Page 52 of Over the Edge

But the dude beside him…that man was a different matter.

Azamat said formally, “This is my cousin, Gohar Malik. An important man in Zagistan.”

Interesting that Azamat felt obliged to point that out. As if Trevor could possibly have missed the arrogant assurance rolling off this cousin of a cousin.

Trevor studied Gohar Malik closely. A big man. Expansive way of moving. Like he was used to being deferred to. He thought he saw a certain mean streak in the tightness around the man’s mouth and in the way the dude eyed a woman who passed by.

Gohar’s stare locked on Anna like a lion eyeing prey.Bastard’s in for a surprise if he thinks she’s helpless. Trevor schooled his face to bland politeness as Gohar said, “Anna. You’ve finally turned into a woman.”

“Hello to you, too, cousin.”

Trevor heard faint sarcasm in Anna’s voice, but Gohar seemed not to notice.

“You clean up half decently, I must say.”

“If that’s your way of saying I look nice, thank you.”

Anna was definitely getting irritated but controlling it tightly.

“There are some men I want you to meet—“

She cut off Gohar. “And I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Trevor Westbrook.”

“Your—“ Gohar stared back and forth between Anna and Trevor. His voice low and furious, Gohar growled, “Azamat hasn’t given permission. There is no engagement.”

Anna smiled brightly. “I haven’t asked for permission. Wonderful thing about being an American. I don’t have to play games with my family over who I marry.”

Trevor saw the red creeping into Gohar’s face and recognized an impending explosion. His grandmother’s face did the same thing when anyone crossed her. In English, he said smoothly, “Darling, I’m dying of thirst, and I just spotted a champagne fountain. Do come with me while I wet my whistle.”

Without giving her any choice in the matter, he pressed his elbow tightly against his side, trapping her fingers around his arm, and bodily dragged her away from her cousins.

To her credit, she didn’t fight him. In fact, she leaned into his side as they strolled away from a fuming Gohar.

Trevor commented blandly, “I’d say that went very well. Wouldn’t you?”

“That’s a word for it.”

“Your cousin Azamat seems a pleasant chap. As for Gohar, you didn’t rip his head off. I’d call that a win,” Trevor said pragmatically. “Now, I just have to keep the two of you apart for the rest of the evening, and my work here will be done.”

Anna smiled grimly. “Oh, your work here is far from done. You may still have to defend me from whoever my cousins decide I should be married off to—with or without my consent.”

“Can’t you just refuse at the altar? Just say, ‘I don’t’?”

She smiled reluctantly. “Surely even in England, marriage is as much a contract as an exchange of vows.”

“Given that your father passed away long ago, nobody here has the right to contract you off to anyone, then, I should think.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not familiar enough with the ancient customs to say who would inherit that right.”

He fetched them flutes of champagne that turned out to be an excellent vintage, dry and crisp. “Isn’t your family Muslim?” he murmured. “How is there champagne?”

“My grandmother is, but not most of the rest. Zagistan has hosted many cultures and religions over the centuries, and Islam is only one of them. Its customs are a mix of many traditions.”

“Fair enough. An interesting polyglot this place is.” Whenever her glass was empty, he was quick to refill it. She wouldn’t get drunk at the rate she was sipping it, but maybe she would relax enough not to murder her cousin.

Dinner was served, and Trevor was relieved that he and Anna were seated well away from Gohar. He held Anna’s chair then sat down beside her. The other eight people at the table—four men and four women—were all under the age of twenty-five. Trevor felt like a senior citizen among them as they laughed and joked in Zagari around him.

His command of the language was improving rapidly, but he still missed enough that it was easier to tune out and concentrate on imagining stripping Anna out of that beautiful golden gown.

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