Page 50 of Liam

Liam swiped the tear that had fallen on to her cheek with his thumb before kissing her there lightly. “Maybe he was, and I see the grief in your eyes for the man he was, but that man isn’t the one I met today.”

“No, he is not.”

“I love you, Taamira. I meant every word I said to your brother. I would do anything for you to keep you safe.”

“I love you too, and I would do anything for you, too.”

The rumbled growl from his chest moved through her. “No putting yourself in danger for me, woman, or I’ll tan that ass for you.”

A frisson of desire shot through Taamira and straight to her pussy at that image in her head.

“Hmm, you like that idea.” Liam nuzzled her neck with his lips, and her body began to tingle at the delicate touches on her neck. “Hold that thought for another day, treacle, because we have a King to entertain.”

With that, there was a knock at the door.

Liam pulled back, and she noted he looked unaffected by their moment except she could feel the hard ridge of steel behind his jeans, the knowledge caused her to smirk a little.

“Well, that’s one way to kill a mood.” Liam laughed as Dane put his head around the door.

“The King of Eyan is here to see you, Taamira.”

“Thank you, Dane. Show him in, please.”

Dane grinned at her emphasis on the word please and she smiled back.

“Right you are, Princess.”

THE DOOR OPENED, and King Saud al Kamali walked in followed by two of his guards. Liam hadn’t paid too much attention to them downstairs except to make sure they weren’t a threat to them. But now as he did, he could see they had been cut from a different cloth to Abdul’s guards. There seemed to be none of the aggression from them, just alertness that he would expect.

His attention moved to Taamira’s father as he approached. He was not an overly tall man, perhaps around five feet nine inches but his stature didn’t seem to matter because the man had a magnetism about him that he seemed to switch on or off at will.

Downstairs in the restaurant, he had gone unnoticed until he wanted to be seen and yet now it was turned all the way up, and he became the centre of the room for most. Not him though, his focus was Taamira, it would always be Taamira.

The King stepped towards his daughter and Liam tensed, which didn’t go unnoticed by the King. “My beautiful daughter, let me look at you.” He stepped closer, holding his hands to her, and she placed her hands in his.

“Father, you look well.”

The politeness grated on Liam’s nerves, but he’d let this play out while it wasn’t hurting Taamira.

“May we sit?” King Saud requested, and Taamira showed him to a set of chairs around a small glass table in the centre of the room.

The King assessed his daughter and Liam was sure he saw sadness and regret tinge the man’s features. “I have missed you, my child.”

Taamira went rigid beneath the hand Liam laid on her shoulder. “Perhaps my value should have been considered before, when I was in desperate need of my father to come to my aid.”

Her father sighed, and Liam noticed the lines of strain around his eyes as well as the weariness. “I do not expect you to believe me, Taamira, but I authorised the payment of your ransom immediately on hearing the news of your kidnapping. Your brother called me, and I told him to pay whatever it took. And in his defence, Abdul was all set to wire the money from his personal account if I had declined, which I would never have done.” The King shook his head, and for some crazy reason, Liam believed this man spoke the truth.

“I do not know what went wrong afterwards, but I would never see you harmed. I know I was not a perfect father, but I do love you. I wish that you believed that. It saddens me greatly that you do not.”

“But if you paid it, and Abdul wanted it paid, what went wrong?”

Liam heard the anguish in Taamira’s voice and moved closer, laying both his hands on her shoulders for support. She reached up and held onto his fingers as her father watched them.

“I wish I knew, but all I do know is the palace is not the same without you. Your vibrancy, your joy is a loss. Not since the death of your mother has the palace been so joyless, so barren.”

Taamira reached for her father’s hand and squeezed. “I still miss her, too.”

“You are very much like her. It heartens me to see her in you. She refused to marry me the first four times I proposed, you know.”