Zach immediately thought about the woman he’d left in the harem. He hadn’t exactly handled her with care but then he hadn’t exactly been in the mood to. Then there was the fact she was more street urchin than woman—except for those breasts and that mouth.
‘Don’t let her cut herself on that, and if she cries take her to Maab.’
Zach smiled down at his niece, who was patting the scruff on his face. Hell, he must smell terrible, as well.
‘Where will you be?’ he asked, but Nadir had already taken off up a flight of stairs and Zach had a feeling he knew precisely where he was headed. He was about to call out that it was bad luck to see the bride on his wedding day but let it go.
The baby in his arms gurgled and looked a little uncertain now that her father had disappeared but he gave her a reassuring smile. It was true what he’d said, horses and women loved him, and he saw no reason why a baby would be any different. He bounced her gently in his arms and stared into her big eyes. ‘So, kid, your parents are getting married?’ She stared back and he laughed. ‘A big step. Are you happy about it?’
She touched his face again and made a litany of garbled sounds.
‘Great. Then I am, too.’
He wandered around with her for a bit longer and then sought out Maab when she started fussing.
‘I think she’s hungry,’ he told the elderly woman.
She smiled and cooed at his niece. Then she wrinkled her nose at him.
‘I know, I know.’ He backed away, ‘I smell like death warmed up.’ He could also do with some more food.
Heading back to his private apartment, he organised a light meal to be sent up for after his shower and wondered if the spitfire in the harem was hungry. Then he grimaced. He’d known immediately that Nadir wasn’t happy about the situation and neither was he. He really didn’t have a firm plan as to what he was going to do with her but involving the local police wasn’t something he intended to do on his brother’s wedding day.
No, she would just have to wait, and perhaps that would be a good thing. His fight wasn’t with her but with her father. He had no doubt the old man would be furious that he’d taken Farah, but if Mohamed was prepared to trade himself for her, Zach would let her go.
An eye for an eye.
That was his father’s way, not his, yet he was so damned angry right now he didn’t care. Fury replacing rational thought. But then being kidnapped, riding through a sandstorm and driving for nearly twenty-four hours would do that to a man. As would wanting to put his hands all over Mohamed Hajjar’s spitfire of a daughter. He wondered if she had already completed her bath. Wondered how she would smell when the stink of camel was cleaned from her body. An X-rated fantasy started playing out in his head. A fantasy that entailed both of them wet and naked while he tasted every delicious inch of her.
By Allah, she wasn’t even his type.
He scrubbed a wet hand over his face, twisting the shower nozzle to full-on hot, and soaped the stink from his own body. Maybe he’d find a woman he could spend the night with at the wedding. Doubtful, he knew, since he had no idea whether there would be any European women invited, but maybe he’d get lucky. Maybe there would be someone there who was interested in a night of pleasure and relaxation. And Zach was not being immodest in knowing he could give it to her. He was thirty-two and he enjoyed a healthy libido. A healthy libido he’d unhealthily left unattended for too long if his earlier lust for Farah Hajjar was any indication.
He shut off the shower and shook the water from his hair. There would be no reason for him to have to see Farah Hajjar again after this so it was time to put her from his mind altogether. Something he was very happy about, he mused as he pulled on a clean robe and turned his mind to his brother’s wedding.
Dressed and ready to go, Zach was surprised to find Staph knocking on his door. The old man twisted his hands together, his face marred with concern. Immediately Zach wondered if something had happened to Farah. Had she hurt herself? Had someone hurt her?
‘What is it, man?’ he snapped, uncharacteristically curt. ‘Speak up.’
‘It’s your brother, Your Highness. He has called off the wedding and asked that I send all the guests home.’
Zach shook his head. So much for relaxing once he got home.
Not wasting any time on niceties when he found Nadir seated behind his father’s desk, he strode into the room. ‘What are you doing?’
His brother looked up at him and smiled as if there was nothing wrong. Which told Zach that something was drastically wrong. ‘Working. You look better.’