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bare skin as he bent close over the old lock. ‘Really? What other meanings does it have?’
    One hard shoulder shrugged against Cassie’s hip. There was a sound of grating, then at last a click. A moment later he straightened, holding up one end of the long lead chain and its ancient padlock.
    He grinned, a three-cornered smile that creased his face in unfamiliar lines and made this autocratic lord of the desert suddenly look younger, more approachable and devastatingly attractive.
    Cassie’s heart thudded to a quickening pace.
    Because the loathsome chain was off. That was all.
    ‘The picture is also a metaphor for the pleasures to be found in a lover.’ His eyes held hers and Cassie’s breathing shallowed. ‘The feel of her soft skin, the sound of her sighs, the feminine scent of her, the pleasure to be found in the sight and the taste of her.’
    His gaze dropped to her lips and a tingle of effervescence shot through her blood.
    An instant later he’d stepped away, his attention on the chain in his hands. Cassie drew a deep breath, telling herself she was glad he’d moved. Her gaze dropped to the chain and she wrapped her arms around her torso. To be tethered like an animal had been degrading.
    ‘You’ll be more comfortable without this.’ Anger coloured his voice and his knuckles tightened on the ancient links before he let it fall with a dull thud. ‘I will have it removed in the morning.’
    Her stomach clenched hard and hope flared at the sensethis man really did take her part. Always she’d fought her battles alone. This time she was grateful for help.
    ‘Thank you, Your Highness.’ Was that her voice, so breathless?
    His head jerked up and their gazes collided. ‘In the circumstances we can drop the formalities. You may call me Amir.’
    Cassie swallowed. After all she’d been through why did this simple, sensible offer touch her to the core? Was she so desperate for a friendly face? A gentle tone?
    She still felt so … vulnerable.
    ‘Thank you, Amir.’ She paused, listening to the sound of his name on her tongue.
    ‘What about this?’ She hooked a hand through the finer chain encircling her waist. He followed her gesture, his gaze dropping to her almost bare body. Heat coursed through her. ‘Can you get this off?’
    He shook his head and slowly lifted his eyes. ‘I’d need tools to remove it. Tools I don’t have with me.’
    Dismay filled her. She’d have to keep wearing it? Unlike the other one, this wasn’t heavy but it was a potent reminder of her untenable situation. A slave chain.
    Her heady sense of freedom disintegrated as harsh reality returned.
    ‘When we return to Tarakhar it will be a quick matter to remove it.’
    Silently Cassie nodded, telling herself she was grateful for what he’d achieved. Suddenly exhaustion crept into her limbs and she felt the last of her energy seep away.
    Amir gestured to the massive old-fashioned hip bath the servants had filled with hot water. Curls of steam rose languidly from the surface.
    ‘I’ll leave you now to wash.’ He turned and was almost out through the door before pausing. ‘Call if you need anything.’
    By his watch not much time elapsed before she emerged from the bathing room. But it seemed like hours. Hours in whichAmir had soothed his fury by planning suitable punishment for Mustafa and those involved in the kidnapping. Yet Amir’s thoughts strayed continually to Cassie Denison’s vibrant face, her courage and determination. Her lush body.
    Those long minutes working the ancient padlock free of the chain at her waist had been torment. He guessed she’d steeled herself against his touch. He hadn’t questioned her yet on how badly she’d been abused by her kidnappers, and bile rose in his throat at the thought of any of Mustafa’s rabble laying hands on her.
    That was what had made his hands unsteady: anger.
    He’d been eager to get the job done, to give her the privacy she needed. Yet he’d been curiously