“Put that on,” Basil said to her. Saja tilted her head and looked at it. She had never worn anything like it. She was used to sleeping in her shorts or a loose fitting t-shirt. She picked the nightdress up and looked at it.
“So, I must dress up for you,” she said.
“Well, you're not going to sleep in that dress are you?”
“I have my own night wear.”
“Which I find appalling.”
Saja went to the bathroom to change. She gasped when she walked in. His bathroom was large, clean and simply beautiful. She immediately wanted to take a shower. His shower was big enough to fit ten people. She wore the nightdress and rinsed her mouth with some mouthwash. She re-entered the room. Basil was already in bed, shirtless. He gestured for her to join him.
“I'm meant to sleep here? With you?” Saja asked with a frown on her face. This was not going the way she had hoped it would. Basil nodded. She reluctantly got into bed with him. She knew he was testing her to see how far she would go but she was not giving him the satisfaction. She was simply glad it was sleeping and nothing else. Luckily for her, the bed was really large. She made sure to sleep at the far end. There was at least two metres of distance between them.
Chapter 12
Basil was already awake and reading through some paper work. He looked down at Saja. She had rolled to the middle of the bed during the night. She was lying so peacefully. Her features were so soft. It was hard to believe that this angelic creature could be so argumentative and challenging. He felt like touching her face.
Saja adjusted herself to be more comfortable. She opened her eyes and found Basil looking down at her. It took her a moment to register where she was. When the thought sank in, she frowned. She yawned.
“Draw me a bath,” Basil said to her.
“Why should I?” Saja yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“Because you are my servant and you will do as I wish.”
Saja got out of bed and dragged her feet all the way to the bathroom. She opened the taps and left the bathroom. As she was walking, Basil was staring at her sculpted olive coloured legs. She had nicely shaped legs. For the first time, he questioned why he was keeping her. Clearly, she was unhappy and she was not backing down from him. He was losing. He never lost.
“Where are you going?” he asked her.
“To my room,” she answered and carried on walking away.
“And who is going to bathe me?”
“You are!”
Saja slammed the door behind her. There was no way that she was going to bathe him. He was out of his mind if he thought that she would do that. She could not help but imagine what he'd look like undressed. She had already seen the top part and it was impressive. It was his bottom part that she had not seen. She blushed at the thought. From his clothes, she could tell that he would look good naked. She cussed herself for even thinking about him like that.
She walked into her new room and shut the door. She took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. She flipped open her laptop and started browsing the internet. She was not going to join Basil for breakfast.
***
It had been a week since Saja had been living in Basil's quarters. Surprisingly, they had not been arguing. It was strange to Basil. He was used to her disputing everything he said or did. He also hadn't made an effort to anger her since he was so busy l
ooking into El-Tamar's life. He made sure to check everything about him from the moment he was born, his financial details, his businesses and his children's affairs. He discovered that El-Tamar had many secrets. He had lost his wealth. His eldest son, Aman, had been embezzling money from the funds generated from the treaty. Basil immediately summoned both of them to his palace. He did not like being deceived.
Basil was sitting in his courtyard with Badir whilst waiting for El-Tamar. The Prince had brought Badir up to speed with the whole situation. The King had already returned to his palace. He could not be away from it for too long as much he had wanted to do so. He had bid Saja farewell before he left. He was rooting for her. He liked that she was smart and beautiful and especially because she challenged his brother so much. Even though Basil mostly complained about her, he had a certain spark in his eyes when he spoke about her.
“I am shocked that you and Miss Saja are living together harmoniously,” Badir said to Basil.
“So am I,” he replied. It made him wonder if she was plotting something again.
“How will you handle her father?”
“That is another issue. I suspect he only wants me to wed his daughter for money. He needs money and this was his last option,” Basil sighed. This man was truly disgraceful. Marina walked out into the courtyard and announced El-Tamar's arrival. El-Tamar and his eldest son, Aman, walked out into the courtyard. They bowed their heads to the Prince before sitting down.
The maids served them cool beverages and snacks. Basil watched El-Tamar as he spoke. The man tried too hard to impress him. His son was a spitting image of his father. Moments later Saja walked out into the courtyard. She came to a halt when she saw El-Tamar there. She felt sickened by his sight.
“Come,” the Prince said to Saja when she tried to leave.