by Leslie North
The Sheikh’s Diamond
By Leslie North
Sheikhs’ Wedding Bet Series
Book One
Blurb
True love is priceless—or is it?
Sheikh Masoud Khalidizack is terminally bored by palace life. With his elder brother inheriting his father’s responsibilities and his younger brother treating life like one big party, he often feels left behind. When a family friend suggests a bet to see which brother will be left unwed at the end of the year, Masoud thinks it is impossible to lose and he’s already making plans on what to do with the prize - Muharraq Island.
That all changes with the arrival of headstrong Fleur Summers, a beautiful archaeologist bent on finding the legendary Solomon Diamond. It was once part of the Khalidizack family’s heritage, but now it is lost to history. Her reputation depends on finding it and putting it into a museum, but the distractingly handsome Sheikh who hired her certainly isn’t helping. In fact, Masoud intends to restore the diamond to its rightful place – in the Khalidizack palace.
Now, they have to overcome their mutual mistrust and simmering attraction to find the artifact that could bring glory to them both. In a race against ruthless rivals that spans continents, finding the prize will bring them together or destroy one of their lives.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
The Sheikh’s Secret Bride (The Adjalane Sheikhs Series Book 1) Introduction
The Sheikh’s Secret Bride (The Adjalane Sheikhs Series Book 1) Introduction
Chapter One
Sheikh Masoud Khalidizack tapped the foot of his Champagne glass against the rail as he looked down at the party. From his position on the landing overlooking the party, ornate chandeliers cast sparkles down upon more than one hundred people milling around below dressed in their finest cocktail attire. Butlers walked around with trays holding expensive delicacies so small they looked as though they belonged in a dollhouse, yet guests eagerly ate them, moaning in delight at the taste. The party was in full swing, without a single dull moment.
The sheikh’s gaze traveled around the room, looking for something that would hold his attention longer than a couple seconds. His growing disdain for those so quick to curry favor with his family had him wishing for something stronger to drink than Champagne.
“If you don’t smile, people will think you’re not having any fun.”
Masoud turned to see his younger brother, Adil, walking toward him. A beautiful woman had a vice grip around his arm and was nuzzling his neck. Masoud struggled not to roll his eyes.
“It looks like you’re having enough fun for the both of us,” Masoud muttered as he jerked his head to the woman in question. Adil whispered something in her ear, and she giggled and slinked away.
“Come now, brother. Why so blue? With all these interesting people, you’re standing up here sulking like a child sent to bed without his supper. I’m supposed to be the child.” Adil looked down upon the crowd. “Look. Even Jaymin is socializing, and he hates to have fun.”
“He’s not socializing. He’s trying to spread awareness of the archaeological find. Since we’re hosting a party about it, someone should be discussing it.”
Adil frowned. “Is that why we’re having a party? I was wondering.”
“Please tell me that’s a joke,” Masoud blurted out, as he stared at his younger brother in disbelief.
“It’s a joke! Relax, Masoud. This is a party. Lighten up!” Adil focused on someone behind Masoud, and he winked.
Masoud turned around to see a beautiful woman disappearing in the crowd.
“Down, boys. She just married Kasim a month ago.” Both men turned to see Rameez, an old friend of the family, grinning at them.
Adil groaned, and this time, Masoud felt his sentiments. “Another one bites the dust, huh? What’s that? Ten this year?” Adil asked.
“I think you three boys are the only eligible bachelors left in the kingdom,” Rameez acknowledged as he cocked his head thoughtfully. “And none of you are seeing anyone.”
“Speak for yourself,” Adil said with a shrug. “I see several women every day.”
Masoud groaned. “And that’s why you’ll be the first to marry.”
Adil put his hands up in alarm. “Whoa! You can’t tie all this down.” He grinned as he ran his hands over his body. “This needs to be shared with the world.” His loud laughter stopped abruptly when their eldest brother grabbed his arm and spun him around.
“Can you not make a scene for one party?” Jaymin hissed. “Your voices can be heard across the room.”
“Relax, Jaymin,” Masoud said with a wink. “It’s a party. We were just speculating that Adil would be the first to get married. If nothing else, he’s bound to get some poor woman pregnant if he isn’t careful.”
Adil shuddered visibly. “Why would you even say that? Besides, Jaymin will undoubtedly be the first to marry. I’m sure he’ll find himself a lovely old crone to make a great political match.”
“He is the oldest,” Masoud mused.
“I have more important things to worry about than marriage,” Jaymin answered stiffly. “Like keeping you two in line.”
“I resent that,” Masoud said mildly. “I never cause trouble.”
“That’s because you’re boring!” Adil laughed.
“Bored,” Masoud corrected. “I’m bored. There’s a difference.”
“Gentlemen.” All three brothers turned as their father’s shadow fell over them. “May I ask what we’re all doing up here?”
“Actually, we were just speculating on which one of your sons would marry first. They are the only single Sheikhs left including the neighboring countries,” Rameez interrupted smoothly. He and Sheikh Quadie had been old friends for years.
Quadie narrowed his eyes, and Masoud could have sworn that he saw a silent message pass between the two men.
“It doesn’t really matter, since none of us are going to marry any time soon,” Masoud said uncertainly.
“Really? None of you plan to marry before the end of the year? Masoud, you used to be quite the romantic,” Quadie teased his son.
“Adil’s the one who always has to have a woman on his arm,” Masoud grumbled.
“If Jaymin sees a political match, he’ll marry in a heartbeat!” Adil protested.
“A bet then,” Rameez said smoothly. “Let’s see who is still left standing at the end of the year.”
“What’s the prize?” Masoud asked, mildly interested.
Quadie smiled slowly. “Muharraq Island.”
Masoud tensed, looking at their father in surprise. Judging from the knowing look on Quadie’s face, he knew he had hit a sore spot with Masoud. Muharraq was a small island that had been in the Khalidizack family for generations. Completely unspoiled by man, the small preserve was a paradise in the making. Up until now, it had merely been a passing dream, but he suddenly began to think about it more speculatively.
Jaymin scowled. “Seriously? That’s prime real estate. If you give it to Adil or Masoud, they’ll squander it!”
Masoud snorted. While Jaymin may be the one being groomed to take over their father’s empire, it didn’t
mean that Masoud wasn’t capable of building his own. Muharraq might be the incentive he needed. Granted, he had an advantage over his siblings in that he didn’t believe in marriage. It didn’t help that their parents’ thirty-year marriage was one of political alliance. Over the years, he had heard his elders shake their heads at how distant his parents were with each other, as love often grew between political matches, in time. Masoud was amazed they’d managed to have three sons, as it didn’t appear as if they could stand to be in the same room with each other.
Now that his mother was ill, his father didn’t even seem to care. What kind of marriage was that? No, he’d rather remain single than turn into his father.
“Then you’d best see that you are the last one standing,” Quadie said with a smile. He leaned over to whisper something in Rameez’s ear, and they both laughed and walked away.
“Now that this is over, you’ll have to excuse me. I was just speaking with some of our guests about Solomon’s Diamond, and I would like to get back to it. That is, as long as you two can stop projecting your voices across the room and embarrassing the family with your comments,” Jaymin said with a long-suffering sigh.
Surprised, Masoud reached out and grabbed his older brother’s arm. “Solomon’s Diamond? You’ve got to be kidding. Why are you reminding people about that?”
“It’s the only reason that we rule,” Jaymin reminded him. “The discovery of the mines helps solidify the power of the diamond.”
“You know just as well as I do that we should not be talking about it.”
“Too late,” Adil said grimly. “You really have zoned out lately. Since the discovery of the ruins, Father has talked about nothing else.”
Masoud opened his mouth to remind his brothers that they didn’t have the diamond, but he was caught up by the presence of the family security team.
“We have a problem,” a guard told them quietly.
“What kind of problem?” Masoud demanded with a sigh. He was always the one who ended up mediating issues with guests. Jaymin was happy simply to throw them out, and Adil normally invited them to his private quarters for a drink. Some things needed to be handled with more diplomacy.
“We’ve found someone else snooping around the site.”
Masoud growled and stepped away from the railing to follow the guard. Only a month since the discovery, security had already found ten trespassers claiming to be archaeologists. They were all looking for treasure. It was getting ridiculous. Particularly with the site in such, close proximity to the palace. “Where are you holding him?”
“The palace cells.”
Masoud jerked and turned his head sharply. “The cells? For a crazy person trespassing? Why?”
The guard blushed and looked down. “She was a little insistent that she had a right to be there. When we removed her, she kept coming back. The cell was the only place we thought might deter her.”
“She?” Masoud waved the guard away. “I’ll handle it. Try to keep it quiet and make sure I’m not disturbed.”
At least the party wasn’t boring anymore.
Chapter Two
Fleur Summers wrapped her arms around herself as she paced back and forth in the small cell. How was it that such a dry, desert climate could have such dank rooms? Water trickled down the stones, leaving a trail of green and black strands of mold before pooling into a muddy puddle at the bottom. She tapped under her nose, hoping to ward off a fit of sneezes threatening to surface. She couldn’t imagine where the water was coming from unless the ground was still holding water from the rains last month.
The whole place was fascinating, and Fleur was in heaven. Not wanting to waste a moment, she pulled out a small brush from her pocket and patiently began to brush away the dust and dirt from the drier stone wall. The palace, and these cells, dated back to the First Crusades. The Prophet Muhammad began touring the area around 570 CE and spreading The Word that eventually became known as Islam. When the Christians from the Byzantine Empire arrived to remove the new powerful and political beliefs of Islam, the Muslims drove them out and took control of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Fleur could only imagine the history written on these walls.
“Are you going to clean the whole cell or just that one wall?” a male voice asked dryly.
Pushing her red hair out of her eyes, she whirled around and immediately blushed. In front of her stood someone who was, without a doubt, a member of the Khalidizack family. Dressed in dirty jeans and a flannel, Fleur looked like a vagabond next to him.
She stared at the impeccably dressed man who watched her. Her eyes followed his movements as he stuck his hands in his front pockets. The benign action only served to accentuate the hard lines of his body under his expensive suit. Fleur’s gaze continued to roam over him as she took in his dark Middle Eastern looks, strong nose and jaw. She frowned when she saw the small scar on his right cheek, which gleamed white against the stubble below it. Focusing on his lips, she wondered what they would feel like to kiss as his facial hair rubbed against her sensitive skin.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she blushed again. “I’m sorry, you were saying something?” She tried not to react to the smirk on his face, desperately hoping he didn’t know what she was thinking.
“I’m Masoud Khalidizack, and it appears that you believe you have a right to trespass here. You don’t. Care to explain why a pale-skinned red-haired woman is prowling on my lands?”
“You’re…Sheikh Masoud?” Oh geez. She rubbed her hands nervously over her jeans and dropped the brush, then bent down to pick it up, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t stealing anything. I just wanted to take a rubbing of the inscriptions. It was harmless. It’s just frottage. Pencil and paper. I’m Fleur Summers, by the way. Um, nice to meet you?”
The powerful man cocked his head and studied her. She shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I’m sure you’re aware of how precious that site could be. That’s probably why I’m currently in this cell. But, I did try multiple times to get in touch with your family. I mailed inquiries, tried email, I called, I even showed up to ask permission but I never got a response. To keep a find like this hidden away is a travesty. The potential for historical knowledge that could be gained from this find is astounding. I know I shouldn’t have, but this was too important and I only needed a few minutes to get my rubbings. No harm, no foul.” She swallowed hard. “I dropped the paper when your security dragged me out. It’s probably still there if you want to check.”
“Why?”
Her eyes widened. “Why should you check the rubbings? So you can believe me!”
He chuckled softly. “Why did you need the rubbings?”
“Oh! It’s for my thesis. I’m a doctoral candidate.” Of course, that might not be true for very much longer. Her own professors and peers thought she was insane. “It’s important to me,” she pleaded. “You can keep me locked up if you want. Just let me keep the rubbings.”
Masoud slowly looked her up and down, and she shivered under his scrutiny. His eyes were unreadable. “What if I gave you more than rubbings?”
Something oddly sexual in his voice made her exhale slowly. “Excuse me?”
“A personal tour of the ruins. I’m sure whatever your thesis is about could use more than just a few rubbings.”
Her eyes widened, and she stepped to the door where he stood. “Really? That would be my dream.”
Masoud held his hands up. “Not quite so fast. There’s a catch. I want dinner first.”
“Dinner?” She frowned. “You want me to cook you dinner? Don’t you have private cooks for that? I mean, I’d be happy to make you dinner, but peanut butter and jelly is my specialty.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Cute. I meant dinner with me. Have dinner with me.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and she stumbled back. He had to be kidding. “Like a date?” she asked as her voice cracked.
“I don’t ask women that I just meet on dates,” he said with a crooked smile. “As it happens,
I think you might be useful to me. I’d like to pick your brain. Do you agree to the terms?”
So he needed an archaeologist? This night was turning out better and better. “Deal,” she said with a smile. “Just let me back on the premise to get my work, and I’ll give you my contact information. I’m staying at—”
He held up his hand. “That won’t be necessary.” Stepping back, he gestured to someone she couldn’t see. “Please take her up to the suites and see that Kara gets her suitably clean and dressed. Evening wear, please. Have Kara fetch me when she’s ready.”
Fleur blinked and walked slowly toward the door. “Now? You want to have dinner now?”
“Yes,” he said in an amused voice. “I like to make sure I get what I want. Don’t worry. We’ll have dinner in the ruins so you can fetch your precious rubbings.” He turned and walked away.
Fleur’s head spun as the guard prompted her to follow. She quickened her steps to reach Masoud and figure out what was going on, but the guard captured her elbow.
“We’re going this way,” he said as he motioned to the path on his left.
Fleur frowned and almost objected before she realized this must have been the path prisoners walked to their executions so long ago. She could ask Masoud questions later. Right now, she wanted to explore as much of this place as she could while she still had the chance. Once he realized what she suspected was in the ruins, he would drop her as quickly as possible. And she wasn’t about to spurn the chance that she was given.
The path wound around in dizzying twists and turns. She tried to stop several times to get a closer look at the stone walls, but the security guard pushed her gently from behind to get her moving again. With a huff, she picked up her pace until they reached a wooden door. “Where does this lead?”
“Servants’ quarters,” the guard said as he swung the door open.
Chapter Three
Fleur frowned in disappointment. Of course, quite a few renovations would have been made as the years passed. There was no need for a path to the executioner’s block. With a sigh, she entered the quarters and saw a small but pretty young woman waiting for her. “I’ve drawn you a bath,” she said quietly.
