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He got her to the bathroom just in time.
Never in his life had he done this, and never again would he do this, but Mikael stood holding her silky black hair as she knelt in the bathroom.
‘I should ring your brother, you know.’
‘I know,’ she said. Unseen by her, Mikael smiled as she continued, ‘But you won’t.’
Yes, he really should ring Zahid and have him come and collect her—but instead he ran her a bath as he thought about her brother.
Mikael had been worried—and with good reason. Zahid must be beside himself.
Mikael was not a sentimental person—not in the least—but surely a text to put him at ease could not cause any harm?
As he waited for the bath to fill Mikael fired a quick text.
Just to let you know, Layla is fine.
‘Have a bath and wash your hair, and then I suggest you get some sleep.’
‘Can you send someone in to wash me?’
‘Wash you?’
She had no idea how to do it herself.
‘I’ll tell you this much…’ He was breathing very hard as he massaged shampoo with rather angry fingers into her hair. He’d insisted she keep her underwear on—as if that would go down well with the defence! ‘You’re completely—’
He’d been about to say spoilt but he halted and thought about it as he rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.
She might be pampered, and way too used to getting her own way, yet Layla was the most unspoiled person he had ever met.
‘There,’ Mikael said. ‘Your hair’s clean.’
‘Jamila oils it now.’
‘There,’ Mikael said again, a little while later. ‘Your hair is washed and conditioned and now…’ he moved in to pull the plug and met her lovely feet again ‘…I’ll help you out of the bath. Then you’re to dry yourself and put on a robe.’
‘Okay.’ For once she agreed.
He helped her out and she made sure that Mikael too was soaking as she toppled against him.
‘I still feel a bit…’ She didn’t know how to describe it as he handed her a towel. ‘I think I like you,’ Layla said, and Mikael’s jaw gritted as she continued. ‘Not just like you…it feels a bit different to that…’ She turned as he walked out. ‘Where are you going?’
‘To do some work,’ he said. ‘Work that pays in dollars instead of stones.’
He was cross, Layla realised as he stalked out.
But lovely.
He didn’t even look up as she came out of the bathroom.
‘I know that I behaved badly tonight…it was just too enticing…’ She looked out at the lights that still beckoned.
‘You need to sleep,’ Mikael said, ‘and I need to work out what the hell I’m going to do with you.’
He didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her—but not in a bad way.
Mikael went to the couch and took out his laptop and got to work as Layla made her way to the bedroom.
‘The maids didn’t put out a nightdress.’
Mikael closed his eyes for a second before answering. She was the most exhausting person he had ever met. ‘Just sleep in your robe.’
‘But it’s damp.’ She came out from the bedroom. ‘If I sleep in damp clothes I’ll catch a cold.’
‘That’s an old wives’ tale.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Neither did Mikael, because a few minutes later he was naked from the waist up and trying not to notice just how long her legs were as she walked from the bathroom wearing his shirt and was finally safe in bed for the night.
‘Mikael!’ she called from the bedroom. ‘Will you still take me out tomorrow night?’
Mikael didn’t answer.
‘Mikael…’
‘Layla,’ Mikael called back, ‘could you really see checkmate?’
Silence.
‘I want the truth—yes or no?’
‘No.’
She started laughing and Mikael gave a wry smile. He’d add the extra twenty bloody minutes he’d spent staring at the board to her bill.
‘Go to sleep, Layla.’
Finally she did as she was told and Mikael got on with his work, only pausing occasionally.
The sound of her soft snoring was actually quite relaxing…
CHAPTER SIX (#udf5bcffa-daff-5220-88df-914fbf2b1eb6)
LAYLA AWOKE TO the gorgeous scent of Mikael.
Or rather the gorgeous scent of Mikael’s shirt, and she lay there remembering him bathing her and how cross but kind he had been. There was a flurry low in her stomach as she remembered toppling into him and smiling up at him, telling him that she liked him.
She still did.
Yes, he was a commoner, but she only had six days now and Mikael, Layla decided, would be her romance for the week.
Layla picked up the phone by the bed and ordered a thinly sliced apple, some mint tea and iced water and then padded out to the lounge, where Mikael was stretched out asleep on the sofa.
He looked so different asleep, Layla thought as she stood over him.
He appeared a lot less cross and he had shadows under his eyes like those Layla had had once had when she’d caught a cold. She looked at his chin. In all the photos she had seen he had been clean-shaven, but she loved his stubbly jaw.
Layla’s eyes drifted from his face to his body, which was just as beautiful.
His skin was pale and his flat nipples were the same dark red as his lips. She liked his flat stomach, and she blew out a guilty breath as she saw the snake of hair that led from his navel. She knew she should not be looking there and so moved her eyes back to his face instead. She watched him wake, his grey eyes frowning into hers. A look of concern darted across his face.
‘Good morning!’ Layla smiled down at him.
‘What time is it?’ Mikael asked with a horrible, panicked feeling that he might have overslept.
‘Sunrise!’ Layla smiled again and then turned when there was a knock at the door. Mikael watched as a trolley was wheeled in.
‘You’ve ordered breakfast?’
‘No, just something to cleanse my palate—my mouth is very dry.’
‘I bet it is,’ Mikael said, watching as she nibbled on her apple while walking over to the window.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Layla said, looking out at the Sydney skyline. The Opera House looked gold in the morning sun and the whole city was gleaming and beckoning. ‘I’m trying to think what to do today.’
‘I’ve already decided,’ Mikael said, picking up her glass of sparkling water and draining it. ‘You’re joining me at work.’ He’d decided that just before dozing off. ‘You can sit in the public gallery.’
‘Really?’ Layla beamed. ‘How exciting!’
‘And you’re to behave and be quiet.’
‘I do know how to behave,’ Layla retorted.
Mikael looked at that mane of black hair and those very long brown legs and tried not to wonder if she had panties on; instead he turned his mind to think about clothes for her. Dressed in the silver tunic she had arrived in, or any of the clothes she had bought last night, she would bring the court down!
‘We need to tone you down, Layla.’ Mikael stood and rang down to the desk, not caring who needed to be awoken in order to facilitate his request.
‘Why do I need to be toned down?’
‘Because you don’t want your brother to find you… And anyway,’ he told her, ‘today it’s my turn to shine.’
‘Oh, Mikael…’ Layla smiled. ‘I cannot wait.’
A selection of outfits was brought to the suite for Layla to try, and Mikael ordered coffee too.
‘I’m hungry,’ Layla moaned, coming out of the bedroom in a navy shift dress and screwing up her nose.
Mikael was putting his shirt back on—it was still warm from her.
‘We’ll have breakfast out,’ Mikael said, because he liked to eat at his favourite café during a trial and he was not changing his routine for Layla. ‘That looks nice.’
‘You wear it, then,’ she said. ‘It makes me feel miserable.’
She selected another outfit and headed back to the bedroom. The pale grey linen suit looked very drab to Layla, but when she put it on the skirt was nice and short, and with a silver cami and the jacket’s sleeves rolled up she liked it.
‘I’m ready,’ she said, stepping out of the bedroom and putting on her silver jewelled slippers. ‘And I’m very, very hungry, Mikael.’
There was no chance of outshining Layla, Mikael thought, because she looked stunning. ‘Don’t you want to do your make-up?’ he asked—because wasn’t that what every woman did?
She wasn’t every woman, though…
Layla shook her head. ‘I will only wear make-up for my future husband. Come on, Mikael, I need to eat soon or I will faint.’
‘I won’t be picking you up if you do,’ he said.
Mikael’s choice of café was a trendy converted warehouse that was frequented by his peers, who would all leave him alone, knowing that he wouldn’t want small talk this morning or best wishes for the day.
‘This is near the hotel where my brother and Trinity are,’ Layla commented.
‘Now do you see why I wanted you in different clothes?’ Mikael said, and she nodded. ‘Don’t worry,’ he added, ‘even if we see them, you’re having your week.’
Heads turned as they walked in. Not because Mikael was with a woman, more because Mikael was with a woman this close to the end of a trial—and what a woman she was!
Waving and smiling to anyone who caught her eye, Layla was surprised when they didn’t wave back.
‘Are you nervous about today?’ Layla asked, but then the waiter handed her a menu. She looked at it for a moment and then handed it back to him. ‘I can’t read or write English,’ she said, and beamed.
Mikael watched as Joel just about fell to the floor as she aimed her smile at him.
‘I’ll order,’ Mikael said, because Joel would clearly be only too happy to go through the entire menu for her. ‘Just fruit and pastries,’ Mikael said, ‘and two coffees—and two on sub. Actually, just a regular cappuccino for my guest,’ he said, because he always had an extra shot, and a high-on-caffeine Layla he wasn’t sure he could handle.
‘You drink a lot of coffee,’ she commented.
‘Because I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,’ he said, and then realised what she meant. He had ordered four coffees. ‘Two are on sub…’
Mikael let out a breath as she frowned. Just one easy conversation where he didn’t have to explain everything would be welcome, but that wasn’t going to happen this century.
‘If someone needs a coffee and they don’t have any money then they can ask if there are any on sub.’
She still looked bemused.
‘Do you have homeless people in Ishla?’
‘I believe so, but my father refuses to discuss those sort of issues with me.’
Those sort of issues.
