AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I’ll have Kareem arrange it. Just be careful what you send from the palace.’
‘Of course, I will.’
‘Then,’ he said, collecting his papers as he rose to his feet, ‘if there’s nothing more, I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy your breakfast.’
* * *
Rashid had indigestion but it had nothing to do with what he’d eaten. He strode through the palace towards the library he’d chosen last night with Kareem for his office, his stomach complaining the entire way. Cursing Tora the entire way.
Because he still had to make the biggest decision of his life and, with her around, he couldn’t think straight.
And it didn’t seem to matter how much he tried to block her out and tell himself that she was irrelevant, she was there, alternately smiling, needling or offering him sympathy.
He shook his head as he walked down the long passageways. Why had he told her what he had last night? His past was his business, nobody else’s. It was not the kind of thing he shared with anyone, let alone a woman he’d picked up in a bar.
But then, that was not all she was. Tora was much more than a casual pick-up.
She was his sister’s carer.
And now she was his wife, even if in name only.
And he wanted her despite all his claims and words to the contrary, wanted her like there was no tomorrow. Last night was proof enough of that. He’d been blind with desire and she’d come willingly into his kiss, only stopping when Atiyah had protested.
He’d beaten himself up at the time, thinking he was the one at fault, but when he’d thought about it much later, in the long hours when sleep had eluded him, he’d realised that she’d made no effort to push him away before Atiyah had cried—she’d been as much a participant in that kiss as he had been—which proved to him that he wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Feeling this need.
It wasn’t just one-sided. There was still unfinished business between them.
So why was he fighting it? What point was there to erecting walls between them, when they seemed so futile and no wall had yet stopped him from wanting her?
Maybe it would be better to deal with the problem head-on, rather than pretending it didn’t exist. Sleep with her. Get it out of his system so he could at least think straight.
He needed to think straight.
He paused, his hands on the door to the library.
Then again, maybe he was better off keeping his distance. She was trouble. Madonna, siren and shrew all wrapped up in one irritating package.
He snorted. Yeah, he’d tried leaving her alone and look how far that had got him. But he could hardly just tell her he’d changed his mind about his hands-off policy and expect her to go for it. She’d made it plain she wasn’t about to simply fall into bed with him again at a click of his fingers. But what to do?
Fed up with torturing himself over her, he pulled open the doors.
‘Excellency,’ said Kareem, who was waiting for him inside, already busy at his notes and making his countless plans for Rashid while he waited. ‘I trust you slept well.’
‘More or less,’ he said, not wanting to think about how little he’d slept or any more about the why. ‘So what do we have to consider today?’
‘Many things,’ Kareem confirmed. ‘But I know it is all very dry and Sheikh Zoltan will be here soon so I thought perhaps tomorrow we might take a tour of Malik’s new palaces, to see if you would prefer to use one of them for your official residence.’
‘If you think it’s important. How many were there again?’
‘Six.’
Good grief. Rashid suppressed a sigh, feeling already weighed down with the volume of the historical and economic texts he had been given to digest. ‘Are there not more important matters to consider?’
‘Certainly. But if I can use an expression you might well know, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You are yet to accept this role, and anyone would be foolish to expect you to conquer it overnight. There are things to be assessed in the kingdom that do not require your poring through old documents or dusty tomes twenty-four hours a day, things that might give you a broader view of the kingdom, before your possible coronation.’
‘Fine,’ Rashid conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. ‘Arrange it.’
Kareem bowed. ‘It will be done.’
And suddenly Rashid had a brainwave. ‘What about Tora? Could she come, too?’
‘Sheikha Victoria?’ The vizier shook his head while he deliberated. ‘I don’t see why not. She would no doubt appreciate seeing some more of our architecture.’
