Page 54 of Dirty Wild Sultan

I held her hand, my thumb brushing over her knuckles. “Nasrin, I lo—”

“Sultan!”

I closed my eyes and sighed at the knock on our door. My guards had terrible timing.

“Can we continue our talk later?” she asked with a small grin.

“Yes, we will. I need to tell the guards not to knock whenever I am with you.”

“That’s stupid. What if it’s an emergency?”

“You make me feel like doing stupid things.”

I laughed when she pinched my arm.

* * *

“And then theSheikh was upset hearing that Nasrin has already been wed to you. I’d never dream of my daughter marrying that old man anyway, but a father’s main duty is to make sure his daughter weds and is in a suitable home. You know what I mean, Sultan. Pass me some more wine, will you?” Nasrin’s father, Hamid Elbaz, laughed yet again, ignoring the odd looks of everyone, and took the whole tumbler of wine and filled his cup once again.

The guards had announced that Nasrin’s father had come here to visit, and before we had lunch together, I had given them privacy to talk. Looking at the small frown on my wife’s face, I knew something had happened.

“I disagree,” Zara said, staring directly at him. Nasrin clenched her hand around me, and I squeezed it back in reassurance. My sister could handle herself. It was her father that I was afraid for.

“Excuse me, child?”

Khalid clenched his jaw, glaring at him, but held back from retorting.

“It’s Princess Zara. I hope you don’t forget that in the future.” My sister gave him a sweet smile. “And I completely disagree with your opinion. I believe that parents’ primary concern should be to provide for their children, educate them, and make sure their kids can live on their own when they grow up.”

Nasrin’s father looked troubled. His face had turned red while everyone nodded hearing my sister’s words. “But you are a child, Princess. You wouldn’t know what it is like to be a father.”

“I am nineteen and old enough to know that if you had taught your sons some polite manners, they wouldn’t mock other women in their court. Didn’t your eldest son assault a young man even though he is a sultan?” Zara tsked, shaking her head. “I would certainly be ashamed of myself if I were you and teach him a lesson rather than shaming my daughter for not being pregnant so soon after her marriage.”

My head snapped at Nasrin, her head dipping. “Did he shame you for that?” I whispered and glared at her father when she nodded.

Nasrin pretended to drink wine. Khalid looked proud and my grandmother nodded before resuming their lunch. Only Nasrin’s father looked furious, glaring at my sister when she took a sip of wine from her glass.

“Forgive me, son-in-law, but you need to teach some manners to your sister on how to address her elders and give them respect. If I were you, I would make sure that she apologized and ate nothing until she le—”

“I am not sure your tongue is precious to you, Hamid Elbaz,” Khalid said in a silent voice. “Because if it was, you would want it attached to that filthy face of yours before you leave Azmia.”

Everyone held their breath after hearing my brother’s not-so-silent threat. Zara cleared her throat and resumed her lunch. So did Khalid. The tension was heavy and thick in the hall, but we all knew who was in the right and who was in the wrong.

The way her father acted disgusted me. I wondered how Nasrin spent so many years growing up under the same roof as that man.

“You heard the Prince,baba. Do not mock my sister or attempt to threaten her again,” Nasrin spoke up, her voice stern. “Or as the Sultana of Azmia, I will make sure you do not step in my country ever again.”

I squeezed her hand for standing up to her father. If we had been alone, I would have kissed her and I have to remember to do it as soon as we get alone. Maybe we could spend some time alone in the afternoon, because seeing her give out a command as sultana and politely threaten her father was the hottest thing I had seen. It aroused me to see her like that.

“S-sultan?” Her father stammered when he looked at me, utterly in disbelief at the way his own daughter had reacted.

“You heard the order of Sultana.” I lazily took a sip of the bitter red wine. “I am afraid you need to learn some manners if you want to visit Azmia again.”

He gaped at me, at all of us, even my grandma who was busy scolding the staff to bring her another glass of wine, saying things were getting interesting. He pushed the plate and stood up, anger written all over his face as he trembled.

“I didn’t ask you to leave yet. Please be polite and sit down,” I said, ordering him to sit. Even the guards behind him stepped forward.

“This lunch is nothing but a mocking—”

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