The Sheikh's Secret

by Knight, Kylie

  He took the couple strides to the table that Nora was sitting at, her fingers tapping away at her phone and not even looking up. If she had maybe she would have seen what Emily knew was obvious. She could see it in Abdul’s deep and dark eyes, a fire was burning behind them that was heating her face and making her burn with desire for him. But Nora didn’t see what was passing through them, she didn’t feel the energy that was buzzing around Abdul and Nora, instead she was far too preoccupied with her phone.

  But Emily felt it, she felt every charged drop of blood that was coursing through her body. It was almost too much to handle and she lost her balance, the tray in her hands tipping and almost falling to the floor. Luckily Abdul caught the tray and straightened her and the platter before everything toppled to the ground.

  “You ok?” his voice rumbled in her ear. Her whole body felt set on fire as his hand brushed over hers underneath the tray.

  “Yes, thank you. I’m fine.”

  From the corner of her eye she could see Nora look up and roll her eyes.

  “Let’s make sure we hire someone dependable to bring the cake into the reception hall the day of the wedding. I don’t want it to be dropped by clumsy hands and ruin the whole thing.”

  Emily flushed with embarrassment and broke away from Abdul’s help but he kept his stare steadily on her. “Everything will be fine, I trust Emily.”

  She smiled gratefully and walked over to the table and gently set down the tray of wedding things. Nora finally looked up and eyed the tray. Emily needed to steady her shaking hands, she could still feel the heat where Abdul’s hand had brushed hers and her entire core felt off-kilter. But the way Nora was scrutinizing the tray made the nerves in Emily’s body feel tight and tingly. At the end of the day, no matter what she felt for Abdul, he was getting married to Nora, and not only were they high paying clients but he was also a new business partner. Nora’s opinion mattered more than she realized.

  “I’m impressed Emily. This all looks fabulous.”

  Nora’s compliment didn’t sound enthusiastic or excited but Emily knew that Nora wasn’t a woman who gave them away for nothing. So she let that knowledge make her feel a little bit more confident in her abilities to successfully handle the wedding, and mostly the bride. Nora started discussing layers and had several new ideas about what she wanted with her wedding cake. Emily listened intently, taking notes and trying not to notice that Abdul wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to Nora but was focused solely on Emily.

  It was hard to stay on track in her mind while he was watching her every move, but it was something she supposed she would have to get used to now that they would be sort of working together. But by the end of her meeting she was feeling confident that she’d be able to handle her feelings and attraction to Abdul. She would just have to stay focused and remember her tasks at hand, like listening to his soon-to-be wife rattle on about the perfection of her wedding.

  When Nora seemed finally satisfied, she stood from her seat, a clear dismissal that their time was done. But Abdul cleared his throat and shifted in his chair a bit.

  “I’m very glad that you think so highly of Emily’s work because there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you about.”

  Nora’s eyes were back to her phone but she made a small noise which Emily guessed meant that she was listening, sort of.

  “I’m so impressed by what Emily has done with her bakery that I’ve decided to invest in another location for her. Maybe even talk about franchising her business someday.” Abdul’s eyes had been trained completely on Emily as he made his announcement.

  As for Emily, her breathing had started to speed up. She felt uncomfortable that Abdul hadn’t even discussed it with his future wife but was confessing his new business venture right in front of her! She didn’t even have much time to worry about how Nora was going to react, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be good. Sure enough, she was right and Nora’s head snapped up and a wild look had filled her eyes.

  “You did what?” Her words hissed from her mouth and Emily involuntarily took a step back from the table.

  “I’ve decided to invest some money into another bakery with Emily. She’s got an amazing product and I know that another location is going to make business bloom.”

  “You made a big purchase with our money, without even asking me, right before our wedding. Right before we’re supposed to go home? How in the world are you going to run a business from a completely different country?” Suddenly the ice defrosted form her voice and she began to laugh. “This is absurd.” She turned and addressed Emily, “Was this your idea? Beg famous royalty for handouts?”

  Royalty?

  Emily turned to Abdul and knew confusion was written all over her face. Before she could ask anything, Abdul interjected. It was his turn to have ice in his voice.

  “No. Emily did not come up with this idea and in fact turned my proposal down for a while before she accepted it. She had no idea until now that I am royalty and I doubt that if she had it would have changed anything.”

  Emily could see him getting angry and she was almost ashamed to admit how sexy he was when he was angry. Not that she would want to be on the receiving end of his chilly demeanor, but she had to admit she didn’t mind watching as his jaw clenched in frustration and his eyes burned like coals.

  “And this whole moving to another country idea has not been decided. We will discuss it.”

  Emily hadn’t even realized that Nora had mentioned that. She had been so distracted by his sexy anger and that major admission of royalty that him moving away hadn’t even registered. Suddenly she felt worried. She wasn’t worried about her business venture, she was worried about not seeing Abdul anymore after he was married. That was a thought she realized she couldn’t stomach. There wasn’t much time to dwell on it though because Nora stormed out of her shop on her spiked heels and Emily was left alone with Abdul again.

  He let out a long breath or relief. “I’m so sorry that you had to see that. I shouldn’t have told her in front of you, the words sort of fell out.”

  “You’re leaving?” Her words came out as a small squeak, too scared to ask because she knew that if he really was leaving she didn’t want to know the answer

  But his eyes darted to hers, fierce with resolve. “No, I’m not going to leave. She sprang that idea on me this weekend and I have no intention of letting it actually happen.”

  A swell of relief filled inside of her that she wasn’t about to lose him. But she still needed to ask one more question.

  “Are you really royalty? The words felt funny in her mouth. She’d never even met anyone famous let alone fell in love with royalty.

  She watched as he carefully formed his words before he spoke. “Yes, I am royalty. I am a sheikh which is like a prince. It’s why I have money to invest and why I am marrying Nora in the first place. Her family has known mine for a long time and my parents decided that she was a suitable person to marry for the stature that I carry.”

  She supposed that made sense, and certainly explained why he never spoke about her or even seemed happy about his own wedding. But she still had to ask, for some reason she had to know.

  “Do you love her?” Emily couldn’t look in his eyes, just in case her instincts were wrong.

  He took a couple of steps toward her, closing the gap between him and he lightly touched her hand. “I never knew what love even was before I came into this shop.”

  Chapter 12

  It had been almost a month since Nora stormed out of the bakery and more importantly since the day Abdul had tried to confess his love to Emily. He’d said as much as he could to her without leaving his heart lying on the floor. He’d wanted her to know how he’d felt, but not at the expense of hurting Emily. After all he was still getting married and the date was quickly approaching. Nora had been hard to calm down but he reminded her that it was still his money and they weren’t married yet. He was a business man and he could invest as he saw fit. He c
ould tell his stern way with her made her blood boil but he had no intention of backing out of his deal with Emily.

  That argument was much easier to calm than the argument that they were still having about where they would live. She was still insisting on moving and Abdul was still insisting on staying. Unfortunately their stubborn ways were not allowing for either to give even one inch toward the other so they continued to fight. It would be a much easier life if the bride and groom were getting along instead of fighting all of the time, yet that’s all they seemed to do. Every time they spoke he just wished she would call off the wedding. He couldn’t imagine what life was going to be like if this was the way they were going into it.

  Of course a large part of him wished she’d call it off for the sheer fact of him being in love with Emily. He wished every night that he could just tell her he loved her, kiss her perfect lips, and never let her go again. A feeling inside of him told him that Nora knew how he felt and wondered if that’s why she was holding on so tightly. As a woman who didn’t like to lose, he knew she would hate to have to admit losing her pending marriage to mild little Emily. Oh but he had learned that Emily was anything but mild. Through his business wheeling and dealing he saw exactly how feisty she could get and he loved it.

  Sometimes she would argue with him, about advertising ideas or the location, and sometimes she would argue with realtors or vendors about what she needed. But when she got the fire inside of her he couldn’t help but smirk a little as he thought about how cute she was. She always thought he was being smug but the truth was, when she got angry her nose scrunched up and made the cutest face that he couldn’t resist her. They kept their relationship mainly professional, and as often as she could she would put Kara on the case to talk with him. They hadn’t at all discussed either of their feelings, though they both knew them loud and clear.

  A call jingled in his pocket while he was at work and he quick checked the number. It was the realtor that they were using to find a location for the new bakery. His slid his finger across the accept button to answer the call. His realtor quickly explained that there was a brand new location for sale and if they wanted to take a look they should jump quickly due to its excellent location. Abdul hung up and called Emily, hoping she wasn’t too busy to meet him there. Fortunately she said that Kara was in and she could take a second to check it out.

  When they met his eyes always took her in quickly, never able to get enough of her natural beauty. She smiled easily at him and his heart jumped.

  “This is a great location,” she told him. He had to agree, this spot would be ideal to have a bakery and he hoped that maybe their searching was over.

  The inside was non-descript but Abdul watched as Emily’s eyes lit up as she spoke of the possibilities the place held. She talked about décor and paint schemes, how they would set up the dessert counter and the way she would display the menu. He loved watching her when her passion came through with so much enthusiasm and light.

  “I’m going to check the kitchen,” she said excitedly.

  He followed her to the back where he watched her eyes light with joy. As she walked from place to place, he could see her baking here and he knew she could see it too. He didn’t even need to ask because her face told him everything but he did anyway.

  “Should we take it?” He was leaning against the side of the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of him. He always found it easier to keep his arms busy when he was around her, less likely that he would succumb to the urge to wrap them around her.

  Emily turned to him, her eyes bright with possibilities. “Let’s do it!” she said and threw her arms around his neck in a celebratory hug.

  When she pulled back from him, he couldn’t resist a moment longer. His lips found hers and he could feel his entire body shake with so many feelings it was hard to contain. He’d been holding back for so long that everything came surging from him at once. But she pulled away.

  Tears welled in her eyes and she took a couple steps away from him.

  “I can’t. You’re getting married, it isn’t right.” She was shaking and he wanted more than anything to make things better.

  “But I lo….”

  “Please don’t. I can’t handle you telling me how you feel and then not being able to have you. It’s too much. I’ll call the realtor and sign the papers to buy the place tonight. I’ll get them to you tomorrow and then you can’t start working with Kara. I’m sorry.”

  She rushed away from him with her heart on her sleeve and he felt his world crumble around him.

  Chapter 13

  The bakery was going to be perfect, Emily knew that. The location and the building, even the stainless steel kitchen was going to be excellent. But she couldn’t help that her heart was breaking. Maybe she wasn’t strong enough to be a part of his life. If she couldn’t deal with it when he wasn’t even married, how could she deal with it all once he was?

  The feel of his kiss was fresh on her lips and she had no idea where she’d found the strength to pull away from him. If anything she’d wanted exactly the opposite. She’d wanted more. But she knew it was something she couldn’t have, and she had to stay strong. She had to keep herself together when she was around him. Luckily, once she signed the papers, she could begin using Kara to be the middle-man so her need to be around Abdul would be much less. That would hopefully help ease the pain of not being able to have him.

  That night she went to what was soon going to be her new bakery to sign the paperwork. Her realtor was there and let her in where she unceremoniously signed her name on the dotted line. He handed her the keys, shook her hand, and was off. That was that. It was slightly deflating really. She could have called Kara, could have made it a big deal but it wouldn’t have mattered. The only person she had wanted there she was having to push away.

  Alone, she walked through her new bakery again. She thought about all the details that she was about to decide upon and she felt happy that Kara was going to be such a big part of it all. She was going to make an excellent manager. All of Emily’s dreams were coming true, the keys to her happiness right in the palm of her hand but still she didn’t feel what she’d hoped she would. Instead of feeling joy inside of her heart, she felt sadness. Back in the kitchen she imagined the bowls and spoons, the bags of ingredients and the decadent smells that were soon to waft out of the kitchen. The thought made her smile but it didn’t reach to her heart.

  Without her little bell it was hard to hear the front door open, but all the same Emily became on high alert that she thought someone was inside with her. Should she call out? She was all alone in the dark. Maybe she should just wait until she heard a sound?

  Footsteps came closer to the kitchen entrance and Emily took out her phone, ready to dial in case of emergency. But when the figure stepped into the kitchen, her heart began to soar.

  “Abdul! What are you doing here?”

  He stepped further inside and she realized something was different about his eyes, but she couldn’t put her finger on what.

  “I knew you were signing the papers tonight. I needed to see you.”

  Emily started to ask why but he cut her off instead.

  “I broke the engagement to Nora tonight.” Abdul took a few steps toward Emily, but she stayed rooted to her spot. “I couldn’t go through with it. It wouldn’t have been fair to anyone to marry someone I didn’t love, and pass up on the one person who has finally taken my heart.”

  Emily’s eyes filled with tears, but they were tears of the purest happiness.

  “Do you really mean it?”

  He didn’t answer her. Instead he took her face in his masculine hands and kissed her. There was a need, a fire burning between them that made their lips fuse in pure passion. His hands traveled from her face and became entwined in her hair. Her kissed her more fiercely and she accepted, neither one of them willing to hold back a moment longer. So lost in his lips and the taste of his tongue, she hadn’t even realized that his hands had left her
hair until she had felt the searing heat from his hands under her shirt.

  He was burning her skin with his passion and she could feel it travel until she was throbbing for him to touch her everywhere. She wanted to make him feel the same so she lifted his shirt above his head tossing it aside. Her fingers traveled the smooth muscle of his body and she knew she’d never get tired of the feel of him. In one swift move he had her in his arms completely and had led both of their bodies to the floor. It was animalistic between them, the need they’d been holding off for so long finally coming out of them.

  Their hands roamed every part of each other’s bodies, learning every tender part. Without even realizing what was happening, they were unclothed and he was pushing inside of her. Both of them cried out as the shock of the pleasure racked their bodies. Emily began to tremble underneath him, feeling his every move inside of her. She knew in that instant that she could spend the rest of her life that way and live in complete ecstasy. When their bodies came undone, they came undone together in bursts of satisfied cries and with bodies quaking.

  When it was over, they lay together, spent and panting. He held her closely as her body came down from its ecstatic high. He loved her, he really did. He had broken off his engagement just to be with her. He had given her her dreams and now was giving her him. Emily lay in his arms wondering what it was she could ever give him. He had been able to give her everything when she had nothing.