touching my lips. “I could have lost myself in the town for days.”
His eyes regard me thoughtfully. “And you remembered more from your childhood?”
I frown. “Why do you say that?”
“You seemed nostalgic earlier. I presumed memories would come back as you spent time in the place. How can they not?”
“Yes,” I agree. “That’s just how it was being back in Thakirt. Shops were familiar, streets, some parks. There was even a tree with a very curved trunk that I can remember running my hands across as a girl. It was smaller then,” I recall with a husky laugh.
He takes the drink I hold out, keeping his eyes on me as he throws it back in one go. Taking my lead from him, I do the same, but break into a coughing fit as the alcohol incinerates my throat.
“It’s strong.”
He laughs as he takes the glass away. “Yes.” He moves quickly, filling a cup with water and offering it to me. I take a sip, standing close to him as I drink and my coughing dies leaving only the warmth of the alcohol in its place.
“The strangest thing is that these memories had deserted me. For years I could barely remember anything about my life in Qabid and now –,” My voice peters out, but I shrug, self-consciously. “It’s hard to explain.”
“You’re home.”
My eyes flare wide, the description troubling even when it’s accurate. More contradictions fire through me. I nod uneasily. “In some ways.” I grip the glass simply because the alternative would involve walking to the table to place it down, and I’m reluctant to put space between us even when I know I should. “I didn’t feel any enmity towards you, Zahir. These people treat you like a God.”
His smile is cynical. “These people, perhaps. Opposition comes from the fringes, and it is there, azeezi, even if you wish that were not the case.”
I scrunch up my nose, expelling a slow breath. “It’s not just what I wish. I walked through Thakirt and felt…peace. These people are good and kind. I cannot believe any of them wishes you harm.”
He turns away from me and my heart grows cold, instantly. “Whether you believe it or not, it is the case. I would like to rely on your intuition alone, but I have a billion-dollar military with sophisticated intelligence gathering abilities. There is no doubt that danger lurks here. But with your help, I hope to quell it.”
A shiver runs down my spine, the truth of what he’s saying like a vein of ice. I want to ignore it. I don’t want anything dark to lessen my pleasure in this place and these people. I bite down on my lip, contemplating his pronouncement, wishing I could deny it more emphatically. I can’t.
“This house is beautiful.”
His head dips forward in silent agreement. Nerves spread through me, because all day I’ve been waiting for night to come and now that it’s here, I can’t regulate my body properly. I’m hot and cold, shaking at the knees, moist heat building between my legs, making me want to reach for him.
Thank goodness pride holds me back.
He spins around abruptly, pinning me with eyes that are as dark as the night, watching me intently.
“I made you a promise when we were first married, and I intend to keep it.” He crosses the floor, pressing a finger to my shoulder, watching me through hooded eyes, his cheekbones slashed as if from marble. “I will not touch you unless you ask me to.”
My eyes flutter shut, a wave of desire swallowing me. “Isn’t that a little redundant now?” Heat steals across my face. “After what happened in the cave, I mean.”
