This marriage celebration would need to be somewhat elaborate though. He knew that his people had been working hard for years and they needed something to celebrate. As much as it would pain him, he would allow celebrations, as long as they didn’t go too far. The woman beside him would have to be controlled so she didn’t cause damage, but after seeing her out in the night, sewing up his wound and knowing that her team helped so many others in the same way, he knew that she had more inside of her that the superficial women who had previously been offered to him by other leaders and powerful men. She would be an asset to his reign and help him re-build the country.
How he was going to get her on his side was a whole other issue. She obviously had heard some pretty horrible things about him and the people inside the country. Perhaps a country wide tour would be a good start to their marriage. It would give everyone a chance to see their new queen and give him a reason to both embrace the celebration and make sure that the money being channeled through the villages for repairs was actually getting to them.
He sighed and looked down at her lovely face, noticed the tears she was fiercely fighting to keep from dropping from her lashes.
He didn’t like the empty feeling he had as he watched her struggle with her fears. He should reassure her, make her feel welcome and show her that he wasn’t just buying a pretty face. He knew that he’d wanted this particular woman ever since he’d first seen her wearing two different shoes at her brother’s wedding. No, that wasn’t quite true, he corrected in his mind. He’d wanted her as soon as he saw her trying not to laugh at the fact that she was wearing two different shoes at that event. She had a luscious figure and a beautiful face, but it was the way she’d handled that scene that had fixated her in his mind. Some women would have been embarrassed, or angry that he’d noticed. But she’d been fighting back laughter and that was a huge plus in his opinion. “We’re here,” he said softly but with a gruff voice.
Isla looked up and wondered where they were. “Why are we stopping here?” she asked as she took in the helipad and already prepared helicopter standing by.
He surveyed the scene, noting that all of his instructions had been followed. “We’re flying the rest of the way.”
She looked from the helicopter to the large man sitting next to her, confused by the situation. “But the border is only another half mile. Shouldn’t we just drive?”
“The border is a half mile away. But the palace and the capital city is another three hours in a car. I don’t have the time to drive all that way. We’re flying to save time.” He held out a hand to help her out of the vehicle, but she ignored it and stepped gracefully down onto the asphalt. He put a hand to the small of her back to lead her to the helicopter, irritated that she’d ignored his outstretched hand. He wanted to touch her, feel that soft skin and have her look to him as a man instead of a monster. Why that bothered him, he couldn’t guess but it was there and he was reacting to it.
When they reached the helicopter, instead of waiting this time for her to accept his help, he lifted her up and placed her in one of the leather seats, ignoring the glare he suspected she was giving him for his assistance.
If he happened to have accidentally used her very cute, very round derriere as a lifting point, who could blame him?
He smiled to himself as she huffed about getting into the seat. He didn’t even acknowledge her irritation at his assistance but he’d enjoyed it a great deal. He suspected he would ‘assist’ her in many other ways before this battle of wills was won. By him, of course.
He also thought it was amusing that she still didn’t realize that he was El Hamin, her fiancé. As he climbed into the helicopter and took his own seat next to her, he considered various ways to let her in on the horror that he was actually the one she was going to marry. He chuckled at ways to shock her but then thought it was probably better to just tell her. The amusement factor he might achieve for himself might be counterproductive in the long term.
But it was nice to think about. He’d been focusing so much on getting his country running and back to productivity, he hadn’t realized how little amusement he’d had in his life recently. And how long it had been since he’d had a woman. That wasn’t a good thought, he groaned. Especially with this beauty sitting so primly next to him, looking like his own very desirous siren. He’d have to be careful she didn’t sway him to the rocks. He’d bet she could do a lot of damage if he let her.
Isla looked out the window, but she wasn’t really seeing the landscape fly by below. She was terrified of what was to come, of how she was going to endure this marriage, or get out of it and the consequences if she tried to run. She knew she couldn’t do that. It was her duty, but dammit, why did she have to be the one to sacrifice? Why couldn’t Rashid have given Zarah to that disgusting man?
No, she’d never ask her sister to take her place. Zarah was sweet and innocent, and definitely too young to be married. She had several more years of freedom before she needed to think about the dire responsibility of marrying a man.
With a sigh that turned into a hiccup, she covered her mouth and tried to gain control of herself. She couldn’t meet her future husband looking like this. She wiped her eyes, hoping that she didn’t have mascara running down her cheeks.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a mirror handy, would you?” she asked the annoying man sitting next to her.
He looked down at her with those dark, enigmatic eyes and shook his head. “I don’t, but you look fine.”
Fine? Isla bristled at the term. Couldn’t he have said ‘lovely’ or ‘beautiful’ or even ‘nice’? ‘Fine’ was so bland. She didn’t want to look ‘fine’. She wanted to look pretty. She didn’t consider her looks to be her only asset. She had a brain and she was a quick thinker. She’d never let anyone get the best of her in an argument unless she was wrong. But she’d like to at least meet her future husband on terms better than ‘fine’.
This obnoxious giant obviously wasn’t married or he would know better than to use that kind of description for any female. She pinched her cheeks and fluffed her hair back into place. At least she hoped it was falling into place. Without a mirror, she had no idea what she might look like after being tumbled over this behemoth’s back and trotted through the palace in such an undignified manner.