A beat passes before the ice princess melts in my arms. Letting out a snort, Tahira Malik arches her back and presses her full breasts into my palms.
“If I’m being a bitch, it’s because somebody kept me up all night.”
“Sorry not sorry.” Pressing my lips to her neck, I breathe in her sweet scent with a hum, “You should always stay until morning. I like having a bitch in my bed.”
“My plane was supposed to leave three hours ago.” Casting a glance at the clock on my nightstand, she lets out a sigh, “Father will be displeased. He hates it when I’m late.”
“Isn’t that the perk of having a private jet? It leaves when you leave.”
“Ah yes, but the great Jaafar Malik waits for no one.” Bitterness and a hint of anger seeps through her voice, “Especially not his only daughter.”
“Legitimate daughter.” I remind her with a smirk, my nails scraping the underside of her breast, “Daddy’s got more kids than he knows what to do with.”
The multi-billionaire oil tycoon is well-known for his seedlings around the world. Illegitimate under the eyes of the law, any child born out of wedlock doesn’t get a drop of inheritance from the man spawning them.
Cruel, perhaps, that these single mothers have to fend for their young, but from what I’ve seen of the Malik fortress, those children and mothers got off easy.
Being held under the tycoon’s thumb is no easy feat.
I don’t comment on the bloodshot state of Tahira’s irises. The dark skin under her eyes that seems to get worse with each passing day.
As her friend and part-time lover, it’s not my job to take care of her. Our relationship is comfortable but surface level, one that comes without strings or attachments.
Tahira Malik lost her heart a long time ago, and I…
Well, I’ve never had a heart to give.
“It’s a shame some of those kids can’t take my place.” Her lips curl in disgust, “A prize to be sold for the highest bidder. I’m no better than a cow being put up for auction.”
“You do have great tits.” Fiddling with said tits, I play with her nipples until they’re puckered and begging for my attention, “I would happily spend a fortune on them.”
She ignores me, “The preparations for the marriage trials have begun. Do you know how humiliating it is to sit for a picture that will be sent to the richest men around the world? They have me posing like a fucking playboy bunny.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” Lowering my head, I suck her nipple gently, “Is there anything I can do?”
“Compete for me.”
“Tahira-
“Enter as my suitor. Win for me.” Bejewelled fingers grab my chin, forcing my gaze back to her face, “Please, Calista. You’re the only one strong enough to beat the competition.”
By competition, she means men.
The eleven men her father has chosen to compete as her suitors.
“You can’t waste your one choice on me.”
“I can. Iwantto.” A fire lights up Tahira’s eyes, the blistering sight washing away the desperation, “I want you to compete as my suitor. Kill them all if you have to, just don’t let me end up as a prize on somebody else’s arm.”
“The entry fee is ten million dollars.”
“I’ll give you the money.”
A soft laugh escapes me, “You know I can’t compete. Marriage isn’t for me, and even if it was, I would not stand to be locked away in a palace somewhere.”
“We could arrange to have two houses, one here and one out-
“Tahira.” Silencing her with my lips, I kiss the ridiculous thought out of her head, “The answer is no. Leave it alone.”
