Taken by the Sheikh

by Mel Teshco

  While she selected various foods for her plate, Rafi sipped his wine. May put her plate down, sat and waited for him. "How can you be so accepting of this so-called marriage? Your whole destiny is mapped out for you too."

  "How can you not?" Rafi piled his own plate high and sat opposite her at the dining table. He cut the beef into cube-sized pieces, and started eating as if he were starving.

  May nibbled at an egg. Her stomach was oddly tight at the thought of Rafi making love to her. They were strangers yet her body ached for this man. Was he her destiny? While it was true her family members often married into the surrounding kingdoms, there had been less intermarriage this century because the younger educated members of the families met their spouses elsewhere.

  Rafi finished chewing and put his fork down. "This is not talk for our honeymoon but I feel I need to discuss it with you. I'm sure you are aware of what happened to my parents?"

  "The bomb. Dreadful. My father said rebels." Her voice trailed away. She picked up her glass and took a long drink, not wishing to stare upon the raw pain painted on his face.

  "One of the men who we believe was involved, was dressed in Qtara costume."

  May choked on her wine, the fruity acidity burning her throat. "What? Our countries are at peace. My father would never do such a thing to your parents."

  "I'm not accusing him. I hold your father in great esteem. One of my men told me the possible assassin had a Northern accent. Unfortunately he died before I could question him."

  "You mean he came from the north of your country?"

  "I didn't hear him speak so I can't be sure. Stranger still, he died from a knife wound which my men insisted they didn't inflict." Rafi rubbed his brow. "Your father knows I believe it's someone in our inner circle trying to foment trouble for both of our countries. Now of all times, we must show strength and unity in everything we do. If Omana descends into chaos, your country would soon follow. I need you May, but you need me too."

  "No, you're wrong. I was happy in England. You're forcing me into a life I don't want." She couldn't talk to Rafi about her mother's whipping. Shame that her mother had endured such a travesty pierced her heart. Rafi was passionate about his country, but if she could cast off her half Arab side, she would.

  He looked down at his glass as if studying the wine. "Your father wanted you out of England. He wasn't convinced you were safe there any longer. Since your brother..." His words hung in the air. "I can look after you."

  "How? With more faceless men watching my every movement? You couldn't protect your parents." Rafi's face bleached of all color and she realized how cruel she'd been. "I'm sorry."

  He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache he couldn't eradicate. When his gaze met hers, his eyes were black with misery. "I should have been with my parents. I could have done final checks of the stand where my parents were sitting for the Millennium celebrations."

  "Where were you?"

  "Khalid insisted we pay our respects to his mother, my father's second wife, as she wasn't attending. Shahzad and I did so to please him, which made us late. How can I be angry with Khalid? In one way he saved our lives, but I'm furious with myself. Only close family and servants were allowed in the stand. How could a bomb have been planted? I checked and rechecked the area. I'm head of security, yet my parents are dead."

  "My brother died surrounded by his men. I keep asking myself how could that have happened." His death was still raw. All her father would say was it was the work of rebels. What kind of answer was that? It told her nothing. Mechanically, she put some of the beef into her mouth. It melted as only the best quality could but it seemed tasteless. She'd adored her brother Saladin, although he'd spent most of his time in Qtara's army.

  May put her fork down and rested her head between her hands for a moment, the grief pressing in on her. She had to change the subject before she burst into tears. "You have to understand, I need more than being a pawn in Omana and Qtara's destiny. What I enjoyed about living with Sanura in London was the anonymity. But more than anything, I want a man who cares about me."

  He gave her a piercing gaze. "I care."

  "How can you? You don't know me."

  Rafi finished his meal and pushed his plate aside. "I know more about you than you think. I spent much time with your brother working to coordinate our forces should the need arise."

  "You knew Saladin well?"

  "I considered him a friend."

  "Then why have I not met you before?"

  "Every time I looked for you at the palace you were at boarding school or in Australia and later, university."

  "True."

  "Saladin showed me photos of you for years. I used to think how lucky Khalid was to have had you chosen for him."

  His news rocked her. "I emailed him from boarding school. Sent him many photos. He always seemed so interested for an older brother."

  "He was and he shared the photos with me. We're related through my mother. I guess he considered me distant family, plus he expected Khalid to be his brother-in-law. That's why I know you played hockey throughout school."

  "He showed you those photos?"

  "I liked the short skirt." He grinned. "You looked fantastic in your bikini shots in Queensland, too. You have great legs. Hey, I was stuck in the army surrounded by men."

  "I have a brain too, you know." She watched the tension drain out of him as he recounted his memories.

  "I know. You designed the set for the school stage for your play. You're very talented. Then at uni you specialized in energy saving designs for buildings." Rafi listed her achievements and the special events in her life all taken from photos she'd sent Saladin.

  "I had no idea you knew so much about me. He talked a little about you but more in the context of his army work." Her heart pattered in her chest as emotion seized her. May took a long drink of her wine, finishing the glass. Rafi's admission made things different. She realized she wasn't afraid of him anymore. If he were a friend of Saladin's, well that put a whole different slant on things.

  "Did my brother know how you felt?"

  "I never told Saladin, but he knew. When I used to ask about you, he'd laugh and say you were promised to the wrong brother."

  "A man who never cared enough to meet me."

  Rafi shrugged as he topped up her wine glass and his own. "Khalid has a Western mother. He's never cared for our conventions. It drove my father crazy but he was so in love with Khalid's mother, he was never as hard on him as he was on Shahzad and me. Anyway Khalid's half French, a hopeless romantic. He thinks his marriage to Sanura is fate."

  "Maybe it is."

  "Khalid does what he wants, when he wants and seems to get away with it when it comes to matters of the heart."

  May blinked. It was as if the sun had risen on a new day. Perhaps not marrying the indifferent Khalid was a lucky escape.

  Rafi stared at her with an intensity that spoke of years of desire.

  Something deep within her answered back but she needed to know more. With her father so reticent to share any real information, she hadn't been able to discover what had happened to her brother. She yearned to know more. Rafi held the key. "What happened to Saladin? How could my brother, surrounded by his men, die? How could his guards have failed him like that?"

  He swallowed as if he had a lump in his throat. "We were training in the desert. Our men were bunkered down because of a sand storm. I was in Saladin's tent taking supper with him. A sniper attacked us. Riddled our tent with bullets."

  "You were hit too?"

  "A graze. I was fortunate. This time."

  "What do you mean?"

  "First my parents then your brother. Someone is clearing the way for a takeover of our kingdoms. Even the kingdom of Jahraine, where Shahzad’s brother-in-law rules, isn’t safe. That's why this marriage is important. We must show strength and loyalty. So many depend on us to ensure peace."

  The weight of her destiny sat heavily on her shoulders. "When the news
came that my brother had died, I was in denial. All I wanted was to flee and grieve alone. I spent time with my parents but I was so busy comforting my mother, I couldn't grieve myself and then my father found out about my mother's affair." May put her face in her hands.

  Rafi shook his head. "And your father?" His voice was gentle. "How did he take Saladin's death?"

  May raised her head and shrugged. "My father wailed and said he had no one to take his place as if I didn't exist."

  A deep frown creased his brow. "You became one of the most important women in our region. A strong marriage prospect."

  "Forgive me if I don't seem pleased. I was so devastated I couldn't face a marriage to a stranger. How could I celebrate anything with Saladin gone let alone a marriage? I couldn't take his place, especially in the eyes of my father."

  "You owe Saladin more than running away." Rafi's voice was kind.

  May nibbled at her food, trying to ease the cramp of hunger, loss and grief in her stomach. Anything rather than look him in the eyes. "I know."

  Rafi moved from his side of the table, sat next to her and put his arm around her. "You lost your brother and I lost my blood brother, the man I trusted to have my back. I vow to you, I will find who is responsible for this."

  "Someone must have known where you were, which tent you were in."

  "We searched for the assassin in the desert. We found a dead man dressed in Omani national dress this time, a bullet in his brain."

  "Was he identified?"

  Rafi frowned, clearly thinking it over. "The only identifying feature was a tribal tattoo used by the Ketayan nomads in the North of our country. We're still investigating." His face hardened. "Eventually the trail of ants will lead to the scorpion."

  "Wait a minute." May thought his words over. "He was dressed as if he were from your country but sent to assassinate in ours."

  "It seems so."

  "Do you have any idea who is behind this? Who would want to make us go to war?" It didn't make sense. Their countries had been on peaceful terms for hundreds of years. It wasn't just the royal houses that intermarried, many people did too.

  "It is too early to voice my suspicions."

  He gazed at her with such sadness in his eyes that she saw the depth of his pain. "You feel guilt over Saladin, don't you?"

  "I loved Saladin like I love my brothers. May, I understand why you ran and what you ran away from but I hope one day you'll realize you don't have to run from me. I'm sorry if I frightened you at first but I thought you'd dishonored my brother Khalid, by running away from your duty. Your father had told me you were spoilt but I can see this is not so. I was too quick to judge you."

  She glanced up at him, seeing the raw intent, the honesty in his eyes. The warmth of his hug didn't seem intrusive. For the first time, she welcomed his closeness. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

  Taking her face in his hand, he gently stroked her cheek. "I held your brother as he died. We were both wounded, he worse than I was. I couldn't do anything to save him. Believe me, you're not alone in this. I share your grief."

  For the first time she saw a shimmer in his eyes as he fought to control his emotion. Her own tears welled. "I want to find out who is behind this. I miss him every day, every minute. When he was alive, things were better in my family." Her brother would never have let her father descend into such cruelty and whip her mother.

  Rafi leaned forward and kissed her. It was a kiss of understanding, of comfort. "May, your brother's last words were for you. Saladin made me vow to look after you. Your brother trusted me to care for you because he knew how I felt even though I could never say it, not even to him. He was worried you could be a target too. That's the real reason I stepped up to fill Khalid's place."

  "To protect me?"

  "More than that. Many think I was doing my duty. But as much as Khalid's behavior annoys me at times, he did me a favor, he gave me my dream."

  She placed her hand over his. Wave after wave of emotion rocked her. He cared for her. "That makes such a difference to me knowing my brother trusted you."

  "Saladin thought we should be together. May, he adored you. Let me love you too."

  Chapter Three

  When Rafi led May by the hand up onto the open top deck of his yacht, thousands of stars twinkled in the pitch night sky. The tremulous sensation in her body was no longer fear but excitement. Her gut told her that she could trust in Rafi. She gazed at him in wonder after his admission. There was so much depth to this dark-eyed prince but it would take time to unravel the layers. The shower he had just taken had left Rafi's hair damp and dressed in nothing but his black trousers she could admire the broad vee of his back and the strength in his strong soldier's body.

  On the top level of the bow was a large wooden deck with a spa in the center surrounded by luxurious built-in daybeds. Slipping off her sandals, she padded along the deck and dipped her fingers into the water.

  The bubbles played over her hand, the temperature perfect. Glancing over at Rafi she saw him opening a cupboard under the affixed daybed before pulling out several towels. It was strange how a little knowledge changed things so much. Her beloved brother must have regarded Rafi highly to share so much of her life with him.

  Was she in danger as Saladin said?

  She couldn't afford to shrug the notion aside. Not anymore. Saladin had insisted Rafi vow to take care of her. Though nothing would bring her brother back, it warmed her heart to think she could talk freely with Rafi about Saladin. More so, it helped to know that the prince wanted to marry her, that she wasn't a prized object for her kingdom. Perhaps this marriage was fate and not ill fated as she'd first thought.

  Confronting though Rafi's views were against her plan to live in Australia, she was beginning to see he was right. As a royal princess and currently the only heir to Qtara, she had to face her destiny or be hunted down by her father. For the first time it didn't seem so frightening with Rafi by her side.

  Looking around her at the hundreds of lights twinkling across The Broadwater, she no longer wanted to run away. The yacht didn't seem like a prison but rather a last touch of paradise before she returned to the Middle East.

  In the warm night air the spa water beckoned warm as a cocoon. May turned to see what Rafi as doing only to catch him undressing. Although he had viewed her naked, May was awkward about unclothing herself in front of him, so she waited, her fingers tapping the edge of the spa.

  Rafi, however, seemed to have no qualms about stripping off. He flung his trousers onto the daybed, turned and grinned at her as if were the most natural way to be. "I never thought you'd be mine. I still can't believe the heavens allowed us to be together."

  When he strode toward her she saw he was made as if a sculptor had done his work before God. Rafi was a handsome man but nude he was extraordinary. His shoulders were wide and well formed, strong from years of army training. His stomach was flat as the desert planes and his abdomen rippling with muscle. She tried not to stare at his cock, which was hard and proud, jutting out from a nest of hair. Yet it had taken effort not to stare. The sight of a naked man had been limited to film and media. She swore he was as thick as her wrist and wondered how such a beast would fit. He reminded her of the Arab stallions her father bred.

  Rafi wrapped his arms around her. "May, I'm honored to be your husband. I give you my word, I'll protect you with the name of my house and with my body until you day you die."

  Her heart shifted in her chest. "If I must have this destiny, I'm glad you're here with me."

  With sure fingers he unbuttoned her cotton top before sliding it off her shoulders and dropping it on the deck. The bra quickly followed her top so that her breasts sprang free and he leaned forward and kissed each nipple. The warmth of his lips made them tighten and she welcomed the sensation.

  "You're so fair and pink with the prettiest breasts. I can't stop looking at you," he murmured as he pulled down her trousers and underpants so she could step out of them.


  It was thrilling to have this moment alone with Rafi without anyone watching or guarding her, a rare situation in her life. May put her arms around the back of his neck and tilted her chin.

  Instead of kissing her, he scooped her up so she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist and he stepped into the spa. He sat with her on his lap, her legs still wide so she was open to him. All around her she could hear the sound of water lapping at the yacht and the distant clink of boats pulling at their moorings, yet this seemed so private. So right.

  When he pressed his lips down on hers it was different from the first time he'd kissed her. This time he wasn't gentle, instead he was all lips and heat and tongue. Her body was locked in place by his arms, her chest mashed up against his, her crotch pressed hard against his cock.

  She kissed him with a passion that spoke of hunger and freedom under the luminous night sky. The sensation of his tongue seemed so strange at first. She could taste the wine on his lips, flavorsome and deep with promise of things to come. Her nipples were tight and hard and she rolled her hips, rubbing against his hardness.

  Rafi moved one hand between their bodies, his thumb finding her clitoris.

  May broke the kiss, gasping as heat built where his thumb touched, the intensity delicious, so that she wanted more, needed more.

  He continued to rotate his thumb over and over her nub and she closed her eyes, giving in to the sheer pleasure of his touch. Every part of her body seemed to be on fire: her mouth, her breasts, her nipples, all wanting and needing him.

  "My beautiful princess, this is all for you," he murmured, before kissing her throat then biting her neck where it met the collarbone.

  She gasped, the pain of his nip intermixed with the rhythm of his stroking. She clutched his shoulders, vaguely aware of the bubbling water splashing over the side of the spa as she rocked her hips. His touch wasn’t just physical, she could swear he touched her soul too. She mightn’t know him, and yet she knew him perfectly. May let out a ragged breath as ripples of pleasure radiated outward from between her legs. Rafi seemed to know just how to touch her to build maximum desire yet not quite release, even though she craved it in the way he'd made her need him earlier.