by Susanna Carr
“And I will return the day after tomorrow.” Nadir strolled over to the window and looked out at the iconic view. “Couldn’t this have waited?”
“I wanted to give you an idea of what you are facing.” Rashid rose from his seat and walked over to stand next to his brother. “Many people have declared that The Beast has been tamed by his American bride.”
Tamed? Nadir scoffed at the suggestion. When it came to Zoe, he didn’t feel very civilized. Just the thought of her made him passionate and territorial. “Soon they will forget that nickname.”
“Because they think you’ve become soft,” Rashid argued. “Many of your progressive ideas are now under attack because you aren’t perceived as ruthless anymore.”
“Ridiculous. I will show them not to underestimate me.” And once his country got to know Zoe they would admire and love her as their future Sultana. “That reminds me I want to add Zoe to the health ministry. She is very interested in medicine and she has worked in women’s health for years.”
Rashid reared back. His mouth sagged open as he stared at Nadir. “You can’t be serious,” he whispered in horror.
“Why would you say that?”
“You married for political reasons.” Rashid swept his arm out and pointed at the bedroom door. “Zoe Martin is a means to an end.”
Nadir’s jaw tightened as he controlled his temper. He didn’t like Rashid’s tone. His brother would soon learn that what had started out as an arranged marriage was proving to be his most important relationship.
“And now you’ve taken her on a lavish trip.” He gestured at the penthouse suite. “Rumor has it that you take her advice. That you seek her counsel. And now all of sudden she’s getting a powerful position in the kingdom? She must be very good in bed.”
Nadir grabbed his brother by the shirt and pinned him against the window. “Be very careful how you speak about Zoe,” he said in a low growl. “She is my wife.”
“She is your blind spot,” Rashid countered. “Marrying her was supposed to solve your problem with that tribe. Instead she has Westernized you.”
“You think someone could dictate how I act?”
“I didn’t think so until you met Zoe.” Rashid pulled his shirt from Nadir’s grasp. “But talk in the business world says otherwise. They say you are so besotted with her that you can’t think straight.”
Nadir arched an eyebrow. “The businessmen in Athens may not agree with you.” Mexico City was another matter, but after discussing his strategy with Zoe he had miraculously triumphed.
“You’re not as focused,” Rashid insisted. “Not as driven. Your wife is becoming a dangerous distraction.”
“So what if I’m not at every meeting or if I can’t be reached every second of the day?” Nadir asked, his irritation sharpening his tone. “I don’t have to explain my actions.”
“I think you’re acting like a fool with your wife. Giving her a place on the health ministry?” Rashid groaned at the thought. “What is wrong with you?”
He was falling for Zoe. Hard. That didn’t mean that his decision-making was faulty. If anything, his eyes had been opened. Zoe was the wife he needed when he became Sultan.
“What happened to your plans?” his brother complained. “You were going to send her to the palace in the mountains. She was going to stay there out of the way so you could get back to your life in Omaira.”
“So?” He had made those plans when he didn’t know Zoe. Now he knew he couldn’t live without her.
“Zoe is a liability. You need to stop stalling and follow your plan. The sooner the better.”
Zoe slowly closed the bedroom door and staggered back. Her heart was racing, her stomach curling. She felt sick as Rashid’s words spun in her head.
Nadir was going to pack her off to the mountains. The room whirled and slanted and she grabbed onto the back of a chair. He wanted to send her somewhere isolated and forget her while he returned to his life. It would be business as usual for him, purgatory for her.
The stinging news cut through her. Zoe’s knees slowly buckled and she clumsily sat down. She couldn’t believe it. She slowly shook her head as she stared at the closed door. Nadir had played her well.
She didn’t trust anyone but she had believed in him. She had thought he cared for her, maybe even felt something like affection. But she had been mistaken. Nadir was only enjoying the sexual chemistry they shared.
She placed her head in her hands and drew in shallow breaths as she fought back nausea. She felt as if she had just dodged a bullet. She had almost given up her dream for Nadir. For a man, she thought bitterly.
It was sickening. Horrifying. She had been so close to her goal and had almost turned her back on it for the promise of something stronger. Deeper. Imaginary.
Zoe winced at her stupidity. Had the ministry offer been a lie? Had the caresses and late-night talks been pretend? She wanted to believe that Nadir had meant all that, but now she wasn’t sure.
Her arms and legs started to shake. She wanted to run. Hide. Weep. She couldn’t … not yet. Not until she had disappeared for good.
She had to behave as if her world hadn’t turned upside down. That meant she couldn’t hide in her room and lick her wounds. Zoe slowly rose from her chair on unsteady feet.
Now she needed to act as if she was a happy bride on her honeymoon. It hurt to think of the way she’d felt just a few minutes ago. How blissful, how incredibly ignorant she had been of Nadir’s plans.
She blinked back tears and took a deep breath. She had to try. If she could successfully pretend to be a shy, virginal bride on her wedding night, then she could do this. Nadir expected to see a wildly naïve woman, Zoe decided with a spurt of anger. She wouldn’t have to put up the act for long before she disappeared into the night.
She straightened her shoulders and flipped back her hair. The anger inside her started to grow, flaring hot and bitter, eating away at her. She took a deep breath and pasted on a smile. It was showtime.
She swung the door open and strode into the sitting room. She looked in the direction of the men, careful not to make eye contact with Nadir as they turned to her. She sashayed her hips as if she was ready to party.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she said to Nadir without looking in his direction. “Rashid, are you going nightclubbing with us?”
Rashid chose not to answer. Somehow she had expected that. What was the point of communicating with a sister-in-law when she was going to be thrown into a prison for the rest of her life?
“Nightclubbing?” Nadir stared at her light blue bandage dress and skyscraper heels.
She saw the sexual heat in his eyes. Her traitorous body responded eagerly, her nipples rasping against her bra. Zoe was tempted to tease him before declaring he could never touch her again. Never again.
“I’m sorry, Zoe,” Nadir said with what sounded like true regret. “We won’t be able to go tonight. Something came up.”
“Oh, that’s a shame.” She gave a pout and saw Nadir’s gaze settle on her lips. She’d rather he watch her mouth than read her eyes. “Well, I can go by myself.”
“Go … by yourself?” Nadir repeated dully as Rashid’s jaw dropped.
“I’ll be all right.” She brushed off his concern with an ebullient wave of her hand. Wild emotions churned inside her as she hurried for the elevator. The click of her heels echoed the fast beat of her heart. “I have a security team. Nothing will happen to me.”
“You are not going to a club.”
Nadir’s harsh tone would make anyone obey, but Zoe was beyond listening. She needed to escape before they returned to Jazaar. She needed to get away from Nadir before she talked herself into staying with him.
“But you’ll be busy.” She didn’t look back and pressed the elevator button. Open … Open … Please open …
“Zoe, you will stay here.” He was at her side just as the elevator doors opened. He cupped her elbow and turned her to face him. “In fact, the urgent work I have
won’t take too long. Rashid and I will work here.”
Damn, she had played it all wrong. Despair clawed at her chest. She had to get out of here, had to disappear, but Nadir wasn’t letting her out of his sight. So much for slipping out of his life while he wasn’t looking.
“Download an e-book,” he suggested as he guided her away from the elevator. “I’ll be in soon.”
“If you insist.” She wasn’t going to get out tonight. She’d have to bide her time. “Goodnight, Rashid,” she said with a smile.
Rashid didn’t say a word and turned away. Yeah, that guy didn’t like her at all, Zoe decided as she kept her smile steady.
“Goodnight, Nadir.” She brushed her lips against his cheek and stepped back before he could deepen the kiss. She hurried to the bedroom as tears threatened to fall.
She should have known better. The scent, the feel, the heat of him had brought on a cascade of emotions. She never should have gotten close to him. She should have left when she had a chance. But she was going to make up for the mistake now.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“GONE?” Nadir’s head snapped up as panic blazed through his veins. He stared at Grayson, his head of security, standing in the center of his office. “What do you mean that Zoe is gone? Gone where?”
Nadir remained very still as dark emotions burned through him like acid. He restrained himself from jumping into action. He wanted to go out into the city and tear it apart. He needed to find her and bring her back safe.
“We don’t know, Your Highness,” Grayson admitted.
The man showed no expression, but Nadir could tell that he was shaken by the security breach.
“We lost her around the Rockefeller Plaza.”
Zoe was gone.
The words rippled in head. He had spent all night going over business with Rashid. When he’d looked in on her this morning Zoe had still been fast asleep. He had been tempted to wake her up, but he’d had a breakfast meeting he couldn’t afford to miss.
He rubbed his hand over his face. Gone. He should have kept a closer eye, but he had grown too arrogant. Too complacent.
“The best-case scenario is that Zoe has got lost, but it’s unlikely. We would have spotted her.”
“She’s been gone for an hour?” Nadir dropped his hands and sprang from his chair. He began to pace behind his desk. He should have been contacted immediately. “Zoe’s not lost. She would have returned to the hotel.”
“We have all systems in place,” Grayson assured him. “If it’s a kidnapping the phones are—”
“It’s not a kidnapping,” Nadir said, and stopped in front of the window that overlooked the Hudson River. Zoe had wanted to come to America from the moment they were married. There was only one thing that had driven her here. Nadir’s eyes narrowed into slits as jealousy roared to life. One person.
“We contacted the butler at your hotel suite,” Grayson informed him. “The Sheikha didn’t pack a bag. Nothing is missing.”
Nadir’s mouth twisted. Even his security detail had considered the possibility that Zoe had left him. He had not seen it coming. He had done everything to make her happy and satisfied. Where had he failed?
“Check on the whereabouts of Musad Ali,” Nadir said in a low growl. He glanced up at the gray skies. “If you find him, you’ll find Zoe.”
He had to admit the truth: Musad was the real reason why Zoe had married The Beast. It hadn’t just been to get out of her uncle’s house or out of Jazaar. She wanted to be with her lover.
Nadir closed his eyes as he fought off a wave of dizziness. The blood roared in his ears. He slowly opened his eyes. He wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.
Zoe was his wife. Every action he made was to protect and care for his woman. Their relationship would always be his top priority. He had thought this honeymoon would demonstrate his commitment to her.
“She can’t have gotten far,” Grayson said, his voice sounding far away, although he hadn’t moved. “I’ll check the airlines, car rentals, bus and train depots.”
Zoe had been acting differently since they came to America. She’d been quieter and often lost in thought. Many times he had caught her staring out the window or staring at her hands. Had she spent those moments daydreaming about her lover and planning her rendezvous?
“It’s a damn shame she doesn’t have a cell phone,” Grayson muttered. “We could have tracked her GPS.”
Nadir froze as a glimmer of hope flickered inside him. He slowly lifted his head and turned to Grayson. “There is a way we can track her.”
“Good. How do you want me to retrieve her?”
Nadir slowly exhaled. “We don’t.” He barely got the words out. “We let her go.”
A few months later
“Are you sure you want to go home, Zoe?” Cathy asked as they stood in front of Zoe’s apartment building. “It’s not even midnight.”
“Thanks, but tomorrow is my first day of work,” Zoe said to the small group of friends. “I can’t waltz in there after partying all night.”
“All right, all right,” Cathy conceded. “We understand.”
“Goodnight!” Zoe said with a wave. She enjoyed hanging out with the group of college students. They didn’t have a lot in common, but she wasn’t so lonely when she was with them.
She had been in Houston, Texas, for only a few months, and thanks to a few pawn shops and the haggling talent she’d picked up in Jazaar she had managed to finance a few things on her dream list. She had passed her high school equivalency test and would soon go to night classes at the community college. Tomorrow she would be a receptionist at a doctor’s office. It was nowhere close to her dream of becoming a doctor, but it was a step in the right direction.
Returning to Houston hadn’t been the homecoming she had envisioned during her dark, lonely days in Jazaar. Once she had gained her freedom Zoe had been compelled to return to her hometown. She had thought she would feel peace or relief once she stepped onto Texas soil. Instead she had felt lost and disoriented.
Her childhood home had been torn down for new housing. Friends had moved away. The hospital that had been a second home to her had changed so much that it was barely recognizable. There was very little to remind her of her parents. She only had their graves to visit.
When she stood at the cemetery and stared at their simple gravestones Zoe knew she had to push on and continue her family’s work. She had no pictures or heirlooms to keep the memories alive, but she had always felt close to her parents when she practiced medicine.
Zoe was slowly rebuilding her life and had even got a place of her own. She glanced up at the large, nondescript building. The small studio apartment barely fit a table and a sofabed. That was all she needed for now, and it was all hers.
As she opened the security door she realized her friend Timothy was at her side.
“I’ll walk you up,” he offered, and held the door for her.
“That’s very sweet of you, but I can manage.” All her new friends were protective of her. They could tell she wasn’t familiar with city life.
“I insist.” He grasped her elbow and led her into the building.
Zoe held her tongue as they walked through the corridor. Timothy would find out soon enough that she could take care of herself. He didn’t know much about her life. None of her new friends did. She was still a little reserved with them and hadn’t shared much of her past. They probably wouldn’t believe her. What sheikha wore clothes from a charity thrift shop?
If she was still a sheikha … She had had no contact with her husband. Nadir had never found her. Had he even looked for her? Or was he looking for another wife? Someone more suitable?
She pushed the thought away when she reached her door, Zoe grabbed her keys. “I should be fine, now,” Zoe said. “Thanks, Timothy.”
“No problem.” He rested his arm against the doorframe and leaned in. “Good luck on your first day of work.”
“Thanks. I’m a little nervous,” s
he admitted. She had worked so hard to get to this point. What if it wasn’t worth it?
“You’ll do great,” he said, before placing his hand on her shoulder. “We should celebrate tomorrow night.”
“I would love to, but most of the gang has class tomorrow.”
“I meant just the two of us.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Like a date.”
She dropped her keys. Zoe bent down quickly to retrieve them as her mind whirled. She’d had no idea Timothy was interested in her.
She wished she was interested in him. He was a nice guy. He was supportive, kind and hard-working. He was also handsome and fun to be around. He was safe.
But he was no Nadir.
And that was the problem. Zoe closed her eyes shut as grief and regret slammed through her. She was still in love with her husband. Missed him so much that it hurt. She couldn’t imagine being with another man.
“Thanks, Timothy, but I can’t,” she replied as she rose to her full height, clenching the keys in her hand. “I just got out of a relationship and …”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Say no more. I understand. The time isn’t right.”
“Exactly.” She was grateful that she didn’t have to deal with any drama. That was another thing she liked about Timothy. There were no highs or lows. Life was calm around him.
“So I’ll wait.”
Zoe gritted her teeth. Waiting wasn’t going to change anything. She could never feel for Timothy what she felt for Nadir. There was no spark, no passion. She couldn’t imagine sacrificing all her dreams for Timothy.
And that was probably a good thing.
“I’ll text you tomorrow to see how the job went,” Timothy promised. He kissed her cheek, letting his lips linger on her cool skin. “Sweet dreams.”
“Goodnight,” she replied softly, and watched him leave. She wasn’t sure what had brought that on. She had never shown any romantic interest in him. Or in any man for that matter. She had had tunnel vision from the moment she’d disappeared in Rockefeller Plaza.
She shook her head and entered her apartment. She flipped on the lights and gasped. Her heart lurched when saw Nadir sitting on her sofabed. Hot, swirling energy roared between them.