Modern Romance July 2018 Books 5-8 Collection. Annie West

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СКАЧАТЬ this he absorbed in moments, but it was the movement at the centre of the courtyard that caught his attention. Amidst the smiling, singing group, three young women danced, their long skirts billowing around them. One wore the traditional necklaces and headscarf of a bride and sunlight glinted off flashing antique silver coins as she turned.

      But it was another dancer who held Sayid’s gaze. Ebony tresses drifted around her shoulders, all the way to her tiny waist, as she circled. Her hands described a series of intricate, elegant shapes as she twirled, every movement, every dip and sway, graceful.

      Lina. His heart slammed into his ribs then took up an uneven beat.

      She wore a long traditional dress of russet red, unadorned but for a scarf of red and lilac belted at her waist, the ends flaring out as she spun. Her dress was less elaborate than the ones worn by the others but his eyes were drawn to her as inevitably as one of his Bedouin ancestors spying a life-giving oasis in the desert.

      Pleasure swelled at the sight of her, nimble, supple and beautiful. There was desire—that was inevitable with Lina—but there was more too, the appreciation of any bystander watching a master at work. She could have been a professional dancer with those exquisitely light movements that looked deceptively easy but which he knew took years and considerable skill to perfect.

      ‘Your Highness.’ His guide spoke. ‘Allow me to introduce my wife and my wife’s sister.’

      Sayid dragged his attention back to the introductions, smiling and making small talk with the group of older women who’d come to greet him.

      ‘My granddaughter is to be married soon and the girls are practising the dances for the celebration,’ one woman explained.

      Just then there was a shout of laughter and another of warning. Sayid turned to see a little girl, who’d been trying to emulate the dancers, twirl too fast and lose her balance, running full tilt into Lina. A second little girl, presumably trying to catch her friend, raced after her but, dizzy from the spinning, toppled against her instead.

      There was a flurry of skirts and Lina, with her two small assailants, tumbled to the ground.

      The singing stopped, the other dancers whirling to a halt.

      Then, breaking the silence, came the husky sound of laughter. It was joyous and uninhibited. Contagious too, especially when Lina’s face emerged from the tumble of bodies, wearing a grin as bright as the sun. Her laughter was like that too, bright and glorious.

      It struck Sayid that he’d missed the sound of laughter these last years as he strove full-time to do his duty for his country.

      As he watched, Lina reached for one little girl, tickling her. Then the sounds of mirth filled the courtyard as the two little girls squealed in mock dismay, pretending, but not too hard, to escape.

      * * *

      Lina’s hair was in her eyes and she was gasping as her two small tormentors tickled her, when a low rumbling sound caught her ears. Rich and mellow, warm and inviting, the male laughter tugged at something inside. She lifted her head, intrigued, brushing a swathe of hair back from her face.

      One of the children took that as a cue to burrow closer and Lina automatically wrapped an arm around her. This pair was a delight and for some reason had shadowed Lina since she’d arrived.

      Struggling up, she propped herself on her other hand and almost fell back to the floor. For standing near the courtyard entrance, at least a head taller than those around him, was the Emir, resplendent in white robes.

      Sayid. The name whispered through her brain and she recalled the sound of it on her tongue, the delicious, dangerous taste of it as she’d called him that last night. Had she imagined that flare of desire in his eyes in response?

      She didn’t know what to think. Logic said he’d wanted her, yet he’d put her aside easily.

      Lina had told herself it was for the best. That kiss had been dangerous. But now cautious Lina was silent. Since last night a needy, yearning woman had taken her place. Her fixation on the man who’d turned her life around had morphed from a crush into full-blown infatuation.

      She wanted Sayid. Never so much as now, hearing that lush, glorious laugh, seeing his face crease into a grin of simple amusement.

      He’d never looked so devastatingly handsome. So young and approachable. As if she could go over there and speak to him as an equal. Lift her hand to that thick, soft dark hair covering his scalp and pull his head down to hers. She’d stand on tiptoe and lift her mouth to his and—

      The laughter stopped as his eyes met hers.

      There was a crack of instant, explosive tension she was surprised no one else seemed to hear. Suddenly her heart was racing faster than it had as she’d danced, and a fine film of heat glazed her skin from head to toe. One look, one smile, and she was undone. Even after last night’s rejection. Hot blood flooded her cheeks.

      What was he doing here?

      Why was he looking at her that way when he’d made it clear he was out of bounds after that kiss? He didn’t just look. His gaze devoured.

      A second later the heat blazing in his eyes was banked and he turned to the older group surrounding him, saying something that made them nod.

      Of course, he wasn’t here looking for her. What a stupid fantasy! He was here because he’d championed this centre and his staff were trying to convince people to send all their children to the new school nearby. Because the Emir believed it better for his people to want education than to force them.

      Sayid was totally unlike his uncle. Parents had scared their children with stories of the previous Emir, a bogeyman who’d come to get them if they didn’t behave.

      Sayid was no bogeyman but he drove her crazy, she decided as she got up and righted her two little companions. His position meant she couldn’t pursue her attraction—he’d made that clear as he put her aside last night and the memory stabbed her heart. Yet she couldn’t leave while she was obliged to him. She was caught like a moth, dazzled by flame. All she could do was endure.

      For ninety minutes she was on her best behaviour, co-opted into the royal party as he finished his tour then entered the old souk, pausing here and there to talk to stallholders and shoppers alike. There were a couple of discreet guards but they hung back so there was no obvious barrier between Sayid and his people.

      Again Lina was fascinated by what she saw. Not a man caught up in his own importance, but one who’d happily sample dates from the clawed hand of an ancient stallholder, who chatted easily with businesspeople and passers-by clustering around.

      Nor was it just his ease that impressed her. It was the questions he asked and the way he listened. More than once Lina saw him nod to his secretary to take a note of a matter to be followed up. The walk-through wasn’t for show. His interest was genuine.

      Lina admired Sayid, too much. Everything she learned confirmed her first impression, that he was a man worthy of respect. The trouble was, she felt far more than respect, which was why, on entering the citadel, she made to hurry to her room.

      ‘Not so fast, Lina. We have matters to discuss.’

      He didn’t put out a hand to prevent her leaving, but that tone, with its ring of authority, stopped СКАЧАТЬ