Page 8

"Quickly," he commanded.

She placed her hands around his neck. With his both hands, Oman spread her legs either side of his waist and pulled her onto his back.

He stood up and adjusted her on his back. He tightened his hold around her. She felt protected.

She weighed nothing. It was so easy to carry her.

Oman knew how weak she was and made a note in his mind to give her more healthy meals to eat. A soft spot was forming in his heart for tara. He was not realising it yet.

Because his pace was fast, she went slipping on his back, and every time he adjusted her.

She placed her face in the crook of his neck, and he could feel her every breath hitting his neck's sensitive skin.

Goosebumps appeared on his arms. He moved his head away so that he wouldn't feel her breathing on his neck.

After sometime he felt her breathing slowly, he looked back at her and found her asleep.

He was able to get away from the city, and now the sun was setting far away behind yellow dune fields.

Dragging his feet in the sand, he kept walking; he didn't know for how long he was walking. Tara was unconsciously sleeping on his back.

He saw some tents in the distance. He thought of asking them for help. walking closer to the caravan. He put down the tara. Then he saw men and women walking here and there.

His eyes went to the biggest tent in the whole caravan. He walked toward it, with Tara following behind him. A man was sitting outside of it and sipping on a hookah pipe that brings smoke through a container.

He greeted him. The old man looked at him, and then his eyes went to Tara. She hid behind Oman, clutching his shirt in her fist.

"We need a favour. Can you please lend us a tent to spend the night in? We will move out with the first ray of sun," Oman said.

A lady came beside the old man at the exact moment. She looked Tara, who was hiding behind Oman.

"Father, who are they?" She asked, then turned to her father with a frown on her face.

"They need a place to stay," Jahanshah said.

"Oh!" "Is she your daughter?" She asked curiously, pointing toward Tara.

a cold look plastered on his face. Oman couldn't find the words to tell them she was his wife. What if they refuse to give him a tent, and Tara needs a good night's sleep? Moreover, she was injured. He can't let this opportunity slip from his hands.

He gave it some thought before speaking.

"She is my niece," he said with clenched teeth, which wasn't noticed by them.

Tara looked up at his face, trying to ask why he lied. It somehow made her little heart clench.

"She is so pretty." She extended her arms, taking Tara from behind him.

"Father, let them stay," the old man nodded.

"My name is Daria. You must be hungry, come on," she said, looking at Oman, who nodded in agreement with her.

She took Tara along with her. But Tara felt a little gloomy thinking about why Oman said she was his niece.

Oman nodded gratefully, and Jahanshah signalled to a footman to bring a glass of lemonade for him.

He looked around a little and had a small talk with Jahanshah. After a while, the old man ordered a man to show him the empty tent. The man introduced himself as Khalid.

On their way, he saw two girls looking at him while giggling and whispering something in each other's ear. One of them made eye contact with him. Indiscriminately, he looked away. He clearly knew what that look meant.

Khalid took him along toward a middle-size tent. Oman thanked him and went in. He saw his little wife sitting on a couch while chewing some fruit.

When she looked at him, her face brightened up. She gave him a smile.

"Oman," hearing her cheerful voice, rushed to her.

He couldn't hold himself anymore. Suddenly he was taken back by his inappropriate desire to touch her skin. The whole day she had teased him enough to free the desires he had been hiding for her this long.

He went near her and pulled her onto his lap, just like a baby.

"Hey, how is your foot?" He asked, placing a big palm on her cheek. The concern in his eyes showed he started caring for her.

She warmly smiled.

"It's not hurting anymore," she said, lowering her voice.

"What happened?" She shook her head.

"Then are you tired?"

"Humm," she hummed.

His eyes went to her pink lips, and he gulped down his salvia.

"Are you sleepy?" he asked her, looking at her heavy eyelids.

She peered up at him. She nodded a little.

He placed his hand on her cheek. Unknowingly, he leaned down and their faces came so close that their breath mixed.

His dark, sharp eyes were on her lips, wanted a single kiss. He angled her face and was about to take her lips in his when he heard footsteps halting in front of the tent.

Immediately, he moved his head back, cursing himself.

Daria came inside their tent and looked at both of them. She was a little surprised to see Tara on Oman's lap.

Tara placed her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She liked being near Oman, and she liked what he was doing a while ago.

"I am sorry. Did I disturb you both?" Daria was trying to understand what was going on before she stepped into this tent.

"Oh, no, it's ok. Tara was a little sleepy," he said in a way that would clear all her doubts.

Oman can read people very well. After all, he had lived in a society full of lies. And looking at her examining face, he could tell she was trying to figure out why they were both so close to each other.

"I brought dinner for you both," she said, holding a tray in her hands.

"Thank you so much," he said in the most polite way.

Daria placed the tray in front of them and stood there in their tent, not knowing what to say.

She wanted to ask him if he could let Tara stay with her.

They both looked here and there waiting for one of them to at least crack the tensed silence.

Daria started first.

"I'll arrange a mattress for you. If you want, Tara can sleep with me," he said, as his face became hard and his eyes sharp.

A deep feeling of uneasiness settled in him. He can't let her stay away from him.

He sighed. "Actually, she gets scared in her sleep and looks for me. I don't want to bother you," he said, really lying.

"Oh, no problem," she fidgets her fingers. Then she went near them and looked at Tara's face.

He was a little curious why Daria behaved like this.

"Aww, she is already asleep. Mashallah, I have to say she is so beautiful," she said, placing a hand on her chest.

A proud fondness emerged in his chest.

"Indeed," his wife was beautiful, and there's no doubt in that.

"Don't get me wrong; I don't have any children. I am a widow, and I am living in this tribe with my father." Oman felt a little bad for her.

Unfortunately, Daria had been widowed for only two years.

after her marriage. Her late husband's family didn't accept her. She didn't have any choice left. Her father happily opened his arms for his daughter.

She took a sigh and continued.

"I always wanted a daughter like Tara," she said lovingly.

Oman wasn't surprised; he himself was wrapped around her finger. Without his consent, his heart had made him submit to his tiny wife.