The Sheikh's Secret

by Knight, Kylie

  “Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are? Who you’re talking to? You’re just the trash that works here. I’m a guest. Of the owner of this house.”

  “I understand that,” Alison said calmly, “I’m just wondering if you’re able to tell me what his name is. That’s all. It should be an easy question to answer, right?”

  “I don’t have to answer anything questions that come from you. As far as I’m concerned, I just want my juice. Or do you not know how to do a simple thing like squeeze and orange?”

  “Alright,” Aasir broke in, seeing clearly that it was time to put a stop to this awful woman, “that’s quite enough of that. Let’s get a few things straight, shall we?”

  “We sure shall,” the girl said with a pouty look on her face and one hand on her hip, “are you going to fire this chick or what? She’s like, terrible at her job. Definitely not worth whatever it is you’re paying her.”

  “Oh my dear, it seems that you’re mistaken. I have no problem with Alison’s behavior. I find her to be delightful in every possible way. No, I’m talking to you. Yours is the behavior that is sorely in need of being addressed.”

  “What? You’re like, kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding. This has got to me some kind of stupid joke.”

  “No, I assure you it is nothing of the sort. First of all, you are correct. Sadly, I do not remember your name. Make no mistake, I find that disappointing because I should never have spent so much time with you in the first place, not because I want so desperately to know who you are. I have no desire to know you at all.”

  “Well then why the hell did you bring me here?”

  “Because I was handling some things in the wrong way. I see that now and believe me, I won’t be doing it again. And since we’re being honest, you don’t have a clue who I am either, do you? Please don’t lie to me. I’ve got sort of a knack for being able to ferret a lie out. It’s a particular talent of mine.”

  “Ok, fine. No, I don’t actually remember your name. So? So what? She’s just a servant, right? Why would you give a shit what she says?”

  “You’re mistaken. She isn’t a servant, not at all. For example, I would never dream of asking her to make me a breakfast the way that you did because that isn’t her job. Just like I wouldn’t call my lawyer and ask him to give me an allergy test. It would be ludicrous.”

  “What are you even talking about? I’m sure I don’t have a clue.”

  “Yes, that’s clear. And it’s quite alright. It was a mistake to bring you here and I think it’s time for you to go. I will call you a cab, of course. I hope you understand.”

  “Um, I guess so. I don’t have any cash, though.”

  “Don’t worry about that. It will be taken care of.”

  “Thanks!” she replied with an oddly chipper voice that just made Aasir feel tired, “But do you want my number or anything like that?”

  “No,” he said in as gentle a voice as he could manage, “I don’t think so. It’s probably best that we just part ways here.”

  “Ok, sure. Whatever. This place seems like a freak show anyway. What kind of dude has the hots for his servant?”

  Aasir considered correcting her again but out of the corner of his eye he saw Alison shake her head ever so slightly. No. She was right, it wasn’t worth it. What was the point in trying to make this stranger see anything, anyway? It wasn’t like she was going to become a fixture in their lives. As far as Aasir was concerned the goal was to get her out of there as quickly as possible and in order to achieve that, the fewer words used the better. He could see by the look on Alison’s face that they were of the same mind. It was better this way.

  “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  “Ugh, don’t bother. Chivalry is dead, don’t you know that?”

  She stormed towards the front door, her sky-high black stilettos dangling precariously from the fingertips of one hand. After struggling a little bit more than was reasonable to get the massive door open, she let out a frustrated grunt and stormed out. It probably would have been more effective if she had been able to slam the thing and Aasir was willing to bet that it would bother her for days, but it didn’t matter. Not to him and hopefully not to Alison. He watched closely, wanting to make sure that the girl was really, truly good and gone, and then he turned to face Alison, who still stood on the steps looking down at him. He had no idea why he was so nervous all of the sudden, just to look at her. He had looked at her a thousand times without feeling this way, or at least without realizing that he felt any particular way about her at all. But that one little phrase he had allowed to slip through his mind, that one little word, it had changed things in a way that he could not take back. He would never be able to see her as just his maid again because he was now so brutally aware of how much more she was. He had the strangest feeling that she could wind up being everything to him in no time at all. If only he knew how she thought of him. That was the piece to the puzzle that was entirely out of his control.

  “Well,” he said with a laugh and a rather uncertain clearing of the throat, “that was truly awful, wasn’t it?”

  “Ha! I guess you couldn’t say it went well. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? Why on earth would you be sorry?”

  “Because, I think that was mostly my fault.”

  “Only you would take responsibility for someone who behaved as terribly as she did.”

  “But I egged her on. I should have kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t my place to say anything. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

  “No, it won’t. Not because you’re in trouble or I’m unhappy with you though, nothing like that. Because I won’t ever put you in a position like that again. Not ever. You can be sure of that.”

  “Thank you, Aasir. That’s, well it’s very kind of you to say. It means a lot to me, really. Even though I’m realizing how stupid that sounds now and I’m kind of wishing I hadn’t said anything at all.”

  Her face blushed prettily, her eyes looking everywhere but at him, and suddenly Aasir was flooded with the most wonderful sense of calm. For the first time, maybe ever, he knew exactly how he felt about something. He knew exactly what he wanted. When he looked at Alison he saw home. She felt like the best kind of home a person could ask for and something about the way she couldn’t look at him made him think that there was a chance she felt the same way about him.

  “Don’t. Don’t do that, ok?”

  “Don’t do what?”

  “Don’t ever wish that you had kept quiet, not about anything. I want to hear every single thing that you think about, everything that could possibly be important to you. I want to know you, Alison. If that’s something you think you might like as well.”

  Now she was looking at him and he could see her chest rising and falling rapidly with her quickened breath. He was afraid, afraid of what might happen if he did the thing he was dying to do, but he couldn’t not do it. He took the few steps that separated them two at a time, needing to be closer to her more than he had ever needed anything in his whole life. She could shove him aside if she liked and he would never touch her again but he had to see. It would destroy him not to. He raised one trembling hand and smoothed it over her hair, never looking away from her stunning eyes. His fingers traced the soft skin of her face, his thumb running across her supple lips and marvelling at their perfection.

  “Is this ok?” he whispered, hoping to god that he would hear the answer he was so longing for.

  “It’s more than ok,” she whispered back, “it’s about time.”

  His lips found hers, soft and giving and perfectly suited to his. It started slowly, unsure, but very quickly it became something far more urgent, his tongue slipping between her slightly parted lips and tasting her sweetness. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him and feeling himself begin to grow hard even at the suggestion of her body on top of his. That was when he heard his front door begin to open, a woman’s voice calling out as it did so. That woman? Again?
He had no idea why she would come back for round two, but he would take care of it quickly. Now that he had gotten even a small taste of Alison he knew he would never be able to get enough of her.

  “Aasir? The door was open. We need to talk.”

  It wasn’t the girl who had so angrily exited only minutes ago. It was Nicole. She was back.

  Chapter Five

  This wasn’t happening. This just couldn’t be happening. Not when things were finally beginning to go the way she had dreamt they would for so long now. The feeling of his hands on her skin was like shocks of electricity coursing through her body. It was so much better than it had been when she had imagined it, which was something she had done quite often. She would never have admitted it to anyone, not even to her best friend, but lately it had been pretty much all she had thought of. Having it finally happen felt completely right, right up until that door had opened. She knew without seeing her that it was Nicole. She remembered that voice better than she would have liked. It was even in some of her dreams, in the form of the same loud shouts she had heard on many a late night. She had a feeling she knew it before Aasir realized what was happening. She also knew the minute she heard the voice that everything was going to change. She should have realized something would go wrong. It had been too easy, this transition from boss and employee to the gray area they had tread into. Something was bound to put a wrench in things. She just hadn’t known that it would be Nicole. She had believed that that particular obstacle was behind her.

  “Aasir. I can see that you’re busy, but I also know you can hear me. You can’t just ignore me and hope I’ll go away. I’m sorry, but I won’t.”

  “Aasir-”

  “I’m so sorry, Alison. I had no idea she was coming. I have no idea why she’s here.”

  “It’s ok,” she said with a throat that felt like it was full of lead, “I know. But she’s right, you can’t pretend she isn’t here. Things don’t work that way.”

  He smiled down at her in a way that made her feel a little bit like her heart was breaking and gave her shoulder a little squeeze before turning to face the woman that until very recently Alison knew he had been in love with. It felt like she was having to let him go before she even got the chance to have him, but what else could she do? No matter how much you wanted a person you couldn’t own them, she was sure of that. You couldn’t do it and the more you tried the further away you drove that person until they wanted nothing at all to do with you. She had to stand by and watch as he turned, moving slightly to his right and finally giving her a clear view of Nicole. And there she was, in all of her glory, the stunning model who was still wearing the extravagant piece of jewelry Aasir had given her the night they broke up. She looked every bit as lovely as Alison remembered her being. Lovelier, actually, as if that was even possible. That alone was enough to make Alison cringe, but what was even worse was that she was fairly certain she knew the reason why, just as she was almost completely sure that Aasir hadn’t quite caught on just yet.

  “Nicole,” he sighed without even a hint of pleasure to see her, “what are you doing here? It’s been months. I don’t understand why you’ve come.”

  “Aasir-”

  “No, it’s ok, Alison. I’ll handle this.”

  “No, Aasir, I think she’s here for something important, ok? I just have a feeling about it.”

  “What? Nicole? Why exactly are you here?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “Alright.”

  Nicole looked from Aasir to Alison with exasperated disbelief in her eyes. There was no way that she had expected to find her ex making out with his maid on the stairs. Add to that the fact that he was either ignoring her hints or truly didn’t understand that she wanted to speak to him alone, she was already looking pretty pissed, despite only having been there for a few minutes. It was beyond uncomfortable and Alison knew that the only appropriate thing to do was to remove herself gracefully from the situation before she was any more in the way.

  “I think she wants to talk to you alone.”

  “There’s nothing she can say that would require you to go, Alison. I don’t want to have any secrets from you.”

  “No, really, she’s right babe. I need to talk to you. In private.”

  “I want her here. I’m not sending her away. And I would prefer it if you didn’t call me ‘babe,’ alright? We haven’t been together for a while now.”

  “Right, and you’re screwing the maid now, so I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “Ah, classy as ever, Nicole. Glad to see that things haven’t changed with you.”

  “Well they certainly have with you, haven’t they? Who would have thought, right? I mean really, Aasir. The help? Is that how far you’ve fallen? I know I must have been hard to replace but I thought you would be able to do a little bit better than her. I mean, come on. Have you thought about what you’re doing? I mean really thought about it?”

  “I would watch my tone, if I were you. I would be very, very careful.”

  “Would you now?” She said with a smirk that made her face look anything but beautiful, “would you really? I find that difficult to believe given the circumstances.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning this; have you thought about why she’s interested in you? Aside from your winning personality, I mean. She’s got to be after your money, right? Didn’t you think of that? Don’t you worry about things like that?”

  “Nicole,” he said with a clenched jaw that showed Alison he was trying very hard not to snap, “I have never met a woman I believed to be less interested in me for only my money. That is a lesson I have learned, rather painfully, I might add. And would you like to know who I learned it from?”

  “No, but I suppose you’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you? You do like to talk.”

  “You, Nicole. I learned it from you and I don’t think it’s a lesson I’m likely to forget any time soon. I suppose I should thank you then, shouldn’t I? Only I don’t feel quite in the mood for a thing like that. I can tell you that I was very much hoping not to see you again. Not here, not ever. I wouldn’t say I have the fondest memories of you. Not even close.”

  Alison felt a rising horror as she watched the verbal sparring match between this man she was almost sure she loved and the woman who had so recently held his heart in the palm of her hand. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to watch this thing unfold. The whole thing was an ugly reminder of how wrong a relationship could go and she couldn’t stand seeing Aasir backed up against a wall like this, goaded into saying things that were so far outside the realm of his usual behavior. She shut her eyes tightly, just like a little girl, wishing that doing so would make all of this disappear. She wanted to time travel to the moments right before Nicole walked back into their lives and turned everything upside down. But from the look on her face it was clear that she wasn’t going anywhere. She was enjoying this confrontation. Alison could see her in her mind’s eye plotting how it would go, imagining how she would ruin Aasir’s life, imagining how she would enjoy bringing him to his knees. Alison took one step back, then another, feeling like she had to get out of here or else she would go insane. It was too much. Too much disappointment for her to swallow. But when she moved too far back from him Aasir turned and took her hand firmly in his own and she was held fast to the spot where she stood. She wasn’t going to get out of it then. She was going to have to stand here and watch when everything inside of her was screaming at her to flee. She looked down at Nicole, saw the cruelty in her eyes, and steeled herself for what she suspected was about to come. It was not going to be pleasant, but there was no way in hell that she was going to give that bitch the satisfaction of seeing her distraught. Not a chance.

  “Well guess what, lover boy? I don’t think that’s going to be an option for you anymore after this little conversation we’re having. I don’t think it’s going to matter anymore what you want or feel about me. And I definitely think it’
s going to put a damper on your budding romance with the maid here.”

  “Alison. Her name is Alison, alright?”

  “Who cares? Don’t you want to hear my news? It affects you, too.”

  “Alright, Nicole,” he said with a weary voice that made it clear that he was tired of her game, “I’ll bite. What’s your news? What is so important that you felt the need to come here and disrupt my life all over again?”

  Instead of answering immediately, Nicole turned to the side, a mirthless grin on her face, and placed her hands lovingly over her stomach. Aasir looked completely bewildered and it was clear to both Nicole and Alison that he still had no idea what was going on, but Alison knew. It was exactly what she had thought, exactly what she had feared when Nicole first waltzed into the house like she owned the place. Everything was going to change. Everything.

  “I can see by the look on your face that you still don’t see and I can’t say that I’m really surprised. How like a man, right maid? What’s your name, Alison? How like a man not to see the thing that’s right in front of him. But since you seem to be having some trouble, let me spell it out for you. I’m eating for two these days.”