smile or hear you laugh again, my sister.’
‘It is all Gina’s doing. See how good she is for me? Not only is she clever and kind, but she has a wicked sense of humour, too.’
‘Is that so?’ Immediately Zahir’s interested glance moved from his sister to the fair-skinned woman seated by her side. Her lovely blue eyes had been brimming with humour just a few moments ago, but now, beneath his scrutiny, her expression turned serious. He didn’t know why, but it grieved him.
‘Good afternoon, Your Highness,’ she murmured.
‘You are looking very well, Dr Collins.’ He smiled. ‘Like a rose plucked from an English country garden and planted out here in the desert.’
‘Such a rose probably wouldn’t survive in this heat.’
‘If it was tended and looked after by an expert gardener, I have no doubt it would blossom.’
Helplessly, he fell into a trance, his skin prickling hotly with languorous need. He ignored the fact that his sister was staring at him speculatively. Then Gina reached out to gather up some papers that were strewn across the table, and Zahir snapped out of the hypnotised spell that had overcome him.
‘I will let you get back to your conversation. I apologise for disturbing you both,’ he muttered, then turned abruptly and strode away.
As his dark robes flew out behind him, his booted footsteps ringing out across the paved courtyard, Farida frowned. ‘My brother does not seem at all like his usual self this morning. It could be that he has suffered a sleepless night because of his wounds. You know he was wounded in a skirmish with some rebels the other day?’
‘Yes … I heard what happened. It was a shock.’ Lowering her lashes, Gina tried to scan some of the notes she had made with regard to the inventory that was underway, but all she saw on the screen of her mind was the disturbing heat in Zahir’s riveting dark eyes. It made her press her thighs together beneath her dress, because suddenly she ached to the very core of her being for his ardent lovemaking.
Inevitably, she remembered the night she had surrendered her virginity. The erotic electricity their bodies had generated had been so powerful, so magnetising, that when he had penetrated her she hadn’t experienced the slightest pain or discomfort. Their bonding had been so perfect, so natural, that she had no doubt it had been written in the stars.
Realising that Farida was waiting for her opinion, Gina strove for a reassuring smile. ‘Your brother … His Highness … is clearly a very strong, fit man, and I’ve no doubt that he’ll make a full and speedy recovery.’
The other woman shrugged. ‘That is what I tell myself, too. But no matter how strong he is, he is not infallible. No one is. This house has known too much death of late. It needs new blood to revitalise it and give us hope. Perhaps it is a good thing that Zahir intends to marry soon. Even if I cannot agree with his bride of choice.’
Feeling as if her breath had been seared inside her lungs, Gina stared in shock. ‘The Sheikh is getting married?’
Farida sighed and nodded. ‘His intended is an Emir’s daughter. She is plump and plain, and I’m sorry to say not very clever. Thank Allah he is not looking for scintillating company, because he won’t enjoy such a thing with her. No … He has only seen the girl once or twice, but her family rule a great kingdom, too. It is a marriage of convenience my brother has planned, and I see nothing but pain and unhappiness ahead for him should he go through with it.’
It was hard for Gina to speak because of the dryness in her throat. ‘But what about the Heart of Courage’s prophecy that all your family will marry for love, not dynastic advantage?’
‘You know about the jewel?’
She’d forgotten she wasn’t supposed to mention it to Farida. Her heart raced as she quickly sought to explain. ‘Knowing I was going to undertake an inventory of the palace artefacts, I did some research before I came and discovered the existence of the jewel. It’s got quite a history.’
Leaning forward, Farida grabbed Gina’s hand. ‘I totally believe in the prophecy! One cannot and should not argue with fate. As soon as I set eyes on Azhar I knew it was meant that we should meet and fall in love. In fact I loved him from the very first moment, and I will not stop loving him for the rest of my life—even though he is gone from me. My heart keeps him alive. Do you understand?’
‘I do … I believe everything you say, Farida. But your brother …? He doesn’t believe in the prophecy?’
‘He does not. I have tried to talk to Zahir many times about it, but he will not listen. Because my parents married for love, and my father pined for my mother so much when she died that he himself passed away shortly after, and then I sadly lost Azhar, he is scared to experience a love so profound in case he will be a broken man if he should lose it. There is no convincing him otherwise. He can be very stubborn at times—especially when he thinks he is right!’
‘So he would rather marry someone he barely knows or cares about instead?’
The other girl sadly dipped her head. ‘It would seem so.’
Walking in a semi-daze down the corridor later, her notes clutched to her chest, Gina didn’t even register a door opening until a deep male voice uttered her name.
‘Gina.’ Holding the study door wide, Zahir commanded her with his piercing dark gaze.
‘Don’t you mean Dr Collins, Your Highness?’ It was almost impossible to keep the hurt from her voice when all she could think was that he was marrying a woman he hardly knew, purely for dynastic alliance. Of all the things she had ever suffered, surely this was the hardest to bear of all?
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘I WISH to speak with you.’
‘I’m sorry, but I can’t spare the time right now. I have too much work to do.’
Gina barely knew where she found the temerity to speak to him like that, but she supposed hurt and anger instigated it. The fiercely warning glance Zahir gave her in return was enough to quell the courage of Ghengis Khan himself, and she couldn’t deny that her legs weren’t shaking.
‘How dare you address me in such a manner? Such disrespect would be enough to have you incarcerated. In future I would advise you to think twice before succumbing to it. Come into my study … now.’
Closing the door behind them, Zahir gestured to Gina to take a seat. She was glad of it. Laying down her papers on a lavish brocade-covered couch, she folded her hands in her lap, took a deep breath, then made herself meet his glowering gaze.
‘I apologise sincerely if I was rude, Your Highness. It won’t happen again. What is it you want to talk to me about?’
Hands behind his back, he paced the marble floor, his handsome profile ominously formidable as his boot heels rang out against the stone. When he came to a stop, but still didn’t speak, a jolt of fear zigzagged through her.
‘What’s wrong? Are you in pain?’ she asked.
A curse violently left his lips. Striding up to her, he hauled her to her feet. Suddenly finding herself on the most personal and intimate terms with his flashing eyes, warm breath and steely strength as
