The Sultan's Daughter (Princesses Uncovered #5)

Chapter 25: Dinner and Discovery

Cemal walked into her room, intending to pick her up and take her downstairs. He thought about the events an hour or so before, and a grin broke over his face.

She was cute when she was angry, he contemplated. But he liked her better when she wasn’t angry with him and was instead her usual self around him – innocent and sweet.

Yaz was standing in front of her large dressing table, doing her hair while peering intently at her reflection in the gold embossed mirror.

He smiled as he saw how well her face fit in with the beauty of the elegant scrolls and curls on the mirror’s edges. She didn’t see him because he didn’t reflect in the mirror.

She appeared to be frustrated as she tried to curl back a section of her thick, glossy black hair, which flowed in a wave of curls to her waist.

He slipped up behind her, silent as usual, and laid his hands on top of hers. “Mind if I give it a try?” He murmured, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

She took a deep breath, and he knew he had startled her. He smiled at her in the mirror, and noted the delicate blush that rose to her cheeks as she saw his attention.

She looked down, nodding. “Go ahead.”

He took the brush from her, smoothing back the section of hair she’d been working on. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder, pressing down with gentle pressure to get her to sit in the mahogany wood chair before the table and mirror.

Then he moved to twisting the portion of hair back with deft fingers, careful not to yank or tug her smaller hairs. He loved moving his fingers through her hair. He let himself focus only on the purplish highlights of the light reflecting on her hair, and the purer white highlights as the brightest lamps nearby cast their glow upon her curls. He noted how her hair rippled down her back, and wished he could spend the night running his hands through her hair, letting himself marvel at the beauty she possessed.

He saw her looking at him through the mirror, her eyes focused on his every move. He smiled at her, clipping back the side he’d been working on and moving to the other side to twist it back as well. “If you’d like me to braid the rest, we have time…” He whispered, wanting to prolong contact with her for as long as possible.

She raised an eyebrow. “Cemal, since when do you do hair?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been braiding and knotting from three years old. I’ve learned all sorts of intricate braids… Granted, I haven’t done any on people before, but I think I can figure it out.” He murmured.

She laughed. “Of course you would know how to braid.” She started to shake her head, but he gave a slight tug to remind her not to move her head, and she stayed still after that.

“Does it not seem strange that the assassin – the terror of little children’s nightmares – would be sitting in my dressing room, playing with my hair?” Yaz reflected as he finished the three-stranded braid he’d been weaving into her hair.

He shrugged, not responding as he wrapped one of her hairpieces around the bottom of the braid to hold it in place.

She turned to look at him, meeting his gaze, as he finished securing the braid. “It’s not a very masculine thing to do…” She teased.

He rolled his eyes. “I just helped you, woman. Be thankful and don’t dwell on it.” He growled.

She smiled up at him, melting his heart with her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. Every time he looked at them, he felt like slipping into them and never resurfacing. He smiled back, tempted to kiss her, but knowing that now was not the time.