by Leslie North
He moved inside her, and she felt him hardening, tightening, growing even tauter. She could almost feel his orgasm working its way through his shaft.
He started to shake and tilted his head back. Tightening his grip on her, he called out her name, as he tensed before surging up against her one last time.
She’d never made love in a pool before, so the feeling as they both exploded with ecstasy was new to her. He jerked and pulsed inside her, as they flooded each other with their warm juices, her innermost parts flexing and massaging the massive cock buried deep inside her, gripping him, as if to say he couldn’t leave her.
But eventually he did, shifting as his cock softened, leaving her feeling empty. Still holding her against him, he whispered, “You’re mine now,” in her ear.
“I always have been,” she whispered back, and they kissed again. Her fingers twisted into his hair and his hands held her face delicately, their kiss as ravenous for one another as if they hadn’t just made love.
He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as they kissed.
This was what she’d been missing. No one else had ever made love to her the way he did. And it was love. It wasn’t some physical one-nighter. It was the real deal. He’s always taken care of her in bed, and in the pool, it had been no different.
“Stay with me tonight,” he whispered.
“Are you sure?” Her blue eyes met his, almost black.
“I am,” he said, and he kissed her again.
12
The next morning, while Zaid and Rebecca were getting ready to meet the rest of the tour at the American factory in Timina, Calum shuffled into the bathroom behind his dad.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I’m taking your mother and some of her coworkers to check out a factory run by an American company nearby,” Zaid answered.
“I want to come!”
Zaid’s eyes leveled on his son’s Arabian face in the bathroom mirror. “You do?” he asked. He was touched by Calum’s interest.
“Yes, sir,” the boy said. “I want to be with you.”
“It’s fine with me as long as it’s okay with your mother,” Zaid told him.
“As long as what’s fine with me?” Rebecca asked coming into the bathroom to put on her jewelry.
“Calum wants to accompany us this morning as we go to the factory in Timina,” Zaid replied.
“Do you think it’s safe?” she asked.
“Of course it’s safe,” Zaid insisted. “Besides, one day, all of this may be his responsibility. Think about that.”
“Only if you ask me to marry you,” Rebecca fired back. “Oh, and if I accept.”
She shot him a look in the mirror and ducked back out of the bathroom.
Zaid looked at his son and shrugged. “I’ll take that as a yes. How about you?”
His face lit up. “I’m going?”
“Only if you get your Aunt to help you get dressed while your mother and I finish getting ready,” he said.
“Awesome,” he shouted, running into the living room to wake Amy, who’d slept on the couch.
The three of them, Zaid, Rebecca, and Calum, were waiting in front of the factory when the rest of the delegates showed up. While Rebecca had tried to get Amy to come with them, she happily bowed out telling them she would much rather catch up on some much needed sleep.
Candace climbed out of the coach first and walked up to greet them. “Is this your son?” she asked the two of them.
Zaid shot Rebecca a look, unsure of what exactly to say.
“My son, yes,” Rebecca answered.
Candace looked between Calum and Zaid. “You two are spitting images of each other. It’s uncanny. If I didn’t know you, I’d say he looks like your son, and the three of you make a wonderful family.”
Zaid and Rebecca laughed. Zaid ruffled his son’s thick black hair. “Thank you,” he said with a smile, as the other delegates and security detail caught up with them to go into the factory.
“Where’s your advisor, Alacabak?” Rebecca asked, looking around the group.
“He left a message that he had been otherwise detained and we were to go without him.” Zaid didn’t want to raise any concerns with Rebecca. She was too worried about everything anyway. “I’m presuming he had urgent business with my father. Since he filled in for me on two afternoons, it’s my turn,” he finished with a smile.
So many thoughts swirled in the back of Zaid’s mind as they walked into the factory, and he stepped away from Rebecca to the front of the group. He hadn’t considered anyone pointing out the resemblance between them so quickly and he was sure word would get back to his father faster than he was prepared to deal with. Given the unorthodox nature of his brothers’ relationships with their now wives, he was less concerned about any repercussions from his father and more concerned with his disappointment. Granted this information in the wrong hands could make for some bad press.
Alacabak’s absence at least bought him some time before his father found out about Calum. He was worried about the migrant workers they were probably going to find inside. The factory was in Timina after all, one of the migrant worker centers of Sharjah.
All Rebecca’s arguments about worker conditions in Rajak and Timina echoed in his head. With a bolt of clarity, he realized the combination of the working conditions and underpaid migrant workers would probably make the factory look like a sweatshop to his guests. Then, in a moment of brilliance, he decided to make it as positive as he could. He would show them that conditions like these were why they still needed new businesses and new investments in the region, just as he’d told Rebecca the day before. His people had to be brought out of poverty, and the government couldn’t do it by any means other than helping them obtain better jobs. Tourism and a strong local economy would help all of them. It was the only way.
“This is what we’re working with here in Timina,” he said as a way of introduction. “We have a lot of low wage workers doing jobs like these. This factory, owned by an American manufacturer, is the largest employer in this area. Now, as Ms. Reid can tell you, many migrant workers here earn wages considerably lower than our citizens and have little to no benefits. And while there are fines for hiring too many migrant workers, it can be difficult to police given that the majority of migrants are undocumented. We have put a lot of effort into not allowing this sort of thing to happen, with mixed success.”
He looked around at the touring delegates and took a deep breath.
“I originally wanted to show you all the glitz and the glamour of Sharjah. You’ve seen that by now. But there is a flipside to that coin, which is why we’re striving to attract bigger, better, and more successful companies. We want to provide our hard working labor force with better jobs so that they can attain a secure lifestyle. We have laws against subpar working conditions, including poor wages and benefits for that reason. Here in Sharjah, we believe that our workforce deserves to make a decent living, no matter where they are in the company, whether they’re at the top, the bottom, or anywhere in between.”
As he talked, he tried to gauge the reactions of the investors and was pleased to see interest in what he had to say. Casting a glance toward Rebecca, he was relieved to see her smiling at him.
As the tour shifted back outside, he continued. “This factory has been in operation for five years, and I can honestly say that this is an example of what we’re working against. While we appreciate the jobs, we need companies that won’t abuse our workforce by taking advantage of them.”
He hadn’t wanted to point out the negative but he also realized that if they’re going to make changes in Sharjah, honesty and transparency in some issues was necessary. He wished that he had the findings of the investigations he ordered so he could understand how it had gotten so bad, but he also needed to tell his investors why Sharjah needed their help.
As he opened his mouth to say more, an explosion at the other end of the factory shook the ground where they wer
e standing. Suddenly, they were surrounded by members of the security detail. “Sheikh Zaid!” one of the guards shouted. “Get down!”
There was another blast. The air was filled with smoke and the screams of delegates. Everywhere Zaid looked, there were people running, most of them delegates headed for the coach that had brought them here.
Zaid took off running too, searching for Rebecca and Calum. He had just caught sight of a flash of red hair at the rear of the crowd running toward the parking area when the third blast hit, and the front of the building erupted into flames. The sound was deafening and the Sheikh ducked as debris blasted around him. He heard Rebecca scream. The two security guards who’d been following him fell silent, as if they’d been swallowed by the dust that choked the air. He didn’t hear Calum either. He feared the worst. He’d just met his son for the first time. He couldn’t lose him now. Not like this. Not this soon.
“Calum?” he shouted. “Calum!” There was no answer. “Calum!” he shouted again, peering desperately through the settling dust to find his son. After what felt like an eternity but could only have been a matter of seconds, he saw a man walking away leading Calum by the hand. Relieved to see that Calum appeared okay, he rushed toward them, still unable to hear properly. Grabbing Calum’s free hand, he scooped the little boy into his arms, nodding briefly to the man before turning to look for Rebecca.
Calling out her name, he looked down to reassure his son and saw blood running down his cheek. “Oh shit,” Zaid muttered as he held him tightly in his arms.
“Rebecca,” he called out, again.
“Zaid?” he heard her calling for him. She sounded scared and panicked in the dead silence following the blast.
They ran into each other in the gray dust, and she screamed when she saw Calum. “What are we going to do?” she cried out to Zaid as soon as she saw the blood. “What did they do to my son?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Zaid told her. “But we’re going to get him to a hospital. Now.”
When they got back to the cars, Zaid could see that the guests were climbing into the coach, frazzled but mostly fine. “If anyone needs a doctor,” he shouted, “follow us. We’re heading to the hospital.”
He flung open the back door of the Mercedes and waited for Rebecca to slide in before handing her Calum. Looking around for the driver, he didn’t see him anywhere. Swearing, he slammed the door shut before shifting around to the front and climbing into the driver’s seat. Starting the car, he threw it in gear and made a hard turn, shooting sand and dirt up behind them as he hit the gas pedal too hard before heading for the road.
A million frantic thoughts rushed through his mind as he drove. Where were his security guards? Where was Alacabak? Who did this? Why did they do it? Was the palace okay?
Oh God, was anyone inside hurt? Or worse?
Was Calum going to be okay?
What about Rebecca?
“Hold on,” he yelled, as he drove. Looking in the rearview mirror, he watched Rebecca cuddle Calum against her.
Assuming that any member of his security detail was able, news of the blast will have reached his father and brothers by now. At the very least, emergency services will be able to treat the wounded. His first priority, however, was making sure Calum and Rebecca were okay, and he wouldn’t have that answer until after they were seen at the hospital. Looking in his side mirror, he caught sight of the coach rapidly catching up with them.
Good, at least he’d keep everyone together.
In the back seat, Rebecca murmured over and over, “You’re going to be fine, Calum. You’re going to be just fine.”
“Are you okay back there?” he called to Rebecca, trying to meet her eyes in the rear view mirror.
“We’re okay for now. I’m putting pressure on the cut, but there seems to be a lot of blood, Zaid.”
The panic in her voice pushed him to drive faster to the hospital, even as he said, “Head wounds always bleed a lot, even the small ones.”
In the distance, he heard the sirens of emergency personnel rushing to the factory. He stepped on the gas. If he didn’t hurry, they’d be surrounded by the vehicles clogging the road trying to get to the factory.
“What the hell was that, Zaid?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t know. Nothing like that has ever happened in my lifetime here. I just don’t know.”
13
Rebecca cradled Calum in her arms and rubbed his back to soothe his crying while she listened to the doctor.
“While this is a minor cut,” the doctor explained, “it will heal better, be less likely to scar with stitches, but there’s nothing to worry about. And the stitches will come out before you know it.”
“Okay,” Rebecca said shakily. “Is there anything else I need to do?”
“Just make sure that he doesn’t scratch at them. Keep the area clean, watch for redness, tenderness, signs of infection. You know, the usual. The stitches will come out on their own when they’re ready.” The doctor patted her on her shoulder on his way out of the room.
Rebecca looked over at Zaid. He stood in the far corner of the room, watching with a guarded look on his face. You told me it was safe! You told me we’d be safe! she wanted to yell at him. You brought your son to this god-forsaken country against my wishes! If she hadn’t been crowded around a hospital bed, she would have shouted all this and worse, maybe pummeled him with her fists.
But looking at him now, he was just as stricken by what happened as she was. Probably more so that it happened while he was there with the envoy. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind as he fought to make sense of the chaos and violence that he experienced. At least for her, this wasn’t the first time she’d been so close to bomb blasts, but it certainly didn’t make it any easier. Particularly since Calum was injured.
She hugged their son to her as she watched Zaid finish on the phone. She still couldn’t believe how decisively he reacted pulling them through the rubble and getting them to the car. Thankfully, the nurse in admitting recognized him as they came in. If it wasn’t for him, chances were that Calum would still be waiting to be seen in the now very busy hospital.
Rebecca set Calum back down on the bed and walked over to her Sheikh. She stroked his strong, tense arms. “How are you?” she asked him, looking up into his dark, scowling features.
“I can’t believe I let this happen,” he answered.
“You didn’t let this happen,” Rebecca argued. “Someone did this. You didn’t let anything happen.”
“Of course I did. You were the one worried about protecting Calum. You warned me against bringing him here, but I didn’t listen. I thought I knew better. This happened on my watch, and it should not have happened at all,” Zaid continued. “I should have paid more attention. I should have seen this coming. We should have taken actions to prevent this type of thing.”
“So many shoulds, Zaid. You can’t blame yourself. You didn’t do this. You had nothing to do with it.”
The anger in his face scared her, as did his silence. He was obviously angry with himself for what had happened, and she needed to get his attention off that train of thought.
“Has anyone said what it was or who did it yet?” Rebecca asked.
Zaid shook his head. “All my father said was we needed to get everybody back to the palace as soon as we’re all checked out.”
“Well, I think we’re ready to go here,” Rebecca said.
“Good,” Zaid said, his voice tight, as if he were barely keeping himself in check. “I’ll check on everyone else so we can get back to the palace.”
Rebecca hated to see him go, felt less safe once the door closed behind him, but she’d agreed. He did need to check on the other delegates, the factory workers. They were his responsibility, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
It was an eternity before he came back, his face still clouded.
Calum had finally calmed down and nearly stopped crying. He quieted more when Zaid put a
hand on his son’s back. “Ready to go, kiddo?” he asked, his eyes on Rebecca the whole time.
“Yes, sir.” Calum sniffled.
Sitting on the bed, he rubbed the back of Calum’s head waiting for the little boy to look at him. “You just survived a terrorist attack, and you’ve got stitches. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Girls like stitches and scars and things like that. It shows them you’re tougher than whatever tried to hurt you.” Zaid told him.
“Yeah, I guess.” He sniffled loudly.
“You know what? Here.” Zaid scooped Calum up from the bed and held him to his shoulder. “I got you and I will never ever let anyone hurt you again. Understand?”
Nodding his head, solemnly. “Thank you.” Calum put his short arms around Zaid’s neck and held him tight.
Zaid dropped Rebecca and Calum off in his personal quarters and into the tearful arms of Amy. She’d heard the bombing from the palace but had been left in the dark as to what happened. Sitting in his office, he made the remainder of his calls including to the hotel to have the personal effects of all the members of the envoy brought to the palace, where they were now staying, He had barely hung up the phone when his security detail knocked at the door, ready to take him to meet with his father, his brothers, and Hazim, the head of security.
“I trust everyone is okay,” the Sultan asked Zaid as soon as he entered his father’s conference room.
“Yes, sir,” Zaid answered. “The envoy was brought to the hospital and all have been released. They are here at the palace now. I think we lost a couple of security guards in the chaos but that information hasn’t been forthcoming.”
“That’s a shame,” the Sultan replied, his frown deepening. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He shook his head. Zaid had never seen his father look so troubled.
“We’ve already had a small debriefing with the diplomatic envoy,” Hazim informed the Sultan.
“Okay, good,” he said. He looked around the room, suddenly struck speechless.
