Esme’s stomach dipped lower, her anger at his high-handedness taking a temporary back seat to his unerring reasoning. ‘You...you didn’t tell him, did you?’
‘Since the call wasn’t of a personal nature, no, I didn’t.’
‘So he agreed, just like that?’ she pressed.
‘Yes, Esmeralda. Just like that. But I dare say receiving a call from the Sultan of a notable kingdom isn’t an everyday occurrence and he went the extra mile to treat it as such.’
‘You mean you threw your weight around and got the results you wanted.’
‘Of course,’ he agreed smoothly. ‘Although there wasn’t much throwing needed. He will have the privilege of adding my kingdom to his portfolio of clients, and my promise of a personal recommendation should you do a
good job was just the extra incentive he needed.’ A hard, implacable look settled over his face, along with a trace of the hunger she thought he’d completely eradicated. ‘So now your way has been cleared, do I have your agreement that you’ll stay for as long as I need you?’
Esme fought against the distinct sensation that she’d been well and truly cornered. And not for the purpose of serving as Zaid’s liaison. There was stealth about him, a deeper purpose brewing behind his eyes that wouldn’t allow the tightening in her stomach to ease. But how could she fight it when she didn’t know what it was? Especially when in the face of what he’d said, what he’d done for her father, and what he was striving to do for his people, she could only give him one answer?
* * *
‘Yes, I’ll stay.’
In the moment before she answered, Zaid went through a half a dozen rebuttals in preparation for a negative response. Her inner battle had been plain to see on her face. So it took a moment or two before he realised she’d agreed. He absorbed her words with a relief he hadn’t been expecting to feel. The punch of elation that followed on its heels was equally perturbing and irritating, considering he’d mentally slammed the door on the possibility of any future sexual interaction with her.
Zaid wasn’t arrogant in thinking he could change her mind about her decision should he wish to. Esmeralda Scott was a desirable woman, and their brief interlude had spiked a hunger in his blood that he was still struggling with. He’d also seen her quickly hidden disappointment after his acceptance of her bold denial of their mutual chemistry.
But mixing business with pleasure rarely ended well. And he had enough people questioning his motives with her as it was, especially in light of the strings he’d pulled this week on behalf of her father.
No, he would be better off finding a discreet alternative avenue for slaking his lust. Except the thought of doing just that only increased his irritation. That and the reminder of why she was in his kingdom in the first place.
‘Good.’ His tone was much curter than necessary. The widening of her alluring eyes and the stiffening of her lush body told him so. But his patience was ebbing. ‘Fawzi will provide you with an itinerary in the morning.’
She carried on staring at him for a moment before her gaze dropped. ‘Okay. Um... I’ll say goodnight, then.’
He rose and pulled back her chair, and noticed her faint surprise at the gesture. ‘You have a problem with a little chivalry?’
She shook her head, and the already precarious knot of hair threatened to emancipate itself. The reminder of how soft and silky the tresses had felt between his fingers threatened another bout of hunger. Directing a silent, pithy curse at his libido did nothing to alleviate the growing ache.
‘Not a problem, no, just a little surprised, that’s all.’
He allowed himself a tiny smile. ‘My grandmother, may she rest in peace, would turn in her grave if she thought for a moment that I’d abandoned my manners.’
Her answering smile was equally brief, but the transformation of her features from beautiful to enchanting made his grip tight on the back of her chair. ‘Were you two very close?’
Zaid told himself all he would allow was a single breath of her cherry blossom and jasmine scent as she fell into step beside him and they left his dining room. But in the next breath he was sampling her alluring perfume again, wondering where the shampoo smell ended and the jasmine and feminine scent began. He pulled his focus back to what she’d asked him with aggravating effort.
‘Despite our exile, she was determined to raise me as if I was a ruler in waiting. Besides my normal studies, I had to learn every single Ja’ahrian custom and law, excel in matters of diplomacy, and, of course, the correct table manners. She was a hard taskmistress, but she was also soft and maternal when it mattered.’
‘I’m glad,’ she murmured.
Something in her voice made him glance at her. He caught a trace of sadness before she attempted to reinstate that air of rigid control around herself. For some reason he couldn’t fathom in that moment, he wanted to smash through it, leave the true Esmeralda Scott exposed. He was sure it was that notion that prompted his next question.
‘When did you lose your mother?’
Wary tension stiffened her spine. ‘How did you know?’
He steered her down another hallway, one he knew would be quieter at that time of night. ‘Your father said you were the only family he had.’
The tiniest wave of relief washed over her face. ‘Oh...yes.’ She pretended an interest in a nearby sculpture of a warrior on a horse as she gathered herself. ‘My mother died when I was fourteen. But she wasn’t in my life by then. They divorced when I was thirteen and she moved to Australia.’
Zaid frowned. ‘So then it was just your father and you?’