know what I’ve sacrificed. Do not presume to tell me I have no idea what the word means.”
Genie pulled in a shaky breath. Why did she get so emotional? Why did she let him press her buttons and make her so defensive? Her life had been upside down since the minute she’d walked into that tent and seen him sitting on the dais. And she was having a hell of a time getting it right again.
Zafir glanced at his watch, dismissing her as easily as he might one of his subjects. “If you are finished here, it’s time we returned to the palace.”
Before she could answer, he simply turned in a sweep of robes and headed toward the entrance.
He was furious. Furious with the woman sitting so quietly beside him in the car, and furious that he was allowing her to get to him when he had far more important things to think about.
Just this morning there’d been another threat to his life. He wasn’t worried. His security was tight and, besides, he knew there was always a certain level of disgruntlement to be expected when a new leader took office. The threats were vague, written on plain stationery and posted in Al-Shahar. The royal police were investigating, and Zafir had every confidence they would soon find the culprit.
At least one situation in his life required definite steps to take and had a resolution in sight. For that he was thankful.
But how did one correct a situation based on strong emotion and cultural differences? If he’d known about Genie’s childhood, would it have changed his actions?
Probably. Because he would have understood how painful it was to her, and would have realized how different their worlds were. He’d asked her to give up her schooling and come to Bah’shar for what amounted to nothing more than an affair.
And he’d done it for selfish reasons, which made him furious with himself. She’d filled the emptiness inside him and he’d been reluctant to give that up. And, he admitted to himself, he’d hoped that once she reached Bah’shar, once they’d been together for a while, even his marriage to a princess wouldn’t prevent Genie from staying as his lover.
He’d offered her nothing and expected her to give up everything, just like she’d said.
Worse, he wanted to do it again.
When they reached the palace, he left her in the care of Yusuf and turned his attention to the Sheikhs. It was time to reach a solution. And, after that, time to let Genie Gray walk out of his life for the second time.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Genie was shown to the palace library, where there was a vast selection of books, and did a bit of research on the history of Bah’shar. Her Arabic was tolerable, though her command of the Bah’sharan dialect left something to be desired, but she worked her way through a few texts as the hours passed.
She might have gotten through them more quickly if she’d been able to stop thinking about Zafir. He’d seemed unapproachable in the car on the way back to the palace, as if he’d closed himself off and meant to keep it that way.
Maybe she wouldn’t see him again. Maybe he’d issue orders that she was to be driven back to her camp and left there. The thought left her feeling empty and bereft. And angry—because why did she want to torture herself by spending more time in his company?
Being sent away was the best thing that could happen to her.
She did not belong here. Oh, she would return to excavate the temples—she wasn’t a fool—but she didn’t belong in the royal palace in the bed of the King. Nothing good could ever come of a relationship with Zafir. She knew because she hadn’t been able to stop herself from reading some of the Bah’sharan code. The King was duty-bound to take either a Bah’sharan wife or a royal one from a neighboring country. Genie, for all her success in her chosen field, had no place in his life—nor would she ever.
When she returned to the harem, she found the same servant from yesterday, who bore another letter with the King’s seal. She reached for it, a thread of apprehension skimming through her.
Was this it? Was this her dismissal? She half prayed it was. The back of her neck tingled as she ripped it open and read it.
It was not a dismissal—or at least not an outright one. Zafir simply regretted that he could not have dinner with her, and indicated that she would be served in her room.
Genie ate dinner alone, then passed the evening with one of the books she’d taken from the library. She thought about going to bed several times, but she wasn’t in the least bit tired, so she stayed up and read on one of the comfortable sofas. She was just about to close the book and go to bed anyway when the door to the harem opened and Zafir strode in.
A glance at her watch told her it was nearly midnight. She blinked at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
He was still dressed in the garments he’d worn earlier. He jerked the headdress off and tossed it aside. “Disappointed to see me?”
Genie swallowed. “Not at all. But I thought you were angry with me.”
He shrugged. “I was irritated.”
“Where have you been all this time?” She winced at how much like a jealous girlfriend she sounded. It wasn’t at all what she’d meant to convey, but if he noticed he didn’t react.
“I’ve been trying to make a room full of grown men stop acting like spoiled children fighting over a toy sword.”
“It’s not going well, I take it?”
He popped two hands on his hips, his dark eyes full of fire and frustration. “It could be better.”
Genie closed the book and set it on the table. “I can listen if it helps.”
His gaze slid over her. “Listening is nice, but it is not what I want.”
Her body felt as if he’d blazed a trail of flame over it.
“What do you want?”
His grin was sexy, sinful. “A swim in the mineral bath.”
“Oh,” she said, sudden disappointment swirling inside her. She shouldn’t want to make love with him again, but she couldn’t stop the desire coursing in her veins like thick syrup. Just as well he didn’t seem affected by it.
“You may join me, if you wish.” He left her sitting there, her mouth dropping open, as he headed for the spa. Genie debated with herself for a full minute before getting up and following him.
Zafir stood poolside, stripping out of his garments. Her mouth went dry as layer after layer was peeled away until he stood there bronzed, hard-muscled, and magnificently naked. He wasn’t fully aroused, but he was on his way.
She should turn and walk away, should prove to herself and to him that she was capable of refusing to be drawn into another doomed relationship with him. Last night had been amazing, a reminder of all she’d missed for so long. Did she really need another when there was no future in it?
“Coming in?” he asked, before he dove cleanly into the water. He came up like a dolphin, rivulets of water rushing down his chest and arms before he flipped over and started to
