“Chaotic?”
She nodded.
“That’s what I enjoy most. But it’s not threatening, you’ll get used to it.” He frowned. “But you do seem out of your element, like a mermaid washed ashore.”
“A fish out of water. You’re not far wrong.”
“Do you wish to continue?”
Maia. The single word floated across her mind like a shadow. “Of course. I’d love to see everything about the city.”
He frowned. “Are you sure?”
She smiled briefly, desperately trying to summon up the confidence that she usually felt but which was weakened here, now, with him. She smiled again. “Yes, I’m sure. Let’s go and you can tell me what it was like growing up here.”
They were soon part of the crowds. She was tense to begin with, watching the faces of passers-by to see if they singled her and Razeen out. But, with her tanned skin and dark glasses, no one gave her a second glance and Razeen’s nondescript robes obviously achieved their aim of completing disguising the new King. Which was odd, she thought, given he was taller than most. Surely, even dressed in ordinary robes, people would still recognize him? Lucy was beginning to wonder if the average person knew anything about their King.
“I guess being the son of the King must have made life pretty easy for you?”
He shook his head. “It was almost as if I had two lives.”
“Really?”
“Yes, within the palace I was the irritating youngest child who, more often than not, was in the way. It was extremely formal.” He pursed his lips briefly. “My mother was…reclusive and my father and brother were very similar, and very close.”
“Sounds suffocating.”
“It was. That’s why I used to escape.”
“Where to? The sea? The hills?”
He laughed. “I am not you, Lucy. Despite what it may seem in the palace where my advisors insist on formality, on keeping my distance from everyone, I have always been drawn to people. I used to run off into the market and play with the boys there.”
“Did they know who you were?”
“No,” he laughed. “They had no idea. I was just another skinny boy with more interest in playing games, eating bread fresh from the pan and kissing girls, than studying the dry subjects my brother was interested in.”
“Kissing girls came last on your list?” She teased.
He turned a narrowed gaze on her and her heart suddenly raced. “Always first.”
She took a deep breath. “I can imagine.”
He shifted closer to her. “Even at University, my interests stayed much the same.”
“They do degrees in such things?”
He grinned. “I wish. No, my studies were fitted around my interests.”
“You were very consistent, then.” She licked her lips. “Your commitment to your interests didn’t waver.”
“If you want to be good at something, then you have to practice. If you want to be a connoisseur of something, you need to know it well.”
She swallowed and dragged a breath deep into her lungs. “And did you succeed…in becoming a connoisseur?”
His lips curved into a sensual smile. “Now that, I’m hoping you will discover yourself.” He searched her face and whatever he found there appeared to confirm his hopes and his smile deepened. “But for now, my bodyguard, Assad, is becoming impatient with our meandering. Come, I’ll show you a few sights. Give you some background to your journalism piece.”
“What first?” She looked away from him, trying to concentrate on the reason she was here.
“The Great Mosque of Sitra. Look, over there, up on the hill facing the palace—the gold domes, the minarets—that’s The Great Mosque. It’s very old and revered by Christian and Muslim alike. It’s very special.” He turned back to her. “That is, if you’d like to see it. Perhaps, instead, you’d prefer a quiet afternoon at the palace.” He cast a quick look around and, obviously satisfied they weren’t overlooked, tucked a stray lock of hair back under her scarf. “I have given myself the afternoon off.”
Her body screamed to accept his invitation. From the casual touch to her hair that blasted a heated trail deep inside of her, to the light in his eyes when he talked of the days of his childhood, he communicated a warmth and ease that lay at the heart of his charm. But there was only one thing that stopped her. The old compass shifted stickily between her breasts under her robes. She had no bearings until she found Maia.
“The mosque, Razeen, please. I’d like to see the mosque and everything else the city has to offer.”