8
Zain“What is that you are staring at, boy?” I smiled at my jadati (grandmother) who slowly walked towards the dining room. I held her hand as she was seated in a chair, her dark brown eyes fixing on the beautiful piece of jewelry. “Hmm,” she grunted. “Are you asking someone for marriage?” “No,” I said. “I, uh, found this in a drawer of the hotel room. It seemed too precious to let the hotel staff handle it. We are trying to find the owner and return it.” I half lied, praying she wouldn’t pick up on it and pinch my ears. “I have seen a similar piece. This looks just like that with the emerald.”My heart rate picked up. “Where, jadati?” She eyed the maang tikka and looked at me. “Sultana of Maahnoor used to wear it back when your father and Hamid Elbaz were friendly neighbors rather than enemies.”I clenched my jaw thinking about Maahnoor, our neighboring country. Once, a decade ago, it used to be famous for its beautiful sunsets, shimmering palace, sweet foods and jewelry with intricate designs like the one I held. But that was before Hamid Elbaz became corrupted, ruling it, taking the name of Maahnoor to shreds. I shook off the animosity between Azmia and Maahnoor and asked my grandmother, “If Sultana wore it, then it must have been kept in the palace?” I looked at the jewelry again. Was the woman in gold truly the owner of a royal heirloom? “Rumor has it that she gave it to her daughter before she passed away,” Grandma tsked, shaking her head. “Poor daughter was left alone in that palace with her three brothers and Hamid. I wonder what she is doing nowadays.” “You mean the Princess?” “Who else, boy? That maang tikka belongs to Princess Nasrin Elbaz of Maahnoor,” she said. “You better return it to her, ignoring the animosity between the two countries for this instant. It must be very dear to her.” Princess Nasrin…My heart fell to my stomach as I stared in horror at the emerald diamond and the golden jewelry. It belonged to the Princess of Maahnoor, daughter of Hamid Elbaz. My father’s nemesis, that meant my nemesis. My country’s nemesis.I certainly couldn’t have picked a better partner to have sex with, even if I wanted.***“Are you sure they do not have any weapons with them?” Zayed, my brother’s close friend and the Sheikh of Azmia, asked Rahim in a weary tone. It had been a week since I’d learned that the maang tikka belonged to Princess Nasrin and I may have slept with her. Without protection. I had invited Hamid Elbaz, her father, and the Princess herself to the palace for a meeting. A meeting was not the term my advisor, Rahim, would use. He made sure it seemed more like a talk for marriage between me and Nasrin. I had scoffed at that idea. I could never marry someone from Maahnoor, let alone their princess. The reason was my annoyance towards Hamid Elbaz and the current Sultan of Maahnoor, his eldest son, who was accused of sexual harassment towards a young man.Also, there was that little hatred brimming between our two countries. I didn’t know the details of what happened between my father and her father, but it was enough to make me aware that if I married Nasrin, people would talk. Wondering why I bothered to marry a princess from Maahnoor when I was getting marriage proposals from far better countries. I couldn’t marry her. As the Sultan of Azmia, I had to think of the future of my country. That was also the reason I couldn’t allow Princess Nasrin to turn that night into a scandal. Tell the public that Zain Al Latif was a clumsy drunk in bed and forgot to use protection. It would embarrass me and my entire family. No, I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen. “Zayed, stand down,” I said, straightening my suit. The golden embroidery on the lapels shimmered under the lights of the chandelier, in contrast against the dark onyx color of the suit. “It’s just me and the Princess talking. Nothing else. Rahim said he would take care of her father or I will propose a walk in the gardens.”“Secure more guards in the garden—” Zayed ordered the guard present in my room as I scowled at my reflection. “You’re overthinking this,” I said, sliding my family ring, a silver band around a dark cobalt diamond, on my right ring finger. I checked if the dagger was in place around my hip, sheathed and well hidden under the suit. It was for extra protection, even though I wished I wouldn’t need to use it. “They’re here, Sultan,” Rahim knocked on the open door of my room, tilting his head. Taking a deep breath, I followed my advisor to the mahogany doors of a private library. The guards stationed outside opened the doors for us and I prowled inside. My stance relaxed even though my muscles were tight with tension. My mouth turned dry when my eyes landed on the Princess. Her thick dark hair tumbled over her sun-kissed arms, her sharp face staring in my direction, her honeyed eyes pinned on me. They looked amused. Her red lips—the ones that I had kissed—curling at the corner. Despite that, I found Nasrin enchanting. A true beauty. Dressed in a shimmering golden gown. The woman in gold was not a dream. She was real. I had kissed her. Curse me. I wanted to kiss her again. Wipe that smug look off her face and pin her across the plush settee she sat on and kiss her. Mark her like some wild animal. Just for a few moments, I wished our countries were not enemies so that I could propose marriage to her. I am going insane.Controlling my hormones, I smiled at her, ignoring her father, who sat on the armchair, frowning at me for not addressing him while Rahim gave our introductions. “Sultan Zain, it’s an honor to meet you,” Hamid Elbaz lied, bowing his head when I stepped closer to the table covered in sweets for our guests. When Nasrin didn’t avert her eyes from me to introduce herself, her father hissed her name. I didn’t miss the little note of disgust in his voice when he addressed her so brazenly in front of me. Interesting, a father who had a strong dislike towards his daughter. I could see why Salman Al Latif was a good friend with him before their rivalry.Nasrin stood up, her dress swishing with each move when she bowed. “Honor to meet you, Sultan Zain,” she said in her husky, smooth voice, as if she was caressing my cheek with her hand.I stepped closer, the hint of fresh jasmine and a heady feminine scent wafting in my nose when I bowed, taking her palm in mine and gently brushing my lips over her knuckles. “Pleasure is mine, Princess Nasrin,” I whispered, rolling out her name on my tongue. Despite my deep-rooted values, I wanted to whisper her name, hear her gasping against mine when my fingers were deep inside her—We both blinked when her father cleared his throat, displeasure written all over his face. I pulled away, the loss of her warm touch burning my palm as I slid my hand in my pocket. My fingers brushing over the cool jewelry.There was so much tension hovering between us, that I was both afraid and excited to give us both some privacy. And ask her whether we used protection. I asked her, “Would you like to take a walk with me in the gardens?” “I don’t think she should—”I glared at Hamid Elbaz. “I asked Princess Nasrin. Not you.”He looked at me as if I thought of him like a piece of dirt on my shoe. “I was talking—”“I can speak for myself, baba,” Nasrin said, her eyes fleeting between her angered father and me. “I would love to walk with you, Sultan Zain. Please lead the way.”9NasrinThe soles of my golden flats and his shiny dark shoes made little to no sound when we walked together on the marble floors of the palace hallway. I couldn’t keep from internally being in awe at every minute detail in the structure of the pillars, the domes, the antique decorations. Each and every little thing gleamed of opulence. Richness. No wonder Azmia was well-known as the Golden country. I had slept with the sultan of the country that bleeds gold, and he had an adorable picture of me drooling on his phone. I certainly knew how to pick a one-night stand.Biting my cheek, I tried to look anywhere but at him. His presence and his aura were a living thing, beckoning me to gaze at him, marvel at his beauty and his leadership. I had seen no one talk like that to my father. Other than me, of course. “The palace gardens are this way,” Zain said, his voice husky, reminding me of the night we had spent together. I followed him, shamelessly staring at the tailor-made suit and p
10Zain“Because, Princess Nasrin, I am asking you to marry me,” I said, my voice echoing in the dark night. Her lush lips parted when she gaped at me. Even shocked, she was a stunning beauty. I hadn’t been able to form any coherent words when I had seen her sitting in the library, her thick hair flowing down her waist, making me want to run my hand through it. Hold it as I whispered filthy things in her ear. What I would do to her if we were alone. Her dark eyes glared at me through the surrounding kohl, illuminating her brown orbs. “Are you asking or ordering, Sultan?” She asked, her tone mocking when she tried so hard not to reject me. I adored it. The way she talked back to me, wanting to reject my proposal with defiance in her eyes. Maybe I was foolish, but I wanted to marry her, see the fire in her eyes every time I wake up next to her. “I am asking, Princess Nasrin.” I smiled at her, “For now.”Her chest heaved when she took a step closer to me, my eyes dropping low at the
11Nasrin“Arrogant prick,” I grumbled under my breath when I rushed towards the palace, far away from the man who would be my husband in a few weeks if I accept his marriage proposal. Even his stupid, divine smelling suit reminded me of his handsome half-smirk. As if he knew I wouldn’t reject him. Couldn’t reject him. But deep down, I knew he was right. All Zain was doing was being honest with me, and I hated how bitter the truth was. I knew that my beautiful country, Maahnoor, was not in good hands when my father appointed my eldest brother, Sadiq, as the sultan. He had made it unbearable for women to work, building clubs and bars when there was a need to build solid roads and schools for girls. Not to mention about my rejection towards all the proposals that no one but a sixty-four-year-old man wanted me. Him or Sultan of Azmia. Despite being thirty-three, Zain had rejected all the proposals from the princesses to rich daughters of sheikhs, royals and even commoners. He didn’t wa
12ZainI was floating into the darkness, my body weightless as it moved like a merman in the water. The fog thick and heavy, my vision blurry when I watched the two little figures. The third figure bigger than the two of them, crouching to talk to them.“No, sweet, it doesn’t hurt much,” she whispered, her voice soft as she caressed little Zain’s cheek and ruffled Khalid’s hair.I frowned, my eyes on her swollen cheek. Childhood me knew what had happened. He had seen it. Tried to stop it and had received a lashing of his own afterwards. “But I saw Father sl—”“I fell down from the stairs, Zain,” her voice wasn’t soft anymore. It didn’t have any emotions. “Take your brother Khalid with you. Quickly before your father finds the both of you and scolds you two.”“But I don’t want to leave you,” Khalid whined, his hands wrapping around her neck. “I don’t want Father to hurt you.”The dark room blurred away, changed into the light room. I knew it was Zara’s nursery. Khalid was watching ove
PART TWO“Every inch of you is divine.” 13NasrinI held in the tremble of my body when I felt the smooth surface of the loofah lowering to my spine. I wanted to arch my back and close my eyes and let him lather me with his veiny hands all day if he wished. I was snapped out of my dirty thoughts when Zain said, “You do not have to accept this marriage, if that’s your wish.”“What?” I turned around to see him. “What do you mean?” I had been so surprised by his words that I had forgotten that I was in the bath. His face flamed when his eyes dropped below my chin, at my bare breasts. My heart thudded wildly when his obsidian eyes darkened, my nipples tightening and turning into hard peaks under his scorching gaze. With flushed cheeks, he looked away, his hand tightening over the loofah he held. He gritted out, “You do not have to accept me as your husband. Reject me if you wish. I… I will help you find a better prince and help your younger brother be the sultan.”I swallowed the lump
14ZainI had to fight off my grin, even though I felt a little guilty for stopping Nasrin from reaching her high. But I needed her to approve of my conditions for the marriage. “Out with it,” she said, glaring at me. With little thought, I brought my glistening fingers to my mouth and tasted her. Met her wide eyes, groaning at the honeyed taste of her. So sweet. So heavenly. I pulled back and licked my lips, her exotic taste lingering in my mouth. “One, I do not want you to have any lovers after marriage. Two, we sleep in the same room. Three, we use protection.”Her eyes blinked at me as if she was pulled out of some daze. Her beautiful caramel eyes narrowed at me. “Is that all?” I nodded and shamelessly raked my eyes over her bare body. Blood flowing south in my body at the sight of her wet curves, her round breasts pink with my kissing and biting. “I wish I could add another condition to have you naked when we are alone, but I do not want to get kicked in my crotch,” I confess
15NasrinMy core burned hearing him, my body heating underneath his gleaming obsidian eyes. I couldn’t believe that man. Sultan Zain Al Latif, my soon-to-be-husband, wanted to make me come again. It had only been a minute. “I am too sensitive,” I breathed, my palm brushing over his arm and retrieving it from the bath. He noticed the lack of my touch on his arm, which he had gladly allowed me to hold when he was fucking me with his fingers. I had to close my hands into a fist and stop myself from grabbing him by his neck and kissing him again. I missed the way his warm skin felt underneath my palm, the way muscles on his arm moved when he pushed his fingers inside me. I eyed his stiffened dick and said, “What about you? I want to—”“Maybe some other time,” Zain said, tilting his head as he stood up, looming over the bath. “Come on, the water has turned cold. I don’t want my fiancée to get sick.” Fiancée. My mouth parted, and before I could process what he had said, I followed his
16Zain“You can exchange the rings now,” our advisor announced, people clapping and cheering around us. We had finished the tulba ceremony privately, where I had to formally ask Nasrin’s family and her for her hand in marriage. After accepting the blessings from both of our families, Rahim had announced that the royal guests had arrived to take part in our engagement.Taking a deep breath, I held her hand and hesitated only for a moment before sliding the emerald diamond ring on her finger. Cheers erupted around us as my eyes flickered to her honeyed orbs. They were glittering when they glanced from the ring to my face. I could imagine how she was going to complain that it wasn’t something she deserved. Too bad that I was already thinking about how I would make her say ‘I deserve it’ with my mouth covering her soaking pussy.I had given her a small tour of the palace that evening, showing her all the ancient riches we possessed, along with the sterling diamond ring with emerald ston