Siren of the Desert

*~Chapter twelve (Jealousy)~*

*~Chapter twelve (Jealousy)~*

She could only stare at the girl in utter shock and growing fear. A thousand questions crowded in her head. She wanted to voice them all, but she'd gone completely speechless.

As a child, Maria had lived in a different neighbourhood than the one she lived in now. Back then, she'd often played with the neighbourhood children. One such child was a flamboyant girl who liked to stick out as much as possible —and preferably obscure everybody else around her. This little girl liked to assume the position of 'leader' quite often —even if by force. Because of this, they'd never really been the best of friends. Oh, no. Said girl always found elaborate, well-thought-out ways to humiliate her as a child, such as when she'd had a boy shove a dead mouse down the back of Maria's clothes, or when she'd gone around telling everyone she had head lice when she didn't.

That very girl stood before her now, glaring daggers at her. Maria had thought her a pretty child, and she'd indeed grown to become a remarkably pretty woman. She was an olive-skinned, dark-eyed brunette whose figure reminded Maria of an hourglass. Sarah, that was her name.

She was absolutely terrified that Sarah was going to recognise her. When their eyes met, she was taken aback by the sheer hatred she saw reflected in their depth. They practically glowed with unchecked malice; such was its intensity. Sarah instantly blanched.

Oh, no.

Had she recognised her?

The pretty brunette looked past Maria at where Zain was standing. All of a sudden, she began to completely ignore her existence and the fact that she was even in the same room.

She very nearly screamed with joy. Sarah hadn't recognised her!

"Zain, darling!" She launched herself at him and into his arms. Maria moved out of the way before she was trampled over. Sarah threw herself into his arms, clung to him and buried her face in his chest the way a spoiled child would.

"Good evening, Sarah." he greeted her. The softness in his voice surprised her. She hadn't imagined him ever capable of such gentleness.

"Have you missed me?" she purred, rubbing herself against him like a cat in heat. Maria resisted the urge to gag. What shameful behaviour.

Sarah had interrupted the confrontation she had been waiting to have all night.

He suddenly shot her a strange look from over Sarah's head. Her pulse instantly responded, ratcheting up a notch. Was that mischief she'd seen reflected in his golden orbs? Maria raised her chin proudly in response to whatever it may have been, then pretended not to pay attention to their intimate reunion.

He looked down at Sarah and said, "Of course, my sweet. How have you been?"

He bared his teeth at Sarah in a roguish smile that made her weak in the knees. She watched him wrap his hands around her, the tanned skin of his arms in stark contrast with Sarah's paler complexion. Unconsciously, Maria fisted her hands until the nails dug into the skin of her palms.

Zain spotted her fisted hands and inwardly grinned. On a whim (he had many of those whenever she was in the vicinity) he'd thought to infuriate her. He wanted a reaction from her regardless of how large or small. It was childish, he knew, but he wanted to see how much he could make her react. And like the spitfire she was, she did not disappoint. Initially, he'd come to his harem to take a concubine to relieve him, for he burned. Burned with a need so strong it had become unbearable. He'd become unable to form a single straight thought without her gorgeous face intruding on it.

He could read her like an open book. His former life had taught him how to read people from their faces, choice of words, voice, body language and actions. He'd had to learn such a skill for the sake of survival. She was so expressive and open that he could spot it all no matter how much she tried to conceal it. Zain's practised eye caught her subtle annoyed expressions, the twitch of an eyebrow, the pursing of her lips, and her hands flexing and fisting.

He looked down at Sarah who he realised had been talking to him the whole time that he'd been lost in his thoughts. He'd once thought Sarah to be a rare beauty, but now she paled in comparison to this mysterious girl. Sarah was docile whereas she was anything but. Sarah aimed to please him —only because he saw to it that she, and all of his harem, wanted for nothing— whereas the girl did everything in her power to vex him.

Something suddenly occurred to him. He started to question whether Sarah would even be enough to please him at this point.

Without warning, Zain's face shifted into a dark expression. Maria tensed. Sarah, sensing the atmosphere darkening, stopped her endless raving immediately.

"Let's go," he said in a voice devoid of warmth and softness. He started steering Sarah to the harem's door from her tiny waist.

She could not even begin to guess what had made his mood shift so dramatically. Somehow, she knew it had something to do with her, but she hadn't even done anything this time! She hadn't found the chance to talk to him.

As he turned to close the door, he halted and looked at her. Really looked at her. His amber eyes bore into hers. Involuntarily, she started to fidget with her hands, wringing them. His eyes slowly dropped down to her lips, her chest, then farther still. She tried to conceal the blush that permeated her entire face with her hair. Her body reacted in a way she had only known very recently that it was capable of. It went hot in certain places. She could feel the throbbing vein in her neck as her heart thumped. The way he was looking at her...it was as if he was about to devour her right where she stood.

And then he closed the door, and Maria released the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

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