“This many dishes for one reception?” she said to Issam after two hours had passed and Jacques was still bringing out plates.
“It’s tradition.” He took another bite of the palate-cleanser sorbet. “Wedding feasts last hours, and you choose only the best delicacies to feed to your lover.”
“Feed to your lover?” She set down her fork beside her plate. “Why haven’t you given me the royal treatment?”
“It’s not our wedding day yet,” Issam teased. Jacques came by with another set of plates. This time, it was simple—strawberries cut in neat little slices, dipped in sugar. “For between courses,” the chef said, then went back into the fray of the kitchen.
Issam speared a slice of strawberry with his fork and lifted it to Mackenzie’s lips. He did it with such care and precision that a rush of warmth went through her. She saw that same heat echoed in his eyes. “We’ll have to work this off later, you know.” She took the strawberry into her mouth. It was the best strawberry she’d ever had. Perfectly ripe and sweet.
Issam grinned at her. “That would be a happy ending to this...feast.”
On the next round, she lifted a delicate pastry to his lips, and Issam took her fingers all the way into his mouth, swirling his tongue around them. It was mean—she wanted more of that tongue. On her neck. On her lips...
But she had to focus on the task at hand. Getting herself into those negotiations, even if it was over a never-ending meal.
“I hope we will have many happy endings,” she said. “Here, and elsewhere.”
“What do you mean?”
She gave him a hopeful smile. “I hope the land dispute can be resolved so that all parties walk away satisfied.”
Mackenzie hoped that this would prod Issam into revealing more of the details, but he only gave her a wicked look. “Are you not satisfied yet? Then I haven’t done my job.” A fierceness came into expression.
“You take your job seriously, don’t you?”
Issam straightened up. “Very seriously. The country depends on me.”
“Not just the royal family?”
“Of course, the security of my family is paramount.” He furrowed his brow. “Though I’m not always certain that I’m doing enough to protect them.”
Mackenzie nodded. “No wonder the land dispute is weighing so heavily on you.”
He gave her a long look. “It’s...at the nexus of many political issues. You are at the nexus of many political issues.”
“It’s why I’m here. My mother—” Mackenzie laughed. “My mother is ten times as fierce as I am. She’s a federal prosecutor, and she’s taken down some of the country’s most insidious criminals. If I have any hope of filling her shoes...” She shook her head. “Well, I could start with an important issue like this land dispute.” She put her hand on his. “You need it as a military stronghold. I’ve heard the news coming out of Caldad.”
This time, Issam didn’t change the subject. “I need to keep my family protected. And the rest of our citizens.”
“And yet you can’t provoke...the other parties involved.” Mackenzie was treading on dangerous ground, and she knew it. “If I were looking for precedent, I’d go back to caretaking.”
“Caretaking?”
“Yes. The location of the land makes it important, but the fort on the land makes it invaluable.” She shrugged as if the idea was just coming to her. “Who last maintained the fort?”
Issam was staring at her.
“It was your people, from Al-Dashalid. In which case, I’d argue that Al-Dashalid has a duty to occupy and defend the fort.” Not at the expense of the people hiding there, but she could get to that later. “It’s a simple position and unlikely to offend my brother-in-law,” she went on, “and precedent is always—”
Issam swept her into his arms and kissed her so hard she forgot to breathe. She saw a flash of white in the corner of her vision—Jacques, turning hastily around—and then Issam was on his feet, pulling her along with him.
“Issam,” she breathed. “Where are we—the tasting—”
“Come on.”
His strides were long, and she hurried to keep up. They went down the maze of hallways on the terrace level until they turned into one that was quiet, carpeted, rich. Six doors lined either side of the hall. Issam opened one at random, pushed her inside, and slammed the door shut behind them.
It was a guest bedroom, and small, but from the look in his eyes, Issam didn’t care.