Page 28 of Liam

Liam stayed quiet on that front and knew he would absorb it later. Liam crossed his arms over his chest. “So, this means whoever called has access to the niece’s phone.”

“Yes. I have Lopez compiling a list of every person who has access to them in any way. That way we can narrow down the suspects based on the profile Decker is running.”

“And Hassan?”

Jack’s lip curled. “Low-level merchant that works in the market outside the palace. He was offered money by some unseen person to carry out the attack.”

“A dead-end then.”

“Not exactly. Depends if we can keep him in play somehow. He gave up his contact point so we might be able to use that.”

“Is Mitch heading that up?”

“Yeah, him and Waggs.”

“I need to see the guestlist for the conference and the plans for the building. I don’t want any risks I can’t mitigate when she goes on that stage.”

“Come in tomorrow and I’ll have it ready. Stay close to home today until she settles.”

Jack stood as they heard Taamira moving about downstairs. “I’ll say a quick hello and then leave you to it.”

Liam followed him out, but Jack turned back to him. “Remember what I said. What you think she needs isn’t necessarily the same as what she actually needs. My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that you need each other.” He patted Liam on the shoulder. “On that, I’m going back to being a grumpy asshole and closing my column as an agony aunt. So if you need anything else, ask Decker.”

Liam grinned and watched as Jack went to speak with Taamira. She smiled and greeted Jack like a friend, even hugging him. Liam kept his distance, but he saw the gentleness Jack handled her with and the way she responded and thought maybe Jack was right about them needing each other.

HE HADN’T BEEN able to let her out of his sight all day. Not because she was clingy in any way but because he couldn’t bear to leave her as Jack’s words played over and over in his head.

Taamira had pulled herself together surprisingly well. Once he’d convinced her to carry on with the conference, she’d used his secure phone in the office to make some calls to the heads of her charity, conducting business remotely.

He’d watched her discreetly as she did, noticing the way she played with her hair, laughed freely, and asked about their families before she got down to business. She made them feel like they mattered to her. She had a way about her that was inborn, maybe it was her royalty, but he didn’t think so—it was a Taamira thing.

It was nearing dinner time now, and he already had the mince out to make spaghetti Bolognese. She didn’t know it yet, but Taamira was about to get a cooking lesson. He smiled as he thought about teaching her new things, then promptly stopped his thoughts as his mind went in a totally inappropriate direction.

The issue he had was he liked her; he didn’t just want to fuck her and discover her sweet spots. He loved spending time with her. If he were honest, he had from the beginning, ever since she’d looked at his flowered holiday shirt with disdain.

High maintenance women had always drawn him. He liked them feisty and full of attitude, and Taamira’s demands had only intrigued him more. Despite letting everyone think it annoyed him, the way she demanded he attend to her turned him on.

But as they spent more time together and he saw her sweet side, the way she cared about people and things, his feelings became more complex. He was getting in deep with this woman, and he knew he shouldn’t because he couldn’t be what she needed.

Taamira needed a man that was cultured and well-spoken. Who knew which damn spoon to use for a shrimp cocktail, not a man who ate sushi with a fork because chopsticks were a pain in the ass. Jack’s reasoning that she needed security stuck in his head, though.

As he moved towards the back door to feed Digby his last meal of the day, Taamira walked into the kitchen. She was wearing tight blue jeans that had been driving him crazy all day with the way they hugged her ass, an olive-green vee neck cashmere jumper, and flat grey boots. It was hard to keep the barrier in place seeing her in regular clothes, especially when his gut clenched at how she looked so effortlessly beautiful.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s time for Digby’s dinner. Want to help me?”

He wanted to take her in his arms at the way her face lit up with eagerness.

“Yes, please.”

Liam grinned and held the door for her to go through ahead of him.

As they walked to the wooden shed in the corner of the garden where he kept Digby’s feed for ease of access, he couldn’t help admiring her ass, or the sexy sway of her hips.

“What does he eat?” Taamira asked as she pulled her hair from her face only for it to blow back.

She looked so gorgeous he wanted to kiss her, to take her face between his hands and taste the berry lips.