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‘Me?’
He didn’t know which of them was surprised more by his passionate outburst.
‘Kareshi is my life,’ Jazz insisted. ‘Anything I can do to help my country I’ll do gladly.’
‘You’re repeating yourself, Jazz,’ he said. ‘And if you really want to help your country, why not stay in Kareshi and work?’
‘But the emir... I agreed Sharif could meet with him.’
‘And you can stop him doing that in a few words.’ He fixed Jazz with a stare, which she avoided.
Heaving a sigh, she glanced around, presumably to see if anyone had noticed this heated discussion. ‘I don’t want to stop him,’ she admitted, leaning close. ‘If my marriage to the emir will benefit Kareshi, then that’s good enough for me.’
‘What you’ve just suggested is outrageous.’ He sat back. Subject closed.
‘Fine words, Tyr, but you weren’t born into the royal family of Kareshi. You’re free to do anything you want and I’m not. It’s that simple.’
‘Nothing is ever that simple.’ As he should know.
Grinding his jaw with frustration, he had to remind himself that this was a party, and that it was better for them both to calm down. At least for now.
CHAPTER FIVE
THERE WAS NO more chance to speak as Britt and Sharif had returned to sit at the table. In spite of his lifelong friendship with Sharif, he couldn’t believe his friend was going along with Jazz’s crazy idea, or that neither of them could talk Jazz out of the narrow path she had chosen to follow.
‘Stop seething, Tyr.’
The sound of Jazz’s voice, low and urgent, made him turn to look at her.
‘You’re making me uncomfortable,’ she explained in an undertone, ‘and people will notice.’
‘You’re making me uncomfortable with all this talk of an arranged marriage to a man you don’t even know,’ he countered. ‘What makes you think you’ve changed that much, Jazz? When you were younger you would have laughed an idea like that out of court.’
‘Exactly. We’re both older now, and I’m in a position to do something to help my country by making at least one of our borders secure.’
Shaking his head to shut her up, he hit Jazz with a cynical look.
‘Allying our two countries will be good for Kareshi,’ she insisted.
‘But Kareshi is rich, since Sharif took over, and your brother is a wise ruler. Why the hell would he agree to sacrificing his sister for nothing more than political expediency?’
‘If he thinks it makes me happy—’
‘Ha! I can’t believe Sharif goes along with that.’
‘Tyr, please keep your voice down.’
‘Whatever you say, Princess, but I don’t think you’ve thought this through.’
‘I’m not going to argue with you. I’m saying this is how it’s going to be.’
‘What happened to the girl I used to know?’
Jazz threw him an accusatory look, but there was something in her eyes that suggested deep down she agreed with him. It was sad to think her stubbornness wouldn’t allow Jazz to admit she was wrong so she could put a stop to these crazy marriage plans.
Sensing something was going on between them, Sharif glanced round. Tyr exchanged a brief look with his friend, lips pressed down to express regret at the fact that this was one time when he couldn’t help Sharif out. Sharif shrugged. Jazz had always been stubborn. Once she got an idea into her head, they both knew she ran with it until Jazz, or the concept, ran out of steam.
After feeling nothing for so long, Tyr felt this urge to help Jazz overwhelming him. He would like to get very close indeed to Jazz Kareshi.
All the more reason to sit back and ignore her.
This was turning into one hell of an evening.
And it was about to get worse.
As he released a sigh of frustration, Jazz looked at him with something in her eyes that made his senses go into free fall. ‘Don’t play games with me, Jazz,’ he mouthed in an undertone.
‘I’m not playing games with you.’
So her eyes were playing games with him—her lips too. And flushed cheeks betrayed her more than any excuses she could give. The laws of attraction took no prisoners. Nor did they show concern for a self-contained warrior who’d had his armour split wide open tonight, or a conservative princess who had just rediscovered her wings.
