The Sultan's Reluctant Princess by Clare Connelly

Author:Clare Connelly [Connelly, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clare Connelly
Published: 2015-05-03T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

A week after arriving in Liya, and the heatwave was still unrelenting. Olivia had not experienced the warmth of the desert city on her last visit. It had been Autumn, and the worst of the summer had passed by then.

Now, every day was like a scorching torture to be endured, particularly in the jewelled robes she was required to wear. Of course, the nights made up for it. Beautiful, cool breezes bounced off the desert, cooling the palace and the city below.

Olivia’s nights were filled with a different kind of heat.

She and Tamir barely spoke. In fact, they hardly saw one another in the days.

It was only at night, with the day behind them, that they fell into bed and used their bodies to release the tension that seemed to pulse between them. In his arms, she felt at peace. With his body, he made her feel happy and good, like she could do anything. For the nights, while the sky was inky and the stars were shining, were perfect. So perfect, that the breaking of the dawn over the hills in the distance brought a fresh heartbreak every day.

As golden light bathed their room, they were strangers once more. Made permanently alienated by the fact that they had formed their relationship on a bed of misunderstanding and distrust.

Olivia slipped out of her beautiful, custom-made shoes and lifted the gown to her knees. She’d discovered the fountain on her third day of married life. A crystal oasis in a small courtyard of the palace, she’d stumbled upon it quite by chance. It was a perfect, private pool of water, with an ancient goddess in the centre. Water spurted majestically from a bird upon her shoulder. She had been meaning to research the statue, for it obviously had some significance, but it was not something Olivia was familiar with.

She loved to stare at the woman though, with her striking features and perfectly carved robes, draped around her curvaceous body.

The water was always so cold, despite the heat of the day. Olivia slipped her feet in gratefully, making a sound of delight as the temperature soothed her fraught skin. For the first time since arriving in Liya, Olivia felt at ease.

She had spoken to her mother that morning, and Tabitha had sounded good. The best Olivia had heard her in years, in fact. Tamir had apparently not simply hired a nurse for Tabitha’s care. He’d arranged a team of specialists, overseen by a highly regarded expert in depression and anxiety. In a reasonably short time, Tabitha had turned a corner Olivia had given up any hope of discovering.

Her hands gripped the coping of the fountain, as her feet sparkled in the water below. She lifted her face to the sky, catching sunshine on her skin and smiling up at the brilliant blue above.

Tamir had made her life incredibly complicated. And yet she felt a deep well of inner-contentment that was inexplicable.

The night before, they’d made love over and over again, their bodies seeking one another through the darkness.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.