“It is not like you to express regrets or remorse. Certainly, it is not your way to doubt your own actions.”
Tamir nodded, without looking at Saf. “I acted in haste because I was afraid to lose her.” His mouth filled with the flavour of bitterness. “I met her and just knew that she was too rare to let go.” He closed his eyes, remembering that first moment. When he’d seen her and felt every fibre of his being lock into place.
“Of course. She is the spitting image of Marni. You must have felt like you’d been given a second chance.”
Tamir looked at his friend sharply. He hadn’t thought of his ex-girlfriend in years. In five years, to be precise. Since she’d ended her life with the drug that had been slowly taking her away from all those who loved her. True, both women had long blonde hair and a tall elegance. Both had wide-set green eyes, and a smile that lit up their faces. But those were passing similarities, nothing more.
“Marrying Olivia had nothing to do with Marni.”
Saf didn’t say anything, but his silence spoke volumes. The woman could have passed as Marni’s twin. Of course it explained the hasty nature of their union. But the Sultan obviously did not wish to discuss it.
Saf shrugged, willing to let the conversation die. “If you are not happy, and she is not happy, you can end it. You made a quick decision, and it can be unmade.”
The thought was repulsive to Tamir. “I have always acted on the weight of my instinct, and that has always done well for me. But Olivia is different. She is gentle and she is sweet, and I cannot help but storm all over her.”
Saf frowned. “You will learn.”
“No,” Tamir shook his head. “By our very nature, we are incompatible. She is water; I am oil. She’s the serene, still stream and I am the waterfall, gushing over rocks and breaking the water’s surface. It is what I do. I am fast and I am strong.” He shrugged. “I was selfish to take her from her life, simply because I thought her to be what I needed.”
Saf had known Tamir since they were boys. This side of him was entirely new. “If you care for her, then you’ll change. You’ll become less like a waterfall around her, and more like a drop in the ocean.”
“No!” Tamir’s laugh was ironic. “No amount of water metaphors will change who I am, Saf. I was born to rule, and I rule with an iron fist. I cannot just switch that off because it is hurtful to my… to Olivia.”
“So? What does that mean? You do regret the marriage after all?”
The white fabric was tenacious. It found another blast of desert wind and, this time, was successful in convincing it to drag her to safety. It pulled and tugged until the fabric was free, shooting through the sky, towards the heavens.
“I know I should let her go.” He remarked grimly, keeping his eyes on the floating linen. “Only I know I won’t. That I can’t.” He turned to lance Saf with his gaze, his eyes unknowingly pained. “Unless she asks it of me, I will keep trying to be what Olivia needs. Because I suspe
ct she is everything I’ve ever needed.”
CHAPTER NINE
“What is this place?” Olivia asked breathlessly, staring out at the expanse of bright green water.
Three hours in the jeep, and all he could do was stare at the woman who was not his wife.
“It is the Liana dri Skino.”
Olivia repeated the beautiful sounding name. “What does it mean?”
His dark eyes were resting on her captivated expression. “Bay of Kings. It is a private cove. My army keeps watch and maintains it for my private use.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “There is no risk here of Kalil charging you with anything.”
At the mention of the severe security chief’s name, Olivia shuddered. The involuntary gesture did not escape Tamir’s attention. He pulled her closer, running a hand down her back. Her body had given him such pleasure, and yet it was not simply that which had him hooked.
“Would you like to go swimming?”
Her eyes widened, as she turned to face him. Her smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He realised it was almost as bright as the night he’d met her. And the realisation hit him, like a sledge hammer, that he hadn’t seen her smile properly since that night. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes, if it will keep you looking like that,” he promised darkly, linking his hands behind her back and holding her close. “We will swim every afternoon until your smile becomes locked to your face.”
His words were so beautifully sweet. She couldn’t help but soften against him. A voice in the back of her mind was warning her to remember his domineering nature. But in that perfect moment, she simply couldn’t recall why she had ever felt anger towards him. She was one being, made up entirely of bliss.
But Tamir couldn’t forget. He stared out at the ocean and sighed. “No one has any right to make you feel as Kalil did. I will never forgive myself for having allowed you to be in that position.”
Olivia swallowed past the lump in her throat. “He hates me.”
“Yes,” Tamil agreed quietly.