The Sheikh Crowns His Virgin by Lynne Graham

Author:Lynne Graham [Graham, Lynne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2019-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

WITH DIFFICULTY, RAJ emerged from circuitous thoughts laced with outrage at the prospect of being exposed to Nabila’s deceitful charm again and stepped out of the SUV. He expected to see the sprawling nineteen-twenties villa that his family had used as a holiday home since his childhood. He blinked in disbelief at the very much smaller new property that now stood in its place and signalled the army major in charge of their security to seek clarification of the mystery. A couple of minutes later he returned to Zoe’s side.

‘Apparently, my father had the old villa demolished several years ago because it was falling into disrepair and he thought it was too large to renovate,’ Raj explained. ‘It was built by your great-grandparents at a time when the Banian royal family had half a dozen daughters. My family used it rarely after your mother’s father died. My father likes the sea but the Queen does not.’

Relieved that Raj was talking again, Zoe murmured, ‘Did you come here much as a boy?’

‘Often when I was very young with my parents. My mother loved it here.’ His lean strong face tightened, his perfect bone structure pulling taut beneath his bronzed skin. ‘I remember her skipping through the surf and laughing. No worries about etiquette or protocol or who might be watching and criticising her behaviour. She could be an ordinary woman here again and she loved it.’

‘An ordinary woman?’ Zoe queried, puzzled by that label.

Momentarily, Raj turned away to evade the question because he disliked talking about past traumas. In his experience a trouble shared was not a trouble halved and he preferred to gloss over such issues. Without skipping a beat, he deftly changed the subject. ‘My father should have told me that there was a smaller property here now,’ Raj breathed. ‘As he only comes here alone, there may only be one bedroom.’

‘Oh, let’s not get into that debate again!’ Zoe carolled with a comically exaggerated shudder that locked his eyes to her animated face. ‘We’re adults, we’ll get by, even if you make me sleep on the floor!’

Her green eyes could dance like emeralds tumbling in sunlight, Raj noted abstractedly, settling a hand to her spine to guide her down the path because it was dark and she could hardly move in her high heels without stumbling on the stony surface beneath their feet. He had watched her throughout the day, had been forced to watch her teeter and sway and steady herself on furniture every time she lost her balance. She might continually wear high heels but had evidently not yet learned how to comfortably walk in them. The idea of her falling and hurting herself made him want to go into her wardrobe and burn every one of those preposterous shoes. It was an odd thought to have and he tagged it as such and frowned in bemusement.

‘You know, I wouldn’t do that.’

‘You’re not sleeping on the floor either!’ Zoe warned him as they approached the well-lit front door.

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