less.’ He raked her body with his impassive gaze. ‘A lot less. Possibly nothing at all, although even then I’m not sure you have what it takes to hold my interest.’
A lie, because for some reason she already had it. But his taunt had hit its mark if her little gasp was anything to go by.
‘My father is right. You’re a lowly dog who doesn’t deserve to rule our country.’
‘Your father?’
Farah Hajjar? Mohamed’s daughter? Well, well, wasn’t that interesting? His gaze raked her again and he nearly smiled when he caught the self-disgusted look that crossed her face at her mistake. He hadn’t expected the old guy to send his daughter to do his bidding. Was he hoping Zach would somehow be seduced into making a deal? If he was, he was going to be disappointed because, despite his reaction to her voice, Zach had never been attracted to Bakaani women. A shrink would no doubt tell him that it was because of the amount of arranged marriages his father had tried to foist on him. But Zach just preferred blondes. ‘I didn’t think your father considered himself a part of Bakaan but it’s nice to know that he still does.’
‘He...’ She stopped and Zach could see she was trying to rein her temper in. She took a deep breath and slammed her hands on her hips, drawing his attention to their feminine curve. Not going to help, sweetheart.
‘If you agree to let our region formally separate from Bakaan,’ she said, ‘I’ll let you go.’
‘You’ll let me go?’
He laughed and she paced away from him, her stride long, and he realised she wasn’t as small as he’d first assumed: maybe five-seven, five-eight. She stopped abruptly, facing him. ‘Your family has suppressed our people for long enough.’
Now that was something he couldn’t argue with. He didn’t condone how his father had ruled Bakaan, and he’d even considered launching a coup against him himself, but his mother would have been devastated. ‘I haven’t done anything to the people of Bakaan.’ But he couldn’t allow her tribe to secede from the kingdom because others might follow and the country would get picked over by their neighbours, seeking to secure Bakaan’s oil reserves for themselves.
‘You haven’t done anything for them either,’ she countered, ‘even though you’ve been back and have controlled the army for the last five years.’
‘And when was the last time that army attacked any of your people, or any other country, for that matter?’ Zach bit out, surprised that her attitude had got to him.
‘You’re saying you’re responsible for peace?’ She scoffed.
‘I’m saying that, for all your big talk, your father has potentially instigated a war by his current actions. Not me.’ Her face paled at that and his eyes narrowed. ‘Something to think about, sweetheart, before you run off at the mouth with your uneducated accusations!’
‘You only think they’re uneducated because I’m a woman. I know more than you think, Your Highness.’
She loaded his title with as much derision as she could muster, which was a pretty impressive amount. But her spunk only irritated him more. ‘A woman?’ he taunted. ‘I’ve known skunks that smell better than you. I would advise against marketing the scent. It’s not all that appealing.’
Her eyes flashed darkly in the dying light. ‘As if I would want to appeal to you,’ she returned scathingly.
Zach nearly laughed at her haughty tone. He’d yet to come across a woman who didn’t want to appeal to him. Good genes, a good bank account and what sounded like a good title went a long way to impressing the female population. He raised his hands in the air and cocked an eyebrow. ‘Untie my hands, little heathen, and I’ll soon change your mind.’
He almost heard her teeth grind together from across the room at his suggestive tone and, just as she was about to launch into what he could only imagine was another cutting admonition of his character, the tent flap was once again pushed aside and Hajjar’s second-in-command sauntered in, bearing a dish of food. The smell hit Zach instantly and made his stomach curl in on itself.
Obviously surprised to see Mohamed’s daughter, he pulled up short. ‘What are you doing here?’ he bit out.
Zach saw her chin snap up and her eyes shoot daggers. ‘I can handle this, Amir,’ she murmured icily.
‘No, you can’t.’
She responded in hushed tones and Zach avidly followed their furiously whispered interaction. She clearly had a personal relationship with the soldier and for some inexplicable reason he was disappointed.
Not wanting to dwell on why that was, he focused on the soldier’s face. He wasn’t at all happy with whatever it was she was saying but he clearly lacked the baydot to do anything about it. Idiot. All she needed was a sound kissing and she’d see reason.
A sound kissing?
He nearly chocked at the absurdity of the thought. His ancestors might have behaved that way, but since when did he think kissing a woman into submission was an acceptable mode of conduct for a man? And who would want to kiss this smelly little spitfire anyway?
Disgusted with his interest in their argument, he drew up his knees and used their distraction to work at his bindings.
Too soon the woman won and took the bowl of food from the soldier’s hands. Needing more time alone, Zach goaded him by asking where he’d misplaced his baydot. The soldier stiffened. So did the spitfire.
She whirled on him, all fire and ice. Maybe ‘spitfire’ was too tame a word to describe her. She was more like a wild little cat with her dark, almond-shaped eyes and pursed lips.
‘Come, Farah.’
The girl rounded on the other man and, for all that Zach didn’t like him, he felt himself wince for the guy. ‘He’s just trying to rile you,’ she bit out.
Not stupid, then, Zach mused with reluctant admiration.
‘He is dangerous,’ the soldier returned. And he should know, since it had taken six of them to subdue him.
‘And tied up,’ she pointed out impatiently. ‘Which I have no plans to change.’ But Zach did and he felt another coil of rope give as he put more pressure on it.
‘What are your plans?’
Fascinated by the changed tension in the air, Zach stilled his movements. He sensed there was more behind that question than met the eye. The girl obviously did, too, but her scrunched brow indicated that she didn’t understand the meaning behind his question.
He wants in your pants, sweetheart, if he hasn’t been there already.
She released a slow breath. ‘Just give me five minutes here. I’ll meet you in the dinner tent.’
Slightly mollified, the soldier nodded tersely. He sneered at Zach before stalking out of the tent, letting the flap drop back loudly into place.
She stared at it, brooding.
‘Trouble in paradise,
