21Nasrin“Will my brothers scold me?” Zara asked, her voice small, sulking in the chair. “For what?” I asked, watching the hairdresser snip away at her roughly cut hair. I had called the best hairdresser in Azmia, offering a bonus if she would cut the Princess’s hair in her room and keep it a secret. I was sure Zain wouldn’t want rumors about Zara spreading across like a wildfire. “For disappointing them,” she answered. “They are not disappointed in you, Zara. You are their little sister. You could never disappoint Zain or Khalid. They got a little mad because they thought they couldn’t protect you, and that you are hurt because of their carelessness.”“I don’t want them to be angry because of me, Nasrin,” she muttered. “How do I make them not mad? Khalid won’t even look at me.” Swallowing the lump in my throat, I squeezed her hand. “I asked Zain to talk to you after dinner and bring Khalid with him. You can resolve any conflict by communicating, Zara. I am sure your brothers wil

23NasrinThe way he said it and ordered my body to move on his command was surreal. His onyx eyes were pinned on me, raking over my body as if he was touching me and licking every inch of my skin. I watched him lean back, his powerful, muscular body glowing in the moonlight. Every contour of his abs and muscles of his golden skin were on display. Keeping my mouth from watering, I leaned back, my ass perched on the velvet fabric, and lowered my hand from my aching breasts to my waist. His eyes followed my hands, his own fingers working on the zipper of his pants. Lower. I sighed, closing my eyes when my fingers caressed the sensitive clit.“Open your eyes and look at me, Nasrin,” he said, his voice laced with arousal. I did, and watched him through my lashes. My powerful sultan. My handsome husband. My Zain. My eyes trailed over his body, his hands lowering the dark boxers. I licked my lips at the sight of his cock, the tip leaking with precum, when he gently stroked his veiny shaft

25Nasrin“You have to eat something.”As if prodded by my younger brother’s command, my stomach growled. “See? Starving yourself won’t bring you any joy, Nasrin. Eat,” Imran said, taking a piece of my favorite sweet kunafah, and twirling it across my face. “Stop it,” I grumbled and shuffled on the bed. The same old white-washed, simple bed in the Maahnoor palace. “I don’t want to eat anything right now.”Imran sighed. His warm brown eyes had lost the gleam they had since the news of my father’s crime. “You have been saying that for the past three days. Look at yourself in the mirror, you look worse than Sadiq did when he woke up after Hussain pranked him with the laxatives in his food for his thirtieth birthday.”I cracked a small smile, remembering that day. Hussain was a year older than me and younger than Sadiq. Both of us were middle children, and we loved to spend time together.“Where is he? He would be questioned too.”Imran shrugged. “Last we heard, he was in one of our oases

27Zain“Why did you wake us up so early?” Zayed yawned, his hair all over the place as he entered the study wearing pajamas, with bananas all over them.We all stared at him. Me, Khalid, Zara, Rahim and our grandmother. Only he was the one wearing pajamas, while all of us were dressed up, ready for the day.“It’s ten in the morning,” Zara deadpanned. “Is it?” He looked out of the balcony to see the sun and squinted his eyes. “Yes, it is.”“As I was saying before Zayed interrupted us. I want to bring Nasrin back and by the way I treated her, she is mad at me,” I announced. “She definitely hates you,” Zara agreed, nodding her head. “Probably punch you when she sees you.”Everyone murmured their agreement while I gaped at them. “That doesn’t help me.”“We are not here to tell you pretty lies, Zain. You fucked up and you are owning your mistake,” Khalid said, and rolled out the map of Azmia and Maahnoor. Rahim helped him with pointing out the capitals and making a red circle where our p

29Zain“God, I am so tired,” Nasrin whined, stretching her limbs in the rumpled sheets of the bed. I smiled proudly, pouring a glass of water for her. “Feeling better, wife?” I purred, trailing my hand towards her naked breast before she smacked it away. “No. You have the stamina of a horse. Give me a breather, Zain.” She winced when she sat up, looking down at her lap that was covered in a thin sheet. “We have been locked inside this room for three days.”“And it’s still not enough for me,” I said, handing her the glass. “Insatiable.”As soon as we returned to Azmia, we had a small celebratory dinner with our family where we went through the tale of my wife saving my ass. Everyone was happy except the council, but I could deal with them later. I was glad that even her brothers had accepted me as their own. Since that dinner, I had announced to the guards not to knock at the door unless they wanted their arms cut off. So, I had spent days, afternoons and nights worshipping her bo