The Sheikh's Secret

by Knight, Kylie

  Shala looked around. They were standing on a small dead end street between two apartment buildings. The street was still cobblestone and ivy climbed the walls of the buildings. It, like everything else she’d seen today, was beautiful and spoke of another time. “And where exactly is here?”

  One side of his mouth curled slowly upward revealing that cheeky grin that said he was feeling playful. “We are…here.” Arms spread wide, he twirled dramatically. “We’re waiting on our tour guide.”

  “What are we touring?”

  Zadir took three steps until he was face to face with Shala. Her brown eyes were wary but he saw the heat simmering in them. He cupped her shoulders and turned her around. When he received no response he tilted her chin up and up and up.

  “Oh, Zadir!” She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Thank you,” she said into his chest. She couldn’t believe he was willing to take time out of his busy day to sightsee like this. “You’re willing to stand in the notoriously long lines with me?”

  Her eyebrows rose so hopefully Zadir couldn’t help having a little fun. “Me? Wait in line? Never!” Her shoulders slumped and he bent down to whisper in her ear. “We’re getting a guided tour which means we don’t wait in line. At least not going up.”

  Shala jumped up and down in excitement. “This is so cool!”

  He chuckled. “Is that your professional assessment, cool?”

  Her eyes narrowed to slits but she couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled out of her. “Yes it is. So cool.” Her parents had only allowed her to make educational stops on their travels so every new place she went as an adult was like a brand new adventure. She grabbed his hand and didn’t let it go throughout the entire tour.

  It was surreal to see the giant structure from the ground, but going up in the elevator was heaven. The elevator made her heart jump, or maybe it was the strong heat of Zadir’s body pressed against hers. It felt as though her feet floated just above ground as they catapulted up toward the heavens. Shala had never once spent a day enjoying herself, not since before she started school. But her day with Zadir was just about perfect. “The history of this city is so rich and colorful, they lived exciting lives full of drama and intrigue.”

  Zadir looked down at her face, so full of wonder and awe, and rubbed the pads of his thumb on her cheeks. “Yes, but it didn’t end so well for Marie Antoinette and old King Louis, did it?”

  Clutching her hands to her chest, Shala shook her head. “It didn’t, but I bet everything up until death was incredibly romantic and exciting.”

  With his head cocked to the side, Zadir took in the flushed tone of her skin, the way her pulse raced in her neck. “I get it now.”

  “Get what?”

  “You, Shala, are a closet romantic.”

  She flushed prettily. “Not so closeted and not at all ashamed.” Romance was important to Shala. She felt it was how you knew how much you meant to a man. She’d always hoped to find a guy with a romantic heart.

  “Nor should you be. I’m glad you haven’t been so beat down by life and relationships that you still believe in romance.”

  “Have you? Been beaten down, I mean?”

  Zadir gave her a weird look. “You’re kidding right?”

  “No, why would I be?” She felt like she was missing something, but she had no idea.

  He searched her face for signs of deception or pity. “I had a pretty public breakup in college. Thought you may have heard of it.”

  Shala shook her head. She’d gone out of her way to avoid any and all news relating to Zadir Alzari. The more distance from him, the more able she’d been to get over her silly schoolgirl crush. And then she’d come home and took a job where she would eventually work for the only man to capture her attention. “I hadn’t heard much about you since high school.”

  “Well it was public and bad and it’s the last thing I want to talk about right now.” He pulled her through the crowd until a strong wind slammed against them the minute they stepped outside. “We are at the very top of the Eiffel Tower.” He leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

  “We are?” Her eyes went round and a tad wild. “Let me get us a couple glasses of champagne. It’s tradition!”

  Will this woman ever stop surprising me? He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had bought him anything. Well a woman other than his mother or Sabrina, who often bought things for him without asking. But with Shala it was different. She wasn’t related—by birth or marriage—and he wanted to sleep with her. Yet instead of trying to see what she could get out of him, he smiled looking at her as she spoke French to the older gentleman effusively, she was over there buying them both champagne. To drink at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

  “Alright,” she came back with a big smile on her face and two glasses of champagne in her hand, “here we are. I got the most expensive one that they have, which isn’t terribly expensive but I figured it has the best chance of not tasting like fizzy bath water.” She handed him a glass and couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped at a weird jolt of electricity passed between them. He was torturing her. Slowly and a little at a time, with his subtle touches, his flirty touches, that gentle but panty-melting kiss, and now…electricity. “What should we toast to?”

  Zadir lifted his glass in the air and looked in her eyes. “To old friends, reunited and doing better than ever.”

  “And doing it in Paris!” She flushed at her unintended slip. “Oh, I mean.”

  “It’s alright Shala. We can do it in Paris. Just say the word,” he touched his glass to hers and took a sip.

  “You are incorrigible, Zadir.”

  He gave her that smile. The one that made him seem like a swashbuckling pirate from the high seas. “So I’ve been told.” He took another sip. “So I have another surprise for you. We are having dinner here at the Tower tonight.”

  “Are we really?”

  “We are.”

  “Zadir I have to thank you for today. You have no idea how much I’ve longed to visit this city and you’ve made a special effort and that means the world to me.” She stepped in close and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down until their lips touched. Brushed. She couldn’t resist one teeny tiny swipe of her tongue across his lips just so she would know how he tasted. She did and it was either a giant mistake or the best decision she ever made. Zadir groaned and pulled her waist in until there was no breathing room between their bodies. He pulled until she leaned over enough for him to deepen the kiss. Sweet holy hell the man could kiss! It was the only thing she could think about as the kiss touched every part of her body, as her response to him grew more and more intense. More intense even than the dreams she’d had about him and her. Together.

  Too soon Zadir pulled back, happy to see she was as affected by the kiss as he had been. “You, sweet Shala, are welcome.” He kissed her again but it was much too brief, too tame. “Now we should probably start making our way back to the elevator because that will take forever.”

  “Because we have a reservation to make.”

  Her smile was more than enough to make the torturous wait for the elevator, bearable.

  Four

  The rest of their time in Paris was a blur filled with a trip to Versailles, where Zadir had stolen kisses from her in many of the hidden alcoves in the massive gardens. They’d attended a very lavish, formal dinner party hosted by Annette and Pierre where the men wore tuxedos and Shala had to buy a new gown. It had been wonderful, filled with artists, musicians, poets, academics and a few businessmen. They’d eaten seven courses, which Zadir found hard to focus on when Shala began moaning her enjoyment. His gaze bore into her until she’d looked at him, licked her lips and promptly blushed to the tops of her ears.

  The more time Zadir spent with Shala, the more he liked her. She was refreshing and not jaded by the hardships of life. He envied her about that but he also loved to watch her because of it. Her eyes lit up and they looked almost gold when she was e
xcited. They darkened to hardened amber when she was aroused, that was his favorite color, and they were a light yellow when she was sad. Zadir hoped he never saw another yellow day again.

  Paris had been magical. He couldn’t think of a time he enjoyed the city more. Experiencing all the major sites with her was like seeing them for the first time. His personal favorite had been Versailles, but she’d braved the catacombs with just a few squeals, bought fancy French lingerie which he hoped to see someday soon. They’d eaten good, very good, and he enjoyed every moment. She asked the waiters a million questions and they happily answered every one with a smile. Just a little bit in love with her by the time they walked away. I know the feeling.

  Zadir stared out at the early morning landscape at the small airstrip. They were already seated and ready to go, Shala was already asleep and using his arm as a pillow. Her shoes were kicked off and her feet tucked up and facing the other direction. His arm rested around her, one finger gently stroking her arm as she slept.

  He smiled when the sun found he way out among the clouds trying to turn the day grey. Paris had been very good for the progression of his relationship with Shala. He’d gone slow with her so he didn’t scare her off. Steamy kisses that had him spending long minutes under an ice cold shower spray were as hot as it had gotten, but she’d initiated a hot and heavy make out session just last night. He hadn’t made out like that since he was a teenager but damn it had been fun.

  But it was more than her hot little body pressed up against his and it was more than how she tasted. She believed in him, for what reason he didn’t know, and he thanked the heavens every single day that she did. He’d won over the French siblings and they’d made a deal. The Crown Jewels now belonged to Alzari Holdings, well it would once the lawyers sorted everything out. It had been a great trip for so many reasons. They were now on their way to Mallorca where he would purchase a soon to be bankrupt solar panel manufacturer. Jovanbar wasn’t oil rich like many of her neighbors, so Zadir wanted to make sure they profited heavily once the world realized where the future of energy would be.

  He was so pumped up after making the deal for The Crown Jewels that he couldn’t wait to negotiate the solar plant. Deciding to let Shala sleep, he pulled out his tablet and did as she’d suggested. He did his homework, making sure knew everything there was to know about Sun Energy Makers. He hadn’t found much, but they would land in an hour and he could get more information then. Sitting back in his seat, Zadir thought about this part of the job. The preparation it took just to start negotiations was incredible. It was a part of the CEO’s job he’d never contemplated, but it was turning out to be far more important than he’d realized.

  “I have more intel for you, let me just grab my bag.”

  Zadir looked over at the sleepy brown eyes smiling up at him, but instead he was damn near eye level with her luscious round rump. She was stretched so far to reach for her bag in the seat across the aisle that she was giving him quite a show as her skirt rode higher and higher on her thighs. “Shala,” he groaned.

  “Here we go,” she said with a triumphant smile. A few swipes and taps later, and she’d sent him an entire e-dossier on Sun Energy.

  “Wow, this is extensive.”

  “Now you see why I asked so many questions when you sent the itinerary,” she asked playfully.

  He nodded. She really was spectacularly organized and her intelligence gathering would rival any nation’s intelligence gathering agencies. Zadir realized he wanted Shala on his team and in his bed. “You left no stone unturned.” He shivered thinking of what she could dig up on him if she chose to.

  She shrugged. “We have a large security company on retainer at AH, may as well make them earn every cent.”

  “When did you get so feisty? I like it!” He laughed at her bewildered expression. “Face it, Shala. You’re no longer the quiet little thing you used to be. You’re witty and sarcastic, got a major case of bad attitude sometimes that you cover with your good girl persona.”

  “I am a good girl.”

  “Yes, but you can be a very naughty girl as well. Can’t you?”

  Could she? She’d never stepped into the role of bad girl. She couldn’t even believe that’s how Zadir saw her. No one saw her like that, ever. “I don’t know.”

  “Well I guess we can find out together.”

  Five

  “This place is spectacular,” she whispered, awestruck at the sight of Mallorca as they approached the largest of the Balearic Islands from the air. In contrast to Jovanbar, the island was a rich collage of greens and blues, with small patches of vibrant flowers giving a truly tropical flair. Shala was entranced by the beauty of Spain from the air and she was eager to see up close, to touch that kind of beauty and absorb it.

  “This is a great place to holiday. It’s tropical, the food is light and delicious and there are so many resorts that there’s always a party to be had.” Zadir had enjoyed more than a few lost weekends on this beautiful island.

  “Seems like the perfect place for your American style Spring Break.” Shala wished she’d had the chance to let go and have fun like that. Her strict upbringing meant she’d gone to university close to home and was, therefore, unable to let loose as many of her classmates had. Most of her time was spent studying so her people skills weren’t the best unless it had to do with her job. It was an ironic twist that never failed to amuse her.

  Zadir smiled. “I can’t deny it. The Americans definitely know how to have reckless fun.” And he’d lapped it all up and took it to the next level. And that was why he was out on the road, trying to convince his father that he was ready to take over the family business.

  “You know, I was surprised that you weren’t looking at any other resorts on one of these islands.”

  “We own enough of the resorts here. But since we can’t rely on oil like many of our neighbors, securing Sun Energy Makers for a song will set us up for the future of energy.” Her smile knocked the breath out of him.

  “Exactly. You should hear my father bemoan our lack of oil without any regard for the fact that it is finite.” She shook her head, remembering the tense arguments they had about it.

  “My father would never have a conversation like that with me, it’s more of a Rashid conversation even though he’s not the one in charge of the company.” The helicopter he commissioned to take them to Cabo Blanco had just touched down and they waited for it to come to a full stop.

  Shala heard the tight tone in his voice and she realized there was a lot of animosity between the royal twins. “Tell me about it. There’s something special about the first born. Us seconds will never get it, even if it is different for you.”

  “Because I’m a royal?”

  She shook her head. “No, because you’re a twin. I’m the second born by a couple years but for you, it’s just minutes that deprive you of it.”

  He muttered a string of curses. “Damn you’re observant.” He shook his head, almost amused by his own reaction.

  She nodded with a sad smile. “It’s the one benefit of being invisible your entire life.” She held up a hand to stop his attempts to convince her otherwise. He would fail, she knew, but he was the one person she’d always wanted to notice her but never had.

  “Not like you have that problem anymore.”

  “True, but now people just notice me for the wrong reasons.”

  Zadir shook his head and twined a lock of hair around one finger. “If that’s true it’s only because you don’t let anyone close enough to like you for the right reasons.”

  Had she been doing that? She didn’t think it was true. The men she met as an adult were interested in her because of her father’s business or her curves. Either way they weren’t interested in her. So maybe she had built up armor around her and protected that armor with a ten-foot tall brick wall. “I’ve found that men who want more than sex are willing to work a little harder.” At least she hoped they were.

  “So how am I doing?” />
  She looked up at that naughty grin of his, the one that told a girl that he already knew all her secrets down to the style and color of her lingerie. “Better than expected.”

  Zadir leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Then I’m way ahead of the class.”

  * * *

  “You really planned all this?” She couldn’t believe it even now, halfway through dinner, that Zadir had gone through all this trouble for her.

  Zadir nodded, a proud and predatory gaze in his eyes. “I did. While you got settled, made phone calls and freshened up, I was busy making my own calls to get the table set up, the food cooked and delivered.” He couldn’t remember a time when he’d done more than spend a bit of cash to make a woman happy. He didn’t need to be thoughtful because he was good looking and rich. But with Shala he wanted to go through the effort. Wanted to show that she was worth the effort.

  Her brow crinkled and her nose scrunched up in confusion. “But…why?”

  He looked at her and saw total confusion written on her beautiful face. If it were any other woman he would think she was fishing for compliments but he sensed Shala really wanted to know. “I like you.”

  “Just that simple?”