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“They will but I will send someone else. Your Majesty, you have to realise that either the queen or Lady Tiana might find out and it will not be pleasant.”
“I have grown weary of their demands.”
“Not for you, your Majesty, but for Miss Zara.”
The King took a deep breath and agreed with Alma. He allowed her to send someone to summon Zara for him and meet him at the stables. He told Alma to provide her with riding clothes, and then he left the room and went to wait for her.
Rachael was not surprised when Zara was summoned. Even though it was a different maid that had come, she knew that it was the King calling for her. The other maids were annoyed that she got off work early. They had already grown jealous of her since the King came to the laundry. Their supervisor told Zara that her workload will be there for her when she comes back and that she would have to do overtime without pay to make up for lost time.
Zara changed into her riding clothes when they reached their destination. She was excited since the last time she had been riding was with her father when she was a little girl. She smiled as soon as she saw the King waiting for her. He stared at her walking toward him. She was different. For once, she was not wearing her work clothes. The sun complemented her eyes and skin very well. He suppressed the urge to embrace her.
“Your Majesty,” she said and gave him a deep bow.
“Miss Zara,” he replied to her.
“How are you today?”
“I am great now.”
Zara shifted uncomfortably and laughed. “That's good,” she said as she tucked a curly lock of hair behind her ear. He grunted. She was so adorable when she was shy. He asked her if she could ride. She nodded and told him that she rode when she was younger.
One of the stable hands had a horse ready for her. The King helped her onto the horse. “Since you're too small to get on yourself,” the King teased. He laughed as she mockingly glared at him. She was of average height she voiced out. Five feet three inches was plenty of woman! It only made the King laugh at her even more. She was definitely smaller than Tiana and Amira. They were both tall at five feet ten inches.
They were trotting as they talked. “I'll race you,” Zara said to the King. He raised his eyebrows and agreed to it. She pointed to their destination. “What does the winner get?” the King asked. Zara shrugged her shoulders. She had nothing to grant the King.
“You will grant me a wish when I win,” the King said to her.
“What makes you so sure that you will win?” Even if he lost, it was not as if she could say no to anything he wanted.
“Because this is me we are talking about.”
How very conceited! Zara thought as she narrowed her gaze at the King. As she prepared to count to three, she gave him an impish grin before shouting three and racing off into the fields. It took the King a moment to realize that she cheated before he laughed and urged his horse into a gallop. The wind blew Zara’s hairband off as her hair billowed behind her like a flag. Whooping in joy, Zara stretched up her arms enjoying the freedom of the ride. The King was very relaxed in his gallop, as he enjoyed watching her expression of joy as she rode. This was a side to her that he did not expect. He sped up at the last minute and overtook her.
They dismounted. “I almost won!” Zara said as she ran her hand through her hair, still smiling. She remembered how much she loved riding. She loved the speed, the feel of wind in her hair, everything about riding made her smile.
“Oh habibti, you never had a chance,” the King said as he opened his bottle of water and gulped half of it. He handed it to Zara. She took it with her eyes crossed.
“I definitely could have won,” she said. She drank the water and gave it back to the King. She stared into the distance with her hands on her hips.
The King smiled at her. “Where did you learn to ride?”
“My father,” Zara replied. “I don’t have a lot of memories of him, but I remember riding with him from a very young age. When I was quite small, I used to sit in front of him, but as I became comfortable on the horse, I had a saddle that fit me. The wind. Flying on the horse. It was glorious. I’d forgotten how much I missed riding. Thank you, your Majesty.”
The King was surprised at the level of emotion her response generated in him. Looking down at her, “Now that I won, you must grant me that wish,” he said.
“What does his Majesty desire?”
“Your lips.”
“What?” Zara turned quickly to face him. She was not sure she had heard correctly. He looked so serious. She had half expected him to be laughing, since he always teased her.
“I want to kiss them,” he said as he moved closer to her. Zara raised her eyebrows. Did the King really just say that he wants to kiss me? she asked herself. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. The King traced her jawline with his finger. She looked at him doe-eyed. Her big hazel eyes were filled with innocence. She looked down. She was too shy to keep looking at him. Her brain reminded her of Tiana's words, it warned her not to involve herself with the King, how the queen would be furious if she found out, but those thoughts were drowned out by the sound of her heart beating loud and fast. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, she felt so nervous being this close to the King, having him touch her face like that, looking at her like that.
The King pressed a small kiss against her lips. Zara felt as if she was going to melt into the ground. He kissed her once more, this time longer. He pulled her closer to his body, lifting her easily, as her legs gave out from under her. Her lips were so soft and luscious. The King thrust his tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss as Zara made small mewling noises of pleasure as her arms found their way around his neck. He groaned as he felt himself growing aroused. He had never found such enjoyment in merely kissing a woman, but there were many things about Zara that surprised him.
When he broke the kiss, he stared at her. She smiled and looked down. She could not bear his gaze. “You are so beautiful,” he told her. You'd look even more beautiful naked, he thought to himself. However, he was not going to take her, she was different. He wanted to take everything slow with her, whatever they were doing. He did not want to ruin it or scare her off.
“So are you,” she said very quietly. The King laughed. Zara always had awkward responses.
