The Sultan's Daughter (Princesses Uncovered #5)

Chapter 36: Disasters - What's New

It had been a month since Cemal had gone out to try to find Hashim and bring him back.

Cemal’s wounds had long since healed, though they had scarred in some places where the gouges in his back were deeper than the healer’s skills could mend without blemish.

Yaz climbed the stairs to the second floor, headed for his bedroom. He was still regaining his strength from weeks of invalidity. In one hand, she carried a plate of food for him with his dining utensils, and in the other, she had ensconced a small bag of sweets.

When she reached his heavy door, she knocked, not wanting to walk in on him when he was changing. Just thinking about doing that caused a blush to rise to her cheeks. She certainly didn’t want to do that.

“You can come in.” Cemal’s deep voice called, amusement rich in it as though he knew it was she and what she was thinking.

She pushed the door open with her free hand, walking into the room.

He was sprawled on his back across the circular bed, the white comforter and silk sheets rumpled from his continual reclining upon them. He had a slender, worn volume propped up on pillows in front of him, its cracked green binding brittle compared to the suppleness of the fabric surrounding it.

She brought his food in, setting it on the small table beside his bed and putting the fork and knife down beside it. Then she dropped the sweets onto the table beside the plate.

As soon as she’d rid herself of the burdens, she slipped onto the bed in between him and his book, giving him a teasing smile. “Did you know it was me?”

He nodded.

“How?”

“You have a far lighter tread than any of the maids or other servants, and it wasn’t one of the court ladies as they all know I’m betrothed to you now and they aren’t allowed in this segment of the palace… It was easy to deduce who would come to my chambers at this time of day.” He shrugged.

She smiled. “You sounded amused when you told me to come in. Why?”

“Because…” He whispered, leaning in so that his lips brushed the rim of her ear as he spoke. “I could guess what you were thinking as you knocked.”

She blushed. “And…and what was I thinking?”

“You were – true to form – thinking that you didn’t want to walk in on me in any state of undress…” He pinpointed her thoughts exactly.

The crimson color in her cheeks bloomed into a deeper shade of vermilion.

He laughed. “I knew it… You were.”

She slapped his chest lightly. “That is rude… But… How did you know?”

He grinned. “Just did… You, love, are an open book for me.” He played with the pages of the book behind her, his arms encircling her as he did so. “And I’m not picky about what I’m reading.” He teased.

She glared at him. “You might be polite enough to ignore the fact that you know something or could tell by looking at me what I was thinking…” She poked him.

He shrugged, smirking. “Wouldn’t be as much fun.”

She huffed, about to retort, but he kissed her again, his lips chapped but gentle against hers. When he moved away, she sighed. “You rogue… You always do that just when I’m at my pinnacle of fury with you, and it never fails to diffuse me.” She folded her arms, rolling over onto her back so that she could stare at the white ceiling. “I don’t suppose you could just let me be angry with you once in a while?”