Darn it, she’d created this horrible mess and now she’d just have to figure out how to extricate herself from it!
Smoothing her dress down over her hips, she ignored the wrinkles caused by her inadvisable napping in the dress earlier today. Of course, Tarin probably hadn’t helped the situation.
“Ready?” he asked as soon as she stepped out of the closet.
“Ready for what?” she asked, instantly nervous and wary.
“Jabril is married and heading back to Piara. I don’t know if they are both going back. Ditra is in pretty bad shape but something came up and Jabril had to fly back. I will escort you home.”
For a long moment, Zuri let that statement float through her mind, unable to absorb what he’d just said. “I’m sorry, but…?”
Tarin must have understood her confused expression. Walking over to her, a dark, compassionate look came into his eyes. “Your brother married Princess Ilara of Ditra,” he explained, putting his hands on her waist.
“He’s married? And…?”
She felt his hands tighten on her waist and knew that he was trying to be supportive, but the hurt over her brother’s marriage was too sharp.
“He married quickly, Zuri. He had to because things in Ditra were…they were bad. They are bad.” he sighed, shaking his head. “Princess Ilara…her uncle had convinced Ilara that the people and the economy were thriving in Ditra, that the economy was growing, universities were flourishing and the people were healthy and happy. He convinced her that she wasn’t needed. When, in fact, he was stripping the country for his own profit and imprisoning people when they spoke out against him. It was…” he pulled her in close and, for some reason she didn’t fully understand, Zuri wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his broad, muscular chest. “It was bad. Worse than what I’d heard from my sources.”
That was horrible, and in some distant part of her brain, she felt bad for the people of Ditra. But a more selfish hurt was at the front of her mind. Ever since their parents’ death, it had been her and Jabril. Yes, they lived separate lives, but came together several times a week to talk over dinner. It had just been the two of them, talking things through and working together to help the people of Piara. The fact that she hadn’t been there for his wedding, that he hadn’t even told her that he was marrying, hurt more deeply than she’d thought possible. “So, my brother is married and…”
He pulled away, looking down at her and Zuri looked up into his eyes. She felt a sense of rightness, of comfort in his arms and didn’t pull away, needing the reassurance.
“Your brother is married, Zuri. But nothing else has changed. Hopefully, Ilara will fix things in Ditra, although, I’m not sure how she’s going to do that while living with Jabril in Piara.”
She felt a cold nagging at her heart that could only be kept at bay by standing in the circle of Tarin’s arms. “But, he married. Without me.” She didn’t understand why or how he could do that. “For so long after our parents’ death, it was just him and me, against the world and pulling together in order to survive.”
“That’s not going to change, honey. But you have me now. And you know that you can rely on me, right? That’s why you came to me for help.”
She knew that he was right, but Zuri didn’t want to talk about that right now. “Just…” she didn’t say the words, but instead, leaned into him, grateful when his strong arms closed around her. Right now, with his arms holding her like this, she felt good. Wonderful, actually. The worry over the changes that would occur now that her brother was…married, that was a hard word to say…weren’t looming over her so painfully.
“Do you want to stay here instead of going home?” he asked, his hand sliding up and down her back.
Yes, she thought wistfully. But instead of saying so, she pulled back, took a deep breath and shook her head. “No. That’s the coward’s way out. I need to…” she thought fast, trying to think of what would be the right thing to do. “I need to go back to Piara and show my support for my brother and his new wife.” Even as she said the words, she knew that they were right. “If I stay away, it’s announcing to the world and to everyone in Piara that I don’t like Jabril’s new wife. That wouldn’t be fair to either of them.”
She looked up at him, hoping he understood. But the look and the admiration in his eyes made her hold her breath. He looked so…strong and…well, handsome right now!
“Right. Back to Piara. I’ll accompany you.” He took her hand and, even though she wanted to pull her hand away, she didn’t. It felt good. Odd, but good.
“You don’t have to be with me. I can get home on my own.”
“I know you can, Zuri. I believe you can do just about anything you set your mind to. I know about all of the charity work you do. You give your name and the power of your position to a lot of great organizations.” His hand cupped her chin for a moment. “You are an incredible person, Zuri al Mutar,” he declared gently.
Zuri couldn’t handle that level of admiration and pulled her eyes away, feeling the heat once again steal into her cheeks. “I’m not, actually.”
“If you say so,” and he kissed her forehead. “But you’re right. Being in Piara as a show of support for your brother and his new wife will certainly help them. So, let’s go.”
She pulled back, surprised by his words. “You don’t have to come with me.”
“Of course I do. You are my fiancée. Besides, I spoke with Jabril and saw the difficulties Princess Ilara now faces in trying to repair the devastation in her country. I want to be there for her. I believe several other world leaders will be there too, all as a show of support.”
That made sense, darn it! But Zuri wanted space the next few hours, and days, might give her. Time alone so she could make sense of what she’d done with Tarin today. She’d made love…had sex…with him. Talk about a colossal mistake!
Move forward, she told herself. “Fine. Let’s go.” Besides, there was nothing she could do about the past. She had to move forward.
Chapter 3
“Jabril!” Zuri yelped, so relieved to see her big, strong, annoying brother that she ignored decorum and raced down the hallway as soon as she saw him, throwing herself into his arms. “You’re safe!” Zuri hugged him, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened. It had been an incredibly stressful few days.
“I’m here. I’m safe,” he replied, laughing softly but holding her close. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you where I was or what I was doing.”
She pulled out of his arms and looked up at him. “I understand why. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t worry!” She punched his arm playfully. “I love you, ya stupid jerk! You have no idea how worried I was when you just…disappeared. I couldn’t find you anywhere! And your guards wouldn’t tell me anything. It was horrible!”
“So, you sent in the cavalry?” he teased, looking over her shoulder.
Zuri turned and spotted Tarin leaning against a marble column. “Well, yes. I…” she turned and looked up at him, her hands resting on his arms. “I didn’t know what else to do. I was terrified of losing you.” She leaned in closer. “Seriously, don’t ever scare me that way again, okay?”
Jabril laughed and pulled her in for another hug. “I’m sorry that I scared you. But now that you know what happened, you have to know what we’re up against.”
She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “Yeah. I know. Tarin told me that it was worse than we thought.” She gasped and pulled back. “You’re married!” she exclaimed and punched him again. “You got married and I didn’t get to witness the wedding! I don’t know if I’m more angry with you about leaving without telling me what was going on or the fact that you got married without me!”
Her brother groaned. “Trust me, it was a fast but…interesting wedding. But we’ll have another ceremony, not a wedding but a big celebration to introduce the world to Ilara, but for now, she’s still in Ditra, trying to put things in order.”
“
Why did you come back here then?”
“There was an emergency at one of the oil sites. Also, I have the oil meetings this week. I’ll represent Ditra as well, now. But the meetings aren’t something I can avoid.”
“That’s true enough.” Zuri turned and looked over her shoulder at Tarin. “Are you going as well?”
“I must attend, yes.”
Zuri understood the importance of these meetings, but the idea of Tarin leaving again, of not knowing when she might see him again, hurt her in ways she didn’t understand. Was this feeling…disappointment? Was she going to miss him?
Craziness! She barely knew Tarin! Okay, yes, she’d just been intimate with the man…but still!
Jabril looked down at Zuri. “I know that you have many priorities, but I’ll be going back and forth from here to Ditra, helping Ilara out wherever I can. I need you to take over here. You’re already involved in everything. Do you think you can handle making decisions in my place?”
She put a reassuring hand on his arm. “Yes. Do what you need to do. I’ll handle things here.”
Tarin stepped forward as well. “My people are available for you whenever you need us as well, Jabril.”
Jabril shook Tarin’s hand, then leaned forward and hugged Zuri. “Thank you. Thanks to both of you.”
Tarin added, “I’ve already called Mika and Kazan. I believe Sebastian and a few of our other poker buddies can be here to help as well.”
Jabril nodded. “Sebastian will be a great asset. His bank can help offer loans. I’ll back up those loans to protect him.”
Tarin nodded. “He’ll help. What about Ryker, Oz, and Jayce?” he offered, referring to The Solutions Group again.
“Their support would be amazing,” he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. “The mercenaries that we detained were poorly trained and lazy. Ryker’s teams never slack off, they are too well trained.” Jabril sighed. “You’re right. I’ll run that by Ilara and find out what she wants to do. It’s going to take time to retrain the military and post guards. I’m sure that Ryker’s guys could cover in the meantime.”
Tarin put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll contact both of them for you and explain the situation. They’ll put together a team and will get in place. If Ilara finds that she doesn’t need their help, then they can check back out. But at least they’ll be ready to move before the sharks smell blood. The unethical scam artists will be ready to take advantage of the lack of an infrastructure and the weak police force. You and Ilara are going to have to move quickly.”
Jabril agreed. “Ilara is already putting some precautions in place. I’m not taking over for her unless she asks for help.”
That was a surprise. Zuri stepped closer. “I thought the plan was to reunite Piara and Ditra.”
Jabril sighed. “It was.” He shrugged. “That was before I met Ilara. Now, she and I will figure this out together.”
With that, he headed towards his office and the mountain of work that was probably waiting for him.
Which left Zuri alone with Tarin.
She could feel the tension rise. Turning slowly, she faced the man who, hours before, had tenderly held her in his arms and done the most intimate things with her, given her pleasure unimagined before today.
“So, we are alone again,” he teased and took her hand, tucking it onto his arm as he led her down the hallway. Since he and Jabril played poker together at least once a month with their other friends, Tarin knew the palace well. He led her into a sitting room and sat down so that they were facing each other.
“We need to set a date, Zuri.”
His words inspired instant panic! Staring into his rough features, she noticed that he’d shaved and his jawline was smooth, except for the scar along the edge. His dark eyes watched her carefully, so she suppressed the natural urge to fidget.
“I don’t think we need to…”
“A date, Zuri,” he interrupted.
His stubbornness irked her, sparking her temper. “No.”
He pulled back. “No? Just no?”
“We had sex, Tarin,” she announced, swallowing painfully. During the plane ride home, she’d mentally accepted that she’d had the most life altering, beautiful experience of her life and calling it “sex” seemed almost sacrilegious. But she’d done that on purpose, needing to hear him argue that it was more. To her, it was more. So much more! But what about him? Had it been as life-altering for him?
Obviously not, she realized. His lips thinned but she waited, holding her breath and praying that he would try to convince her. Maybe beg her to marry him? No, Tarin was too arrogant to beg. But…maybe an argument or two about how incredible it had been to make love to her earlier today? That would be nice. That would convince her that he felt something towards her.
Just any small indication that he was perhaps a little bit emotionally involved with her would be nice.
Unfortunately, no such plea was forthcoming. “You have such a brilliant understanding of what it means to be in our roles, and yet, you refuse to set a date for our wedding. A wedding that is going to take place, Zuri. Your stubborn refusal to accept this fact is only causing our people confusion.”
Zuri listened and bowed her head, trying to hide the unexpected tears. Why was she so weepy lately? Why couldn’t she just…be as unemotional as her brother and this jerk?!
“Right. Well,” she sighed and stood up. “Thank you for your help. I sincerely appreciate what you did for me and my brother.” She extended her hand to him, then backed up when he stood as well, moving closer.
“You’re seriously going to deny what’s going to happen?” he growled, taking her hand in his so she couldn’t pull back further. “Zuri, you are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met!” he snapped, then pulled her into his arms, kissing her until she melted into him and kissed him back.
Zuri couldn’t hold back when he kissed her like this. It was everything she hoped for, everything she needed from him. Unfortunately for her silly, tender heart, she still needed the words. She needed to hear him tell her that he…well, she was hoping for too much if she wanted to hear him say that he loved her. But she needed him to tell her that he wanted her as a human being.
When he lifted his head, she licked her lips, surprised that her first thought was to ask him to finish what he’d started.
But instead, he pulled away and nodded. “Set the date, Zuri,” he warned. Then he walked out.
She watched his back, his shoulders, the stiffness in his stride as he stormed angrily out of the room. Then Zuri jumped when he slammed the door behind him.
Sinking down into a nearby chair, she folded her hands carefully on her lap. Breathe in. Breathe out, she coached herself. And again.
Slowly, the pain in her chest eased to a point where she could breathe more easily. The pain and anguish were still there, still an aching throb inside of her, but bearable now.
When she was certain that she wasn’t going to break down in tears, she stood, took another deep breath, smoothed her dress and left the sitting room. It took more than five minutes to reach her apartment but, once she closed the doors, she burst into tears, allowing all of the emotional turmoil from the past several days, and today in particular, to overwhelm her.
Dropping onto her bed, she curled up into a ball, sobbing out her sadness, anger, frustration, and hopelessness. It was just too much!
Chapter 4
“If there are no other issues,” she looked around the room, waiting for the elders to speak, giving them a chance to come up with any additional issues. She’d been sitting in for Jabril in these meetings for the past several weeks while he helped Ditra recover. She missed him terribly, but knew that he was working hard to help fix things. Unfortunately, she’d been too busy to meet her new sister-in-law, although Zuri had seen interviews on the news. Ilara was a beautiful woman, with a sharp mind and a good heart.
Zuri couldn’t wait to meet her! A plane was standing by, ready to fly her out to Ditra toni
ght. It was good timing too, because she was so sick of mooning over Tarin, wondering what he was doing, avoiding his phone calls, and finding excuses for him not to visit her. A trip to Ditra was just the solution!
One of the council elders stood up. “I’d like to forward a resolution,” he announced.
Zuri mentally groaned, but outwardly, she smiled politely. “Go ahead,” she nodded, giving him permission to speak.
“Princess Zuri, you’ve done such an outstanding job in your brother’s place over the past several weeks. And with Sheik Jabril’s wedding already a fait accompli, we’re all hoping that an heir will be forthcoming soon.”
Zuri blinked, surprised at the joy the idea of becoming an aunt for the first time inspired in her. What an amazing thought! She’d love a niece or nephew to spoil. It would certainly be more exciting than what she’d been doing lately!
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, gritting her teeth to stop herself from pointing out that he shouldn’t be surprised that a woman could rule the country just as effectively as a man. He was from a different generation, and Zuri wanted to be respectful.
“In light of this hope, let us set forth the resolution to establish the right to rule for Sheik Jabril’s first born child.”
There were gasps at that idea and several of the men leaned forward.
“I second that resolution,” another man announced.
Zuri was so surprised that she wasn’t sure what to say. But then a third man spoke up. “So it is,” and with that, the high council made it official that the first child born to Sheik Jabril and Princess Ilara would be next in line to ascend to power, no matter the gender.
Standing, Zuri tried to hide the shaking in her hands. “Gentlemen,” she started, clearing her throat as emotions surged inside her. “You have made history today,” she announced. “We are the first middle eastern country to acknowledge that women and men are equal. Your decision will have ramifications throughout the world.”
The Sheik's Arrangement Page 5