His Bought Fiancée (Wedded to the Sheikh Book 1)

by Holly Rayner

  “One moment.”

  “The pilot is waiting,” she reminded him.

  “I’m paying him to,” Ali answered.

  Chuckling, Alyssa extricated herself from his arms, grabbed the books, and led the way back to the rooftop.

  “I’ve never been in a helicopter before,” she said as she buckled up.

  “You’ll love it.” Ali took her hand. “And I’ll be right here.”

  The helicopter lifted up, beginning its journey above the city. Looking down at the skyscrapers’ lights and streams of cars so far below, Alyssa gasped in amazement. She’d looked down from plenty of high windows in the city, and she’d caught some awesome views of its skyline from rooftops in Brooklyn, but none of that was anything compared to what she saw now.

  They went north, leaving Ali’s place far behind. Alyssa kept her eyes on the window, now too busy drinking everything in to be afraid of abruptly falling from the sky.

  At LaGuardia airport, the helicopter touched down on the tarmac not far from a sleek jet. With Ali’s hand in hers, Alyssa stepped onto the ground and surveyed what was next.

  “Is that yours?” Alyssa asked, nodding at the jet. Its staircase was down, and a flight attendant stood next to it.

  “It belongs to the family,” Ali said. “But I use it a lot, yes.”

  “Oh.”

  One? How many jets does a family need?

  Alyssa thought she heard Ali greet the flight attendant by her first name, but she couldn’t be sure. She was too busy being amazed by everything around her. Each part of the jet was lavish, from the leather seats that converted into beds to the thick, cream-colored carpet, to the giant flat-screen on the wall.

  “You said you packed us everything we’ll need for Costa Rica,” Alyssa said, taking a seat. “But what about Baqar?”

  Ali nodded with confidence. “We’ll be fine. I’ve made some calls.”

  Alyssa looked down at her old track shirt. A few hours ago, she’d been organizing her “bedroom” that wasn’t really more than a corner of a living room, getting ready to eat cheap takeout and watch reality TV, and now, she was headed to a part of the world she’d never even dreamed she would visit—and on a royal family’s private jet.

  Even more surprising, was that she was with a man who loved her.

  “Thank you for doing this, Ali,” she said.

  He turned in his seat to face her. “Just so long as it’s what you want, my love.”

  Alyssa nodded. “It is.”

  His lashes fluttered and his brows pinched together. “I know you want to make peace with them, but please, Alyssa…do not be disappointed when that does not happen.”

  “You love me, don’t you?”

  Ali’s seat creaked as he leaned closer to her. “I do.”

  “Then I think I should at least try. For too long, I pushed my mom away. She’d said so many things that had made me angry that I kind of stopped listening altogether, you know? I figured that whatever she had to say, I’d already heard some version of it.”

  “My parents don’t exactly mince their words,” Ali said. “I don’t believe I’ve been mishearing them.”

  “Okay, but how about this? Maybe they’ve been picking up on your resistance, and that in turn has made them even stricter?”

  Ali’s lips became thin. “I fear you do not understand Baqari parents well.”

  “I’m sure I don’t,” Alyssa playfully shot back. “But we’ve already committed to this, so let’s just go. Let’s try.”

  “Try what?”

  “To all get on the same page.”

  Ali sighed. “This is the fire I saw deep in you that first day.”

  Alyssa scoffed. “I was being a chicken the day we met.”

  “A chicken with the heart of a lion,” Ali said seriously. “And now, that passion is truly coming out.”

  Underneath them, the jet engines roared to life.

  “How long of a flight is this?” Alyssa asked.

  “About twelve hours, give or take.”

  “Right.” Alyssa nodded. “So I have plenty of time to prepare what I’ll say to them.”

  Ali ran his fingers down her arm. “You should get some sleep.”

  “Yeah, but it’ll be nighttime when we get there, right? Because of the travel time plus time change.”

  “It will be around four in the afternoon.”

  “Yikes.” Alyssa pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Okay, my brain hurts.”

  “Sleep,” Ali said soothingly.

  Alyssa sighed. “I don’t think I can.”

  The jet was taking off, and Alyssa watched out the window as they left the ground behind. As the plane rose sharply, her stomach plummeted, but the experience wasn’t as scary as it usually was—the truly terrifying part of the weekend would come tomorrow.

  “I didn’t tell them you are with me,” Ali said. “I only sent a message saying I will be home this weekend, and that I’d like to visit them tomorrow. Should I tell them that you’re coming?”

  “No,” Alyssa said after some thought. “Maybe not. If they know I’m coming, they might not let us in.”

  Alyssa forced a smile, but it was a fake gesture, and Ali spotted it immediately.

  “They don’t know you,” he reassured her. “I’m the one they are angry with.”

  “Well, if they don’t know me, maybe that will give me some leverage.”

  Ali’s eyes softened. “You certainly don’t quit, do you?”

  Alyssa found his hand and intertwined their fingers. “Not when something means a lot to me.”

  “Their opinion means a lot to you?”

  “You mean a lot to me,” Alyssa whispered. A blush heated her cheeks. “I thought we already confirmed that.”

  “We did.” Ali grinned. “I just like hearing it again.”

  Alyssa’s heart pounded at a delirious rate. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “Don’t worry. Baqar is a wonderful place.”

  “No,” Alyssa corrected. “I was talking about me and you.”

  “Ah.” Ali’s eyes lit up. “Now there is a subject I can discuss all night long.”

  Alyssa giggled. “Good, because someone told me this flight is about twelve hours.”

  “I suppose we should get busy exploring our relationship, then,” Ali said.

  “What do you mean by that?” Alyssa asked flirtatiously.

  “Let me show you,” Ali whispered, his breath caressing her cheek.

  Alyssa’s next laugh was cut short as Ali pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to be swept into a world of bliss.

  Chapter 21

  Alyssa

  Window to window. That was Alyssa’s experience in Baqar so far.

  Upon arriving at the airport, a man in dark glasses and a suit had met them on the tarmac and ushered them into an SUV with tinted windows, where another man in a matching suit sat up front. Ali had been slightly embarrassed, explaining that bodyguards were required for all members of the royal family while in Baqar and two really was not a lot, but Alyssa had waved it all away. She didn’t care about that kind of stuff. She was here for Ali and his family. Nothing else.

  Although, riding through the streets on the way to Ali’s parents’ home, Alyssa soon found herself with her nose to the window in amazement. She knew a little bit about Baqar from news articles and a geography class in school, but being in the country was a whole different experience. As Alyssa watched in awe, the driver took them down a highway and through the heart of the city.

  Billboards and flashing signs—mostly in Arabic but some in English—towered above the buildings. The skyscrapers, shopping malls, and pristine parks turned into neighborhoods. With each block they gained, the houses grew larger. Most of them were tan and white, with the occasional mosaic-covered or gold-painted dome here and there.

  “What do you think?” Ali asked.

  It's…” Alyssa shook her head. “Amazing. You grew up here.”r />
  “Yes,” Ali agreed with a chuckle.

  “Do you recognize all of this?” she asked.

  Ali tilted his head. “Yes and no. The country has changed much in the last twenty years.”

  “And you don't get home all that often,” Alyssa said.

  Across the backseat, Ali reached for her hand.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Alyssa took in a long breath, but it did her no good. Her insides were all queasy, and despite the air conditioning in the car, she’d broken out into a sweat.

  “Nervous,” she admitted.

  Ali nodded solemnly. “Yes.”

  She could tell by the tight expression on his face that he was the same. They had already made the decision to come to Baqar, though, and there was no turning back. Alyssa had a plan, and she would follow through with it.

  With the sun dipping below the roofs of passing mansions, the SUV took a turn and stopped in front of a long wall with a guard house. Following a gesture between the driver and the man in the guardhouse, a gate slowly rolled open.

  The driveway they found themselves on was closer to a road than anything else. It snaked along some of the most impressive landscaping Alyssa had ever seen. Cactuses. Succulents. Trees with long branches that reached to the sky.

  The silence in the car became heavier. Sweat coated Alyssa’s palm, but she didn’t know if it was from her hand or Ali’s.

  Finally, a house came into view. And then another house. And another. They were at some sort of complex, a home made out of not one building but several. As the SUV pulled up, two men rushed forward to open Ali and Alyssa’s doors. Alyssa let go of Ali's hand for a brief instant, but she grabbed back onto it as soon as she could.

  “Is this where you grew up?” she whispered to him.

  Ali nodded yes, his gaze busy surveying the main house’s front windows.

  “Sheikh Ali.” An older man dressed in white bowed to him. “It is wonderful to see you again.”

  “You as well,” Ali told the man. “Are my parents here?”

  “They are in their quarters.”

  The man extended his arm toward the front door, and the three of them walked for it. Before anyone could open it, however, it flew open. A woman on the other side did the lowest curtsy Alyssa had ever seen.

  “Ramoud, this is my girlfriend, Alyssa Cambridge,” Ali said to the man.

  Alyssa stopped gawking at the shiny foyer with a split staircase and oil paintings to smile at Ramoud. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

  And nice to be called Ali’s girlfriend.

  She caught her new boyfriend’s eye, and they smiled at each other. If Ramoud was surprised to hear Ali had a girlfriend—and an American one, at that—he didn’t show it. His face was completely passive as he bowed to her.

  “An honor, Miss Cambridge,” he said.

  “Ramoud is our family butler,” Ali explained, before turning to the other man. “We will wait in the sitting room.”

  “Yes, Sheikh.” Ramoud gestured at the woman who had opened the door and she hurried away. “Refreshments will be with you soon,” he added.

  Still holding Alyssa’s hand, Ali took her to a room that was just as lavish as the foyer. Alyssa studied the spot with intensity, too afraid to smell the flowers or sit on the gold-embroidered couch. The home seemed too perfect. It made her worry that she might exhale too harshly and break something. She was thankful that she’d been able to change into some nice clothes—Ali had ordered some beautiful things—on the plane, so that she wasn’t standing in this stunning, intimidating space in her loungewear.

  “Don’t worry,” Ali said. “We won’t be staying here tonight.”

  Alyssa frowned at that. “You never know; your parents might want us to stay.”

  Ali chuckled wryly. “You’re optimistic, Alyssa. I love that.”

  “You can tell me that all you want.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That you’re optimistic?”

  “That you love something about me,” she replied with a grin.

  His hands on her waist, Ali pulled her closer. “I love everything about you.”

  As his lips touched hers, Alyssa’s heart sang. She’d only gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane, and her nerves were still rattled over the impending meeting, but when Ali touched her, all of that melted away.

  The sound of the door opening made them break apart. A woman Alyssa hadn't seen yet entered with a silver tray bearing a pot of tea. Right behind her, a second woman carried a second tray, this one heaped with baked goods and fruit.

  Setting the refreshments on a table, the women bowed and backed out of the room. Alyssa inspected a piece of fruit that had been cut open and covered with bright red berries. At one point, it had been a mango. Now, it was a piece of art.

  “Is it always like this?” Alyssa asked. “The waiting on you hand and foot?”

  Ali lifted his shoulder in the way that she was coming to see meant he didn't really want to answer.

  “Tea?” he asked.

  Not waiting for an answer, he poured them both cups, and they settled on the couch. It seemed a long time had gone by since the butler had gone to get Ali’s parents, and waiting had turned almost unbearable.

  Putting her cup down without taking a sip, Alyssa turned to Ali. Before she could tell him she was in danger of fainting, the door opened and Fakhir and Noura strode in.

  Alyssa popped to standing, and Ali was right there along with her, taking her hand and holding it tight.

  Noura’s eyes went wide, and Fakhir stopped in his tracks, his brow lowering.

  “Ali,” he said. “What is the meaning of this? What are you doing here?”

  By “you,” Alyssa knew he meant her. Suddenly, her throat and mouth went dry. She searched her brain for her original plan for the meeting and came up empty. For the first time since getting on Ali’s jet, this whole thing seemed like a really, really bad idea.

  “Father, Mother,” Ali wrapped his arm around Alyssa’s waist, and in that safe space, she started to breathe regularly again. “Alyssa and I are together. We came here to tell you that.”

  Ali’s parents exchanged a heavy look, and Fakhir’s nostrils flared.

  “You have lost your mind, Ali,” Fakhir said, and then he added something in another language. Arabic?

  Alyssa looked at Ali. Judging from his clenched jaw, whatever his father had said, it had not been good.

  A lump formed in Alyssa’s throat, and her head was a mess, but she knew that she had been the one to bring Ali here, despite his misgivings. She needed to say something.

  “Please.” Alyssa stepped forward, out of Ali’s protective hold. “Please listen.”

  Alyssa didn't like the desperation in her voice, but at least it was making everyone pause and look at her.

  “The engagement…” Alyssa looked over her shoulder at Ali. Had he admitted the truth to his parents?

  Well, too late now.

  “It was fake,” Alyssa finished.

  Noura sighed like she was in pain, and Fakhir groaned.

  “We know!” he said, slicing his hand through the air. “And whatever it is you are here for, now…” His eyes fell on Alyssa. “I can assure you that you will not receive it.”

  The statement hit like a punch. Still, Fakhir was convinced that she was up to something.

  He doesn't know me, she reminded herself. Just like Mom, he's trying to protect his only kid.

  Shaking off the hurt from Fakhir’s words, Alyssa squared her shoulders.

  “It was fake,” she repeated, “but our love isn't. Ali and I…we love each other. He changed me. I was spinning my wheels before I met him. I hated my life, but I didn't know what to change. I didn't even know what I wanted. Ali made me dig deeper. He inspired me to go looking for passion instead of sitting around waiting for it, like I used to do.”

  Ali stepped up to Alyssa and put his arm back around her waist.

  “And she changed me a
s well.” Ali wasn't looking at his parents. Instead, his gaze was on her. “I knew the life I was living in New York was empty, but I didn’t understand the potential waiting for me elsewhere until I found her.”

  Alyssa smiled wide. What he'd said was very similar to what she had—only Ali had put it in his trademark formal way.

  A long silence filled the room. Ali looked at his parents and cleared his throat.

  “Alyssa and I are together, and I hope we will continue to remain together. I wish for your blessing on this, but if you cannot give it…” Ali jerked his head in concession. “There is nothing I can do about that.”

  “Oh, Ali,” his mother sighed, wringing her hands.

  “She is a commoner,” Fakhir said.

  Ali stiffened. “Yes. That does not matter to me. You want me to be with some princess. That is not my wish.”

  “Hold on.” Alyssa stretched her hand out. “So, you believe us?”

  Noura nodded.

  “It seems a very large lie to uphold,” Fakhir answered. “But there is still the matter of your citizenship, Alyssa."

  “What will the country think?” Noura asked no one in particular.

  “Let them think what they will,” Ali answered.

  “A typical response from you.” Fakhir called something in Arabic over his shoulder, and one of the maids instantly entered with two more teacups, as if she'd been standing in the hallway with them, just waiting for her boss to summon her.

  “Sit,” Fakhir said, gesturing to the couches.

  The four of them sat across from each other, Alyssa and Ali on one side and his parents on the other. Ali held Alyssa's hand, and each time his thumb stroked her knuckles, a wave of peace went through her.

  Was she being hopeful, or were Ali’s parents opening up to the idea of their relationship?

  Everyone was silent as the maid poured tea, but the second the door closed behind her, Fakhir spoke up.

  “I suppose there is no point in going over, yet again, all that your mother and I expected of you. This life—while it comes with its blessings—is…” Fakhir cleared his throat and looked away. “Though it may be our destiny, it is not one we chose.”

  Alyssa glanced at Ali, but all of his attention was on his father. Noura, too, looked at her husband with rapt interest, and Alyssa understood that they were seeing a rare side of Fakhir.