His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,53

let me indulge my love of horses, which I’d had to hide from my own father like it was some dirty little secret. He never understood and I ended up being exactly what he wanted me to become. A successful businessman in Dubain, taking on the role of sheik.” He closed his eyes. “Of course he was never happy with how I did things—thought I was too liberal and allowing Western culture to influence my decisions and planning, particularly the religious freedom we’ve worked hard to secure for minorities. What the hell he thought was going to happen by sending me off for a Western university education I have no idea.”

“So what did he say when you told him that you and Faridah were no longer engaged?”

“I haven’t told him. He’ll find out through the normal gossip channels and I’m not bothered. I’ve decided to take your advice and just ignore bullies.”

She pursed her lips. “Hmm, well I’m not sure that’s the right way to deal with your dad. Maybe you just need to tell him. Now stop talking whilst I do this bit,” she lectured, her tongue darting out once again as she concentrated while running the blade over his throat.

She stood back with her hands on her hips and she scrutinised his face and appraised her work.

“All done. Here,” she said, handing him her hand mirror.

He ran a hand over his face. “Not bad. Not bad at all, Miss Darling,” he said, moving his reflection from side to side, genuinely impressed.

“Now close your eyes.” At his quizzical look she added, “Trust me.” He nodded, following her instruction.

“I’m going to ask you to smell three different oils in a minute. Just tell me which you prefer.” At his nod, she continued. “Okay,” she said, taking hold of his hand and rubbing the first oil onto the back of it. “Here’s the first…”

Having chosen the last oil she manoeuvred him back into the lounge, carefully placing a plethora of oils and potion bottles on the low table and taking up position on the sofa with her back against one end, cushions plumped between her legs. She patted the cushion. “Right, come on. Make yourself comfortable.”

He took a deep breath. Every instinct and warning in his thirty-four-year-old brain was yelling at him that this was a bad idea—a very bad idea. Hell, he’d have his head right between her legs… Yet he found his feet slowly walking over to the sofa and taking up position, ensuring his robe remained tightly closed.

“Comfortable?” she checked, looking down over him.

“Not in the least—”

“Excellent,” she interrupted, choosing to ignore him as she reached over for the first bottle. “Now close your eyes and keep them closed and give yourself permission to enjoy this and relax.”

Easier said than done with my head right where I’ve wanted it to be for the last twelve months or so…but I’ll give it a go…

“Okay, take three deep breaths through your nose for me,” she instructed, covering his nose gently with her cupped hands. He inhaled the soothing oil he’d picked. She’d said something about the body choosing which oil it needed. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, he’d ended up choosing the one for relaxation…

Her hand now moved to his shoulders and she tugged slightly at the collar of his robe so that her oil-covered hands rested on his exposed shoulders. He tensed automatically. She applied more pressure and told him to take three more deep breaths, and she increased the pressure further until he felt his shoulders finally drop.

“You carry a lot of tension in your neck and shoulders, Jumal. You probably aren’t even aware of it. You really do need to learn to relax more,” she lectured, but her voice was soft and melodic.

Jumal was beyond speech and merely grunted his agreement as she applied a colder substance to his face. His eyes were still closed as she gently worked her fingers over his face in a repetitive, slow motion until she finally applied an even cooler potion with cotton wool, which made his skin tingle in response. But she saved the best for last when she once again covered her small hands with that oil he’d picked and she performed a massage on his face, her fingers slowly manipulating along his jawline—back and forth several times.

He felt his head sink further back into the cushion to soak up her touch as she moved up and along the bridge of his nose to his brow and repeated the massage along his