obvious.
Yeah, but the seducing was worrisome....
No. Nope. No. She wasn’t worried about him seducing her. That implied that she was seducible, and she was not. She so was not. But she was a sweet, kind of young...relatively. Virgin—yeah, she was that for sure—so he wasn’t going to be interested. But even if he was it wouldn’t matter.
Good grief, Ana, you have lost your fool mind.
He was holding her against her will, kind of, and making her play the part of Miss Manners. She had no reason to feel fluttery about him, and yet she did. Because it was easy to remember what it had felt like to fall asleep with his arm around her. How the weight of it had been warm, his body solid and comforting behind her.
How she hadn’t disliked it at all, but had actually wanted to stay there in his embrace. And when she’d woken and he was standing above her, rather than lying with her, she’d been confused. She’d missed his presence.
Because she’d been half-asleep and confused, but still. It was inexcusable.
Feelings like that were a betrayal. A betrayal of the man who had...probably mobilized special forces...quietly...to find her.
In the cold light of day, she feared Zafar. His power over her, the fact that she didn’t have the control. She didn’t miss having him sleep next to her. So there.
“What is it you expect me to do? Aside from telling you not to threaten dignitaries with bodily harm” she said. “Teach you which fork you eat your salad with?”
“Maybe,” he said, and for the first time she developed a hint of something genuine beneath his hard tone. “Maybe you could teach me how to have meaningful diplomatic interaction. Or at least teach me how to avoid scaring people. Something I failed at today, although, I think he very likely deserved it.”
“Wait...are you...serious? You mean you really want me to give you royal lessons?”
“You’ve passed yours so proficiently. And it would be a way to while away the time. I am officially being crowned in less than a month, and look at me,” he said, sweeping a hand over his reclining figure. A fine figure it was, too. And she did look. For a little longer than she probably should have. “I am not the man that these people would want to have lead them.”
“Why not? You’re...strong and you are able to ransom damsels in distress when the situation calls for it, so...leadership qualities in my opinion.”
“And yet, I lack charm, you must admit.”
“Yeah, okay, you lack charm a little bit.”
“And that cannot be.”
“Just...be friendlier.”
“I don’t know how,” he said, the words scraping his throat on the way out. “I spent...countless days in the desert alone. Speaking to no one. Sometimes I traveled with men, but then I had to be a leader, and out there...out there manners don’t get things done. Diplomacy is not gutting someone when they make a mistake. I have spent the majority of the past fifteen years alone. And while my horse makes for decent company he does not talk back, which means my skills are limited.”
“What is your horse’s name? You never said.”
Zafar’s dark brows locked together. “He doesn’t have one.”
“How can he not have one?”
“He is the only horse. And besides that, it isn’t as though he’s likely to get mixed up with other horses, or that it would be unclear as to who his rider is. I travel mostly alone, remember?”
“It’s just...I name my pets.”
“My horse,” he bit out, “is not a pet. Do you name your cars?”
“No. But I mean...people do. Some men even name their...” She trailed off, her cheeks lighting on fire. Why had she said that? What had possessed her? She didn’t say things like that in front of men, or in front of trustees for charities she worked with. She knew when to keep quiet. Yeah, she got giggly with her friends, specifically the girls she’d gone on the desert tour with. They would talk about their boyfriends and their various and sundry
Yeah, but the seducing was worrisome....
No. Nope. No. She wasn’t worried about him seducing her. That implied that she was seducible, and she was not. She so was not. But she was a sweet, kind of young...relatively. Virgin—yeah, she was that for sure—so he wasn’t going to be interested. But even if he was it wouldn’t matter.
Good grief, Ana, you have lost your fool mind.
He was holding her against her will, kind of, and making her play the part of Miss Manners. She had no reason to feel fluttery about him, and yet she did. Because it was easy to remember what it had felt like to fall asleep with his arm around her. How the weight of it had been warm, his body solid and comforting behind her.
How she hadn’t disliked it at all, but had actually wanted to stay there in his embrace. And when she’d woken and he was standing above her, rather than lying with her, she’d been confused. She’d missed his presence.
Because she’d been half-asleep and confused, but still. It was inexcusable.
Feelings like that were a betrayal. A betrayal of the man who had...probably mobilized special forces...quietly...to find her.
In the cold light of day, she feared Zafar. His power over her, the fact that she didn’t have the control. She didn’t miss having him sleep next to her. So there.
“What is it you expect me to do? Aside from telling you not to threaten dignitaries with bodily harm” she said. “Teach you which fork you eat your salad with?”
“Maybe,” he said, and for the first time she developed a hint of something genuine beneath his hard tone. “Maybe you could teach me how to have meaningful diplomatic interaction. Or at least teach me how to avoid scaring people. Something I failed at today, although, I think he very likely deserved it.”
“Wait...are you...serious? You mean you really want me to give you royal lessons?”
“You’ve passed yours so proficiently. And it would be a way to while away the time. I am officially being crowned in less than a month, and look at me,” he said, sweeping a hand over his reclining figure. A fine figure it was, too. And she did look. For a little longer than she probably should have. “I am not the man that these people would want to have lead them.”
“Why not? You’re...strong and you are able to ransom damsels in distress when the situation calls for it, so...leadership qualities in my opinion.”
“And yet, I lack charm, you must admit.”
“Yeah, okay, you lack charm a little bit.”
“And that cannot be.”
“Just...be friendlier.”
“I don’t know how,” he said, the words scraping his throat on the way out. “I spent...countless days in the desert alone. Speaking to no one. Sometimes I traveled with men, but then I had to be a leader, and out there...out there manners don’t get things done. Diplomacy is not gutting someone when they make a mistake. I have spent the majority of the past fifteen years alone. And while my horse makes for decent company he does not talk back, which means my skills are limited.”
“What is your horse’s name? You never said.”
Zafar’s dark brows locked together. “He doesn’t have one.”
“How can he not have one?”
“He is the only horse. And besides that, it isn’t as though he’s likely to get mixed up with other horses, or that it would be unclear as to who his rider is. I travel mostly alone, remember?”
“It’s just...I name my pets.”
“My horse,” he bit out, “is not a pet. Do you name your cars?”
“No. But I mean...people do. Some men even name their...” She trailed off, her cheeks lighting on fire. Why had she said that? What had possessed her? She didn’t say things like that in front of men, or in front of trustees for charities she worked with. She knew when to keep quiet. Yeah, she got giggly with her friends, specifically the girls she’d gone on the desert tour with. They would talk about their boyfriends and their various and sundry
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