Page 22 of Seduced By the Sheikh

She nodded, although she wasn’t sure what he was asking. But then, she was ready for anything that lay ahead of her now.

They parked outside the rear of the palace, directly beside the private wing. Their doors were opened for them and, after talking briefly with his guards, Zak glanced around, no doubt out of habit, and they entered the palace together. Once into the drawing room, they were alone and Zak yanked at his tie, loosening it, and tossed it aside.

“Thank goodness that’s over,” he said, walking across to the bar. “Would you like a drink?”

“Sparkling water, please,” she said, pulling off her scarf and laying it over the back of a chair. She suddenly felt nervous, picked it up again and walked over to the bedroom. It didn’t feel right to lay her clothes around the sitting room.

“Where are you going?”

“The bedroom,” she said.

Once there, she closed the door on him and breathed a deep sigh, realizing that the excitement had turned to nerves. She placed her scarf in the wardrobe and caught sight of herself in the mirror. She wore a short sequined jacket over her evening dress for modesty and she pulled it off, loosening yet more hair from the elaborate style her maid had created for her. Surely it was no longer the time for modesty. On impulse, she pulled out the clips, and it tumbled around her shoulders.

She looked at herself again. The shoestring straps and tight bodice left little to the imagination, and instinctively she pulled on the jacket again. Yes, she wanted him to want her, but equally, she was terrified. She grabbed the clips again and tried to twist her hair back into a bun again, but her fingers were clumsy and she was increasingly feeling hot and bothered. It looked worse than before.

There was a knock at the door. “Everything all right?” he called out.

“Yes,” she said, desperately trying to fix her hair and failing miserably. She grunted in frustration and pulled it free again. “Just coming.”

He did a double-take as she entered. “Ah,” he said, taking the drinks to the table, “I can see you were making yourself more comfortable.”

“I was going to, but I don’t seem to be very good at it.”

He grinned. “It comes with practice, believe me. I can imagine you’ve spent all your life trying not to relax, not to be comfortable.”

She was surprised at his accurate assessment. “Yes, how did you…” she trailed off, at a loss for words.

“How did I know? Honestly, you’re not that hard to understand. A clever woman who has spent her life undervalued by her father, determined to be the perfect daughter in order to achieve, in order, perhaps, to be loved.”

“Hm,” she said, pressing her lips together. She hated he understood her so easily. “I didn’t realize I was that simple.”

“I didn’t say you were simple.”

“And how about you?” she asked, determined to change the subject. “Should I attempt to analyze you?”

He shrugged. “You can attempt all you like, but I doubt you’ll succeed.”

She laughed. “How like a man to imagine he’s so much more complex than a woman.”

He sat back in an easy chair opposite her. “Okay. You have my personality down simply as a womanizer and you must know that, as I’ve taken over the throne from my brother, I’m also driven by duty.”

She nodded. “Yes. And you’re the typical young brother, with more freedom than his elder brother, and therefore less serious.”

He smiled and shook his head. “You obviously do not know my brother.”

She blinked in surprise. She’d thought she did. “I only met him a few times before our wedding, but I heard a lot about him, and read about him. He appeared exactly as I say—serious and dutiful.”

“And he is. But he is also less suited to be king than me. I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics. Kadar doesn’t. But he’s found the perfect way to contribute with his new wife Sarah. Their marriage has brought an internal peace to our country, which had seemed impossible only months earlier. But I am also serious.”

“So serious you spent your time in the company of beautiful women, one after another.”

“Only if you believe the gossips.”

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t?”

“Because they exaggerate the truth. I don’t make love to every beautiful woman I see.”

“How restrained of you.”

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