At the Sheikh's Bidding. Chantelle Shaw

run your bath.’

      Bathtime had become something of a battlefield lately, and Kazim shook his head mutinously. He seemed fascinated by Zahir, and although he was usually shy with people he did not know, he trotted across the room and grinned when his uncle swung him into his arms.

      ‘Instead of a bath, how would you like to fly on my plane, Kazim?’

      The little boy’s eyes widened and he nodded his head eagerly. ‘A real plane?’

      ‘Sure it’s a real plane. It’s a jet, and it will take us all the way to the desert—’

      ‘Hold on a minute,’ Erin interrupted in a fierce whisper meant for Zahir’s ears only. ‘I’m not convinced it’s a good idea for Kazim to travel tonight.’ She wasn’t convinced that she should take him to Qubbah at all, but Zahir was like a bulldozer, flattening anything that got in his way and trampling on her misgivings with arrogant disregard.

      Zahir’s eyes hardened on her before he smiled at the child in his arms. ‘Kazim wants to come with me—don’t you?’ he prompted the toddler lightly. ‘But if Erin doesn’t want to come, just you and me can go—how about that?’

      Erin’s heart missed a beat when Kazim rested his head on his uncle’s shoulder. He appeared to be completely dazzled by Zahir—and he was not the only one, she acknowledged grimly as she recalled those few moments when he had crushed her against his chest and she had inhaled his tantalising male scent.

      ‘Erin’s coming on the plane too,’ Kazim announced firmly, grinning at her from his high vantage point in Zahir’s arms.

      Some of Erin’s tension left her. Zahir might be Superman in Kazim’s eyes, but he still needed her, and she smiled back at him, her smile fading as she glared at Zahir. ‘That was a dirty, low-down trick, and you know it,’ she said furiously.

      He shrugged uninterestedly. ‘I’ll play dirty if I have to, and you would be wise to remember that,’ he advised her coldly.

      The implied threat in his voice sent a shaft of fear through her.

      He sauntered over to the door, still holding Kazim. ‘Come, Kazim, let’s go and play with your toys while Erin packs.’ He laughed at the toddler’s excited nod, but his expression was deadly serious when he looked back at Erin. ‘You have half an hour,’ he drawled, glancing at his watch. ‘I suggest you get a move on—or risk being left behind.’