by Leslie North
His heart thudded in his chest, and he inhaled sharply.
This could change everything.
Leaping to his feet, he ran as hard and as fast as he could to the palace. His mind was reeling with possibilities, and when he entered, he started shouting. “Everyone in the library. Fleur. Bruce. Jaymin. Adil. Father!”
He opened the double doors with a bang and waited as everyone began to trudge in. Jaymin looked as if Masoud had dragged him from something important, and Adil looked like he’d already started drinking. Quadie came in with an amused smile on his face. “Something you need to say?”
“Where are Fleur and Bruce?”
“What is going on?” Fleur snapped as she popped in. Bruce followed slowly behind her. He’d hidden in his room since she had dragged him back, and Masoud could see the dejection on his face. He’d not only failed to achieve his dreams, but he knew that Fleur was pissed at him. The man had truly hit rock bottom.
Masoud could relate to that.
“Bruce, I don’t particularly like you, but I am extremely fond of your stepsister, and I feel like I need to keep you out of trouble. As it happens, we now have a pile of antiquities that need to be cleaned, examined, and catalogued. It will take a team of people, but I have no idea where to begin. You, on the other hand, are an expert in understanding the worth of these items. Work for us. We’ll pay you a handsome fee, and you can reside in the palace while your work continues.”
“Really?” Jaymin demanded with a frown. “You want to give the man who tried to steal the diamond a job?”
“Why not? Why not put his expertise to use?” Masoud said with a shrug. He waited for an answer from Bruce, but he knew that Fleur was staring at him with narrowed eyes.
“Okay,” Bruce said slowly. “I’ll need a contract and some parameters.”
“Excellent,” Masoud said as he clapped his hands. “Jaymin loves paperwork. He’ll get that all set up for you.”
“What are you doing?” Fleur asked as she shook her head. “Do you think this fixes things? Giving Bruce a job doesn’t make up for the fact that you lied to me. It doesn’t excuse any of you for what you’re doing! Keeping that diamond away from scholars is just as bad as what Anton did. You can’t hide this from the world.”
“It’s our diamond. We can do whatever we want,” Adil said with a shrug. “Why are you still here?”
“I’m not leaving until I have everything I need to look for Solomon’s Mines. You owe me that much,” she snapped.
Adil opened his mouth to argue, but Quadie stepped forward and held up his hands. “Stop,” he muttered softly. “I believe Masoud isn’t finished.”
Masoud looked sharply at Quadie. Did his father know what he was going to say next?”
“I’m not finished. Father is Sheikh, and as such, the diamond does belong to him. But I would like to propose a compromise. There are plenty of wealthy collectors who own antiquities, and while no one questions their ownership, they do occasionally share their collections with the world. I’m not suggesting a full-time showing, but I see no reason why we can’t occasionally loan the diamond out to complement certain collections that tour the museums.”
“Absolutely not,” Jaymin interrupted.
Quadie put his hand up and nodded to Masoud to continue.
“We can boast that we have the diamond all we want, but people will occasionally want proof. What do you plan on doing? Pulling the diamond out to show people when they knock on our door? That’s absurd. Showcasing the diamond on special occasions proves that we unequivocally own the diamond.”
He watched Fleur carefully for a reaction, but she was looking at Quadie. The Sheikh turned his head from Masoud to Fleur and smiled. “I will entertain requests,” he said finally.
“Thank you,” Fleur breathed. “You won’t regret it. I swear. I’ll be happy to analyze it and back your claim of its heritage, but if you’d like someone more seasoned, I’ll get in touch with my professors.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine, my dear,” Quadie said with a smile. “Jaymin, please take Mr. Summers to the office and get some paperwork drawn up. Adil, I’m sure you have some plans for tonight.”
And just like that, his father herded his brothers and Bruce out of the library. Fleur left to follow them, and Masoud reached out and grabbed her arm. It broke his heart when she stiffened under his touch. “If you think that this changes the fact that you lied to me…” she said softly.
“Fleur, I know it doesn’t. I can’t change that. I can only try to show you that I’m a different man now.”
“Different man?” she scoffed. “That was just a few weeks ago.”
He hesitated. He should wait until the morning, but he wanted to show her tonight. He couldn’t wait. “Can you please follow me? I’d like to get your opinion on something at the dig site.”
Even though she was angry with him, he knew that her curiosity would get the better of her. Wearily, she nodded her head.
“I’m not saying that you’re wrong about the tribe,” he said conversationally as he led her outside. “But if they are guarding something, and now they’re gone, it only stands to reason that whatever they were guarding is gone as well.”
“The thought has occurred to me,” she muttered as she followed him. He could tell she’d already decided that her earlier suspicion about Solomon’s Mines’ location was incorrect. “There are several other legends surrounding Solomon, including the existence of exotic plants and animals that weren’t found anywhere else. Plus, there were rumors of a genie trapped in a bottle and sealed by the ring. None of them are provable, but if the ring is indeed real, then perhaps the tribe was protecting something sealed by the ring and hidden away.”
When they entered the cave, he turned and grabbed her hand to help her down. She pulled away and jumped down on her own, and dread filled him. He had betrayed her, and it was possible that nothing would win her heart back over.
“The etchings that you were doing when my security found you. Where were you?”
She pointed to the markings he was studying earlier. “Over there. Why?”
“Can you trust me?” he asked softly.
“Is that a joke?” she whispered. “Masoud, if you’re just here to make things worse for me, please don’t. I fell for you and you used me. I can’t be here if you’re just going to pour salt on the wound.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and he swallowed hard. “I’m not here to hurt you, Fleur. I never wanted to hurt you. I just want to show you something, but I need you to trust me.”
“Fine,” she muttered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “What is it?”
“Close your eyes,” he said as he took her hands. She looked at him dubiously, but she closed her eyes. Carefully, he led her across the site to the very spot where, confused and broken, he’d sank to the ground and questioned his loyalties.
Turning her, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “Fleur, when I met you, you were just another archaeologist illegally trespassing, and I was bored. When this whole thing started, I had no problems lying to you because I had no idea how much you would affect me. I had no idea that you were going to change my life. Every second that I spent with you, every time that I touched you, brought me closer to something I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. And when I lost you, I knew what that was. It was happiness. It was love. I can’t turn the clock back and change what I did to you, but I will help you achieve your dreams. Even if I can’t have you, I want you to be happy.”
Her mouth parted and she gasped. “Masoud,” she whispered.
“Shh. Don’t say anything, my love.” He turned and pointed the flashlight to the wall. “Earlier today, I sat in this very spot in despair. As I struggled with what I would do next, I saw something. Fleur, you have to understand how big this is. It’s all about perspective. It’s an illusion that can only be seen from right here. Open your eyes, Fleur.”
Her lids fluttered open, but before she looked at the wa
ll, she stared at him. “Did you mean it? Do you love me?”
Masoud smiled slowly. “I’m trying to show you something pretty important.”
“Nothing is more important.” She reached up and touched his face. “Look me in the eyes and tell me how you feel about me.”
Steadying himself, he looked her in the eyes. “I love you, Fleur. I think I knew from the moment that I met you that my heart and soul would belong to you.”
She broke off the contact and turned her head. When her gaze fluttered over the wall, she cried out. “My God. Masoud! Is that what I think it is?”
Masoud heard the amazement in her voice, and his heart swelled. If he could spend the rest of his life making her feel just like this, he would. “They say my country was part of her lands, but no one really put much stock into it. After all, even now, people don’t pay much attention to the glories of a Queen.”
“Solomon and his mother. Bathsheba. My God, it’s so clear.” She took a step forward and must have realized that the perspective shifted, so she quickly moved back. “And in her hand…”
“A diamond,” Masoud finished. “Fleur, I will let you scour every inch of this country, of what could have been her lands, and look for those mines. And if you find them, I’ll make sure that you get all access. No one will touch them without your say so. This will be your find. Everything you ever wanted.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “Masoud, I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. Just accept,” he pleaded.
“It might take years for us to find them, and even longer for us to explore them,” she muttered.
“Us?” he asked with a lifted eyebrow.
Fleur blushed, and he reached out to skim his finger along her skin. “Well, I assume you’d want to keep an eye on me.”
“A very close eye on you,” he agreed.
“How close of an eye?”
He reached down and grabbed her arms. “If you would have me, I would bond us forever. I love you, Fleur. Marry me. Be my wife. Let me spend the rest of my life searching for new ways to make you smile. Let me spend the rest of my life atoning for my mistake.”
To his surprise, Fleur burst out laughing. “You thought you’d propose after you offer me all of Solomon’s Mines?”
He regarded her slowly. Was she laughing at him? “Does my proposal pale in comparison?”
“Oh, Masoud. Being my husband is going to be torture if you can’t take a joke,” she said as she reached up to touch his face.
He captured her hands and stared at her. “Does that mean…?”
“I love you, Masoud. Absolutely everything pales in comparison to marrying you,” she said as she beamed at him. Scooping her up, he whirled her around and pulled her in for a kiss. He was so desperate to make sure that she didn’t get away, he was going to marry her before the month was over.
Bet be damned.
Epilogue
Masoud stood at the door as a progression of men came slowly around to shake his hand and loudly pronounce their happiness for him. Weddings in his country were loud and excitable affairs. He was dressed in his traditional robes of gold and white, and he was flanked by Quadie, Jaymin, Adil, and Rameez.
“Your mother is pleased,” Quadie murmured softly. “She approves of Fleur.”
Masoud appreciated his father’s sentiments, but he knew that his mother had regressed. When he went in to greet her this morning, she didn’t even recognize him.
“Another one bites the dust, eh?” one man said, laughing as he reached over to hug Masoud. “Who is next? You, Jaymin? You, Adil?”
Adil snorted. “I have a bet to win. There is no way that I’m marrying before the year is out!”
Jaymin rolled his eyes. “You and your ridiculous bets.”
“Concede the bet and the island to me, and you’ll have nothing to worry about,” Adil said with a wink.
“I hardly think so. There are better ways to cultivate that place than casinos and party resorts,” Jaymin snorted.
Masoud paid no attention to them. He didn’t regret for a moment that he’d been the first to lose the bet. After all that had happened, the island didn’t even remotely seem important.
“If you’ll excuse me, gentleman, I’ve been away from my bride for far too long,” he said as he bowed to his father.
Rameez leaned over to whisper in Quadie’s ear, but it was loud enough for Masoud and his brothers to hear. “One down, two to go.”
Chuckling, Masoud ducked the men and headed to the reception area. Much like the party for the discovery of the dig site, his reception included the wealthy and famous. The only difference was where women would usually drape themselves on his arm, they now kept their distance.
The other exception, of course, was the beautiful woman in the middle of it all. Dressed in white with her fiery red hair pinned in curls around her head, Fleur absolutely glowed. As if she felt his eyes on her, she turned and smiled at him.
As she gazed at him, the rest of the party melted away. He still couldn’t believe that this amazing woman had agreed to be his forever. There was nothing but pure love in her eyes, and she immediately gravitated toward him. “How does it feel to lose a bet?” she whispered as she flowed into his arms. He gave her a look of surprise, and she burst out laughing. “Your brothers have talked about nothing else.”
“That island is nothing compared to you,” he murmured as he reached down to kiss her.
“Good answer,” she laughed as she pulled him down for another kiss. “I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Crazy adventures, snobby archaeologists, and a stepbrother-in-law that I’m still not sure how I feel about?” he asked as he wrinkled his nose.
“Exactly.”
“Worth it.” Her laugh pleased him, and he spun her around and pulled her onto the dance floor. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind, and he knew without a doubt that he would never be bored again. Fleur was the love of his life, and he would face anything to keep her safe and by his side.
And he knew she felt the exact same way.
End of The Sheikh’s Diamond
Sheikh’s Wedding Bet Series Book One
Book Two, The Sheikh’s Crown, Out 19th July 2016!
Read an exclusive introduction to The Sheikh’s Secret Bride (The Adjalane Sheikhs Series) Below.
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The Sheikh’s Secret Bride (The Adjalane Sheikhs Series Book 1) Introduction
Al-Sarid, Boardroom of Adjalane Oil, three days earlier…
“Nassir, you have disgraced our company,” Nimr Adjalane told him, his tone grave.
The fact the oldest member of the board--and his father—was upset meant Nassir hadn’t done himself any favors this time. Of course, it didn’t help that Nimr had chosen to elect Nassir as CEO over his own brother, Hazim, either.
He should have expected it, he supposed, given the other situations he currently faced. First was the verbal assault debacle with the young woman in Europe. Naturally, the paparazzi had been there to capture every vile exchange then taken every one of them completely out of context.
The young woman involved had been painted as the injured party, when just the opposite was true. She’d thrown herself at Nassir, thrusting her bare breasts in his face, and he’d tried to politely refuse. But when that did
n’t work and her attempts grew more brazen, he’d resorted to harsher measures, stating he’d rather have sex with a goat than a whore.
Strike one.
Then there were his action in a recent skirmish with the Sharqi Oil Sheikhs. He’d forced the temporary closure of their oil pumping station, then once an agreement had been reached for the purchase of the land beneath the station, attempted to extort a priceless portrait from Amare.
Strike two.
If things did not go well today, this could be counted as the final strike against him.
“Nassir,” Nimr, said on behalf of the board. “We have discussed your actions in depth, and believe we have a solution that will not only benefit us, but also the world.” Nassir clasped his hands and remained silent. Pride, it seemed, had forced them to take drastic steps to correct what they saw as flaws in his character. Flaws he had no intention of changing “A plan that will improve your reputation both with women and our business partners in the West.”
Nassir tapped a finger on the tabletop and waited. He knew he’d crossed the line with the Sharqis and the woman, no matter how well-deserved. But if the board was also trying to appease and attract Western business partners, that did not bode well for him.
“It is our recommendation that you marry.”
Marry? Whatever he been expecting them to say, it had not been that.
Nassir opened his mouth to comment, but an angry glare from his father stopped him.
“Our decision is non-negotiable,” Nimr said.
Nassir clenched his jaw and lowered his head. Now was neither the time nor the place to fight this battle. That would come later. After the meeting adjourned. “Fine.”
“And we are suggesting you find an American bride. This will assure the rest of the world that you are both open-minded and tolerant.”
“You can’t be serious? Our family line has stayed within Al-Sarid for generations.”