“You enjoyed yourself today?”
We’re staying in a large house on the edge of the city. It’s not a palace, exactly, but it’s definitely close to a mansion. I don’t remember it from when I was a girl, but then, we lived several suburbs away, so there’s no reason to think I ever came here.
“I did,” I agree, a smile touching my lips. “I could have lost myself in the town for days.”
His eyes regard me thoughtfully. “And you remembered more from your childhood?”
I frown. “Why do you say that?”
“You seemed nostalgic earlier. I presumed memories would come back as you spent time in the place. How can they not?”
“Yes,” I agree. “That’s just how it was being back in Thakirt. Shops were familiar, streets, some parks. There was even a tree with a very curved trunk that I can remember running my hands across as a girl. It was smaller then,” I recall with a husky laugh.
He takes the drink I hold out, keeping his eyes on me as he throws it back in one go. Taking my lead from him, I do the same, but break into a coughing fit as the alcohol incinerates my throat.
“It’s strong.”
He laughs as he takes the glass away. “Yes.” He moves quickly, filling a cup with water and offering it to me. I take a sip, standing close to him as I drink and my coughing dies leaving only the warmth of the alcohol in its place.
“The strangest thing is that these memories had deserted me. For years I could barely remember anything about my life
in Qabid and now –,” My voice peters out, but I shrug, self-consciously. “It’s hard to explain.”
“You’re home.”
My eyes flare wide, the description troubling even when it’s accurate. More contradictions fire through me. I nod uneasily. “In some ways.” I grip the glass simply because the alternative would involve walking to the table to place it down, and I’m reluctant to put space between us even when I know I should. “I didn’t feel any enmity towards you, Zahir. These people treat you like a God.”
His smile is cynical. “These people, perhaps. Opposition comes from the fringes, and it is there, azeezi, even if you wish that were not the case.”
I scrunch up my nose, expelling a slow breath. “It’s not just what I wish. I walked through Thakirt and felt…peace. These people are good and kind. I cannot believe any of them wishes you harm.”
He turns away from me and my heart grows cold, instantly. “Whether you believe it or not, it is the case. I would like to rely on your intuition alone, but I have a billion-dollar military with sophisticated intelligence gathering abilities. There is no doubt that danger lurks here. But with your help, I hope to quell it.”
A shiver runs down my spine, the truth of what he’s saying like a vein of ice. I want to ignore it. I don’t want anything dark to lessen my pleasure in this place and these people. I bite down on my lip, contemplating his pronouncement, wishing I could deny it more emphatically. I can’t.
“This house is beautiful.”
His head dips forward in silent agreement. Nerves spread through me, because all day I’ve been waiting for night to come and now that it’s here, I can’t regulate my body properly. I’m hot and cold, shaking at the knees, moist heat building between my legs, making me want to reach for him.
Thank goodness pride holds me back.
He spins around abruptly, pinning me with eyes that are as dark as the night, watching me intently.
“I made you a promise when we were first married, and I intend to keep it.” He crosses the floor, pressing a finger to my shoulder, watching me through hooded eyes, his cheekbones slashed as if from marble. “I will not touch you unless you ask me to.”
My eyes flutter shut, a wave of desire swallowing me. “Isn’t that a little redundant now?” Heat steals across my face. “After what happened in the cave, I mean.”
“Perhaps,” he concedes, his voice husky. “But I intend to keep my word. I will not make love to you now unless you ask it of me.”
I gasp, aching for him so badly. I’m shaking all over, like a leaf in the breeze. I lift a hand, clutching his robes, breathing in his citrussy masculine fragrance with a shattering sense of longing. I should hate him. I do hate him.
Except…I don’t.
I’m so conflicted about everything to do with Zahir except when it comes to our physical relationship. I want him and there’s no denying that.
“And if I don’t ask you?”
His eyes clash with mine, a battle of the wills, an attempt to read my mindset, to understand my intentions. I carefully keep my expression blanked of my feelings, wondering though if he can feel the quivering of my body, so close to his. Behind him, the bed – large and soft-looking – draws my attention but I ignore it. With a lot of effort.