Defying her Desert Duty Read Online Free PDF Page A

bride’s return, but Zahir wanted to conclude this task and move on to his new role. He hadn’t been so eager for anything in years.
    ‘And when will it be
convenient
?’
    Colour rose in her cheeks and her lips parted as if to protest his curt tone. Zahir’s pulse missed a beat and heat combusted deep in his belly as he watched her mouth turn from sulky to an enticing O. With his jacket pulled around her shoulders and her hair coming down in soft curling tresses, she looked inviting, available,
tempting
.
    Not like the fiancée of his mentor and best friend.
    Her eyes widened as if she read his response despite the savage control he exerted to keep it hidden.
    The tension between them notched higher. It trembled in theair, a pressure that had more do with his reaction to her than with the subject under discussion.
    This couldn’t be!
    It
wouldn’t
be.
    By hook or by crook he’d have her back in Bakhara, safe with her fiancé and out of his life, before her feet could touch the ground.

CHAPTER THREE
    S ORAYA knew disapproval when she saw it.
    Despite his almost expressionless face, that flat, accusing stare said everything his words didn’t.
    If it hadn’t been imprinted on her so early perhaps she’d never have recognised it. But nothing, not time or distance, could erase the memory of her father’s relatives whispering and tutting over the sordid details of her mother’s misdemeanours—or their certainty that, if unchecked, Soraya would go the same way to ruin. Even the servants gossiped in delighted condemnation.
    Stifling the urge to lash out, Soraya withdrew into herself. What did she care if the Emir’s lackey didn’t approve of her? Even if, far from being a lackey he was one of the most powerful men in the country?
    She had more on her mind than winning his approval. His news changed her life.
    ‘Give me tomorrow,’ she said, her voice husky with tension that threatened to choke her. ‘Then I’ll have a better idea.’
    How long to pack her gear, say her goodbyes and, above all, get her research in some sort of order? She feared however long it took wouldn’t be enough.
    Anxiety welled and she beat it back. Time enough to give in to fear when she was alone. She refused to let this man see her weak.
    Abruptly she stood. He rose too, dwarfing the booth andcrowding her space. Instantly she was transported to the club where his touch had sapped common sense. Where just for a moment she’d wanted to lean close to his powerful frame rather than escape his hold. Fear closed around her.
    ‘I want to go home.’ Even to her own ears her voice held a betraying wobble. Paris had become her home, a haven where she’d been able to spread her wings and enjoy a measure of freedom for the first time. The idea of returning to Bakhara, to marriage …
    ‘I’ll see you back.’ Already he was ushering her through the café, one hand hovering near her elbow as if to ensure she didn’t do a runner. He dropped payment on the counter where the waitress beamed her approval.
    What was wrong with the girl? Couldn’t she see he was the sort of bad-tempered, take-charge brute who’d make any woman’s life a misery?
    Clearly not. The waitress’s gaze followed him longingly, needling Soraya’s temper.
    ‘Thank you but I can make my own way.’
    To her chagrin he was already hailing a taxi—a miracle at this time of the morning. It was daylight but the city was just stirring. Before she could reiterate her point he was opening the door for her then climbing in the other side.
    ‘I said—’
    Her words disintegrated as he gave her address to the driver. Her heart thudded and she sank back in her corner.
    Of course he knew her address. How else would he have located her? But the thought of Zahir El Hashem shouldering his way into her cosy flat sent disquiet scudding through her. Instinct warned her to keep her distance.
    She didn’t want him near her.
    The fact that he sat as far from her as the wide back seat