At the Sheikh's Bidding(9)

Zahir was silent for so long that she  risked another glance at him, and   was startled by the hardness of his  expression. ‘He married a woman   who had not been chosen for him,' he  replied at last. ‘Faisal was   engaged to the daughter of an influential  family in Qubbah, but before   his wedding he eloped with another woman  and brought great shame to  his  family.'

‘When you say that his  fiancée had been chosen for him, do you mean   that it was an arranged  marriage?' Erin queried, shocked. ‘Isn't that a   rather outdated  tradition?'                       
       
           



       

‘It is the tradition in Qubbah,' Zahir informed her  coldly. ‘My father   had selected a number of potential brides, and Faisal  chose one of   them.'

‘But he didn't love her,' Erin said, her  voice ringing with conviction.   ‘He loved Maryam. He talked about her all  the time, and I know that   her death left him heartbroken. Why did  Faisal have to elope with her?   Why couldn't he have married her and  stayed in Qubbah?'

‘Because Maryam was promised to another man,'  Zahir said flatly, and   something in his tone caused Erin to stare at him  curiously.

‘Another arranged marriage?' she guessed. ‘But Maryam  didn't love the   man she was expected to marry-she was in love with  Faisal. It's like   something from the Dark Ages. Surely your father  wanted his son to be   happy? Why couldn't he have relented and allowed  Faisal and Maryam to   be together?'

‘Because it would have been an  unforgivable insult to his fiancée and   her family,' Zahir explained  harshly, his eyes narrowing when he noted   Erin's disapproving  expression. ‘Things are done differently in my   country. I don't expect  you to understand,' he told her dismissively.

‘You're right-I  don't understand,' Erin told him hotly. ‘I believe that   the only reason  two people should marry is because they love each   other, as Faisal and  Maryam did. Yet it sounds as though they were   hounded out of Qubbah like  criminals … '

‘They were not,' Zahir snapped furiously. ‘My father  is not some cruel   despot. But he is bound by his duty to the kingdom.  He was torn … ' He   shook his head, belatedly remembering that Erin had no  idea his father   was the King of Qubbah.

The tense silence was  shattered by the ring of his mobile phone. It was   a welcome  interruption, and he answered the call, listened intently,   and then  barked a few terse instructions in Arabic before turning back   to Erin.  ‘My driver has been following the weather reports and says   that more  snow is forecast. We will have to leave immediately. I cannot   risk the  possibility of being stranded here for days,' he added   impatiently, when  Erin gaped at him.

‘You can't expect us to come with you now?'  she faltered, tension   making her voice sharp as it dawned on her that  Zahir expected exactly   that. ‘I can see that because your father is ill  I'll have to bring   Kazim to Qubbah for a short visit, but not today! The  idea is   ridiculous. I'd have to pack. And it's late. In a couple of  hours it'll   be Kazim's bedtime … '

‘He can sleep on the plane,'  Zahir informed her coolly. ‘We'll be   travelling on my private jet, and  one of the bedrooms on board has   already been prepared for him. It is  not necessary for you to bring   anything for him. He has clothes and  toys, everything he could possibly   want, in Qubbah. Everything is taken  care of. You can quickly pack   your own personal possessions if you  wish,' he added graciously. ‘And   may I suggest you change into a more  suitable outfit to travel in.' His   eyes briefly skimmed her faded jeans  with such a disdainful  expression  that Erin itched to slap him.  ‘Something lightweight-it is   considerably hotter in Qubbah than here.'


He  was the most arrogant, overstuffed … Erin ran out of adjectives and    glared at him with such heated fury that he should have fried on the    spot. ‘Now, look here … '

Behind her the library door creaked open. She swung round, breathing hard, and forced a smile when Kazim peeped into the room.

‘Hey, have you had your tea? I'd better come and run your bath.'

Bathtime  had become something of a battlefield lately, and Kazim shook   his head  mutinously. He seemed fascinated by Zahir, and although he  was  usually  shy with people he did not know, he trotted across the  room  and grinned  when his uncle swung him into his arms.

‘Instead of a bath, how would you like to fly on my plane, Kazim?'

The little boy's eyes widened and he nodded his head eagerly. ‘A real plane?'

‘Sure it's a real plane. It's a jet, and it will take us all the way to the desert-'

‘Hold  on a minute,' Erin interrupted in a fierce whisper meant for   Zahir's  ears only. ‘I'm not convinced it's a good idea for Kazim to   travel  tonight.' She wasn't convinced that she should take him to   Qubbah at  all, but Zahir was like a bulldozer, flattening anything that   got in his  way and trampling on her misgivings with arrogant   disregard.

Zahir's  eyes hardened on her before he smiled at the child in his arms.   ‘Kazim  wants to come with me-don't you?' he prompted the toddler   lightly. ‘But  if Erin doesn't want to come, just you and me can go-how   about that?'                       
       
           



       

Erin's  heart missed a beat when Kazim rested his head on his uncle's   shoulder.  He appeared to be completely dazzled by Zahir-and he was not   the only  one, she acknowledged grimly as she recalled those few  moments  when he  had crushed her against his chest and she had inhaled  his  tantalising  male scent.

‘Erin's coming on the plane too,' Kazim announced firmly, grinning at her from his high vantage point in Zahir's arms.

Some  of Erin's tension left her. Zahir might be Superman in Kazim's   eyes,  but he still needed her, and she smiled back at him, her smile   fading as  she glared at Zahir. ‘That was a dirty, low-down trick, and   you know  it,' she said furiously.

He shrugged uninterestedly. ‘I'll play dirty if I have to, and you would be wise to remember that,' he advised her coldly.

The implied threat in his voice sent a shaft of fear through her.

He  sauntered over to the door, still holding Kazim. ‘Come, Kazim, let's   go  and play with your toys while Erin packs.' He laughed at the   toddler's  excited nod, but his expression was deadly serious when he   looked back  at Erin. ‘You have half an hour,' he drawled, glancing at   his watch. ‘I  suggest you get a move on-or risk being left behind.'





CHAPTER THREE




IT  HAD stopped snowing when they left Ingledean. The evening air was   crisp  and cold and Erin shivered in the cream linen skirt and jacket   that she  had changed into for the journey. Zahir had warned her that it   would be  hot in Qubbah and she only hoped he was right.

At least she no  longer looked like a ‘menial domestic', she thought,   recalling his  scathing description of her when he had first learned   that she was  Faisal's widow. Stung by his remarks, she had taken time   with her  appearance and had teamed her suit with a pale blue silk   blouse, swept  her unruly curls into a knot on top of her head and even   added a touch  of make-up-just a soft taupe shadow on her eyelids and   pink gloss on her  lips.

She had felt supremely self-conscious when she'd walked  down the stairs   to where he's been waiting in the hall with Kazim, and  the flare of   sexual heat in his eyes had caused her heart to jerk  painfully beneath   her ribs.


Her doubts about taking Kazim to  visit his family in Qubbah were   intensifying by the minute, but she  seemed to have little choice. Zahir   had swept into their lives with the  force of a tornado and she was   still reeling from his impact.