that wasn’t outright opposition.
‘That’s very gracious of you, and I do appreciate it, but I have no intention of marrying.’
Not till I’ve got you out of my system.
To marry another man while her heart and body yearned for this one would be impossible.
There was a flurry of robes as the Emir rose. He turned to pace first towards her then away, to the massive desk piled with folders and papers.
‘You don’t intend to marry.’ Anger threaded his words. ‘Why? Because it doesn’t suit you?’ He swung round and glared at her, pinioning her to the chair.
‘I’m sorry. I—’
‘Is this to do with what happened last night? If so let me be clear. You can’t expect—’
‘I expect nothing!’ Lina shot to her feet, her hands clenched fists at her sides.
Wasn’t it enough that he’d pushed her away then told her that magical kiss had been a mistake?
‘I know you don’t want me. I know that kiss was my fault.’ For she’d been the one pleading with her eyes, the one who’d told him she wanted him. She might not have a lot of personal experience but she understood enough to know that men weren’t always discriminating if women threw themselves at them. He hadn’t really wanted her.
Lina pushed her shoulders back, glaring at him, for the first time not caring about his power or authority. Seeing only the man she wanted, rejecting her yet again.
Her lips crumpled in a derisive smile. First her uncle and aunt had packed her off. Then Sayid. Now he was doing it again. Hopefully one day she’d find someone who wanted her to stay, who didn’t see her simply as an unwanted burden.
Furious tears gathered at the back of her eyes and she blinked, hating the possibility he’d think she felt sorry for herself.
On the contrary, she was proud. She’d worked hard to make something of herself and one day she’d be a brilliant interpreter, in great demand. She’d support herself with her work and have a home and friends. One day she might even fall in love with a man who loved her back.
‘The simple fact is I don’t want a husband. And if ever I do I’ll choose him myself. Thank you.’
He looked down at her with a hauteur she’d never seen in him before. Like a warrior of old confronted with a disobedient slave. Lina swallowed and stood her ground, even as he stepped close enough to loom over her.
She wasn’t a slave any more. He’d released her from that.
* * *
Sayid stared down into Lina’s flushed, vibrant face and forced his clenched hands behind his back. All morning he’d been hyper-aware of her, even as he’d conducted his tour, talking with scores of others. She’d stood silent, a little behind him, but he’d breathed in her light floral scent, been conscious of the stares of others, taking in her beauty. More than once, on turning, his breath had clogged in his lungs as he’d seen her and fought to resist the urge to grab the soft length of her hair, wrap it round his hand and tug her hard against him. He wanted to taste her again, experience the heady combustion of desire when they came together.
But he couldn’t, damn it...because he was doing the decent thing.
And did she thank him for it?
He looked down into flashing violet eyes, the ripe mouth, set in mulish lines, and wondered why even her mutinous attitude was too attractive.
Because he was tired of people deferring?
Or because her fire reminded him of how she’d felt in his arms?
‘While I appreciate your concern for me, it’s unnecessary.’ Her eyes locked with his, no hint of backing down. ‘Halarq is changing. You’ve said it’s good for women to have careers now. That’s what I want.’
Damn her! She had the temerity to quote his own words back at him.
Sayid ground his molars, surprised to discover that while he despised yes-men, he wasn’t keen on disobedience either. ‘There’s no reason you can’t have both a husband and a career.’
‘But I’m not ready for a husband. I want to—’
‘You’re my responsibility. I’ll decide what’s best for you.’
Her head rocked back as if she’d been slapped. Yet he’d said nothing untoward. He had an obligation to see to her security and welfare.
‘I’m twenty-two. Old enough to make decisions about my future.’
She had a point. He’d been treated as an adult since he was fifteen. But then his circumstances were different.
‘Enough!’ Sayid rounded the desk and sat down, occupying the position of power as she stood before him. ‘You can trust me to find you a decent man.’
Instead of reassuring her, his words seemed to detonate her intriguingly volatile temper. He’d had hints of it in the past, like when she’d described her undesirable cousins and when she’d boldly met his gaze when so many wouldn’t. Yet he’d had no notion she could be so easily provoked, except in passion. The knowledge was disturbingly...arousing.
She planted her hands on her hips and her eyes flashed amethyst fire. Her cheeks were rose pink, her lips the colour of mountain cherries.
She looked...incendiary and captivatingly sensual.
‘When I want a man I’ll find him for myself, thank you very much.’ Her chin tipped up. ‘For all your talk of modernisation and rights for the disenfranchised, you don’t believe your own rhetoric, do you? You still see women as possessions, unable to make decisions for themselves.’
Sayid was on his feet in a second, palms flat on his desk as he leaned across it towards her. ‘Nothing could be further from the truth.’
‘Then prove it. Don’t dictate to me.’
‘In case you’ve forgotten, Lina, I’m your guardian. It’s my job to make decisions for you.’
If he’d thought his anger would make her back down, he was mistaken. She paled, but instead of subsiding, she paced right up to the other side of his desk, holding his gaze with all the calm composure of a born leader.
Her perfume teased his nostrils. That rich rose scent took him straight back to last night, when the taste of her sweet mouth and the torture of her body against his had driven him to the brink of madness. He’d almost taken her right there on the hard flagstones by the pool.
He shook his head, trying to clear the miasma of desire enveloping him.
‘Damn it, Lina. You’ll do as you’re told!’
She didn’t even flinch. Instead she planted her own palms on the desk and leaned into his personal space, as no one else would dare.
‘Are
