listened for a moment, then turned to Sidra with a grimace before standing up. “Brace yourself,” he said a moment before his bedroom door opened up. Two beautiful women pushed their way into the bedroom and Sidra sat up, pushed herself back so she was sitting up more and was instantly overwhelmed by the chaos that surrounded the bed.
“What are you doing here?” Rashid asked of the two women, both of whom were looking at Sidra as if she were some sort of unearthly being. How two women could make things so crazy, he’d never understand. Both were arguing, bickering at each other and he was just glad that Sidra didn’t speak Arabic yet. She’d be blushing furiously because they were talking about how this woman had spent the night in his private quarters so obviously she was ‘the one’. No other woman had ever been allowed into this area so the implication was clear to anyone within the palace walls. And probably outside by now since servants tended to talk about something as significant as Sidra staying in his rooms.
The tallest one, who still only reached Rashid’s chin, smiled brightly up at him. “We came to finally meet the woman you’ve been moping about for the past month, of course.”
Rashid’s arms crossed over his chest and he glared at her. “I don’t mope, Isla. What are you doing here really?”
The lovely woman with dark hair and dark eyes, apparently named Isla, smiled mischievously and Sidra wondered about their relationship. It seemed good, but how could she dare to tease this man who was obviously very angry? She was in her early to mid twenties, Sidra guessed, and apparently had no fear of Rashid, looking as if she intended to tease him even without his morning coffee.
Wasn’t he?
Sidra had to acknowledge that she didn’t know him well enough to state whether he was truly angry, or simply annoyed. Both expressions looked similar to her uneducated mind.
The second woman laughed and shook her head. She was younger by several years and looked similar to the older one, but much softer with light brown eyes and a glow to her that made Sidra feel pale in comparison. “Rashid, be nice. You’re scaring your lady. Let us take her away and give her some advice on how to handle you. We’ll return her with good information and she won’t look like we’re all crazy.”
Rashid took a warning step towards the second woman but she didn’t back down even an inch. “Zarah,” he growled toward her but her only response was to smile wider, then turn to Sidra. “Ignore him. He’s just a beast until he has his morning coffee. And since he hasn’t had that yet, he’s just being a grouch. Once he’s had his brew, you’ll be able to manage him like a puppy dog.”
Sidra looked from the woman, to Rashid and then back again. Rashid looked disgusted and shook his head. “Zarah, get out of my private quarters. Sidra hasn’t eaten yet and she’s not going anywhere until she and I talk. A conversation I was just having with her before both of you decided to barge in unannounced. And uninvited,” he warned.
Isla shoed his comments aside. “Why hasn’t she eaten? You know she’s supposed to eat small meals all day long in order to keep that nausea away.” She looked alarmed and walked to the side of the bed where Sidra was perched. “Come with me. I’ll make sure that you have something good to eat. You also need vitamins. I’m sure Doctor Hamid has those ready for you to take as well. Don’t worry. He’s a wonderful doctor and you’ll have the very best of care,” she was saying as she took Sidra’s hand and pulled her out the door.
Sidra had no choice but to follow and Rashid was busy talking with the big man that had kept her from leaving the suite earlier. As she was pulled out of the bedroom and into the living area, she noticed that the breakfast food had been cleared out of the way and her stomach rebelled.
She was starting to feel weak and angry and knew it was all due to her lack of food. These women were very nice, but Sidra had been trying to get some food for what seemed like hours and nothing was forthcoming. “Excuse me, but is there any way I could just have some breakfast?”
Zarah laughed and pulled her along after her. “Of course you can!