Her brow furrowed. ‘His...flight? He’s run away from home?’
‘Not only that.’ Azrael’s mouth took on a sardonic curve. ‘He drove through a border checkpoint without stopping, hotly pursued by Quareini soldiers. There was a standoff between the forces on both sides of the border. The soldiers demanded the return of their quarry and the border guards refused because, when Tahir finally did stop, he was recognised and found to need medical attention. He has also claimed refugee status.’
Green eyes wide, Molly studied him in lively astonishment. ‘Refugee status? Tahir?’
‘He is legally within his rights...just,’ Azrael said very drily. ‘And I am torn between anger and sympathy while Prince Firuz is in an incandescent rage.’
‘Tahir really does know how to dig himself into a deep hole.’ Molly sighed, shaking her head.
‘I am sorry my brother is here under this roof. That is distressing for you.’
Molly slid upright, her face troubled. ‘No, it’s not, Azrael. I am not that sensitive. It is more distressing for you to be plunged into this drama through no fault of your own.’
‘You are generous,’ Azrael breathed between gritted teeth. ‘But as you say in the West I am caught between a rock and a hard place. He is my brother and I pity him because I know what he is going through right now...his father had him whipped in punishment for what he did to you.’
Molly turned white, horror flipping her stomach, because while she had wanted Tahir punished to discourage him from any similar behaviour in the future she felt sick at the thought of that much physical violence being employed as a deterrent.
‘Firuz always goes way over the top,’ Azrael declared heavily. ‘Tahir was cosseted and spoiled from birth because he is an only child, but you cannot raise a future leader with such selfish indulgence and then expect him to take brutal punishment like an adult. Tahir is distressed and overwhelmed by what he has brought on himself. After he has cried in my arms like a frightened child, how can I force him to return to Quarein with his father?’
Molly was pacing and thinking fast. ‘Let him stay until the dust settles and tempers have cooled. There’s nothing to be gained from allowing an immediate confrontation between father and son. I would concentrate on keeping a lid on the whole business.’
A slow appreciative smile formed on Azrael’s wide sensual mouth while he watched her lovely pensive face. ‘What do you think I have been doing? Molly, you are a wife in a thousand not to demand that I throw Tahir out.’
‘By the sounds of it, he’s paid for what he did to me...’
And if he hadn’t kidnapped me, I’d never have met you, she was thinking, but she bit back that revealing statement, her cheeks warming to a hot pink and a deep, visceral sexual awareness darting through her slender body as she collided with Azrael’s striking dark golden gaze.
Stray recollections of the night before teased at her memory and the heat in her cheeks arrowed down into her pelvis, encouraging a wanton warm slickness at her feminine core. She shifted position and folded her arms with a jerk, ashamed that Azrael could make her so weak and needy at the most unsuitable moments. Her breath caught in her dry throat.
‘I will still make arrangements to have him moved elsewhere once the doctor gives us permission,’ Azrael declared with determination, stalking over to the window to detach himself from the carnal thoughts that afflicted him whenever he was in his wife’s presence. It was a lust, a primal need and hunger that never dimmed no matter how often he enjoyed the glories of her lush body. Having Molly in his bed had only spawned a powerfully addictive craving.
‘Is he that bad?’ Molly questioned in consternation.
Bold profile silhouetted against the light, Azrael jerked his strong chin in grim confirmation. ‘Firuz has acted like an idiot and his own worst enemy. He has lost his son’s love and trust and it will take a long time to rebuild their relationship.’
‘He did the same to you.’
‘But I was not of his blood and I was a good deal tougher than Tahir has ever had to be. Unfortunately, what Tahir did to you seriously frightened his father. Firuz has a great fear of scandal and sexual licence and he could not countenance that misbehaviour in anyone, least of all his own son. Now what is done is done and there is no easy solution.’
Molly wandered over to him and rested her hands on his rigid shoulders. ‘None of this is your fault. You’re stuck in the middle but don’t get worked up about it. Tahir did wrong and now his father has done wrong. Keep that in mind.’
Azrael swung back to her. ‘I hate that this is happening, because I didn’t want you to be reminded of your ordeal,’ he admitted grimly.