by Leslie North
“I’ll get her, but I need you safe. I can’t protect both of you.” Jumping to his feet, crouching low, he moved quickly across the room and yanked open the door. His pulse raced as he shoved open the door to Aisha’s bedroom.
His beautiful daughter was upright in the bed, eyes wide in alarm.
“I’ve got you. Come on.” He tried to sound calm as he hurried to her. It didn’t surprise him to hear Amy right behind him. Over his shoulder, he snapped, “Do you listen to anything that I say?”
“You can argue with me later.” Grabbing Aisha, Amy pulled her off the bed. “Come on, sweetheart,” she whispered. We’re going to play a game of hide-and-seek. Would you like that?”
“Who are we hiding from?” Aisha asked as she hooked her arms around Amy. She didn’t look at all scared. Just alert, and Bahir couldn’t help but feel proud of his daughter’s bravery.
“The guards. You remember Gadi, right? He wants to play,” Bahir said in a low voice. “Go hide in the closet for me, and be as quiet as possible.” He hadn’t heard any more gunshots after that initial burst, but he also didn’t know where his guards were.
Aisha nodded, and Amy hustled the little girl into the closet. Before Bahir could close the door, Amy reached out and grabbed his arm. “You’re not going out there, are you?”
She seemed genuinely concerned for his safety. In the middle of the night, half asleep, Bahir had only known that there was a soft, luscious body pressed up against him. He wanted to believe that he hadn’t set out to seduce Amy, but now that he’d felt her body tremble around him, had heard her moaning for more, he knew he wasn’t going to rest until he’d had all of her.
“If they want a hostage, I’d rather they take me than her,” he muttered before he closed the door and headed outside.
Gadi cut him off immediately. “Go inside, Your Highness,” he ordered, moving to shield Bahir’s body with his own. “You shouldn’t be out here.”
“What is going on?” Bahir snapped.
“I’m not sure. We have guards patrolling a mile out, and no one spotted a vehicle. Go back inside.”
“My daughter is inside, and I will not invite the danger any closer to her.” Just then, Taysir jogged closer to them.
“All clear,” he said breathlessly. “One of the guards got spooked by a snake. He’s been bitten.”
Bahir grimaced. “Poisonous?”
“Yes, Your Highness. But we’re not leaving our posts.”
Bahir shook his head. “I don’t expect we’ll be out here for more than a couple of days, and we will manage with one less man. I won’t have any of my men die from a snakebite. Take one of the vehicles and get him to the hospital, and return once he’s been admitted. ”
Slightly annoyed at the false alarm, he headed back inside to check on his girls. When he opened Aisha’s bedroom door, he was immediately assaulted by a flying object. Managing to catch the costly Syrian statue, he turned to find Amy brandishing another potential missile.
“Disarm,” he ordered with a chuckle. In disbelief, he held up the hunk of carven rock. “Are you seriously using priceless artifacts as a weapon?”
“Priceless? Maybe you should rethink your interior decorating choices for remote desert safe houses,” she retorted, slowly lowering her arm. “I thought you were a rebel. What the hell is going on?”
“Apparently one of my guards has an irrational fear of snakes, although, considering that the snake bit him, I suppose it’s not so irrational after all. Why are you not hiding in the closet?”
Setting the statue back on the table with obvious care, Amy crossed the room and opened the closet doors. “Hide-and-seek is over, baby. A guard had a small accident and had to go to the doctor.”
Aisha frowned. “Is he going to be okay?”
Bahir put in, “He’s going to be fine. I’m sorry that he couldn’t finish your game.” On impulse, he reached down and picked Aisha up. The child squealed as he whirled her around in the air.
As much as Bahir wished to play with his daughter, the last thing he wanted to do was have her run around unattended at a time like this. “If you think this place is fun, you should see my home.” He stopped whirling and matched her smile. “I live in a palace, and there’s a little girl there who’s right around your age. I bet you two would enjoy playing hide-and-seek with me and my brothers.”
“I’ve seen your palace,” Aisha said as Bahir at last set her back down on the bed. “My momma and I used to walk by there, and she would tell me that one day I would live there. Is she right?”
Amalia used to walk Aisha by the palace? Bahir’s throat started to close, and he took a shuddering breath. “If I had known, both you and your mother would have been living in the palace. But yes, soon, we’re going to go, and you’ll call it home. Would you like that?”
“What about my friends? What about Amy and Shatha and Natasha? Can they come live with us too?”
“They have their own homes, but they can come visit,” he promised as he leaned over to kiss the child on the forehead. He was still working up the courage to tell her that he was her father.
“Actually, they don’t. That’s why they live in an orphanage,” he heard Amy mutter angrily, and then the sound of her footsteps stomped out of the room.
Surprised, he turned his head and stared after her. What had he done?
Aisha yawned. “The sun is coming up. Is it breakfast time?”
“The sun is coming up, but I think you might do well with a few more hours of sleep. I think we interrupted it, didn’t we?”
Snuggling under the covers, the little head nodded. “Does that mean that we’ll have a late breakfast?”
The child obviously took her breakfasts very seriously.
He laid one hand over his heart. “I promise that we will not miss breakfast.”
Bahir waited until his daughter was asleep. Closing his eyes, he took comfort in listening to her small, rhythmic breaths. They were still a little raspy, but she was getting better.
Finally, he soundlessly closed the door and headed back to his bedroom.
Amy was curled up on the couch, her back to the room. Bahir knew she wasn’t asleep. Her whole body had visibly tensed when he walked into the room. “You don’t have to be ashamed about what we did,” he said gently. “We’re two consenting adults.”
“This isn’t about the sex,” she snapped, turning her head. “It’s been a long time for me, which is why I responded so readily to you. This is about the fact that you’ve saved one child, but you’re leaving others behind. These children are susceptible to anyone who shows them affection, and they could well grow up to be future rebels if rebels are the only ones paying attention to them.”
Bahir was stunned. “Aisha is my daughter….”
“And that’s the only reason that you’ve shown her any interest. Because she has your blood running through her veins. You feel guilty about how she’s lived. Think about how she would have grown up if you hadn’t found those letters.” Swinging her legs off the couch, she sat forward and wiped angrily at her tears, which only seemed to incite her more. “That’s how those other kids are going to grow up, and they’re your responsibility, too. They’re part of your kingdom. Simply because you’ve swept them to the outer edges and out of the public eye doesn’t mean you get to forget about them. They’re not dirt that you can sweep under the rug. Even Aisha realizes what she’s leaving behind by living with you, and she’s a child!”
The anguish in her voice cut him to the bone. Sitting down heavily on the bed, Bahir ran his hands through his hair. “I primarily look after our international import/export businesses. The actual dealings of the kingdom are left to Iman.”
“Maybe you didn’t think about it before, but you can’t turn your back on what you saw a few days ago. The doctor wouldn’t make Aisha a priority because she’s an orphan. Things could have taken a far worse turn.” Amy shook her head. “Even in America, kids living in the foster system get overlooked, but a
t least the government tries to regulate things. Here, they’re treated like lepers.”
This definitely wasn’t the conversation he’d planned on having. He’d been fully prepared to pick up where they’d left off before the gunshots, but even as the anger sparked in her eyes, he could see the fatigue there, too.
“Come here,” he said quietly. “Come back to bed.”
He could see the fight go out of her, but she shook her head and sniffled. He could feel her sorrow, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to make it go away. Holding his hand out, he waited patiently. “Please.”
She slowly rose from the couch, trudged across the small space to the bed, and sank onto the mattress next to him. “I guess I’m passionate about the subject,” she admitted as her head sank into the pillow.
“You’re passionate about a lot of things, apparently.” Settling down next to her, he let his hand rest on her hip. She fit perfectly against him as he curved around her body.
“We need to talk about what happened,” she murmured, but then she yawned.
“About the gunshots?” he teased.
“No.”
“About you throwing expensive decor at my head?”
She grumbled and readjusted as if carving out a comfortable spot. Just the smallest swivel of her ass against his groin had him stiffening, but he kept his desire in check. He was tired, and no doubt she was exhausted. He could see the toll this unanticipated trip was taking on her.
The detour wasn’t the only unexpected thing. Amy was a distraction that he didn’t need. He was grateful for the protective nature she displayed toward his daughter. He was relieved that she’d turned out to be such a wonderful nurse. He was not happy about his body’s reaction to her, and he certainly wasn’t happy about the emotional connection.
Not romance. Concern.
Yes, concern. He was afraid that he’d dragged an innocent woman into a dangerous political battle. She was concerned about the livelihood of the children she’d left behind.
He was concerned for her life. It was too late to take her back to the orphanage. If the rebellion caught up to her there, she knew far too much. Besides, Aisha was bonded with her.
He nodded to himself. It made the transaction easier.
Once things were safer and Aisha was comfortable with him, he’d pay Amy for her services and let her go. He’d take an interest in the orphanage and let her head out to find her next project to write about. Preferably not in Haamas.
She shifted against him again, and he groaned. There was no chance he was going to be able to keep his hands off her. They needed to return to the palace, soon.
10
Amy woke up alone in bed. The sound of childish laughter drifted in through the cracked door, and she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The sun was glaring through the window, making her feel as though she’d slept well into early afternoon, and the room was hot. She kicked the blanket off and rolled off the mattress.
She’d never been a morning person. Back in Florida, she set her coffee maker so a cup of joe would be waiting for her when she dragged herself out of bed, and then she’d ready another cup to take with her. At the orphanage, she was lucky to get a cup of coffee at all, with a coffee maker that was as cranky in the morning as she was. Here in a safe house that had no electricity, she knew she was out of luck.
Yawning, she managed to pull on her jeans and a clean tank top. Since they weren’t in public, she’d abandoned the hijab, but it made her a little uncomfortable to see the way the guards stared at her. Only Bahir seemed unaffected by her hair.
In the kitchen, the sight of Bahir and Aisha, their heads bent over the table, whispering loudly, made her smile. It comforted her to see the way that Bahir had with his daughter. He had a lot to learn, but he was far better than she’d first assumed he’d be. He was taking an interest in the child. Talking with her. Playing with her. It gave Amy hope that he wasn’t simply going to assign his daughter a nanny back at the palace and forget that the child even existed.
“Amy!” Aisha held up her stuffed octopus and waved it around. “The Sheikh fixed Kedar!”
“He did?” Amy peered over the two to study the plush animal. Evidence of a sewing kit was strewn across the tabletop, and horribly uneven jagged stitches connected one of the legs to the octopus. Bahir wouldn’t win any tailoring awards, that was for sure. “What happened to him?”
“He protected me from a dragon last night!” Aisha’s eyes widened as she spun her story. “It swooped in after you went to sleep and tried to eat me, but Kedar slayed the dragon.” Her tone turned tragic. “But he was injured!”
Amy met Bahir’s amused expression. “A dragon?”
He nodded solemnly. “A fairly small one, by the looks of things. It could fit in her room. I thought it might be a baby, but….”
“Not a baby!” Aisha interrupted loudly.
“No,” Bahir agreed at once. “Not a baby. A miniature version, I’m sure. I hear they’re rampant in this part of the desert.”
“Oh, dear!” Amy reached for the bowl of fruit on the table and popped a grape in her mouth. “Should I be worried?”
“No. Kedar settled things. No more dragon attacks,” the child said, hugging her octopus fiercely.
“It sounds like Kedar deserves some extra cuddles today.” Amy scrutinized the little face. “Did you take your medicine?”
Aisha immediately screwed up her face. “Yes. I feel better. Do I have to keep taking it?”
While the child was apparently fending off dragons last night, she had also been coughing and sniffling. Amy had awakened briefly to the sounds, but then she’d heard Aisha settle quickly, which was a good sign. “Hopefully not too much longer,” Amy assured her. “Why don’t you go get dressed? Since you’re feeling better, we’re going to get some reading done today, okay?”
Sighing heavily, Aisha slid off the chair and trudged to the bedroom.
Alone with Bahir, Amy tried to ignore his heated gaze as she reached for a glass of water. “Your surgical skills could use some improvement.”
“Are you offering to tutor me?” he asked in a husky voice.
It was impossible to ignore the memory of the erection that had pressed up against her while they slept, or stop the onslaught of memories of him touching her and kissing her. She’d feigned sleep for hours while fighting the urge to straddle him and finish what they had started.
“The only time I ever held a needle was when I used it to dig out a splinter,” she said at last with a shrug. “I’d probably be worse than you.”
“How did you get a splinter?”
Hesitating as she reached for another grape, she gave him an odd look. “What?”
“The splinter that you had to dig out with a needle. How did you get it?” he asked patiently.
“Climbing, actually. One of the foster homes I lived in had this tree that was perfect for climbing, but I was too small to reach the first limb until I climbed up on the patio railing first. The wood was old, and I almost always got splinters when I did it. My foster parents told me that I had to stop. They weren’t going to pull splinters out of my fingers anymore, but I didn’t stop.”
“So you had to pull out your own splinters?”
“A little blood isn’t going to keep me from getting what I want,” she replied with a grin. It had been a long time since she’d thought about that.
“Do you actually know what you want, Amy?” His voice was low and husky, and Amy shivered.
“There’s a difference between knowing what you want and knowing it’s a good idea,” she whispered. Before he could respond, she grabbed a handful of grapes and escaped to Aisha’s room.
The girl had dressed and was waiting impatiently with her books. “Can’t I go out to play first? And then read?” Aisha complained. She crossed her arms and pouted.
It was hard to explain to a child that it was dangerous for her to go outside. Amy didn’t want to scare her, but there was no way that Aisha could ru
n around and blow off steam.
“Actually,” Bahir interrupted suddenly. “I was thinking that if you sat down and read with Amy today, we could take a trip tomorrow to the palace. Would you like that?”
Wide-eyed, Amy whirled around. Was he saying what she thought that he was saying? That it was safe for them to go home?
“Okay! I’ll read now,” Aisha said eagerly. “Do we have to do it in the bed, though? I’m tired of the bed.”
“What if we built a fort, instead?” Bahir suggested. “A reading fort.”
Gasping, the child jumped and down and squealed with glee.
Shaking her head, Amy stepped aside and watched the sheikh go to work. It was obvious from the get-go that he had no idea how to make a fort out of blankets and pillows, but after some trial and error, he designed a fairly crude tent out of the blankets and lined the floor with the pillows. Amy tried not to point out that now they’d need to change the pillow coverings before bedtime. It was too much fun to watch Bahir and Aisha interacting.
He really was going to be a good father.
Shatha had been working with Aisha on understanding punctuation and comprehension. Her current reader focused on dialogue, which meant reading in different voices and knowing that questions should be inflected and exclamation points should be read with excitement.
Bahir settled in one corner of the fort and pulled Aisha into his lap. She settled in comfortably, as if it was perfectly natural for her to be there. Amy sat next to them and handed Aisha the first book.
“It was a dark night, and the stars…tinkled…”
“Twinkled,” Amy corrected her gently. “Don’t forget that w. Like Twins. Twist. Twelve. Twirl.”
Aisha nodded. “The stars twinkled above. Mohammed walked alone in the desert. He saw something in the sand. Bending down, he pulled it out and gasped. It was a gold lamp.”
“That’s an exclamation point,” Amy pointed to the symbol on the page. “What does that mean?”
