Desert Jewels & Rising Stars

by Sharon Kendrick

  His words hurt. They hurt because, as much as she hated to acknowledge the truth in them, it was there. He was right. She’d never had a job. She didn’t know how to go about getting one. Or an apartment. She didn’t know how to drive. She had a lot of knowledge, but all that had come from books. She had never had to apply the things she’d learned to anything real or practical.

  “I can find something to do,” she said, pushing her reservations to one side.

  “With a body like that there will be many men willing to help. For a price.” His eyes raked over her, hot, glittering. There was nothing passive in those black depths—not now. There was only fire.

  She struggled against him. “Let go of me.” She needed to get away from him. It wasn’t about the broader scope, the two months of freedom. Now it was all zeroed in on getting out of his hold—away from him and the strange electric feelings that were zinging through her system.

  A man who was walking by the alley turned toward them. His expression, barely visible in the light of the lamp he stood under, was concerned.

  Adham backed her up a few steps, so that she rested against the brick wall of the boulangerie, and before she could protest his mouth was covering hers, his tongue sliding against the seam of her lips, requesting entry. She gave it.

  Her mind was blank of everything but the feeling of his lips on hers. His hands roaming from her hips to her waist, to the swell of her breasts. She gripped his shoulders, steadying herself, grateful for the wall of the building behind her and the wall of his body in front. If not for those things she would have melted into one of the rain puddles at his feet.

  He pulled away suddenly, his breathing harsh in the stillness of the night air. Isabella touched her lips, confirming that they were as swollen as they felt.

  “What …?” she breathed, unable to speak any more coherently than that.

  “It’s Paris,” he bit out. “No one is going to interrupt lovers. Even if they are having a disagreement.”

  He took her arm and led her out of the shadows and back toward the main door of his building. Her rage mingled with something else—something hot and dangerous and completely unsettling. She put a hand to her mouth again, to confirm she hadn’t hallucinated the entire event.

  When they were back in the building he propelled her into the lift, the doors shut behind them. She couldn’t believe he had done that. Kissed her as though he had every right to touch her, as though he … he had some claim on her. And only to shut her up. Her first kiss had been a diversion.

  Worse than all of that, she couldn’t believe the restless ache that was building in her body. The curiosity. The need to know what it would be like to kiss him again. Only this time longer and gentler, slowly so she had time to process it, to learn the texture of his lips, the rhythm of his movements.

  She shut that traitorous part of her brain down. He’d had no right to do that. She wore another man’s ring. Even in her wildest fantasies of escape she had never imagined betraying her fiancé in that way. She didn’t know the man. She certainly didn’t love him. But they had a signed agreement, and she had no intention of violating it.

  He’d done it to shut her up. That stung her pride. Much more than it should.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” she said icily.

  He looked at her, his dark eyes unreadable, his lips—lips that had just claimed hers with what had felt like hunger—now pressed into a flat, immovable line. There was no passion there. He was unaffected. A man made of cold, unyielding stone.

  “If you learn one thing about me learn this, and learn it quickly,” he said, his voice hard. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure my objective is met. I intend to take you back to Sheikh Hassan, and I will do it.”

  She believed him. Her scarred captor with the fathomless eyes was most certainly capable of getting his way. Of seeing that she didn’t get hers. She felt as if she’d stepped into water, expecting a wading pool, only to find she had swum out into the middle of an ocean. Out of her depth didn’t begin to describe it.

  She walked from the lift back into the penthouse, and tried not to imagine a barred cell door swinging shut when Adham closed the door behind them.

  “How did you know? How did you get down there so fast?”

  “I was expecting it. I deal with masterminds, Isabella, one naive princess is not going to pull one over on me. There’s an alarm on the door that’s linked to my mobile phone, and the stairs are faster than the elevator.”

  She closed her eyes against mounting anguish, tried to fight the tears that were threatening. She didn’t want to dissolve in front of him. Didn’t want him to see how defeated she felt. How could a man who was allowed to do whatever he wanted, a man who roamed the world, lived by his own rules, possibly understand the preciousness of two months and ten days worth of freedom?

  She looked at his hardened face, the scars. Appealing to him for a show of kindness would be like attempting to squeeze water from a rock. It was impossible. You couldn’t extract what wasn’t there.

  “Go to bed, Isabella.” His voice was as hard as everything else about him.

  She felt as if she was going to break, but she wouldn’t do it in front of him.

  She nodded jerkily and stumbled into her bedroom, closing the door behind her with a click.

  Adham stalked across the room and retrieved his phone from the coffee table, hitting the speed dial for his brother, not caring what time it was in their home country.

  “Salaam, brother,” Adham said curtly.

  “Salaam, “ Hassan returned the greeting, his tone questioning. “You’ve found Isabella?”

  “I have found your wayward fiancée, as requested.”

  “And she is well?”

  “She is uninjured, if that’s what you mean. But she did make another escape attempt.”

  “She’s unhappy?” His brother sounded genuinely concerned.

  “She is a spoiled child. She has no reason to be so discontent. She wants for nothing.”

  Hassan sighed heavily into the phone. “I regret that she is reluctant about the marriage. But it’s a much needed alliance, and marriage is the best way to seal such bargains. It is necessary insurance in something so critical.”

  “I understand the reason for your union. But I find her childish.”

  “You do not think she will make a suitable bride?”

  “I will gladly hand her over to you and see that she becomes your problem as quickly as possible.”

  Hassan laughed. “You make me eager for her to arrive.” He paused for a moment. “Is there nothing that can be done to make her happy? A gift, perhaps? A ring that is more to her liking?”

  “She wants to see the Eiffel Tower,” Adham bit out in response.

  “Simple enough.”

  “She has some idea that she is lacking in life experience. She intends to go and find herself some experience.”

  There was another pause on the other end of the line. “The wedding is not for two more months, Adham. If that is what she wants, I see no reason why you can’t accommodate her—so long as the experience she seeks is not in a man’s bed.”

  There was something different in his brother’s tone. A desperation he had not heard before. Adham had the feeling that his request had little to do with Isabella, but he would not ask.

  “I am not a babysitter.” He repeated his earlier words. “Have one of your other men come and watch over her while she tries to play at living her spoiled princess fantasy of what real life is.”

  “I don’t have that kind of trust in anyone else. Another man would be too tempted by her. I’m certain that you’ve noticed she’s an incredibly beautiful woman.”

  He’d noticed. It was difficult not to. She had the sort of beauty that no red-blooded man could ignore. And he didn’t want to spend any more time with her than was necessary.

  “You will keep her safe?” Hassan pressed.

  “You have my word. On my honor, I will keep her from ha
rm. I will keep her untouched.” His vow was from the heart. He served Hassan always. Gladly. Hassan was his only family, and there was no bond stronger than that forged in blood.

  “I have absolute faith in you, Adham,” his brother continued. “You will keep her safe and make her happy. It will ease my conscience.”

  “As you will it,” Adham ground out, before ending the call.

  He tossed the phone onto the couch and tried to calm his raging pulse. At the moment he felt like a fox that had just been asked to guard the henhouse.

  Kissing her had been a miscalculation on his part. He had not anticipated his body’s reaction to such a simple thing. He had far too much experience for a mere kiss to fire his blood.

  And yet kissing Isabella had done just that. His body was still hard, and a dark, physical need was gripping him. There was no denying that in a physical sense he desired her. And she was the one woman he was forbidden to touch.

  But it was a simple matter of control. And once he had made his decision he would not deviate from it. He never did.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ISABELLA surfaced quietly the next morning, creeping out of the sparsely furnished bedroom and into the main living area. Her eyes were puffy from crying and from lack of sleep. But the moments of indulgence had been worth it in a way. And now she was done with feeling sorry for herself.

  She pulled her thick hair up into a ponytail and walked through the expansive living room and into the kitchen. She took an apple out of a fruit bowl on the counter and sat down at the small dining table.

  Adham strode into the room a moment later, his crisp white shirt open at the collar, revealing a V of golden muscular chest. His black hair was wet and curling around the neck of his shirt. He smelled fresh, clean and wholly male, his natural scent spiked with a hint of sandalwood—exotic, spicy, and completely erotic. She couldn’t remember ever noticing the scent of a man before. Her father’s cologne, her brother’s aftershave, but never the scent that was beneath the product. She noticed it now. It made her lungs feel tight, as if she couldn’t bring in enough air.

  She placed the apple on the table. “Good morning.”

  He gave her a skeptical look, one that told her he quite plainly disagreed, and jerked the refrigerator door open, turning his attention to hunting for food. “Have you eaten?”

  She shook her head mutely, before realizing that he couldn’t see her. “No. I just got up.”

  “Late nights prowling the street do tend to make one tired.”

  She gritted her teeth to bite back all the angry words that were swirling in her head, all the justification and excuses. None of it would matter to him. As far as he was concerned she was simply a package for him to deliver. “So I’m discovering.”

  He closed the fridge abruptly and straightened, training his dark, impenetrable gaze on her. “Never endanger yourself like that again, Isabella. You do not understand how dangerous the world is. How can you?”

  “I live surrounded by bodyguards. I understand that life is dangerous.”

  “Do you? Because you did not seem like a woman who understood that last night.”

  “I didn’t really imagine that the neighborhood around your upscale penthouse would pose a danger.”

  “Danger can be anywhere. Even in the most luxurious surroundings. Especially there.”

  The dark note in his voice told her he spoke from an experience she couldn’t begin to understand. His scars ran deep. Those on the surface were only a glimpse of what was beneath. But it didn’t repel her. It only made her curious about the man who was the Sheikh’s most trusted employee. The man who seemed to have no fear for himself, yet feared for her safety.

  He took her apple from its spot on the table and placed it back in the fruit bowl. “Let’s go to a café. You can see more of the city.”

  Wariness along with a small surge of hope flared to life inside her. “I thought you didn’t babysit.”

  “I don’t. Consider this your guided tour of life.”

  “What changed your mind?” she asked, apprehension combining with excitement now, and her stomach tightening with anticipation.

  “It has nothing to do with me. It’s what Hassan wants. If it were up to me you would be on a plane to Umarah right now and would no longer be my problem. But your future husband has seen fit to allow you to have your life experiences. Within reason, of course.”

  She imagined it was what prisoners might feel like when they found out that their execution date had been pushed back. It was a reprieve, but the execution still loomed. And she would be living her remaining days with her jailer as her constant companion. But she wouldn’t let herself think of what would happen after her time in Paris. This was about her. She deserved it. Deserved to have some time devoted to things that interested her. Some time devoted to discovering what things interested her.

  “Thank you,” she choked out, the lump in her throat keeping her from speaking more. She closed the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Adham stood rigid, his arms pinned tightly to his sides. He was unwilling to do so much as breathe, for fear his control would slip even more and he would give in to the ache of arousal that was pounding heavily through his body.

  He could not remember the last time a woman, or anyone for that matter, had hugged him. Clung to him, kissed him, rubbed her body against him in invitation—sure. But just a hug—a show of warmth, of affection, an innocent gesture … He didn’t know if he had ever experienced that. He had been so long without his family, so long without frequent, human contact, that he could not remember any more what it had been like. Since the death of his parents it had only been Hassan and himself, and neither of them were given to overt displays of affection.

  “I do not want your gratitude,” he said, pulling away from her hold, ignoring the tightness in his body. Ignoring what it meant. “This was not my doing.”

  Her eyes widened, and hurt evident in their blue depths—as though she was a child responding to being scolded. Such a contradiction. She was a woman, not a child, but she seemed to switch roles with ease. A woman when it suited her to be enticing. A sweet innocent when she wanted sympathy. It was a façade, an act, and though it was effective it would not work on him.

  She bit her lip and looked down, the crease between her dark, perfectly shaped brows deepening, as if to show contrition. “I’m sorry. But this is the only chance I’ll have to … to figure out who I am. I don’t know if someone like you could understand.”

  “Someone like me?” he asked, mildly amused that she’d clearly taken him to be nothing more than a bodyguard.

  “Someone who’s had freedom his whole life. Someone who’s had the ability to make his own decisions. I haven’t had that chance. It’s … it’s more than that. I don’t know if I can fully explain it. I just know that I need to be able to have some experiences of my own.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, unmoved by her speech. “And what is at the top of this list of yours?”

  She raised her eyes again, a glimmer of excitement there now. “I want to do things I haven’t done before. Go to the movies. A club, maybe?”

  “Not a club,” he said flatly.

  If she went to a club every heterosexual male in the area would be all over her. Given her sheltered upbringing, she likely had no clue what kind of effect a body like hers had on men. She’d played at flirting with him, but playing was all it had been. In that sort of environment she would be like a lamb that had wandered into a wolf pack.

  “Okay, not a club,” she said, not looking at all dented by his refusal. “But definitely the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, a restaurant. And definitely shopping.”

  “Get dressed. I’ll take you to breakfast.”

  Isabella took a long sip of her espresso and followed it up with a bite of pastry. She closed her eyes and moaned.

  The burn that hit him hot and hard in his stomach, along with the slow flood of blood that went south of
his belt, made him tense.

  He hadn’t noticed before what a sensual person Isabella was. Watching her eat a pastry and drink coffee, listening to the sounds she made—small kitten moans in the back of her throat—watching the way she closed her eyes as if she was in ecstasy, seeing her lick each remaining crumb from her full lips, was erotic torture.

  The only thing that matched the arousal racing through his system was the growing disgust that had settled in his gut. She was his brother’s woman. She was forbidden. He should not want her, should not touch her, should not look at her as a man looked at a woman. And yet he found himself looking. Wanting. But he would never touch her. Not again. That time in the alley, when his lips had met hers, it had been necessary. It was a moment that would never be repeated.

  He would not betray his brother in such a manner. The loyalty that existed between them was not something that could be thrown aside for a mere woman. The bond between himself and his brother had always been strong, but after the death of their parents that link between them had been strengthened. Hassan had devoted his life to ruling Umarah, guiding their people, forging diplomatic alliances and handling the delicate matters of state. Adham’s life was devoted to protecting Hassan, to guarding their people. They were a right and a left hand. Hassan had been the public ruler from the time their parents had died, but they functioned as a team, working with their strengths for the betterment of their people.

  There would be no compromising that.

  “This place is amazing. Like a fantasy.”

  She inhaled deeply, and his eyes were drawn to the shape of her rounded breasts pushing against her top.

  Clearly her fantasies were different from his. But then, that was to be expected. Another reminder of why she was not the sort of woman who should arouse his libido. Even if his brother weren’t a factor. She was an innocent. A virgin. He had never touched a virgin and never would as he didn’t ever intend to take a wife.

  “Paris can hardly be beaten for atmosphere, although I’m partial to the desert. I like the heat, the open space, the solitude.”