The Sultan's Harem Bride Read Online Free PDF

nor was she sophisticated.
    ‘It’s after one a.m. Why wake someone when I can lead the way?’ Besides, he intended to keep a personal eye on her.
    He scanned the neatly made bed then picked up the single suitcase and laptop bag. She travelled light. His sister had arrived with more than half a dozen cases, probably full of shoes. ‘Is this all?’
    ‘Yes, but I’ll take the laptop.’ She reached out but at a look from him her arm fell.
    Why so eager to take the computer? Because she had something there she didn’t want him to see or simply a journalist’s instinct to protect the tool of her trade? Suspicion stirred anew.
    ‘I can just about manage them both.’ He nodded to the door. ‘After you.’
    She moved with a grace that belied tiredness or nerves. Baggy trousers hid her slender curves but his mind filled the blanks.
    Asim turned off the lamp and followed. In the dim corridor it took a moment for his eyes to adjust but he sensed when he reached her. His nostrils twitched as the sweet tang of her perfume reached him. Something fruity and light that made him think of summer.
    ‘I’ll lead. Just watch your step. The old tiles are uneven.’
    Silently she fell into step.
    His mouth quirked. Who’d have thought this woman could be so biddable?
    On the other hand, there’d been something curiously refreshing about the way she’d continued to argue her case after he’d stated his decision. Maybe Imran had been right and he was too used to getting his own way now he’d been Sultan so long.
    His cousin had liked her, he recalled with a pang that crushed his smile.
    ‘Where are we going?’ Her long legs stretched to match his stride. Automatically he eased his pace.
    ‘To a guest apartment where you won’t be disturbed.’ More to the point, she wouldn’t have a chance to disturb anyone else.
    ‘I’m very grateful for you taking the time to see me settled.’ She was like a prim little girl reciting polite words she’d been taught.
    If only she knew. Asim took her personally to her new accommodation because he didn’t trust her. As soon as he had her installed he’d call security to ensure she didn’t indulge in any night-time prowling. He refused to compromise Samira’s safety.
    ‘Is it in a modern part of the palace?’
    ‘Yes, completed in the last ten years.’ When he’d become ruler his one indulgence had been to build a suite of modern rooms for his own use and that of his private guests. The apartments his parents had used were too full of memories he’d rather forget.
    ‘That will be...nice.’
    Asim shot her a glance. ‘They’re very comfortable.’
    ‘I’m sure they are.’ She didn’t sound enthused.
    ‘But? There’s a “but” in there.’
    ‘Of course not.’ He waited. Finally she added, ‘It’s just that I barely had time to explore the old rooms and they were so beautiful. That wall painting, for instance, with the climbing roses and the birds. It was magnificent.’
    Curiosity stirred. ‘You would like to stay in a place like that? Beautiful but cut off from the world?’ It wasn’t what he expected.
    Moonlight lit her features as they passed through another courtyard. She looked serious, as if considering. ‘It has a certain appeal. I’d enjoy it...for a while. But I’m a modern woman. Seclusion would lose its charm and I’d end up feeling trapped with nothing to do.’
    ‘The women who lived there kept busy.’
    She turned. ‘Pleasing the Sultan? Being available to meet his every need?’
    Despite himself Asim’s lips twitched. She sounded almost prudish as she skated over the issue of sex.
    ‘You’ve been reading too much fiction. It wasn’t just the lord’s wife or lover who lived there, but all his female relatives.’
    He gestured for her to precede him into a corridor illuminated by glowing wall lights. Modern marble flooring replaced worn tiles underfoot.
    ‘According to family tradition, that’s why my ancestors were so warlike and successful