by Sophia Lynn
"There are many reasons that I want you," he murmured. "I want you for your beauty, and your wit, of course, but what first caught my eye was your passion. You didn't care who I was."
"I might have spoken a little more circumspectly if I had known that you were the person who owned all of these books and the palace that I was standing in," she admitted.
"I notice that you still said 'might.' The truth is that not many people will show me their passion. They will show me what they think I want to see. They will show me what they have been told is desirable, or they will show me a careful artifice that looks good at first but will then crumble at a single touch."
There was something in his voice then, something that made Anna turn to face him.
"You sound like that has happened to you a great deal," she said, reaching up to touch his face gently.
He looked shocked at her pronouncement, but he covered it up quickly with a gentle kiss to her palm.
"It happens to anyone who rules over others," he said with a shrug. "After a while, you only become angry with those who do it to you on a personal level. The fact that you could never do it to me...that is attractive in a way that is difficult to explain, but is wholly felt."
Somehow, in that moment, Anna felt remarkably protective of Rakim. She might have been ignorant of the circles that he traveled in, but it was not hard to imagine how vicious they could be, what people might do to curry favor with a man as rich and powerful as he was.
"Thank you for putting your faith in me," she murmured, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thank you for deserving it," he said with a grin, and he swept her into his arms.
The next day, they rose from his bed early in order to get to the city in good time. Anna's first shock of the day came when she realized that they would be flying in Rakim's private plane. It made her eyes pop wide open when she saw it on a humble runway that was far more accustomed to small crop dusters.
"That's yours?" she asked, and he grinned at her boyishly.
"It is," he said. "If you're this impressed by this plane, I can't wait to show you the jet."
The plane ride to Abu Dhabi was smooth and uncomplicated, and Anna spent most of it curled up next to Rakim's side, reading as he worked. It wasn't until the towers of the city were in sight that something occurred to her.
"Rakim, what in the world do we tell people when they ask us about our relationship?"
He looked startled at her question, and then shook his head with chagrin.
"I keep forgetting that you have not done this before," he said with a slight smile. "Tell them that we are friends. Close friends, if you like, but otherwise, just smile and remember that you do not have to answer anything beyond that."
"Are...most of your close friends used to dealing with the press?"
"Why, are you feeling jealous?" he asked with a grin, and she frowned.
"Maybe," she admitted. "It's...it's a little hard. It seems like all of the women that you have been with before are all so worldly and experienced. That's nothing like me."
"And if you'll notice, you're the one who's here now," he said. "Don't worry so much. The press may love to peek in on my life, but I have put a great many barriers in place to keep my life private."
Despite his assurances, Anna was still shocked when she stepped off of the plane and was greeted by a dozen flashbulbs and a dozen voices calling questions.
If it wasn't for Rakim's arm around her shoulders, she might have frozen up there, never to move again, but then he was sweeping her along, keeping her sheltered from the worst of it. He answered a few shouted questions, flashed that white sharp smile at the cameras, and in a matter of minutes had gotten her seated in the sleek dark car that was pulled up on the tarmac.
"Wow," Anna said when she had gotten her breath back. "So that's just every day for you?"
He laughed, squeezing her hand gently.
"It is many days, at least," he admitted. "They were probably a little eager because I have been gone for the past few months. They're a little like dogs, starved for their next story."
Anna shivered because there was something grim and frightening about that, that Rakim might be a meal for a certain kind of predator. Her dark thoughts were interrupted by a sweet kiss.
"You can't let them bother you," he said, "and you did very well, I promise."
"I'm glad," she said with a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't like to embarrass you."
"I know that you never would," he said with confidence, and then his voice lowered. "Because if you did, you know that there would be consequences..."
She started to laugh, and then she gasped as his teeth found the sensitive skin of her throat. She had come to love the silvery shocking sensations when he bit her lightly there, and she almost fell into that familiar trance when she remembered that they weren't alone. The chauffeur had put up the smoky privacy glass between the rear of the car and the front, but he probably knew exactly what they were doing.
"Rakim," she whispered urgently. "We can't, not here."
For a moment, she wasn't sure that he would heed her, and then with a sigh, he settled back.
"My darling modest beauty," he said with a wry smile, but she noticed that he didn't take his hand off of her knee.
"Rakim..."
"Hush, love," he said with a hint of a wicked smile. "You should rest until we get to the townhouse."
She fell silent as his hand slid from her knee up to her thigh, bare under her dress. She quelled a nervous ticklish laugh, and then she almost whimpered when his hand slid up even farther.
Well, welcome to Abu Dhabi, I guess, she thought, and she closed her eyes, letting the wash of sensations glide over her.
* * *
"I own several properties throughout the country, and of course there's the penthouse downtown, but this one is perhaps my favorite," he said, closing the townhouse's door after them.
Anna looked around, enchanted. If she had had to guess what kind of property that Rakim might live in, she would have guessed that he preferred some ultra-modern high-rise. According to what he had told her, the penthouse matched that description quite well.
However, the townhouse that he had brought her to was almost the polar opposite of that impression. It was stately, calling back to a time when the country had looked to Europe as its inspiration. The rooms were tall with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the entire place was done up with dark trim and hardwood floors. It was like she had stepped into a belle epoque dream, and she could barely believe that she was meant to live here.
"It's gorgeous," she said, looking around. "And you just...live here?"
"I do," he said with a laugh, "and you will as well."
"It's hard to imagine," she said, shaking her head.
"Well, perhaps not so hard to imagine when I show you this..."
Mystified, she followed him down a hallway, and then when he opened one of the dark doors for her, she gasped.
The townhouse's library could not be as enormous as the library she just left behind, but there was an elegance to it that could not be denied. Where the collection at the mountain palace was an eclectic mix of modern and ancient, the townhouse library was a great deal more modern and European, a reflection of the country's more recent history.
There was a fireplace that stretched along the far wall, and there were a pair of wing chairs that promised to be amazingly comfortable close to it. Anna, who had always dreamed of having a library of her own, felt instantly comfortable, and turned to Rakim with a wide smile.
"It's so beautiful," she said, and he nodded.
"You have your run of the house, of course, but I thought that if I brought you here first that you would be much more comfortable," Rakim said, and she flew into his arms, holding him tightly.
"Thank you," she murmured, and he laughed, hugging her in return.
"I do notice that getting you clothes seems to terrify you, but introducing you to libraries makes you light up.
Something for me to keep in mind, I suppose."
She grinned up at him before pulling away to inspect the library's collection more closely.
"I think it just means that you are getting to know me," she said with a smile.
Chapter Eight
They spent their first full day in the city quietly. The townhouse was situated in an exclusive neighborhood that was obscure enough to avoid attracting the attention of the press, and after of a night spent snuggled in one of the biggest beds that Anna had ever seen, Rakim took her out exploring.
There was something oddly domestic about all of it that touched Anna unexpectedly. Rakim was still the same man that she had met at the palace in the mountains, but there was something strangely hopeful about him when he took her to the coffee shop on the corner or the elegant little park close by.
He was the acknowledged lord of palace, but it wasn't a place where he lived. He lived in the capital, and now, in a quiet and gentle way, he was trying to show it to her.
In turn, Anna found herself enchanted by the contrasts of Abu Dhabi—how the city could bring together tradition and modernity all at once. The ultrafast bullet trains circumnavigated the city, binding it all together, and when she looked up to see the skyscrapers rising above the roofs of the more residential neighborhood that the townhouse was in, it no longer bothered her as it might have at one time.
"This city is very much you," she said at dinner that first night, and Rakim had raised an eyebrow at her.
"What makes you say that?"
"You're a mix of so many good things in the world, a truly international creation, but you navigate it all so gracefully. More than that, though, there's a kind of comfort to you and to this city. I have been in many places that question what they are, what their identity is, and I cannot imagine you or this city doing that."
To her surprise, Rakim frowned slightly.
"When you always know who you are, it can become confining," he said, but then he shook it off. "I will take the compliment, however, and be grateful for it. I hope that you find it as beautiful as I do. This is my true home."
Perhaps it will become my true home as well, she mused, drifting off to sleep that night. That wouldn't be such a terrible thing..
The next day, she came down to a light breakfast of fruit and pastry and a newspaper set next to her place.
"There's your first press photo," Rakim said with a smile. "Shall we start a scrapbook for you?"
She stared at the newspaper in shock, because he was right. The picture was slightly grainy, but it was her, without a doubt. She and Rakim were exiting the plane, and even tucked under his arm, they had still managed to get a shot of her face. She looked pale, but she was smiling, and Rakim was looking down at her with a smile of his own, even as he answered the press's questions.
Her hands were trembling slightly as she opened the newspaper, skimming through the story, or at least, what there was of it. The newspaper didn't know anything at all about her, but it was more than happy to speculate on who she might be. Was she a foreign duchess or perhaps a cultural attaché? Was she a little-known actress?
"They...seem to think that perhaps I am fashion designer?" Anna asked in confusion, and Rakim laughed.
"They're fishing," he said dismissively. "There are so many guesses there that when you do want to make an announcement of some sort, they can claim that they were right. It's almost laughable how predictable they are."
Rakim might have been laughing, but Anna felt shaken. She sat down hard on her chair and stared at the paper.
"I never thought about what it might be like to have people speculating about...about everything," she said softly, and something in her voice made Rakim look up in surprise.
"Does it bother you?" he asked.
"Doesn't it bother you?" she said, looking up at him searchingly. "It feels...it feels like having hands all over you, plucking at your clothes and trying to find out more."
He looked mystified by her anxiety, and he came to kneel down next to her chair. She felt a little better when he covered her shaking hands with one of his own, and even better when he pulled the newspaper away.
"I need you to listen to me," he said softly. "This? This is just paper and gossip. People have always sought out easy marks for entertainment and for speculation, and no one who operates on my level pays any mind to it. When it comes to important things, like illnesses or deaths, we know how to lock it all down, but until then, what does it matter? They are just people who are looking to sell newspapers to the highest bidder."
Anna nodded. She knew that Rakim knew what he was talking about, but there was an echo of unease in her. Seeing the newspaper had left her exposed in a way that she didn't even understand, and not even Rakim could quiet it.
"It will be fine," he promised. "I swear to you. I am sorry that I showed you the newspaper, and in the future, I will simply avoid doing so. I told you that I would protect you, and I do mean it. Do you believe me?"
Anna nodded, because she did, but it was an unnerving reminder of how very different their worlds were from one another’s. She wondered briefly if this was the way their lives were going to be, and then a chilling thought occurred to her.
Is this forever?
She looked Rakim, and something about that was enough to make her heart ache. She suddenly realized that in this moment, with this man, this was what she wanted forever. She didn't know if it was possible, she didn't know what might come of being herself and wanting a man like him, but she knew it was what her heart yearned for.
Rakim dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. It struck her how many different facets this man could have. Sometimes, he was a storm at sea, and other times, he was so tender with her that it made her heart ache.
“It will be well, I promise you,” he said. “Don't worry so much.”
***
All right, even if you don't trust yourself, remember that you trust Madame Artois. She knows what she's doing, and she definitely wouldn't send you out looking like a fool.
Anna repeated the words to herself until she almost believed them, but then she couldn't resist taking another careful look in the mirror.
Madame Artois had said that the first real event that she attended in the capital would set the scene, and according to the famed dressmaker, there was really only one dress that would truly do justice to the occasion.
The first time that Anna had put the dress on, she had been shocked by the weight and the gleam. It looked simple, a sheath that clung to her scant curves but made her look like an ancient goddess. It was made of pure silk, and it was embroidered with a twisting pattern of vines in rhinestones. It was a gorgeous piece of art, and Anna barely felt worthy of wearing it. From the jeweled straps to the totteringly high shoes that went with it, she felt as if at moment, a princess would come in and demand her clothes back.
She also hadn't registered how very low cut the dress was. It dipped almost scandalously low between her breasts. It had seemed simple enough while she was standing in a bright open dressing room, but now she wondered about it.
Anna felt a moment of rising panic that was only made worse by the light tapping on the door.
"Are you almost ready to go?" Rakim asked. "The car has been waiting for a few minutes already."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll be right there!"
After one more agonized look in the mirror, she grabbed the lace wrap that had come with another outfit. The lace was sheer with a hard glitter of rhinestones that matched the dress, and Anna decided that that was good enough. Madame Artois might tut at her mixing and matching the one-of-a-kind designer pieces, but it wasn't the dressmaker who had to go out in a sheath that was cut so low. She draped the shawl around her shoulders, and she found a pin that she could use to secure it over her chest. The result was something that was perhaps not quite as fashionable as might be desired, but at least she felt as if she wouldn't suddenly have a wardrobe mishap.
"All right, I'm ready," she said
, opening the door.
Rakim smiled at her, breathtakingly handsome in his tuxedo. For a moment, she only stared, and then the thought immediately leaped into her mind of how he would look with the buttons undone, shrugging the jacket off his wide shoulders.
"What in the world are you thinking of, beautiful one?" he asked, but from the husky tone in his voice, she thought that he had an idea.
"I...I was only thinking how handsome you are," she said softly. "How lucky I am that I get to touch you."
Something strange happened in his gaze just then. A moment before, he had been as lusty as he ever was; he looked as if he was just as apt to roll her over onto the bed as he was to take her to the soiree that they were attending that evening. Now there was something softer there, and it made something flutter in her heart.
Then it was gone, and he was offering her his arm.
"I am proud to be your escort tonight," he said gallantly. "You are beautiful."
"Oh really?" Anna asked teasingly. "I was told that the sheikh was not a man who cared for slight women like me."
"Well, whoever told you that was obviously an idiot," he said cheerfully. "Luckily, I am the one who has you on my arm tonight, and that is all that matters."
***
The moment Rakim had seen Anna in the sparkling green dress, something inside him had rung like a bell. He supposed it was a final awareness and acknowledgment that she could truly do this, that she could exist in his world as well as in the quiet splendor of the mountains.
He hadn't been sure at first. She had seemed so panicked at the idea of leaving the palace that he had almost considered letting her stay there, returning to visit as soon as he could.
Almost.
There was something in him that refused to consider that. It was as if some age-old instinct had risen out of the darkness of his soul and roared a no. He would not be parted from her, and he would go into battle to prevent it from happening.
Despite that assurance, however, he had wondered, and he had worried. She had all the fragile delicacy of a rare mountain flower. What would happen when he brought her to the city, where the pressures were so different? Even that morning, Anna had seemed frail, almost trembling.
