AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He had decided that during those nights when he had gone over and over the way that things had fallen apart.
But he did not desire her.
His desire took a generic, lush form, much like the woman in front of him.
And there would be stretches of months where he did not think of his deprivation.
And then there would be nights... Nights when he was so hard it was physical pain. Where he raged at the state of denial he lived in. Denial he had not chosen.
He could respect men who chose to live their lives as monks. Denial of self was not a bad thing, he supposed.
But he had lived inforceddenial of self for years.
And sometimes he... Sometimes the fury of it all was too much to handle. Though there were other times that there was something glorious in the deprivation. For it made moments others would take for granted sharp. Acute.
This woman was a moment of pure, aching need.
What he wanted to do was send everyone out of the room and pull her into his arms.
But he was very aware of his own strength. Of the fact that he had no finesse. Of the fact that he had nothing but fury and need. And that his brother was touching her.
That his brother made love to this woman.
His brother who’d had all this freedom these many years.
Riyaz was the Sheikh. He had been raised to be all-powerful. He had been raised to be in command.
And had spent sixteen years in command of nothing much more than what he did in the dark.
He was back in power now. And yet... Cairo was the one with the knowledge, the means, to rule.
It was a strange reality.
But then, his reality had been strange from the beginning.
“Brianna,” he said, tasting her name.
It was sunshine. Lemon and raspberry. Somehow.
It had been years since he had met new people. And then in this last week he had met many.
She was the one who shone above all else.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sheikh,” she said. “Cairo has told me about your... Your experiences.”
She was sweet. Hesitant to say anything that might hurt him. As if there was any way he could be hurt.
“Do not be careful with me,” he said. “I despise that. I’m not simple. And I am not fragile. In any regard.”
The woman looked at him with something like pity, and it filled him with a blackened rage.
“And what is it you are here to do?” he asked. “Are you here to fix me?”
“I am here to help you... I’m here to help you with manners. Etiquette, and... What I do is complicated. But I’m not a therapist. However, I have had some experiences with being shut away from the world. And having to learn how to fit in. What I found is that many people want help with that. And need it. It is not as unusual as you would think. I help people. I helped him figure out how to change their behavior to get the promotion. To figure out how to have a relationship. To ascend the throne. After years in a dungeon, though, I will confess this is a first.”
“What job title is that?”
“I don’t really have a title. When people need me they find me.”
