hiding her distinctive hair, not wanting to draw any attention in case someone had seen the tabloids in the UK. Even though she knew well that after this week she’d become one of the most recognisable faces in the country. She would be Queen to these people. As she looked out over the sprawling city now she was daunted and scared, yes, but also for the first time a fledgling sense of something else took root. It was a sense of responsibility. Ever since she’d said yes to Sadiq, the prospectof taking on such a huge role had become less about fear and more about a burgeoning sense of excitement, which alternately scared her and made her want to see what she could start doing now. Something she’d never have guessed she’d feel in a million years.
Her hands gripped the wall when she imagined what the reality of marriage to Sadiq would be like. What it would be like to share a bedroom, and a
bed.
Heat flowed within her lower body and she grimaced. Perhaps he wouldn’t expect to share a room at all. Perhaps they would keep separate rooms and he would come to her, do his matrimonial duty and then leave.
An ominous lurching in her chest when she thought of that was so strong that she gripped the wall even tighter. She absolutely refused to investigate that surge of sudden emotion. For someone who had always vowed not to fall in love after seeing it wreak nothing but destruction she should be ecstatic at the possibility that Sadiq might want to keep things as impersonal as possible.
All she had to do was think of the perfume her maid Alia had brought her in a distinctive Al-Omari gold-and-red box. Al-Omar was famed for its perfume production all over the world, and some bottles sold for thousands of dollars. Alia had informed her that it was a gift from the Sultan, made especially to celebrate their engagement.
But when Samia had taken a sniff she’d nearly been knocked out. It was so strong. It was way too musky and overbearing for her. Nothing like the kind of delicate scent she would favour. And it had seemed to epitomise everything about her situation and the Sultan’s clear lack of interest now that his convenient wife had arrived.
Sadiq let his breath out and it was unsteady—as unsteady as the pounding of his heart. Ambition and the danger of thedesert, or a challenging sailing race got his heart pounding.
Not
the sight of his wife-to-be. He had been standing on the balcony terrace just outside his office when he’d seen a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked down to see Samia standing by the wall surrounding her own private terrace. She was in profile to him but he could make out the intensity of the expression on her face.
Day was tipping slowly into night—usually his favourite time to look out over the busily winding down city. But that suddenly paled into insignificance next to the sheen of light gold from Samia’s hair which flowed long and wavy down to the middle of her gently arched back.
He drank in the sight of her, slender in capri pants and a figure hugging cardigan, her breasts in provocative profile, and his whole body tightened in an instant. The slow burn of desire became faster, licking through his veins as he watched her like a voyeur. A curious dismay gripped him at this rampant response. At least he could say he now desired his fiancée. But he just couldn’t fathom this attraction, which only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day.
Perhaps the real root of his ambiguous feelings was the fact that she evoked something within him that no other woman ever had. Something that was fiercely primal and at the same time protective. Not even Analia had evoked such a strong mix of reactions. His mouth twisted bitterly. No. That had been much more straightforward. She’d cruelly stepped on his heart and that would never happen again.
As the day of Samia’s arrival had grown nearer and nearer Sadiq had grown more irritable, not liking the sense of anticipation one bit. It was
Her hands gripped the wall when she imagined what the reality of marriage to Sadiq would be like. What it would be like to share a bedroom, and a
bed.
Heat flowed within her lower body and she grimaced. Perhaps he wouldn’t expect to share a room at all. Perhaps they would keep separate rooms and he would come to her, do his matrimonial duty and then leave.
An ominous lurching in her chest when she thought of that was so strong that she gripped the wall even tighter. She absolutely refused to investigate that surge of sudden emotion. For someone who had always vowed not to fall in love after seeing it wreak nothing but destruction she should be ecstatic at the possibility that Sadiq might want to keep things as impersonal as possible.
All she had to do was think of the perfume her maid Alia had brought her in a distinctive Al-Omari gold-and-red box. Al-Omar was famed for its perfume production all over the world, and some bottles sold for thousands of dollars. Alia had informed her that it was a gift from the Sultan, made especially to celebrate their engagement.
But when Samia had taken a sniff she’d nearly been knocked out. It was so strong. It was way too musky and overbearing for her. Nothing like the kind of delicate scent she would favour. And it had seemed to epitomise everything about her situation and the Sultan’s clear lack of interest now that his convenient wife had arrived.
Sadiq let his breath out and it was unsteady—as unsteady as the pounding of his heart. Ambition and the danger of thedesert, or a challenging sailing race got his heart pounding.
Not
the sight of his wife-to-be. He had been standing on the balcony terrace just outside his office when he’d seen a movement out of the corner of his eye and looked down to see Samia standing by the wall surrounding her own private terrace. She was in profile to him but he could make out the intensity of the expression on her face.
Day was tipping slowly into night—usually his favourite time to look out over the busily winding down city. But that suddenly paled into insignificance next to the sheen of light gold from Samia’s hair which flowed long and wavy down to the middle of her gently arched back.
He drank in the sight of her, slender in capri pants and a figure hugging cardigan, her breasts in provocative profile, and his whole body tightened in an instant. The slow burn of desire became faster, licking through his veins as he watched her like a voyeur. A curious dismay gripped him at this rampant response. At least he could say he now desired his fiancée. But he just couldn’t fathom this attraction, which only seemed to grow stronger with each passing day.
Perhaps the real root of his ambiguous feelings was the fact that she evoked something within him that no other woman ever had. Something that was fiercely primal and at the same time protective. Not even Analia had evoked such a strong mix of reactions. His mouth twisted bitterly. No. That had been much more straightforward. She’d cruelly stepped on his heart and that would never happen again.
As the day of Samia’s arrival had grown nearer and nearer Sadiq had grown more irritable, not liking the sense of anticipation one bit. It was
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