Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
And it was on such a day, when Mik’hail had just entered the conservatory, that he heard an unexpected sound.
“Welcome back, Mik’hail.”
The sheikh was startled at the husky voice that floated towards him. “Aurora?” That was her voice, wasn’t it? What was she doing here and why was she calling him that?
“Over here,” she sang.
The sound of her voice made him hesitate, his body stirring in ways that it should never do—and for the only eighteen-year-old girl in the kingdom that he must never touch.
Even as he told himself it was better to turn away and leave, the sheikh found himself doing the opposite, the pull he felt towards Aurora as irresistible as ever. Walking further inside the conservatory, he finally found her next to the garden beds, down on her knees, smudges of dirt on her face.
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” she returned cheekily.
“Escaping,” he said bluntly, but neglected to tell her that it was her sister he was trying to escape. He liked the peace and quiet the trees and flowers in the conservatory gave him, something that was the exact antithesis of what Aretha currently symbolized in his life.
Her eyes narrowed at him. “You look bad, akh.”
He winced, for her. That was not exactly the proper thing to say to the sheikh who owned the palace where she was currently residing for free. “Do me a favor,” he said dryly, “and do not let your parents and sister hear you talk to me like that.”
Below him, Aurora’s grin had only widened at his words. “I’m only being honest—and concerned. You do look bad, you know.” Her arch tone, combined with her hair pinned up in a ponytail and the faded, oversized dress she had on, made Aurora appear more like a child playing grown up than anything else.
The sheikh sighed at her stubbornness. “I appreciate you telling me so, but again, please refrain from saying such things in front of your family.”
“Relax, akh. They’re off to another party,” she told him gleefully.
He had never seen her so relaxed or more vibrantly beautiful, and he suspected it had much to do with the fact that her whole family was out of the palace. “I know better than to ask whether they invited you or not,” he said, “but if they did, would you have liked to go?”
Aurora rolled her eyes. “Duh, akh. I like it better this way, and you know why that is?”
Something about the mischievous smile curving over her lips hit him harder than it should have, and he had to turn sideways, keeping his expression carefully blank even as he answered. “Why?”
“Because I’m freeeeee!”
The way she shrieked the last word out had him wincing, but it also had the sheikh’s gaze gleaming with amusement, and Aurora beamed back at him.
“They won’t be back until tomorrow either,” she added cheerfully. “I heard them say so.”
“Let us hope then,” he murmured, “that you will not find yourself bored.”
“Why should I be bored?” Aurora glanced at him oddly. “I have you, don’t I?”
Mik’hail’s face became impassive. How simple those words were, and yet how true they were, too, in an ironic sense. He was hers. But...she could never be his. The realization was enough to blacken his mood, but not wanting Aurora to notice, he abruptly changed the subject, saying, “You called me by my name earlier.”
Aurora suddenly looked innocent. “So?”
Too innocent, Mik’hail thought, and he knew right away it hadn’t been an accidental mistake on her part. “You know you shouldn’t have done so.”
“Why not?”
“Because it is not proper,” he said, exasperated.
“Even if it’s just the two of us? And besides...” Her nose wrinkled. “I know Aretha insists on calling you by your English name, but I don’t think it suits you. It’s such an ordinary name, and you’re...well...extraordinary. You’re a warrior, and a name like Mik’hail better suits you.”
The sweetness in her words was beguiling. It tempted his heart to crack open, but it also had his body responding in ways he could not afford. Aurora thought him extraordinary. A warrior even, and although he knew she had spoken with the utmost sincerity, all he could think about was showing her just how much a warrior he was—
No.
He couldn’t think like this. Wouldn’t.
“You’re frowning,” Aurora blurted out. “Do you really not like me calling you by your name?”
“It’s not that,” he said curtly. “I only think it’s unwise for you to be too...fanciful.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. “You just sound like my whole family right there. Being fanciful is not a crime, Your Highness.”
The sheikh didn’t bother responding to this, knowing a rabbit hole of endless arguments when he saw one. Instead, he strode to the set of velvet settees arranged at the center of the conservatory, needing to put more distance between them.