by Marian Tee
The moment the sheikh’s smoky blue eyes turned glacial, Jenna cursed herself silently, knowing she had been stupid for daring to cross the line.
“If that is what you want, anisdi---” Ice coated the sheikh’s voice. “Then clearly I need to look for another mistress.”
Jemima wasn’t even given a chance to apologize. The sheikh had already turned to walk away, leaving his coldly uttered ‘anisdi’ still ringing in her ears. It meant ‘milady,’ and it was the only one way he referred to her. It was also fitting, considering how after all these years Jemima had not once been permitted to refer to the sheikh without his title – not even when they were alone, not even when she was riding his cock and giving him her all, body and soul.
A limousine was already waiting by the curb when Rayyan left his mistress’ apartment, and he nodded his thanks to the chauffeur as he slipped inside the vehicle. Leaning back against the luxurious cream leather, he pulled his phone out and was instantly bombarded by a frantic stream of text messages from his PA.
Gadi: Your Esteemed Highness, Beloved Prince of the Desert, The Great Serpent of Ramil, your royal presence is urgently needed, for a damsel in distress is in dire need of your aid. The lady is quite beside herself and I fear her tears will flow for as long as she is unable to gaze upon our strong and brave Al Afea!
An image formed in his mind as he read Gadi’s message for the second time. Normally, his PA’s rather quixotic tendency to turn into a medieval poet wannabe whenever he was overwrought exasperated the sheikh, but in this instance, Gadi’s flowery but befuddling speech proved to be a welcome sight.
Only one girl could cause such havoc if she so willed, and Rayyan’s lingering irritation at Jemima’s presumptuousness was all but forgotten by the time he started typing his reply.
Rayyan: Are you talking about Hyacinth Kahveci?
Gadi: o_O
Gadi: But however did you know, Your Highness?
Gadi: Sheikh?
Gadi: Alshaykh? Are you still there?
When he arrived at his office, the scene before him was exactly as he expected: a tearful Hyacinth seated on one of the luxurious high-backed chairs before his desk and Gadi pacing and wringing his hands anxiously while waiting for his employer.
“Allah is good,” the younger man exclaimed gratefully as soon as the sheikh strode inside.
“Thank you for keeping milady company, Gadi,” Rayyan murmured.
“Nothing is too much for the sheikh’s future bride,” Gadi declared passionately.
“Of…course.” The sheikh’s gaze bored through Hyacinth at the other man’s words, but the cheeky brat kept her head bent low, gaze fixed demurely on the floor, and hands piously clasped together on her lap.
“I’m sure you already know this, but I will appreciate your discretion about this matter, which I still wish to keep private in light of Hyacinth’s age.”
“I will breathe not a single word, not even with a sword to my throat, a gun to my head---”
“Thank you, Gadi.” Hyacinth had to swallow back a laugh at the speed in which the sheikh pulled the brakes at his assistant’s fervent declaration of loyalty. But then she heard Rayyan Al-Atassi request for a moment of privacy with his “future bride” and her smile instantly disappeared.
Anytime now, she thought with a gulp.
As soon as the door closed behind Gadi, she heard the sheikh say dryly, “You may drop the act, anisdi. It is only the two of us.”
Hyacinth slowly raised her gaze to the sheikh. “I can, umm, explain.”
“Please do so.”
The sheikh’s handsome face gave away nothing as he listened to her request, and Hyacinth had to bite her lip hard to keep herself from demanding a reaction from him.
“So, let me see if I got this straight, anisdi,” Rayyan murmured as soon as the girl finished speaking. “You wish for my help in convincing your homeroom teacher that I am the one behind your, err, fake smiles?”
“Mrs. Bauer thinks I’m hiding something---”
“Mrs. Bauer?”
“My homeroom teacher,” Hyacinth clarified impatiently.
“And rather than telling her the truth…”
“Which is the fact that I’m an evil bitch…”
“You would rather have your teacher think you were having an affair with me instead?”
“Uh huh.” Hyacinth took a deep breath, knowing that what would come next was the hardest part. The sheikh would naturally ask her why she believed he would be a party to such a deception, and she had already prepared several reasons to feed him with.
First, she would try to pamper his ego, say that he was the only one she could depend on, and then she would also appeal to his kindness, which whether he liked it or not, was something he was known for, and if all else failed, she would have to blackmail him.
After all, she was no idiot. He was a royal sheikh, and yet he had chosen to take the back door – so to speak – to return to the palace, and that was in spite of the fact he had appeared to be in dire need of medical attention.
That only meant one thing: he wanted his involvement in certain activities kept a secret, and if he didn’t help her, then she would tell him he left her no choice. She would have to go to the king –
“Alright, anisdi.”
Wait.
What.
Was.
That?
Hyacinth cleared her throat. “I don’t think…”
But the sheikh was already discussing the logistics of the matter.
Leave your homeroom teacher to me.
You will start working as my intern to make the affair more convincing.
We shall let Gadi believe we are lovers, too. It will be easier that way.
And then the sheikh was drawing her up to her feet, even ruffling her hair slightly as he escorted her out of the office and instructed his PA to have one of the limousines drive her to school.
Gadi will make sure that you will not be given a late slip, the sheikh murmured to her ear. Now be a good girl and stop worrying.
Hyacinth’s head was still in a daze when she made it back to class, with no late slip to speak of, just as the sheikh had promised.
Did that really just happen?
Had she truly managed to convince –
No, wait.
She hadn’t even gotten to the convincing part yet.
He had simply said yes.
Hyacinth was tempted to pinch herself just to make sure she hadn’t imagined all of it, but with classes starting, there was no time for her to examine this morning’s events, and before she knew it, she was already taking a seat in front of her homeroom teacher.
“Well, Hyacinth?” Mrs. B. asked calmly. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
Hyacinth, never the type to waste time pulling punches, simply blurted out, “I’m dating Sheikh Rayyan.”
Silence.
And then –
“Very funny, Hyacinth.”
Hyacinth frowned. “I’m not kidding.”
Mrs. B. frowned back. “There is a time and place for everything, and right now we need to be serious---”
“I am being serious.”
“Oh, Hyacinth.”
“I’m not lying.” Hyacinth was starting to feel insulted. She got that the news was shocking, but was it really that unbelievable? “What I’ve told you is the truth---”
“And if I tell you I can confirm this with the sheikh myself?”
Hyacinth didn’t dare let herself blink. “Go right ahead. Call him now.”
“As you wish.”
Her jaw dropped when the older woman actually pulled her phone out. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” Mrs. Bauer made a show of typing the sheikh’s name in her contact book.
“You r-really have the sheikh’s number stored in your phone?”
The phone started ringing.
No way, Hyacinth thought. There could be absolutely no way –
“Marhava, Cec
ile.”
Hyacinth almost fell out of her seat in shock. That was the sheikh’s voice.
“Is my woman with you?”
This time, it was Mrs. B. who seemed in danger of falling out of her seat, and it took the older woman several seconds before she could answer. “So it’s true then?”
“It is.”
Mrs. Bauer’s unnaturally beautiful face threatened to crack at the sheikh’s unequivocal confirmation, and the sight left Hyacinth torn between dread and fascination. It was almost like watching one of Daenerys’ dragon eggs crack, and you had to make up your mind about staying to witness a miracle – and risk getting eaten alive.
“I trust you will keep our secret?” The sheikh’s voice seemed harder than usual, and Hyacinth wondered if it was Rayyan Al-Atassi’s way of intimidating the other woman.
“As long as you promise not to hurt her.” Mrs. B, however, didn’t appear cowed at all, despite her unnaturally jerky tone.
“You have my word.”
The sheikh was barely done speaking when Mrs. B. hung up on him.
Hyacinth’s jaw nearly dropped. And I thought I was savage, she thought, stunned. But clearly, Mrs. B. was the queen of savage, just as it was amazingly clear she was teaching the wrong subject in school.
She cleared her throat. “So…um…” She tried to think of the best thing to say. One part of her was touched and wanted to go aww at Mrs. B.’s display of concern. Another part of her, however, was simply going crazy and yelling ‘what the heck?’ Why was her homeroom teacher so at ease in speaking with the sheikh?
“You appear confused.” Mrs. B.’s stiff voice brought Hyacinth’s attention back to her.
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“You shouldn’t,” the older woman said shortly.
“Because…you regularly wipe the floor with sheikhs in your spare time?”
“Because I’m illegitimate. It’s a little-known fact, but it is the truth.”
“I…see.” How did one even reply to that? Sorry? It’s okay? I don’t get what that has to do with the sheikh?
And almost as if she had heard Hyacinth’s unspoken question, Mrs. Bauer shared reluctantly, “My father’s Lord Aldridge of Adora.”
And that was when everything became absolutely clear.
Since Lord Aldridge of Adora was brother to Lord Anthony, Rayyan Al-Atassi’s father, then that would make her homeroom teacher…the sheikh’s cousin.
What the fuck?
The words nearly burst out of her, but the sudden frown of her homeroom teacher had Hyacinth hastily swallowing them back.
But seriously –
What the fuck?
Chapter Four
A one-hour interval between the end of school and the start of her work allowed Hyacinth a quick shower before heading for the finance department, fresh-faced and dressed appropriately in a dark blue abaya. Her only concession to the modern ages was ditching the headdress and letting her dark tresses stream behind her back.
Gadi was already waiting at the lobby when she arrived, and the sheikh’s PA seemed to transform into the Bard’s reincarnation as he introduced the department’s newest intern. He showered Hyacinth with a litany of praises, making sure to emphasize her stellar academic records and involvement in a long list of extracurricular activities and charity work.
The girl thanked him sweetly in her soft, lovely voice, and the words were more than enough for Gadi to continually fight against blushing while he gave Hyacinth a full tour of the department.
How exquisite Hyacinth Kahveci’s manners were, Gadi thought reverently. While working for the sheikh had allowed him to meet all sorts of princesses and aristocratic ladies, not one of them could hold a candle to the beautiful way this girl conducted herself.
It was no wonder the sheikh had chosen Hyacinth to be his woman, and now the only thing to be seen was how soon Hyacinth could get rid of all the Jemima Blacks that persisted in seeking the sheikh’s attention.
From the privacy of his office, Rayyan watched in amusement as Gadi unconsciously rolled out the red-carpet treatment for Hyacinth. He knew full well that the younger man had no idea he was only making Hyacinth’s employment suspicious, but even so, the sheikh simply let nature run its course.
Life had been boring of late, Rayyan mused, and Hyacinth Kahveci was just the thing to shake things up a bit.
Hyacinth kept her smile in place as Gadi bowed before retreating to pull the doors of the sheikh’s private office closed. But as soon as she was certain Gadi was well out of earshot, she whirled around and marched straight to the sheikh’s massive desk.
“Sabah alzuhr, anisdi.” Good afternoon, milady.
But the girl only planted her hands on her waist, asking pointedly, “Why didn’t you tell me Mrs. B.’s your cousin?”
“If that’s how you normally treat your lover, you have much to learn.”
The sheikh’s lazy tone irritated the heck out of her, but what pissed Hyacinth even more was her body’s involuntary response to the sound. It was almost like she was thrilled by it.
And God help her if that was so, Hyacinth thought.
Looking up, she saw the sheikh rising to his full height, and Hyacinth couldn’t help but back up a step when he started for her.
Seeing her retreat, the sheikh stilled in surprise, asking, “Are you afraid of me?”
“No.”
“Then---”
The sheikh took another step closer towards her, but try as she might, Hyacinth couldn’t help backing another step.
Blue eyes narrowed at her. “If you’re not afraid…”
“I told you,” she said fiercely. “I’m not afraid of you---”
“Then it must be something else.”
Shit.
She should have let her pride go to hell instead and lied about being afraid of him.
“Actually---” She saw understanding dawn visibly on the sheikh’s too handsome face.
Shit, shit, shit!
“You’re right!” Hyacinth desperately burst into speech, hoping there was still time to turn things around. “I am---”
The sheikh threw his dark head back with a low, sexy laugh that rippled down her spine like a caress, and her words died.
Too late.
I’m too late, Hyacinth thought, and now I’m dead.
When she stole a look at the sheikh, it was to see the damn man still grinning, and she muttered, “I hate you.”
But this only made the sheikh’s grin widen. “No. You don’t.”
Hyacinth seriously wondered if running head first into a wall was enough to give her amnesia. Because right now, she was tempted to give up half of her life just to do over the last ten minutes.
Anything was better than the reality of having Rayyan Al-Atassi stare at her with those smirking blue eyes of his, knowing that he knew –
“How did it even happen?”
Hyacinth’s face burst with color. Damn sheikh. Damn him. Damn Rayyan Al-Atassi. No doubt he was just asking this because he knew it would make her feel even more stupid and horrified.
“Could it be a delayed effect of Stockholm syndrome?” the sheikh inquired.
“I thought that, too,” Hyacinth muttered, unable to lie.
“But it doesn’t seem like it,” the sheikh translated shrewdly. “Is that what you’re saying?”
Hyacinth shrugged.
“Then if that’s not the reason for your current state…”
Should she feel relieved that was how the sheikh was putting it? Her current state, which meant what? He believed this “state” could still change? Oh dear God, she hoped so, too.
“Then…” Rayyan’s tone turned solemn. “Could it be my face?”
Her teeth began to gnash. Oh, the sheer gall of this guy!
“No?”
“No!”
Rayyan’s lips pressed together at the way the girl practically spat the word out. “I’m simply trying to get to the bottom of things,” he pointed out mildly.
“There’s no need to sound defensive.”
“I’m not being---”
Because she looked a lot cuter the angrier she got, the sheikh cut her off, saying pensively, “But if that’s not the case either, then maybe---”
“Can we please just stop talking about this?” Hyacinth hissed.
“It’s the unexpected intimacy of what happened between us,” he murmured decisively.
Hyacinth’s mouth opened and closed. Finally, she asked, “What did happen?”
Innocent blue eyes turned to her. “I saw your panties---”
AAAARGH!
It took superhuman effort not to let hilarity get the better of him as Hyacinth glared at his neck like she was a vampire dying to rip his throat open.
“That’s not it?”
“No, that’s not it,” Hyacinth half-yelled, half-growled. “That’s never it, so will you please stop bringing that up---”
“But I want to know why---”
“There’s no sane reason for it,” Hyacinth cried out. “Do you get it now? Because I’ve tried figuring out the same thing the past four months, and I absolutely got nowhere. All I know is that I just like you---” Her voice died, and silence – tense, damning, and absolutely undeniable – exploded between them.
SHIT. OH SHIT.
What had she just said?
Hyacinth was staring at the sheikh, a look of self-loathing and revulsion on her face.
Rayyan’s inscrutable expression was an exercise of superhuman self-discipline. Admitting out loud to her infatuation of him had the most extraordinary effect on Hyacinth, who now looked like she was on the verge of throwing up.
It was definitely a first for him, but Rayyan wasn’t at all offended. There was always a first time for everything, the sheikh mused philosophically, and he was glad that this particular first happened with someone as wildly interesting as Hyacinth Kahveci.
“Things are going to be a lot more interesting from here,” Rayyan murmured.
“Speak for yourself.”
“May I ask you something, anisdi?”
“No.”
“Is it truly infatuation, or could it be possible you’re in love---” Rayyan chuckled when Hyacinth headed to his office’s seating area with the clear intent of looking for something to throw at him.