Jackie Braun - The Sheikh's Untamed Bride - Lost to the Desert Warrior / Sheikh in the City / Her Ardent Sheikh

She wanted to reach up and sink her hands into that glossy dark hair. She wanted to pull his head down to hers and see if his kiss felt as good in daylight as it did in darkness. She wanted to give herself up to the emotion and the confusion and stop trying to rationalise the mess in her head.

‘It’s not going the way I thought it would go, either.’

‘I owe you an apology for ordering you to stay away from my daughter. You should know that I am very overprotective where she is concerned and the past week has been a particularly unsettling time.’

Standing this close to him, it was a struggle for her to concentrate. ‘I would never criticise any father for being overprotective.’

‘Please understand that my reluctance to allow you near her was less about you as an individual and more about my determination to keep life as stable as possible for her. I thought Nadia was the perfect person to care for her. It seems I may have been wrong.’

‘Maybe you weren’t. As you said, there is probably some perfectly reasonable explanation for her absence.’ What right did she have to comment on the behaviour of another person when she didn’t even understand her own?

‘Possibly, but at the current time we are unlikely to find that out.’ There was an edge to his tone. ‘She has gone missing, along with one of my guards. I suspect that when they both should have been with Zahra they were together. We are trying to find them. In the meantime I must thank you for being so incredibly kind to my daughter when she was upset.’

His apology was as unexpected and unsettling as it was touching.

She’d craved distance, but instead she had closeness and a new sense of understanding that simply intensified the feelings inside her.

‘She is very sweet and good-natured. And I love her sense of mischief. She reminds me so much of Yasmin.’

‘The people here have noticed your kindness to her and it has done much to make them warm towards you. What are these stories you’ve been telling Zahra that make her so desperate to go to bed at night?’

‘One Thousand and One Nights. I read them to my sister.’

His eyes glittered. ‘So now you think you are Scheherazade?’

‘Hardly. But I thought if I could relax Zahra before she sleeps she might be less likely to wake.’

‘It was a good plan. Did it work?’

‘It’s too soon to know. I just wish I’d brought the book with me instead of leaving it at the first camp.’

‘That was the other book you brought with you?’

‘Yes. It’s one of my favourites. I decided I could only carry two, because of the weight, so I picked that one.’

His hands were still on her face, his gaze intent on hers. ‘And the Kama Sutra.’

‘It was a matter of priorities.’ She knew her face was hot against his palm. ‘And ignorance.’

‘You have no need to explain yourself to me and no need to feel embarrassed.’ His eyes darkened. ‘These last few days have been a terrible strain for you. The threat of marriage to Hassan, whom you clearly fear and loathe, escaping from the palace, losing your sister in the desert and then being picked up by my men. Marriage to a stranger, a near drowning, and then living with a husband with whom you’ve barely shared a conversation but are expected to undress for.’

Layla tried to smile. ‘When you put it like that, it’s no wonder I’m a little wound up.’

‘A little?’

‘A lot. I’d be a lot better if there was news of Yasmin.’

His hand dropped from her face. ‘So far there is none, but that does not mean you should worry. Salem is renowned for not communicating.’

Remembering the dark, forbidding profile of the man she’d seen only briefly on that first night, Layla found that of little comfort. ‘What if he can’t find her?’ She blurted the words out, seeking reassurance.

‘If anyone can find her it will be Salem.’ Raz hesitated, as if he were deciding how much to tell her. ‘He has a special set of skills.’

‘But what if Hassan has already tracked her down? What if he has her right now?’

‘Then Salem will find both of them and you can safely feel sorry for Hassan.’

Layla hesitated, because to make an accusation unsupported by solid evidence felt wrong. ‘I have nothing but instinct on which to base this suspicion, but I think Hassan may have played a part in the death of my father.’

His expression didn’t change. ‘I’m sure you’re right.’

The relief that came from having someone to discuss it with was overwhelming. ‘You suspect it too?’

‘Of course. The moment I heard about the Sheikh’s sudden illness it was the first thing that came to mind. We have no proof, but we believe it was Hassan who ordered someone to tamper with the brakes of my car two years ago. I don’t believe it was his intention to kill or injure my wife, because that would have brought him no political benefit. There is little doubt I was the intended victim, but sadly she chose that day to borrow my car.’

His voice was thickened with a mix of regret, guilt and anger, his pain so powerful she felt it as if it were her own.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘I do not hold you in any way responsible. But it is true that Hassan would do anything for power. He and your father were cut from the same cloth.’

She knew that, but it was the first time she’d heard anyone else say it. ‘If he finds my sister—’

‘I would trust my brother with my life and we must now trust him with your sister’s life.’ He turned to look at her, the lines of his handsome face set and serious. ‘When did you last eat?’

‘I’m not hungry.’

‘You’ve barely eaten in the whole time we’ve been together.’

‘I’ve eaten.’

‘We may be in the dark for much of the time, but that does not make me blind.’ His tone was dry. He hesitated. ‘Zahra is keen for me to take her riding today. I know your experience with horses to date has been less than encouraging, but if you would like to learn to ride it would give me pleasure to teach you.’

The thought of spending yet more time on a horse horrified her, but she could tell he was reaching out to her and didn’t want to do anything that could be considered a rebuff. ‘Teaching a beginner would drive you mad.’

‘I have been teaching Zahra since she was able to sit unsupported. Believe me when I say that nothing you throw at me can be more of a challenge than putting an overexcited toddler on a horse.’

‘You taught her to ride that young?’

‘It is the best age. She has grown up around horses, as I did. It wouldn’t surprise me if she chooses to make that her career in some way in the future.’

Career?

‘You see her having a career?’

‘Of course. And I can’t see it being diplomacy, because my daughter is as outspoken as your sister.’

That fact clearly amused him, and Layla thought about the times she’d had to haul Yasmin away from a situation before her comments created havoc.

‘You’re proud of your daughter.’

‘Very.’

The contrast between his love for his daughter and her own barren childhood was so vividly accentuated that the breath caught in her throat. Wondering what was wrong with her that she could envy a child, Layla stepped away from him.

‘Thank you for the offer of riding lessons, but I don’t want to intrude on your time with Zahra.’

He curved an arm round her waist, trapping her. ‘You’re still upset?’

‘No.’ All she had around this man were uncomfortable feelings. Feelings about him. Feelings about herself. She’d arrived here thinking she knew herself well and had discovered she didn’t know herself at all. It was like being inside the body of a stranger. ‘I just don’t want to intrude on your relationship with your daughter.’