The Sheiks of the Arabian Coast Series: 5 Book Box Set

by Erin Snihur

  Amira couldn’t do that to the man who, as a child, had been her closest unrelated friend. Even if he had disregarded their marriage vows with such crass that it made Amira sick to her stomach just thinking about it.

  “Will you be needing anything else, Amira?” Leeta asked and when Amira turned to meet her gaze, she inwardly winced at the proud sparkle in the girl’s gaze. Thankfully, Leeta hadn’t said anything about how romantic it was that Kasin was returning, like a white knight in a fairy tale.

  “No, thank you, Leeta,” Amira smiled, “Tell the others to go home as well. I’ll serve my husband dinner myself.”

  Nodding with a slight bow that Amira had never gotten the young girl to quit, Leeta sent her a quick wink before departing, leaving Amira alone to watch the driveway for him.

  Just like I’ve been doing for the last five years.

  3

  Kasin watched from the back of the SUV as it wove left and right along the winding road in the mountains of Masarat. Inwardly, his breath would catch as they drew closer and closer to the hidden palace that sat just below the mountain’s peak. Wanting to distract himself, Kasin shifted his gaze away from the drive and focused on the setting sun.

  “Is the plane ready for our departure back to the capital as soon as we pick Amira up?” Kasin asked Abel, his stone faced friend who kept his gaze on his tablet. Probably securing their security detail for the plane ride back to the capital.

  “Amira has requested that we not depart until tomorrow morning,” Abel said tonelessly.

  Clenching his fists tightly, Kasin bites back the growl in his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Shrugging, Abel turns the tablet off and turns to face him. “She’s been living there for five years, Kasin, give her a few days to adjust to being a wife. If you force her to leave tonight, she’ll probably grow to resent you for taking her out of a safe place.”

  Silence ensued in the vehicle, but Kasin could feel his anger rising.

  “Don’t lecture me on my wife, Abel, or you’ll find yourself being thrown from the mountainside,” Kasin said cooly, his fingers itching for a drink. Inwardly, he knew he shouldn’t drink around Amira. He needed to keep a level head. No need for his wife to see the demons within too soon. He needed his heir first.

  More silence ensued in the vehicle before Abel snorted and turned back to his tablet, “I might take that more seriously if you bothered to show up to training in the mornings.”

  Gritting his teeth, Kasin turned his gaze back to watch as the SUV slowed before a set of gates. Atop of the walls of the impressive gates emerge guards with weapons drawn and ready. Ready to protect their Sheikha. From Kasin, if necessary.

  Windows rolling down, their driver announces Kasin’s arrival and, at the guards stoic look and bow, the gates open. Mouth throbbing for a drink of something cool and strong, Kasin clenches his fists tighter.

  “If you’d prefer, I can bring Amira back to the capital myself. You don’t have to, if you’re not feeling well,” Abel murmurs and, at Kasins glare, he bows his head. “My Sheik.”

  Ignoring the driver as he pulls to a stop outside the large brick mansion, Kasin opens the door at his side and exits the car, much to Abels frustrated snort.

  Time to see my wife, Kasin’s thoughts become clouded as he stares at the unopened doors of the mansion. Will she look the same? What has changed? Do her eyes still darken into a deeper violet color when she’s angry like they did as children? Do they still sparkle in mischief?

  When the doors do not open upon his arrival like he’d expected, Kasin turns to glare at Abel, who merely shrugs. “The household was made aware of your impending presence, my Sheik.”

  Striding forward, Kasin curses under his breath as he knocks on the large doors inwardly furious at the realization that he was knocking and awaiting entrance into his own palace. Not wanting to wait a second more, Kasin twists the doorknob and surprisingly opens the unlocked door.

  Staring over his shoulder at Abel who watches confused, Kasin rolls his eyes when the large man pushes aside Kasin to inspect the receiving room before his Sheik could enter.

  Giving the all clear, Kasin enters and breathes in a deep breath before his nose begins to twitch.

  “Is that smoke I smell?” Kasin asks and, at the same moment, the sounds of pans and loud curses could be heard down the hallways of the palace.

  “The kitchen,” Abel says softly, drawing his weapon from his suit jacket.

  Rolling his eyes, Kasin strides forward, ignoring Abel who calls for him to stop. As Kasin marches down the familiar hallways of the palace he and his family would spend summers in as a child, Kasin grows more and more frustrated.

  Where are the servants? Where are the guards? Where is my wife?

  Muttering a string of curses at the sounds of another frustrated cry coming from the kitchen area, Kasin halts before the swinging doors and allows Abel to stand in front of him, weapon ready.

  Pushing the doors open, Abel jumps through the entrance, with Kasin hot on his heels as Abel calls out for the mysterious person to freeze and put his hands in the air.

  A feminine shriek is all that is heard as Kasin enters the room to smell the burning smoke coming from the oven and what resembled charred lamb. In any other situation, Kasin would think the view comical at the sight of the bright, blond haired woman clothed in a beautiful pale dress cinched tightly to accentuate her slim waist wearing brightly colored oven mitts around her hands.

  It wasn’t until her pale, violet eyes drew away at the sight of Abel with his gun pointed at her that Kasin felt his stomach begin to turn.

  Amira. His wife.

  She’d aged in five years. For the better. Five years ago she’d been a babe led to the slaughter that was their wedding. Her curves had deepened, though Kasin could hardly tell beneath her flowy dress, her breasts had grown plumper and her lips were still as full and riveting as her striking eyes.

  “Drop your weapon, Abel,” Kasin ordered without looking at the puzzled man before turning back to Amira who was slowly dropping her hands. “Hello, Amira.”

  Violet eyes widening, Amira’s lips mouthed his name before seeming to realize she was staring and dropped into a low bow.

  “My Sheik,” Amira’s voice remained the same. Soft and sweet, like a bird’s song. He remembered as children how she loved to sing. Did she still?

  Stepping forward, Kasin motioned with his hand for Amira to rise and, when she did, her eyes landed on his. So wide and innocent. Not a speck of darkness hidden behind them. Inwardly, his gut was clenching. He needed a drink. He should have taken something on the plane or drive to loosen him up.

  Not wanting to continue their staring contest, Kasin glanced briefly over the charred remains of the lamb, “Is that our dinner?”

  Amira didn’t know what was worse. Realizing she’d forgotten the food in the oven while she had been setting their table or having a gun pointed at herself in front of her husband.

  Mind clearing when Kasin asked about the charred lamb, Amira felt her skin begin to redden under his gaze as she turned away to poke at the dish holding their meal.

  “It was, I’m afraid. I was setting the table and forgot to take it out,” Amira muttered and bit her lip as she took a small fork and knife from the counter to cut into the lamb. While the outside was overdone, the inside didn’t appear too bad.

  “Why were you setting the table in the first place?” Kasin asks, his voice cooling.

  His voice hadn’t changed in the last five years. Cool indifference was all she could remember from their wedding day. As children, Kasin had been happy and indulgent with her. Now, he looked as though he would prefer to eat the entire ruined lamb than be in the same room as her.

  Before Amira could answer, her gaze slid to the man standing behind Kasin, his stoic face and blue eyes distracting her. He had been the one to deliver her to this palace. With strict instructions that she never leave this place. Clenching her fists, Amira brushed past
Kasin with the platter of ruined lamb and marched through the swinging doors and down the hallway. Kasin and his gun wielding friend were hot on her heels as Kasin continued to call her name.

  Stepping into the formal dining room, Amira’s heart ached at the sight of the candles and cooling entrees as she set the platter of lamb at the center of the table.

  “Amira?” Kasin stopped at the doors, without his friend and asked again, “Why is my Sheikha doing the job of a servant?”

  Snorting under her breath, Amira thought back to the last five years. She’d done more than set a dining table or assist with a meal. She’d helped the servants maintain the palace by cleaning, washing linens, dusting and even gardening in the front gardens. What else was she to do? She wouldn’t be like her father’s wife and lounge about all day eating chocolates and turning her mind to mush over some tv dramas.

  “I sent the servants home for the night. Since you were arriving so late, I thought it might be best for us to discuss things in private,” Amira admitted, though in reality it was a lie.

  She didn’t want the servants, those that had become her friends and family, to hear her shame when she would beg Kasin to sign the annulment, releasing her forever from this mountain prison.

  As she glanced sideways at Kasin, she saw a slight tick form around his eye, as if he was about to explode. Could sending the servants away for one night, really make him this angry?

  Waiting on bated breath as Kasin clenched his fists tightly before letting out a deep sigh sent Amira’s gaze to the charred lamb. “I know it’s not much, but I can heat the entrees up in the microwave if you like?”

  As if in disbelief, Kasin raised his hand. “No, please sit. This is fine. I’m sorry for overreacting, it’s been a long day.”

  Amira sat at the place setting to Kasin’s left, while he took the head of the table. Silence fell all around them as they each began scooping out portions of the entrees and Kasin even cut a portion of the lamb and placed it on his plate. Inwardly grimacing as he took a bite, Amira felt a bit of relief fly through her when he did not gag or revolt at the taste.

  The minutes slowly ticked by and, finally, Kasin reached for his glass and took a sip of his drink. His face immediately morphed into a look of disgust as he drew the glass away and stared at her in confusion.

  “What in god's name is this?” Kasin asked through a coughing fit.

  Stifling her laughter as Kasin reached for his water glass, Amira gazed at Kasin in amusement. “It is just spiced punch. Is it too bitter? You used to love it when we were children.”

  Grumbling to himself, Kasin rose and marched over to the side bar. On top were the familiar glasses, but inside, Amira knew he would find nothing. Her father enjoyed drinking. Amira had hated the way a simple glass of brandy or anything stronger could send him into a rage. Thus, this palace was alcohol free.

  “This is empty!” Kasin growled and stood, his dark eyes turning on her.

  Fiddling with her napkin, Amira forced herself to smile. “I didn’t realize those bottles were so important to you, my Sheik. When I arrived here, I threw them all away. I don’t drink and I don’t believe any of the servants do either.”

  Inwardly, Amira’s heart was thudding a mile a minute. She hadn’t merely thrown them away. She’d dumped every last drop down the mountain cliff. Her own personal revenge against the man who had stolen her heart as a child, only to smash it into a million pieces with his betrayal.

  “Do you even realize how much some of those bottles were worth?” Kasin growled and threw up his hands in a mixture of Arabic curses.

  “Kasin, please. I don’t think we need alcohol to discuss anything tonight,” Amira pleaded. She’d rather his mind be clear when she begged him for her freedom. Drink made men angry, though perhaps in Kasin’s case, a lack of drink made him angry.

  “Fine. I can’t eat much more anyway. Do you wish to discuss the reason for my arrival now or wait until tomorrow?” Kasin asked, his tone back to being cool and indifferent.

  Nervously standing, Amira sauntered over to the beautiful oak table filled with flowers in beautifully carved vases and picked up the lone envelope there.

  “I think it would be best if we discuss everything tonight. Get it all out of the way, I suppose,” Amira murmured as she marched to Kasin and extended the envelope.

  Staring at her in confusion, Kasin took the envelope from her hands, but not without their hands briefly meeting in a soft caress. Sizzling tingles shot up Amira’s arm and she quickly pulled away. She hadn’t felt the tingly touch of another in a long time. A time when shadows didn’t cloud this man’s eyes in pain and anger.

  “What is it, Amira?” Kasin asked, his voice faint and, when he spoke her name, Amira was certain she would melt into a puddle. Like his hand, his voice was like a caress sending tingles all over her cloth covered body.

  “Open it. I think this is what we both want,” Amira murmured.

  4

  Kasin stared into her innocent violet eyes for only a few seconds before turning them back on the envelope and pulling the contents out. Flipping the white paper over so he could read the front, Kasin felt his whole body freeze and his blood run cold as his eyes took in the impossible.

  Annulment Forms. All prepared and awaiting his signature. In disbelief, Kasin flipped over the stapled page and read over Amira’s reasons for the annulment.

  Unconsummated marriage.

  “An annulment…” Kasin hisses and finally meets Amira’s eyes. The violet depths darken a bit as Kasin flings the papers over his head letting them spill all over the floor at his back.

  Ignoring him, Amira sweeps past him to collect the papers; but before he will let her, Kasin reaches out and grasps her by the arm. The tight sleeves of her dress do nothing in stopping the reveal of the curves at her shoulders.

  “You want an annulment, zawja?” Kasin hisses and inwardly, his skin crawls at the way Amira flinches and her eyes filled with fear at the way he calls her wife.

  “Don’t you?” she asks breathlessly as she struggles in his tight grip.

  Kasin doesn’t answer. His mind is too jumbled. First there is no alcohol and now, his wife wants an annulment. What next?

  “Why else would you have come here after all this time? There are no lies in the application. Everything is true. I thought you’d be happy to finally be rid of me,” Amira continues, as if she is trying to appeal to a part of him that hates her. He could never hate Amira. She was the only good thing in his dark world. The only thing he sought to protect from the vultures that attacked his home all those years ago.

  Releasing her arm, Kasin pulls open a few buttons of his dress shirt and backs away to the windows overlooking the mountainside cliffs. Breathing in the fresh air calms Kasin’s racing heart and pounding head. Even the thought of what happened five years ago still sends Kasin into the beginnings of a panic attack.

  When he finally manages to get his breathing under control, Kasin exhales and closes his eyes as he speaks, “I didn’t come here for an annulment, Amira.”

  “Then why are you here?” Amira asks, her voice breaking his heart. She sounds so lost and confused. So much like the night of their wedding when he set her before Abel and wished her safe travels to this mountain side palace.

  Spinning around and locking eyes with her, Kasin clenches his fists at his side to keep from shaking or throwing something. “I am a Sheik, Amira. You must have known that at some point by marrying a Sheik, you would need to bare him an heir.”

  Silence.

  Amira was sure this was a dream. She’d never in a million years imagined this would be the reason for Kasin’s return. She thought perhaps he had finally fallen in love with another and wanted a divorce or an annulment. But not this.

  An heir? With Kasin? Amira thought in confusion, How could that even happen?

  In her mind, images began to form and her face flushed in embarrassment. She knew how children were created. She was a bastard child, after all.
Her father only claimed her out of duty to the Crown and as a way to entice Kasin’s family into uniting their families. And now Kasin wished to have an heir, with her.

  Sputtering in confusion, Amira met Kasin’s gaze and nearly burst out laughing, realizing this must be some sick joke he was playing on her, “Very funny, Kasin. You can quit the charade now.”

  Kasin stared at her as if he had three heads, before his face broke into an unfamiliar smirk. “You think creating an heir with me is a joke, zawja?”

  “You can’t be serious, Kasin,” Amira muttered, her body freezing when Kasin didn’t reveal the truth. This wasn’t a joke. He was dead serious.

  “Very serious, Amira,” Kasin murmured back and took a step closer to her. Amira only just noticed the way he scanned her from head to toe, his heated eyes stopping on her lips before landing on her eyes.

  Backing away, Amira cringed when she stepped on the annulment application she had spent so much time preparing.

  “I will not,” Amira said, her tone hard, but inwardly she was afraid. How stupid of her to send the servants away. They were her only protection from this man. How stupid of her to think that Kasin would have an honorable bone in his body.

  “You will, Amira,” Kasin crooned as he approached closer. “You are my wife and my Sheikha. It is your duty to provide me with an heir.”

  Feeling stifled from his closeness, Amira crossed her arms over her chest and stuck up her chin. “If you won’t sign for the annulment, then I shall file for divorce.”

  Kasin stared at her for a few moments. His eyes cold and calculating. At one moment, Amira thought she might have beaten this smart, handsome man. She couldn’t stay married to a man who had such little regard for the sanctity of marriage and she especially couldn’t subject a child to it.