‘If you want sex,’ Zahid said, peeling off her dress and offloading her into the bed, ‘then you can ask politely in the morning when you are sober.’
‘Ask?’ Trinity lay on the bed and laughed at his audacity. ‘I have to ask?’
‘Politely,’ Zahid said. ‘I want to hear the word “please” when you do,’ but as he looked down at her, astonishingly, to Trinity, he smiled. ‘You need to learn manners—your behaviour tonight has been shocking.’
‘Really?’ Trinity said. ‘I thought that I’d behaved rather well.’
Zahid didn’t have to come up with a suitable answer because less than ten seconds later she was sound asleep.
CHAPTER FOUR
ZAHID SAT WATCHING as Trinity started to stir.
Her bridesmaid’s dress was over a chair, her shoes were on the floor, her hair was everywhere and her mascara had escaped her lashes and had moved to the pillow.
Zahid rang for breakfast and saw Trinity’s eyes frown at the intrusion when a little while later the doorbell chimed.
‘Just leave it there,’ Zahid said, as the staff went to set up. ‘Could someone draw a bath...?’
She sat up to ask everyone if they could please be quiet and get out of her room but Zahid shot her such a look that she ducked back under the covers and willed the sheikh in her bedroom to disappear.
Actually, Trinity realised, she was in his bedroom, she had to be because this room was massive and the bed seemed even bigger.
Oh, God.
As the maid came out and said that the bath had been run and Zahid said he would call soon to have the room tidied but that was all for now, Trinity had vague memories of kissing him.
Not outside, though. She remembered that that kiss had been completely lovely. It was the inside attempt to kiss him that had her cringing in recall.
‘Does that groaning mean you have a recollection of last night or should I call for a doctor?’
He didn’t let her hide; instead, he whipped back the bedding.
‘The first one.’ Trinity stared up at a very, very beautiful man. His hair was tousled and he was no longer clean-shaven and stood over her in the morning-after version of yesterday’s suit.
‘How is your hangover?’
‘It’s not a hangover, it’s exhaustion,’ Trinity said. ‘And forty-eight hours of no sleep, mixed with champagne and my toxic family...’ She closed her eyes. ‘Did I make a terrible scene?’
‘I brought you up here before you could,’ Zahid said, ‘but, yes, you made quite a scene in the bedroom.’ She could hardly breathe but then, when Zahid smiled down at her, so heart stopping was that face there was no ‘hardly’ about it—her breath was lodged in her lungs and it took a moment for her foggy brain to compute that Zahid wasn’t cross. In fact, from the look he was giving her, any moment he’d be stripping the last of her clothing off.
Oh, God!
‘Here!’ He handed her a large glass of something cold and dark pink. She sat up a touch and when it met her lips, Trinity found out that it was watermelon infused with mint.
‘I had no sleep on the flight. There was a baby next to me on the plane...’ Trinity explained between draining her drink. ‘We don’t all have our own private jets to fly us to weddings...’
‘You could have put on earphones.’ Zahid remained unmoved by her explanations for last night’s behaviour.
‘You’ve never flown economy, have you?’
‘Your father paid for business class,’ Zahid said, because he had overheard Gus telling anyone who cared to listen how much his daughter still cost him, but more than that, Zahid simply would not let her lie.
‘And I bought an economy ticket with it,’ Trinity whispered conspiratorially. ‘It’s called ten hours of discomfort for three months’ rent.’
‘Then you should have taken an earlier flight if you knew that you would be unlikely to get any sleep.’
She lay back on the pillow and stared at him, sulking that he wouldn’t give her an out.
Yes, she should have taken an earlier flight, but that would have meant a night in the family home and it had been the last place on earth she’d wanted to be. Economy and a screaming baby had been a far more palatable option.
‘Here,’ Zahid said. Taking the empty glass from Trinity, he hauled her back up to a sitting position as if she were a hospital patient, and then he sat on the edge of the bed with a plate loaded with tiny sausages and pancakes. He slathered them in maple syrup and, proceeded to cut it all up and then commenced feeding her.
‘I was just tired.’
‘Of course you were,’ Zahid said. ‘Eat.’
‘You’re not cross?’
‘No.’ He smiled at her but there was concern there. ‘What was going on last night?’ Zahid asked. ‘You were very upset when I got you back to the room.’
Trinity shrugged. ‘I’d just had too much to drink.’
‘That’s not what you said two minutes ago.’
‘I just...’ Trinity shrugged. She honestly didn’t know what to say.
‘You can tell me.’
Could she?
He was her brother’s best man, a family friend...and, right now, the very best thing in her life, even if just for a little while.
She didn’t want to spoil it.
‘Things get a bit tense for me when I’m with my family.’
She waited for him to tell her how wonderful her family was and that she should behave better, but Zahid was actually trying to gauge how much he should say. After all, it was her family that he was about to criticise.
He popped a forkful of food into her mouth as he chose to let his ingrained diplomacy leave him a touch, for he wanted her to hear the truth.
‘I find the Fosters hard work.’ As she opened her mouth to say something he reminded her that it was rude to speak with her mouth full and so Trinity had no choice but to hear him out. ‘After last night, I am severing ties with your family.’ As she frantically chewed so she could get her words out, Zahid beat her to it. ‘When I say the Fosters I don’t mean you.’ Trinity stopped chewing then as Zahid spoke on—she now wanted to hear what he had to say. ‘When I think of you, I do not think of the Fosters, do you understand that?’
‘I think so.’
‘I need you to understand that when I sever ties with you, it shall be for different reasons entirely. Do you know what they are?’
Trinity gave a tiny shrug.
‘If we were to meet in the future, my feelings and thoughts about you would be very disrespectful to my future wife.’ He tried to explain what Trinity could not possibly understand. ‘My wife will be chosen with my country in mind.’ He saw her frown break into a smile.
‘I wasn’t expecting her to be me.’
‘I know,’ Zahid said, smiling at the very thought of Trinity in Ishla. ‘I’m sure you could think of nothing worse. I just want to make it very clear that when I sever ties with your family, it has nothing at all to do with how I feel about you.’
‘Thank you.’
It was very nice to hear.
‘And thanks for saving me from making a complete fool of myself last night,’ Trinity said.
‘It was no problem.’
‘I was just having fun.’
His eyes said that he doubted, again, that he was hearing the truth but Trinity ploughed on regardless. In the sober light of day she certainly wasn’t going to reveal the painful past and so she tried to turn the conversation to far lighter matters. ‘So what does a sheikh prince do when he lets his hair down?’ She stared at him for a long moment. ‘I can’t imagine you dancing.’
‘We danced last night.’
‘I mean...’ She put her hands above her head and did a little dance in the bed and actually forgot she was only wearing a bra. He made her forget shame, Trinity realised as she put her arms down.
More than that, he erased it.
‘I don’t dance like that,’ Zahid said.
‘And we’ve established that you do sing. You don’t drink?’
‘No.’
‘Because you’re not allowed?’
‘Because I don’t want to.’
‘Do you gamble?’
‘Never.’ He looked at her for a very long moment and then answered her question with one word. ‘Sex.’
Trinity blinked.
‘It is my vice,’ Zahid said. ‘We all have them.’
‘Is sex a vice?’
‘Apparently so.’ Zahid gave a brief eye-roll. ‘Though that defect will be removed soon.’
‘Your wife might be a nymphomaniac,’ Trinity said, and she got the lovely reward of his smile.
‘We can always hope,’ Zahid said, ‘though it will not be something that is taken into consideration.’
‘Well, it should be.’ Trinity yawned.
‘I shan’t be raising the topic with my father.’
‘We have to be down to join the family for breakfast at nine...’ Trinity said, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was ten past eight as Zahid dipped the last of the pancake in syrup and offered it to her.
‘You make a nice mummy bird,’ Trinity said, and then duly opened her mouth, but the fork wavered there, just hovered where she couldn’t reach it, and he pulled it back when she stretched her neck.