with typical malice had announced that it was too unladylike and forbidden Samia from riding again.
Unbeknownst to her stepmother, Kaden had taken Samia out on covert riding excursions, so her skills were not too rusty. The powerful stallion moved restlessly beneath her, and Samia felt the power move through those huge muscles. A sense of burgeoning exhilaration flowed through her blood. From here the gates opened straight out onto castle-owned desert lands, which led in turn to the desert proper, which then stretched for many miles to the north and away from B’harani. All the way up to Burquat, in fact. When Samia realised that she felt a pang of homesickness. Spurring the horse on, she left the castle behind and they surged forward.
Sadiq saw them in the distance, where clouds of sand were being kicked up by the powerful horse’s hooves. Samia looked tiny on the back of the huge black animal, her hair streaming out behind her. She wasn’t even wearing a hat, and Sadiq’s blood thundered in his veins as he started to close the distance between them. He could recognise that she was an excellent horsewoman but even that didn’t douse his anger.
Samia only sensed another’s presence when she heard a thundering sound behind her. She looked around and saw an almost mythically huge stallion bearing down on her and the livid features of Sadiq. The realisation that it was
him
behind her, chasing her, made her turn back and speed up. She knew she was reacting to something deep and primal. A fear of this man and his effect on her, how he made her feel.
But before she knew it Sadiq had pulled alongside and had reached for her reins to bring both horses to a stop. Within the space of what felt like seconds the horses had stopped and Sadiq had jumped down and plucked Samia out fromher saddle. Her legs nearly gave way, they were shaking so much, and it was only his big hands on her waist that kept her standing. He was glaring down at her and looked wild and gorgeous. A long robe was moulded to his body by the desert breeze and he’d ripped away the material of the turban that had shielded his mouth from the sand. Blue eyes like chips of diamond ice stood out in stark relief. He could have been a desert nomad. A hot beat of desire went through Samia’s body.
Sudden anger at that response and at his heavy-handed behaviour rose up. She ripped herself out of his hands, praying her legs wouldn’t give way. ‘What on earth are you doing? You could have killed us both with a stunt like that. I would have stopped.’
He was impossibly grim. ‘So why did you speed up when you saw me? You little fool. Who said you could take out one of the most dangerous horses in the stables?’
Samia was still clinging on to the reins. She recalled the pleading of the young groom for her to wait for the head groom to come back before she chose a horse, but she’d blithely assured him that she would be well able for any horse.
Guilt struck her, making her defensive. ‘I’m a good rider.’
Sadiq seemed to grunt something in response. ‘Galloping into the desert on a powerful horse takes skill. What would you have done if he hadn’t wanted to stop? You don’t know this land, and you certainly don’t know that this part of the desert ends on a cliff-edge about half a mile from here and drops into a deep canyon. That’s why it’s undeveloped.’
Samia blanched. She hadn’t known that. The thought of galloping full speed towards a cliff edge was terrifying. Terrifying enough to compel Sadiq to come after her himself. No wonder he was livid. ‘I had no idea it could be dangerous.’
Despite the danger that she hadn’t known about, in that moment Samia feared that perhaps Sadiq was going to be exactly like her stepmother, curtailing every bit of pleasure in her life and diminishing her until she faded away again. With that came the revelatory realisation of just how much she’d changed in the past few weeks, and it shook her to her
Unbeknownst to her stepmother, Kaden had taken Samia out on covert riding excursions, so her skills were not too rusty. The powerful stallion moved restlessly beneath her, and Samia felt the power move through those huge muscles. A sense of burgeoning exhilaration flowed through her blood. From here the gates opened straight out onto castle-owned desert lands, which led in turn to the desert proper, which then stretched for many miles to the north and away from B’harani. All the way up to Burquat, in fact. When Samia realised that she felt a pang of homesickness. Spurring the horse on, she left the castle behind and they surged forward.
Sadiq saw them in the distance, where clouds of sand were being kicked up by the powerful horse’s hooves. Samia looked tiny on the back of the huge black animal, her hair streaming out behind her. She wasn’t even wearing a hat, and Sadiq’s blood thundered in his veins as he started to close the distance between them. He could recognise that she was an excellent horsewoman but even that didn’t douse his anger.
Samia only sensed another’s presence when she heard a thundering sound behind her. She looked around and saw an almost mythically huge stallion bearing down on her and the livid features of Sadiq. The realisation that it was
him
behind her, chasing her, made her turn back and speed up. She knew she was reacting to something deep and primal. A fear of this man and his effect on her, how he made her feel.
But before she knew it Sadiq had pulled alongside and had reached for her reins to bring both horses to a stop. Within the space of what felt like seconds the horses had stopped and Sadiq had jumped down and plucked Samia out fromher saddle. Her legs nearly gave way, they were shaking so much, and it was only his big hands on her waist that kept her standing. He was glaring down at her and looked wild and gorgeous. A long robe was moulded to his body by the desert breeze and he’d ripped away the material of the turban that had shielded his mouth from the sand. Blue eyes like chips of diamond ice stood out in stark relief. He could have been a desert nomad. A hot beat of desire went through Samia’s body.
Sudden anger at that response and at his heavy-handed behaviour rose up. She ripped herself out of his hands, praying her legs wouldn’t give way. ‘What on earth are you doing? You could have killed us both with a stunt like that. I would have stopped.’
He was impossibly grim. ‘So why did you speed up when you saw me? You little fool. Who said you could take out one of the most dangerous horses in the stables?’
Samia was still clinging on to the reins. She recalled the pleading of the young groom for her to wait for the head groom to come back before she chose a horse, but she’d blithely assured him that she would be well able for any horse.
Guilt struck her, making her defensive. ‘I’m a good rider.’
Sadiq seemed to grunt something in response. ‘Galloping into the desert on a powerful horse takes skill. What would you have done if he hadn’t wanted to stop? You don’t know this land, and you certainly don’t know that this part of the desert ends on a cliff-edge about half a mile from here and drops into a deep canyon. That’s why it’s undeveloped.’
Samia blanched. She hadn’t known that. The thought of galloping full speed towards a cliff edge was terrifying. Terrifying enough to compel Sadiq to come after her himself. No wonder he was livid. ‘I had no idea it could be dangerous.’
Despite the danger that she hadn’t known about, in that moment Samia feared that perhaps Sadiq was going to be exactly like her stepmother, curtailing every bit of pleasure in her life and diminishing her until she faded away again. With that came the revelatory realisation of just how much she’d changed in the past few weeks, and it shook her to her
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