by Holly Rayner
“You are pretty dense,” she said.
“Oh, come now,” he breathed, and the humor disappeared from the room as he leaned down and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss.
Jasmina clung to him with every inch of her body as she released the fear and worry and loneliness of the past. Jenson kissed her until she was dizzy, and when he finally pulled away, they were both breathing a little harder than usual.
“I love you too, by the way,” Jasmina breathed.
Jenson grinned.
“I was hoping you would say that. Now, what do you say we call off this wedding?” he asked.
Jasmina’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“I thought you just said you loved me. Now you don’t want to marry me?”
Jenson chuckled.
“Of course I want to marry you, but this…” he said, waving around at the room in general, “this isn’t how I want it to be. I want us to take the time to get to know one another, and be a couple for a bit before we make the biggest commitment of our lives. I want us to have an equal start, and have a real relationship for a little while. Why don’t we try being normal?”
Jasmina laughed.
“You think a Sheikha knows anything about being normal?”
Jenson shrugged.
“You know a little bit, from your time incognito. From what I can tell that experience meant a lot to you. You will still have your role here as Sheikha, but maybe instead of being a thorn in your side, I can open up your world to a little more normalcy, and a little less loneliness.”
“How do you know I’m lonely? I’m surrounded by people every day!”
He held her closer, and she allowed her palms to rest gently on his broad chest, gazing up at him.
“Are you going to argue with me at every turn?” he asked, giving her a teasing stare.
Jasmina smiled broadly.
“Did you ever think I wouldn’t?”
He nuzzled his nose against hers, and Jasmina’s belly erupted with butterflies. She hoped she would always feel so loved and content for the rest of her days. With Jenson by her side, she could take on the world bare-handed.
They stood together, simply holding each other for some time, until Jenson finally pulled back with a question in his eyes.
“Shall we go break the bad news? The country is going to be quite bummed not to have a reason to party…and I’ve seen how your people can party.”
Jasmina chuckled, grabbing his hand and heading for the door.
“They’ll understand if I give them a good enough reason…perhaps I’ll say we wanted to take a pre-wedding honeymoon first.”
“And leave affairs of state behind? You think you could do it?”
Jasmina shrugged.
“Probably not, but it’s a nice idea, isn’t it?”
“I’ll go wherever you want me to. I am at your command, Your Highness.”
She turned and smiled at him.
“Oh come now. You may call me Jasmina.”
He grinned.
“Well it’s about time.”
Epilogue
Jasmina was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth. She shifted ever so slightly, her leg running up the expanse of Jenson’s.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered against her ear.
Jasmina smiled sleepily, turning in the circle of his arms and pressing her lips against his collarbone.
“Good morning,” she murmured, sighing blissfully.
“You ready for our big day?”
“You mean the second draft of it?”
Jenson chuckled, the sound reverberating warmly in his chest as she rested her head against it.
“That’s the one.”
“I’ve been ready for the past year. You’re the one who wanted to wait and get to know one another better, like that’s a thing,” she teased.
“Hey, you accused me of being a cad and a scoundrel—the least I could do was put in my due diligence to convince you otherwise.”
“Uh-huh,” Jasmina said, grinning against his warm skin.
“You know, we could start producing some heirs before we get up this morning.”
Jenson’s tone was suggestive, but Jasmina shook her head.
“I’ve got a meeting with the council this morning, and I would very much like you to be there. After that, we have one last meeting with the wedding planner, and she has been very grumpy since we cancelled our last big day. I think she’s afraid we’ll do it again.”
“We’ll have to prove her wrong.”
“That we will,” Jasmina said, pulling the comforter back and stepping out of bed.
She dressed in a robe before Asha arrived to help her with dressing. Usually she didn’t need help getting dressed, but on days that she had to look extra royal, she needed Asha to deal with all the laces and frills. While Jenson had tried once or twice to help her, he had proved hopeless at tying a gown.
Asha entered the bedroom, her gaze tactfully ignoring the handsome man in Jasmina’s bed.
“Your Highness. Jenson,” she greeted, setting right to work on dressing her monarch. “I take it we won’t have anyone running away this time.”
Jasmina rolled her eyes.
“It’s like we have a reputation or something,” she said to Jenson, who dressed under the blanket before he sat up and stretched.
“I can’t imagine why that would be, honestly.”
Asha rolled her eyes right back at the pair of them.
“Two people in love are the silliest people in the world.”
“Come on, Asha, you know you love us,” Jenson said, giving her an affectionate smile.
She could never resist his charms. She smiled back at him and shook her head good naturedly.
“That I do, that I do.”
With her laces up, Jasmina waited for Jenson to dress in a nice suit before they headed out the door and straight to the council chamber. It was a big day for Jasmina, and as she walked Jenson took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
“It’s going to be fantastic,” he said. “Just watch.”
She nodded, not entirely convinced. When her father’s betrayers had finally been found, Jasmina had ensured they be put on trial for their crimes. The ensuing trial had aired out a lot of dirty laundry, and it had been difficult to navigate the mistakes and misplaced trust of the past. Still, she had wielded the truth as her ally, and she had informed her people as to the dire situation they had been placed in.
Due to the fact that she had negotiated a way out of certain ruin, Jasmina had very quickly become one of the most popular rulers in the history of El Jayiah. When the men who ruined her father returned, she had sat in a balcony with Jenson to watch the trials take place, the men booed and hissed at as they walked in and out of the room.
None of it gave her any pleasure. Had these men not done what they did, she might have still had her father with her—the one parent she’d had left after her mother died. Still, to see him vindicated and the money retrieved was a glorious feeling, and on her wedding day, they would reinstate that which was lost, bringing more prosperity to El Jayiah.
They entered the room, and everyone stood, per usual. Jasmina nodded to her councilors, who by now were used to Jenson sitting in on meetings. Kalim greeted the two of them warmly.
“We are ready to reinstall the funds, Your Highness. This is a great day for El Jayiah.”
“And it is all because of the diligence and hard work of this council. As my father’s daughter, I cannot tell you how much joy this day brings me.”
“For more than one reason, I imagine,” Javir said with a meaningful glance at Jenson.
Jasmina’s smile was graceful as she nodded.
“Yes, well. Shall we begin?”
Kalim nodded, turning on a screen and transferring the funds back into the national treasury for them all to watch. Jasmina’s heart soared at the prosperity her country had seen. Any of those who suffered were now learning how much better life could be, and she work
ed hard to bring them anything they needed.
“Thanks to Mr. Black’s company investments in mining and manufacturing, we have never seen our coffers so full. We are grateful for your investment, Mr. Black, and for bringing joy to our esteemed Sheikha.”
Jenson raised his hands.
“Please, I don’t deserve any credit. Your Sheikha is a master negotiator who loves her country. She was the one who made all of this possible.”
Jasmina smiled up at Jenson. A year before she would never have thought him capable of humility—he valued success, and enjoyed taking the credit for it. But when it came to her, he was happy to give that all away.
“Thank you again, gentlemen. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some last minute wedding preparations.”
The men nodded their farewells as Jasmina and Jenson made their exit, her heart smiling. Jenson reached for her hand again and gave it a squeeze.
“See? I told you.”
“So you did. You were wrong, though.”
“It seems I often am with you. What was I wrong about this time?”
“It was far better than I could have imagined,” she said, grinning up at him.
He smiled down at her as they made their way to the back gardens, where the white gazebo where they had shared their first lunch was being strung with flowers, and their wedding planner, Desi, was grumbling about something. As they approached, her mood didn’t change.
“Your Highness. Mr. Black.”
“This looks absolutely lovely,” Jasmina said, beyond pleased.
Jenson had had to work to convince Jasmina to have the wedding she truly wanted, and, after a great deal of cajoling, she had finally agreed. She had never wanted a big wedding; she wanted something intimate, that she could take her time with and remember for years to come.
“What seems to be bothering you, my friend?” Jasmina asked.
Desi checked her watch.
“You are meant to be getting married in just under two hours, and neither of you look remotely ready. Meanwhile, I’m still working out the technical glitches on these cameras—if they don’t work, I’m toast!”
Desi had been quite reluctant to toss aside all the tradition she had learned to plan the wedding, but Jasmina insisted on paving her own way. The compromise was that the whole thing would be broadcast to the world, so even though it might feel intimate, she would be sharing the moment with everyone in El Jayiah, live.
Somehow that only felt right, and Jasmina liked that she could share her joy with her people. She patted the wedding planner on the shoulder.
“We are going to get ready right now, all right? Don’t worry about a thing. Everything is going to work out great.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Desi said, clearly trying not to look as frazzled as she felt.
Jasmina pulled Jenson from the garden to give the poor woman some space. Together they made their way back to their bedroom. While Jenson wasn’t particularly talented at lacing her dresses up, he was deeply skilled in removing them. As his fingers tugged against the delicate strings lacing her back, Jasmina stepped from her dress and stared at him.
“You are absolutely stunning,” he breathed, cupping her face in his palm before guiding her toward their bed, where he made love to her.
After that, they had barely enough time to scramble into their wedding clothes and head to the garden, which they did together. Since Jasmina had no one to walk her down the aisle, the couple had decided not to have one, and together they simply walked up to the gazebo in the gentle light of the afternoon sun. Jasmina caught sight of a camera with a red light flashing and she waved delightedly at the lens.
An eruption of cheers echoed across the city, and she laughed.
They made their way up the gazebo steps, reaching the justice of the peace and turning to face one another, hands clasped.
“My dear Sheikha, my dear Mr. Black, we are here together today to celebrate the most momentous occasion. It may be unusual. It may be unorthodox. If there is one thing we have learned from our new Sheikha, it is that she does things her way, and we all seem to reap the rewards.”
“Agreed,” Jenson said.
The sound of laughter echoed over the garden walls, and Jasmina blushed, smiling.
“I do what I can,” she grinned.
“And we are grateful. But today is not about the people of El Jayiah. Today we celebrate two people who have made the choice to spend the rest of their lives together. I believe that you have prepared your own vows?”
The bride and groom nodded, and Jenson pulled out a small piece of paper, looking from his words to Jasmina and back.
“Jasmina. From the moment I met you I knew you were special. I didn’t know how amazing you truly were, and yet, somehow I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. As time went on, and I got to see your devotion to your country, to the happiness of others, it became clear that I was entirely unworthy of you. I hope in time I can prove to be half as caring, as decent, as wonderful as you are, and I promise to look after you as I know your father would want me to. You are my love. You are my light. You are my everything.”
Jasmina’s eyes welled up with tears, and she sniffled gently as she pulled out her own vows.
“Jenson. When we first met, I thought you were a scoundrel. But you showed me that first impressions can be quite wrong. By opening yourself up to love, you have given me a new world of excitement and fun and so many other things. I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives adventuring together, endeavoring to make the world a little better than how it was left to us. I love you,” she said through her tears, though they both laughed at the beginning of her speech.
The officiant smiled warmly at them both.
“Do you have the rings?”
They nodded, exchanging their wedding rings. As Jasmina slid a gold band onto Jenson’s finger, he winked at her, and she grinned. It was the perfect celebration of love. She couldn’t have asked for a better ceremony.
“And with that I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Jenson reached for Jasmina, pulling her with dramatic flair into a dip not unlike the one from their tango. As they kissed, the city of Tyra erupted in cheers all around them, and Jasmina laughed.
“Gotta give ‘em a show,” Jenson said, grinning.
“Indeed. Now how about you and I go tango in the streets to celebrate, husband? It is Sunday after all.”
Jenson lifted her back up, wrapping an arm around her waist as they made their exit.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea to me.”
And dance they did.
The End
Get THREE FREE BOOKS by signing up to Holly’s newsletter
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner
Holly Rayner
Still hungry for sheikhs?
Read on for a special teaser of Holly’s last book, The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner
Enjoy!
Copyright 2017 by Holly Rayner
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the explicit written permission of the author.
All characters depicted in this fictional work are consenting adults, of at least eighteen years of age. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased, particular businesses, events, or exact locations are entirely coincidental.
Sign up to Holly’s newsletter and get THREE FREE BOOKS
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
Chapter One
“So, you can see why the Oxford comma is so important, right? Otherwise, what you’re trying to say might be misconstrued.”
Joseph, a young Native American transfer student, grinned at Lily.
“Yeah, I guess. Can I go now? The football game starts in ten minutes, and I don’t wa
nt to miss it.”
“You mean you don’t want to miss the cheerleaders?”
Joseph’s grin was wry as he stood and collected the books and papers they had been working with and placed them into a frayed blue backpack.
“You know me too well, Miss Hawthorne. Same time next week?”
“You got it. Enjoy the game,” Lily said, leaning back in her chair as Joseph made a quick departure.
Staring at the empty doorway of the minuscule high school library, Lily frowned.
She loved working with students, but it wasn’t something she’d thought she would end up doing. She had graduated with a degree in English three years earlier, having rushed through the program and graduated at the young age of twenty-one, just so she could get out into the field of writing and publishing as soon as possible.
Three years later and the only job she had been able to secure was as an English tutor at the local Cheyenne high school. Tutoring had come as a gift when she had been living off of ramen noodles and struggling to hold on to her tiny apartment, and while it didn’t pay much, she had what she needed to survive.
But who wanted to live like that?
Lily wanted to do more than just survive. She wanted to thrive! She wanted to tell her future grandchildren that she had made something of her life against all the odds. She had been languishing in Wyoming the past few years, just waiting for life to happen to her, and to be honest, she was getting sick of it.
She scooted her chair back, its metallic legs screeching against the floor, collected her teaching materials, and made her way out into the brown-painted hallway. The school had certainly seen better days, and with a lack of qualified teachers around, Lily had lucked out in getting the tutoring gig there. She wondered if she could find a way to get a full-time teaching job without a master’s degree.