The King of Al-Murja, a man as tall and dark and handsome as Sharif, sat nearby, looking austere. As austere as her husband.
Husband. She felt dizzy again, even though she was sitting down.
Liyah cursed herself now for not having looked him up. If she had, she would have known who he was at the oasis.
And would that have changed her behaviour?
Liyah couldn’t say how she would have reacted last night even if she’d known who he was. It was all too much to process.
And then, from her
right, came a low and steely tone. ‘Look at me, wife.’
Liyah gulped and slowly turned her head to meet those far too memorable dark eyes. She noticed now that there were gold rings around his irises. So not totally dark. Golden. Molten.
‘So what was that last night? Were you trying out the wares before you committed to marriage with a stranger? Should I be flattered you deemed me suitable?’
His voice was cold enough to make her shiver—a big difference from how he’d sounded last night. The mid-Atlantic twang mocked her now. As did her instinct last night that he was not just anyone.
‘No,’ she croaked. ‘It wasn’t like that. I had no idea who you were.’
He made a rude sound. ‘I find that hard to believe.’
His accusing tone broke Liyah out of her shocked paralysis. ‘Wait... Did you know who I was?’
‘No.’
A dart of hurt lanced her. He’d been equally disinclined to know about her. But she shouldn’t be surprised—after all her sister had told her. He just wants a wife. He doesn’t care who that is.
‘Then I could accuse you of the same—maybe you did know who I was and you wanted to make sure I was suitable.’
‘You weren’t a virgin. That would make you very unsuitable to some.’
Liyah flushed at that. In this part of the world he would be within his rights to reject her on those grounds... Except the time to do it would have been the moment he’d recognised her.
‘Are you going to say something?’ Liyah immediately thought of the potential repercussions for her younger sister, who might be denied the husband she wanted to punish Liyah.
But Sharif shook his head slowly. ‘No. I’m not a hypocrite. I’m far from a virgin. I don’t expect my wife to be. Anyway, that’s not what this marriage will be about.’
Liyah looked at him. She frowned. ‘What’s that supposed—’
But she was cut off when the music started, drowning out what she’d been about to say. She had to face forward to watch the traditional dancers.
Her brain was racing, wanting to know what Sharif had meant. She cursed herself again for not having looked him up. She would have been better prepared. But it was too late to dwell on regrets. Or on reckless decisions made in the heat of the moment.
She’d never expected to see him again but now he was her husband. And she would have to deal with the consequences.
Sharif’s blood was boiling as he sat beside his brand-new wife. Aaliyah. She now had a name. The woman who had driven him senseless with lust only a few hours ago. The same woman he’d suspected of being a figment of his imagination.
He didn’t believe for a second that she hadn’t known who he was last night. It was too conveniently serendipitous that she’d just happened to visit the oasis when he’d been there.
Someone must have told her that he hadn’t arrived at the palace with his entourage. And she’d come to investigate her future husband. The thought that she’d been laughing at him the whole way through the marriage ceremony, behind her veil, set his nerves on edge.
Little happened in Sharif’s life that he wasn’t in control of. And this was not how he’d envisaged his marriage starting—with his blood boiling over with shock, anger and, even worse, lust.
Even though her body was now covered in the voluminous red and white traditional wedding robes of Taraq, Sharif could picture every dip and hollow. How she’d looked when she’d stepped out of the water in front of him, water sluicing down over endless curves and gleaming skin. The long sleek limbs. Her breasts, perfectly shaped and heavy...the juncture between her legs where dark hair curled enticingly, inviting him to explore—
Dio. He’d planned on making the most of his wife in the coming weeks, having her by his side at as many events as possible to ensure that the Marchetti Group brand was at its most stable and valuable for when he put his plans into motion.