Forbidden Seduction (The Diamond Club Book 12)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Lugar stood there, watching her walk away from him and cursing the world for being so absolutely ridiculous that they couldn’t forgive and forget. He wanted his country to move on and, seeing Avi walk away, her adorable, luscious bottom swaying ever so slightly against the wool fabric of her red skirt, he knew that he needed to figure out how to ease the tensions between his country and hers.

  Still, marriage was out of the question. Princess Aviera only saw the parts of him that he’d allowed her to see. She would be horrified if she ever saw…

  Lugar sighed, rubbing his eyes as he shook off the lust and anger smoldering in his gut. It would be nice to…hell, he didn’t know. Still, it made sense to heal the wounds of their countries and move on.

  Chapter 8

  “Your Highness, there are rumors of increasing tensions along the border of Tulir to the south. After your meetings at the United Nations, do you have any response to the increasing tensions?”

  Avi looked at the reporter sharply, not sure what she meant. “I’m sorry, but I haven’t heard those rumors,” she replied, trying to stand up straight and tall even when her heart ached. This press conference had been arranged weeks ago in anticipation of her return from the United Nations annual conference.

  “King Trilar accused Sheik al Asan of Shadir of destroying a small village on the border. He’s saying that about twenty young women were working there and that they are now all dead, due to his attack.”

  Avi stared for a long moment, horrified at what she was hearing. “An attack?”

  Her assistant moved onto the stage, whispering in Avi’s ear. “The date of the alleged attack was just over two weeks ago, Your Highness,” he explained.

  Avi’s heart pounded in her chest and she shook her head, staring out at the sea of reporters, all of them eagerly waiting for her response. “That’s ridiculous! He didn’t attack that village! And he didn’t kill any women.”

  That exclamation got everyone’s attention and they all leaned in, eager to hear whatever information she might reveal. “You seem very sure of this. But King Trilar is forming articles of war against Shadir.”

  Avi couldn’t believe it! “No! Absolutely not!”

  For a long moment, Avi considered her options, looking down at her notes. She could pretend that she had no knowledge of the situation, but that was cowardly and she hated cowards! The only other option, the only ethical option, was to stand up and defend a man who had braved a dangerous situation to do the right thing. In her mind, Avi could do no less!

  Decision made, she lifted her head and, with pride, looked out at the reporters one by one. “I was there,” she announced, knowing that she shouldn’t say anything, but refusing to back down and let Lugar have to cope with these lies on his own. “And just for the record, those women weren’t working in that building. They were drugged and trussed up. Sheik al Asan and his brave team rescued those women and took them to a hospital. From what I understand, they received medical care and were reunited with their families!” she explained with as calm a tone as possible under the circumstances. “If anything, Sheik al Asan is a hero. He stepped in and took care of those women, who were most likely going to be sold to sex traffickers.”

  There was a stunned moment of silence as the crowd absorbed her words. Avi waited, counting out the seconds. She got to three before the reporters started screaming questions.

  She answered a few other questions, then saw Girad’s press secretary appear to her right. “If you will excuse me, I need to update my brother’s council about the United Nations meeting,” and with that, she left the current publicity mess to the press secretary.

  Chapter 9

  “Care to explain?”

  Avi looked up into the furious eyes of her brother. For so long, she’d always seen her brother as a softy. He was the guy that she used to tease in order to get him to play games with her when he’d finished his lessons with his tutors, or the guy who challenged her to a race on horseback, daring her to jump higher over the fences or teaching her how to grab fruit off of a tree as the two of them raced by.

  This furious man standing in front of her was the one that the rest of the world knew. He was livid, his dark eyes glittering with his anger. When his massive arms crossed over his chest, Avi knew that she was in big trouble and looked at her toes.

  Girad’s arms dropped to his side and he glared at Avi for a long moment, then he simply turned on his heel and walked down the hallway towards his office. Avi knew that he meant for her to follow him, but for a moment, she wondered what he would do if she turned and walked away, going to her apartment to hide. Just for a few moments, she thought. Enough to get her mind back in gear.

  Because her mind definitely wasn’t in gear if she’d just admitted to being in a foreign country, helping another ruler infiltrate a border town while doing what some might consider acts of war. Instead, she turned and followed her brother into his office, ready to face his wrath.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded as soon as she stepped into the office and closed the door.

  Avi sighed, leaning her shoulders against the heavy, ancient wood. “I wasn’t,” she replied honestly.

  Girad glared at her, bracing his fists against the massive desk in front of him. “You just admitted to a full room of reporters that you assisted another ruler in a foreign country? That you were there with him?”

  “Well…” she started off.

  Another door opened and Girad’s aide stepped into the room. Avi truly hated Mustaf. But it was actually more than that. She feared him. There was just something about the man’s eyes that whispered that he was dangerous.

  “There’s more, Your Highness,” Mustaf picked up the remote control from the side of Girad’s desk and pressed a button that turned on the television.

  “Can you address the rumors that Princess Aviera was seen chaperoned at the conference over the past three days with Sheik al Asan?” a reporter called out to Girad’s press secretary.

  Girad swung around, his fury going silent. Avi knew that this was worse. So much worse!

  Turning to his aide, he snapped, “Leave us!” The man slunk away, but not before sending an irritated look towards Avi.

  “What’s going on, Avi?” Girad demanded, a muscle flexing in his jaw.

  Avi closed her eyes, trying to come up with an explanation that would satisfy her brother, be adequate for him as both a big brother and the ruler of their country…but still maintain what little bit of privacy she was allowed.

  “Give it to me straight, Avi,” he snarled, interrupting her mental castigations.

  She opened her eyes. “I think I’m in love him, Girad,” she blurted, surprising even herself.

  “You…?” He heaved a deep breath, running a hand over his features. “How the hell can you be in love with a guy you barely know?”

  She laughed, the sound coming out a bit maniacally. “I know. I’ve been asking myself that.” She moved deeper into the room and sat down heavily in one of the chairs. She sensed more than saw her brother sit down across from her since she stared at her fingers tangled together in her lap. “I don’t know what it is, Girad. But there’s something about him, a power or strength of character that just…calls to me. I know that sounds really weird and oddly spiritual, but I can’t really explain it any other way.”

  His expression softened slightly. Avi could tell he was still angry, but that emotion was tempered by concern and love for her. “You know that a relationship between you and Sheik al Asan is impossible, right? You can’t…?”

  “I know,” she interrupted, lifting her hand to stop his words because they hurt too much. “And what’s worse, I knew that it was dangerous to even be around him, let alone kiss him, but…”

  “You kissed him?” he growled, waiting for her answer. But when she only stared at him guiltily, Girad pushed up from the chair to pace back and forth. “Avi, I…” he paused and ran a hand over the back of his neck. More pacing and a few more
glares. Finally, he paused, looking out the window at the late afternoon sunshine. “Avi, I’m battling against my instinctive nature as a sexist male, here. You’re my baby sister. Hell, I changed your diapers and taught you how to tie your shoes.”

  She laughed sadly. “And you were the one holding my hand when we heard the news about Mom and Dad dying in that plane crash,” she added, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Right,” he sighed. “So yeah, I’m struggling. I acknowledge that I’m enough of a chauvinist that I don’t like to think of anyone kissing my baby sister.” He groaned and shook himself. “But I can also see the other side of this equation.”

  She blinked, startled. “What other side?” she asked.

  He groaned again, hesitating as he sighed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. When his eyes looked down at her once more, he seemed resigned. “You’ve never shown attraction to any man before, Avi.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. What she felt for Lugar was dramatically different from what she’d felt for the other men she’d known. For a long moment, she thought about that, wanting to deny it because, well, right now, not ever seeing Lugar again hurt too much. She was trying really hard to minimize her feelings for the man. But as usual, her annoying brother was right. “Fine. Lugar is different.”

  Girad’s eyebrows popped up with that statement. “Lugar? You’re on a first name basis with the bastard?” he asked softly.

  Avi laughed, sensing the danger in his voice, but ignoring it. “Yes. Do you honestly think I’d have feelings for a man without feeling comfortable enough to use his first name?”

  Girad sighed again, covering his face with his hands for a long moment. “Okay, fair point,” he replied, dropping his hands. More pacing and he walked around his desk, lacing his fingers behind his neck as he went through all of the ramifications of her declaration.

  Finally, Avi took pity on her brother, knowing that he was trying to find a good solution to this situation, even though it was impossible.

  “Nothing is going to happen, Girad. Lugar and I both knew that our days in New York would come to an end and we’d have to go back to living our normal lives.”

  Girad turned, lowering his hands as he looked at her carefully. “We could figure out a way, Avi.”

  She smiled and stood up. “I suspect that the anger between our two countries runs too deep. Our people would never agree to any sort of relationship between me and Lugar.” She forced a smile to her lips, blinking back a fresh wave of sadness. “I’m okay, Girad.”

  He watched her for a long moment before shaking his head. “You’re not,” he countered, pulling her into his arms.

  Quietly, the tears rolled down her cheeks, soaking the front of his shirt. Laying her cheek against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist, Avi sighed with acceptance of her future. “I will be,” she promised through the tears she couldn’t seem to hold back. “Just give me some time.”

  Chapter 10

  Avi stepped into the room, bracing herself for yet another tedious meeting. Today, she was meeting with the leaders of the education boards, trying to come up with a plan to increase female participation in higher education.

  As soon as she stepped through the doorway though, Avi felt a strange sensation. Looking around, she noticed that many of the older women were glaring at her. Actually glaring!

  “I’m so sorry, am I late?’ she asked, stepping deeper into the room.

  “You were alone with a man!” one of the older women snapped, her eyes spitting daggers in Avi’s direction. “You have shamed the women of your country!”

  Avi almost laughed at the outrageous declaration, but stopped herself in time. These women were the matriarchs of the older generation. They felt it was their right to set the standard of behavior for all women. Unfortunately, they didn’t understand that those standards were changing. Even more worrisome, these women held a lot of power. Not as much as her brother, but still, they could cause damage to the efforts he was working to promote.

  Then again, perhaps these women knew that they were losing power and were aiming their latest battle for control in Avi’s direction.

  Straightening her shoulders, she remained calm as she took in the angry expressions on each face. “I think that you have some misinformation, ladies,” she replied calmly. “Perhaps we should sit down and discuss my actions for the night in question?” she offered, using her “Princess” voice, which gave her a bit more authority.

  The ladies sat down, but they refused refreshments. It was a silent signal that they weren’t receptive.

  “Right,” she muttered, understanding their animosity, even if she didn’t agree with it. “Okay, so here’s what really happened,” she began, looking each woman in the eye. “On the night in question, I went to that village separately, having heard that there was a group of dogs in danger.” She looked around slowly, ensuring that they were listening. “All of you know about my love of animals. Otis and George are out in the stables because of my passion for saving animals.”

  One of the leaders of the women’s group snorted. “That has to be the ugliest donkey I’ve ever seen, Your Highness.”

  Avi’s spine stiffened in anger. “That donkey is only ugly because someone beat him to within an inch of his life,” she snapped, furious that anyone would insult Otis, even if the donkey was not within earshot. Someone snorted, but Avi couldn’t tell who.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “the dogs were being sent to another country to be used for meat.” She heard the gasp of horror and nodded. “Exactly. I know that many of you have dogs in your households, as do I. These dogs are part of our families. They give us affection, protect us, and,” she grinned as she let her eyes move over the ladies, “they clean up anything that falls on the floor.” There were a few chuckles. “The dogs we found were sedated so my team and I rescued them and loaded them into our truck. But in the process, I discovered another building. Inside, there were about twenty women, all naked and sedated, just like the dogs.” She glanced over at one of the women. “Agnes, you have a daughter. Imagine if you came home one day to discover that your daughter had been kidnapped, stripped of her clothes and drugged, passed along from truck to building to truck until she was finally auctioned off to someone who would abuse her.”

  The women shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Avi nodded. “Exactly! We all have friends, daughters, sisters, and brothers,” she emphasized, because boys weren’t excluded from the horrific sex trafficking industry, “that we love. And the idea of any member of our family being treated in such a way...” She took a deep breath before continuing. “So that night, seeing all of these young women, I knew I had to do something. I picked the lock on the door and…then I was pulled out of the way while a team stepped through the doorway. They gently wrapped the women in blankets, carrying them into a different truck. And it was Sheik al Asan who held me so that his team could get in to help those women. I later found out that he’d taken those young women to a hospital and then back to their families.” She stopped and locked eyes with each woman, many of whom looked much more accepting now.

  “So, how many of you would have preferred that I maintain the perception of my virginity by ignoring that building and walking away from those women in need?” Before any of them could argue, she added, “And assume that one of those women is your daughter, sister, or grandchild.”

  The room was silent. Finally, the leader, the same woman who started this whole crazy conversation by condemning Avi in the first place, spoke up. “You did the right thing, Your Highness.”

  Avi nodded. “Thank you. Unfortunately, I was there only for the dogs. I didn’t know that there were women in danger. It was only because of Sheik Lugar’s intelligence sources that he was there to save the women. And for that, I’m truly grateful.”

  “We are too, Your Highness,” one of the other women spoke up, her eyes contrite now that they knew the whole story.

  The first
woman nodded firmly, her lips pressed tightly together. “So, are you going to marry Sheik Lugar?”

  Avi’s mouth fell open. “I…um…?” she trailed off, unsure what to say.

  “You should marry the man,” another woman stated. “Sheik Lugar needs a good woman.”

  Avi couldn’t believe the spike of jealousy that the woman’s comment sparked inside of her. “A good woman?” she asked, trying to pretend that the idea of another woman in Lugar’s arms didn’t make her whole body ache. “I don’t think…He doesn’t…!”

  “Yes, you should marry him,” the first woman declared with a nod.

  The women nodded and Avi still wasn’t sure what to do. Instead, she stood up and nodded, forgetting that there was an education meeting that needed to happen. Instead, she walked out of the room.

  Chapter 11

  “What’s going on?” Avi demanded, stepping into her brother’s office. She’d been reading a report on the latest hospital that wanted her to speak, so she didn’t immediately notice the three women in severe black dresses. “Oh!” she gasped and came to a halt.

  “We’re here to advocate for your marriage, dear,” the first lady spoke up. “It’s time for you to marry. And since you’ve already been compromised by Sheik al Asan, we think that you should marry him.”

  Avi’s eyes widened. “I’ve been compromised?” she asked, looking at her brother who stood behind the women, trying unsuccessfully to hide his amusement.

  “Yes, you were alone at night with an unmarried man.”

  Avi blinked. “Is this the eighteen hundreds?” she asked, thinking that this was a joke.

  “You are a princess,” the oldest woman snapped. “Why would you not marry Sheik al Asan?” she demanded.

  Avi pressed the report against her body, shielding herself from these women’s words and, even more importantly, their antiquated opinions on a woman being alone with a man.