Bella and the Merciless Sheikh

‘You caught me. It’s becoming a habit.’ Her face rested on his shoulder, her voice muffled.

‘That is one habit I would gladly break.’ Zafiq moved onto his side so that he could see her properly. ‘You are the bravest woman I have ever met.’

‘And the most annoying.’

Zafiq gave a faint smile. ‘That too.’

‘What can you do about Amira?’

‘Do you really think I would let them take Amira?’

‘But if the rules say a woman can’t be riding—’

‘The rules don’t say that. There is actually no mention of women in the rules. It is time I rewrote them.’ Confident that this announcement would ensure an appropriate degree of gratitude, Zafiq was surprised when she pulled away.

‘But that won’t protect Amira! They’ve already tried to steal her once, and Kamal’s fall wasn’t an accident and then there was today…’

A red mist of anger descended on Zafiq’s brain as he saw the bluish tinge on her cheek. ‘Today,’ he said thickly, ‘you could have been killed. And the culprit is already in custody. There will be a full investigation but you can trust me when I say that there will be no more attempts to infiltrate my stables.’

‘Life’s hard, isn’t it? You think people are basically good,’ she mumbled, ‘and then this happens and you realise that some people are horrid.’

‘What happened to you was a symptom of greed and jealousy. The horse who came second is owned by the ruler of a neighbouring state, but it was his jockey who pulled you off Batal at the marker.’ The thought of what might have happened turned him cold. ‘You could have been killed. If the stallion hadn’t stopped—’

‘I didn’t realise you were watching. I thought we were too far away for anyone to see what happened.’

‘I had binoculars. And there were officials positioned at every part of the course. They saw what he did. They would have helped you, but you were back on the stallion before they could reach you.’ Zafiq drew in a long breath. ‘Did you not think that getting back on the horse was dangerous after that fall?’

‘I wasn’t thinking at all. All I was thinking of was not losing Amira and not letting you and everyone else down. But when I felt his hand on my leg, I thought that was going to be the end of me. With Batal galloping and my foot stuck in the stirrup—and then he just stopped. As if he knew.’

‘It was the most surprising, moving thing that anyone watching had ever witnessed. All the more surprising when you know what a bad-tempered, aggressive animal Batal can be. That he showed such gentleness towards you…’

‘It’s because of him I’m alive,’ Bella said simply, her eyes drifting shut. ‘I suppose next time he bites me in the stable, I’ll just have to put up with it.’

‘You will not be returning to the stable, habibiti.’ His mind made up, Zafiq delivered the news he knew would bring a smile to her face.

Her eyes flew open and the look on her face was one of horror. ‘You’re firing me?’

‘I am not firing you. You can spend as much time in the stable as you like, but the rest of the time you will be living in the palace,’ Zafiq announced, pleased with his solution to the problem.

She would live with him. Why not?

‘L-living in the palace?’

‘Yes. I have…’ Zafiq hesitated and her eyes widened.

‘What?’

‘I have…missed you.’ He found it almost embarrassing to acknowledge just how badly he wanted this woman. ‘I’ve missed having someone who…challenges me.’