Karim caught movement in his peripheral vision and saw the steward scowling at his watch.
‘Okay, Tarek. It’s time for you to go with your aunt.’
The boy nodded enthusiastically and it was the work of a moment to settle him in the car next to Rana. When Karim turned back towards the waiting horses it was to find Safiyah watching him, her expression serious.
What now? Was she going to complain about him holding her son? She’d have to get used to it. Tarek was officiallyhisson now too.
The idea elicited a welter of unfamiliar emotions.
‘Ready, Safiyah?’ He made to walk past her, heading to where their mounts stood.
‘Yes, I…’
Her words trailed off and Karim paused. It was unlike Safiyah to hold back. She said what she thought—particularly when she disapproved. He was sick of her disapproval.
Repressing a sigh, he turned. ‘What is it? It’s time we started.’
Their route was to take a circuitous route through the city. It would be at least an hour before they arrived at the open-air venue where the celebrations would commence.
Her eyes met his, then swung away. Yet in that instant Karim was surprised to discover not anger but uncertainty. He took in her heightened colour and the dimple in her cheek and realised she was gnawing the inside of her mouth.
She moved closer, her hand hovering for a moment over his before dropping away. His flesh tingled as if from her touch.
‘Thank you, Karim. You were so good with Tarek. Not stern or disapproving.’ She smiled tentatively. ‘It’s more than I expected and I appreciate it.’
It was on the tip of his tongue to say of course she should expect people to treat her boy well. Except he recalled what Tarek had said about his father. And how much he sounded like the man who’d raised Karim. Sometimes common courtesy and kindness to children weren’t the norm.
Had that coloured Safiyah’s view of Karim? The thought snagged in his brain. Maybe that explained some of the anomalies he’d noted in her behaviour.
It also made him wonder about her relationship with her first husband…
‘I told you. I aim to do my best for the boy.’
If his tone was gruff she didn’t seem to notice. She nodded, but didn’t move. Harnesses jangled nearby yet still Karim waited, knowing there was more.
‘I wanted to thank you, too, for bringing Rana here.’ The words spilled out in a breathless rush. ‘It was the most wonderful surprise. I…’ She paused and looked down at her hands, clasped tight before her. ‘I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have her here.’
Safiyah lifted her head and her gaze met his. Karim experienced that familiar sizzle, but this time her curious expression—a mix of joy and nerves—didn’t just ignite the accustomed flare of sexual anticipation. It made some unidentified weight in his chest turn over. The sensation was so definite, so unique, it held him mute.
For a long moment—too long—Karim felt the deep-seated glow of wellbeing he’d known only once in his life. In the days when he’d believed Safiyah to be a sweet, adoring innocent. But, despite her pretty speech of thanks, those days were dead. It was important he remembered that.
He nodded briskly and turned towards the groom, gesturing for him to bring the horses. They’d delayed longer than planned. It was time to ride out.
Suddenly Karim was itching to be gone, to be busy with his new work, his new people. Not second-guessing Safiyah’s motives or his own feelings. He didn’t have time for feelings—not personal ones. He wasn’t here for old times’ sake. He was here to rule a nation.
Yet when another groom approached, to help Safiyah into the saddle, Karim shook his head and offered his own clasped hands for her foot, tossing her up into the saddle. It was hardly an intimate caress. Just a fleeting touch of leather on skin. Yet the air between them shimmered and thickened as she looked down from the saddle and those velvet eyes met his. They’d darkened now, all trace of gold highlights disappearing. Her gaze felt intimate and full of promise.
Was it genuine or fake?
Marrying Abbas’s widow and adopting his child had never been a straightforward proposition. Yet he hadn’t realised how difficult it would be. For, despite years of experience in distancing himself from entanglements, this felt…personal. And complicated.
Karim had walked into a throne but also into a family. Into a place full of feelings and shadowy hints of past relationships that still affected Safiyah and Tarek today.
Suddenly the work of ruling Assara seemed easy compared with playing happy families.
Yet there was one aspect of family life Karim looked forward to with searing anticipation.
Bedding his wife.