ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance

by Knight, Kylie

  “Yeah,” she whispered.

  “Are you just okay?”

  She chuckled and raised her head. “I’m definitely more than okay, but I’ve never done this. I’m not sure what happens after.”

  “Well, there are several options. If you’re feeling uneasy, we can talk until you feel better. If you’re tired, we can sleep. If you want go for round two, you’ll have to give me a couple minutes, but I might be up for it.”

  Unable to help herself, she laughed. “I couldn’t even begin to go for round two. But I am tired.”

  “But you’re also uneasy. And I won’t have my wife feeling uneasy after our wedding night.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she reached up and kissed him gently. “It wasn’t what I expected, Kalil. I’m just adjusting my expectations, that’s all.”

  “Yeah? Is that a good thing?” he said as he studied her.

  The truth was that she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing. She’d never expected to feel so intimate with her husband. She never expected to enjoy her husband, and now that her reality was shifting, everything was changing. She was falling love with her husband, and her husband was going to leave soon. And more than anything, she wanted to tell him that she needed more time with him to explore this new reality.

  “It just means that I’m going to enjoy my nights a lot more,” she said with a smile before she settled on his chest. He continued to hold her until she finally surrendered herself to the arms of sleep.

  Chapter Six

  Kamal stayed busy through the next few weeks. Jada did her best to keep herself busy, but there was little to do.

  Long after the darkness covered the sky, Kamal dragged himself through the door. Jada had stayed up to kiss him goodnight, and she rubbed her eyes and stretched. “It’s very late,” she said softly. “Would you like a drink?”

  He looked at her oddly. “What are you still doing up?”

  “I was going to warm something up in case you were hungry.” She glanced down at the floor nervously. Was he angry at her?

  “I ate in the main kitchen.”

  Swinging her legs from the couch, she stood and half bowed. “Very well. I’ll clean up dinner.”

  “Dinner?” He reached out and grabbed her wrist as she moved past him. “Jada, did you cook me dinner?”

  “I’m your wife, Kamal. I cook you dinner every night.” She tugged her wrist free and went to clean up the small kitchen. The truth was that Kamal went straight to the main kitchens when he got home from work to eat with his father and talk business. Jada knew that, but she also knew that it was her responsibility to take care of her husband. She cooked dinner for him ever night, and when he didn’t eat it, she ate the leftovers the next day.

  “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. You don’t have to do that. You have just as much access to the palace staff as I do. Utilize them,” he said in a tired voice. “I will take that drink though.”

  Jada tried to pretend that his words didn’t hurt. Ameena ran the household staff. If Jada didn’t at least try and take care of her husband, she wasn’t worth much around the palace. She was little more than a bed warmer.

  As she fixed his drink for him, she realized how completely ironic the whole situation was. At first she was afraid that marrying a Sheikh meant she would lose her independence and become little more than a trophy wife. But now that she couldn’t even do menial things around the house, she realized how little she meant to him.

  “If there is nothing else, I’ll go to bed,” Jada said stiffly as she handed him her drink. She knew he had a lot on his mind, but surely he remembered that she existed, right?

  “Jada.” Kamal reached for his drink and caressed her hands at the same time. She felt a small thrill of excitement race through her. No matter how tired Kamal was, when he wanted her, he was always very attentive.

  Very attentive.

  “I know we’re still getting used to each other. I know you enjoyed your studies, and I know you’re bored here. You’re welcome to go shopping and do whatever you like to the suite. And if you’d like me to join you for dinner, I will.”

  Her heart went out to him. There was nothing but exhaustion in his eyes, but he was trying. He was doing a poor job of it, but at least he was trying.

  “I don’t want to do anything to interrupt your routine. You have a lot to do before you leave for America.” Jada hesitated. “If you think it would help, I could come with you.”

  She held her breath. It was the first time she had broached the subject of leaving with Kamal, and she waited anxiously for his answer. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he had intended to bring her with him all along. In the distance, a clock ticked loudly as the silence stretched between them.

  “If you’re bored now, think of how bored you’ll be in America,” Kamal said finally. “You’ll have no friends and family, and I’ll barely be home. It’s probably best that you stay here.”

  Her hope deflated as he took his drink into the office. She desperately wanted to call back out to him and tell him that she could explore. She would learn new things. But that, no doubt, was not what he wanted his wife to hear.

  Shoving her anger and despair down, she turned and headed for the bedroom. Her hands shook as she wiped away her make-up and slowly unbraided her hair. By the time she slid between the satin sheets, she was too tired to care about anything.

  But when he joined her hours later and slid a hand along her bare thigh, she awoke and turned to him. At least, if nothing else, she could give him this. It almost felt like she had nothing else to give.

  * * *

  Kamal spent the next evening eyeballing his parents. They sat stiffly at the table, and while Nahid carefully avoided his wife’s gaze, Ameena openly glared at him. He tried to ignore the strange tense atmosphere, but finally he could take it no longer. He already had enough pressure on his shoulders to make this expansion work.

  Putting down his fork, he wiped his mouth and faced his parents. “Is there something you two would like to discuss?” he asked politely.

  “No,” Nahid said hastily.

  At the same time, his mother swung her angry gaze at him. “Eat your dinner,” she snapped.

  Blinking, Kamal leaned back and crossed his arms. “Mother, it’s not like you to be up this late. What’s going on?”

  “You two continue to sneak in late at night. I know it’s not because you’re avoiding me,” Ameena said. Her words were dripping with sugar, but her eyes were angry.

  Kamal couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out why his mother was so angry. “We’re working, Mother. Of course we’re not avoiding you.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Nahid muttered under his breath.

  Kamal shook his head. “Enough. I have too much going on to mediate issues between you two. Clear the air right now or stow your problems until I’m not around.”

  “Kamal,” Nahid said in a warning voice.

  “No. He should know why I’m angry,” Ameena said harshly. “He’s the reason I’m angry. You’re both idiots. How can two men, one running a country and another in line to run a country, be so stupid?”

  Dropping his jaw, Kamal stared at his mother. It had been a long time since he’d seen her so upset. “What did I do? I haven’t even been here,” he objected.

  “No, you haven’t,” she snapped. “You have a beautiful and brand new bride waiting for you, and you probably don’t spend more than five waking hours with her a day. Not to mention that you’re abandoning her in a few weeks while you move to America. And how long will be gone, Kamal? A month? Three months? Half a year?”

  “This is business,” Nahid said heatedly. “This is what he needs to be doing. There will be time after to woo his wife. We’re talking about increasing the profits that go into this country.”

  “But does it have to be now? You couldn’t have waited a year? Let the poor woman find her feet!”

  “Did she say something to you?” Kamal asked. Jaded hadn’t implied that she was u
pset that he was leaving, did she?

  “Of course not. She’s the perfect dutiful wife. Since she has no idea what kind of man you are since you don’t spend any time with her, she’s probably terrified to voice her opinion on anything!”

  Nahid stood. “Ameena,”

  “Sit down, Nahid,” his mother commanded. “You may run a country, but when I have something to say, you’re going to hear it!”

  Kamal had enough. Pounding his fists on the table to get his parents attention, he gritted his teeth. “Mother, I understand that the timing is poor, but perhaps this is better time than you think. Jada and I are not a match of love. She’d had very little time to adjust to the idea of being married. She can learn under you how the palace works while I’m away. If I stayed and bonded with her, like you seem to suggest, the business trip would only be that much harder.”

  Ameena stared at him. “I raised a fool for a son,” she said as she quietly shook his head. “Excuse me.”

  Kamal stared in confusion as his mother left the dinner table. Nahid shook his head. “Son, I may have to go with you. Your mother will have a terrible temper while you’re away.”

  “I don’t understand why she’s so upset,” Kamal said in bewilderment. “My wife has not mentioned her displeasure about my trip.” In fact, Jada didn’t mention her displeasure about anything. She was almost robotic in her actions around him, and he drove him crazy. Just once, he wanted to hear her opinion.

  Kamal assumed that Jada would be pleased that he would be out of the palace for an extended period of time. She’d be able to relax and explore. Surely she didn’t think she existed for his pleasure?

  She was hardly on automatic at night. In his arms, the carefully polished Sheikh’s wife mask slipped away, and she lost all control. He loved that. He loved to see just how far he could drive her up. And she, in turn, was not shy. Her desire to explore all the facets of sex amazed and exhausted him.

  But during the day, she was completely different. He couldn’t even begin to pierce the shell around her. Time away would be good for both of them.

  “We will never be able to understand women,” his father muttered as he pushed his plate away.

  Kamal pushed the unpleasant situation from his mind. “I’ve pored over hundreds of applications, but only about forty make the cut. It’ll take me about two weeks to get through the interviews, and that’s just for the top tier. I know we’ve already got twenty men coming with me, but I may need about five more to run background checks. I got updates that the inspectors approved of the construction of the warehouse, but we still need to set up the offices.”

  He sighed. There was still so much to do before he left.

  “I’ll spare five more, but that’s it, Kamal. I can’t afford to slow production down . You’ll have to make do with that,” Nahid said with a sigh. It was clear that the fight with his wife had diminished his appetite.

  The five additional men was only a fraction of what Kamal needed, but he knew better to ask for more. He considered himself lucky that he’d gotten this far. While a political and business alliance with America would be strong, he knew there were many who didn’t agree with the expansion. Most of his country wanted to keep themselves as secluded as possible. Something not being on America’s radar was a good thing.

  Kamal polished off his dinner and stood. A servant came out to quietly clear the table, and he nodded his head in thanks. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Perhaps you should join us for breakfast with your wife,” Nahid said with a sigh. “Maybe that will pacify your mother.”

  Kamal hesitated. He had planned on getting to the office early, and frankly, he knew that things with his mother would blow over. She could never stay mad at him for long. But since it was his father asking, he knew it was probably important. “Very well,” he muttered with a curt nod.

  His father almost looked relieved as Kamal left the kitchen to retire to his suite.

  It was the latest he had ever come home, and Jada was sleeping on the couch. His body tensed as he stared at her form stretched out on the cushions. He knew quite well that the body beneath the blue fabric of her dress was absolute perfection. He had traced every inch of her skin his fingers and his mouth, and it drove him to distraction.

  There were moments where he could barely focus on his work because his thoughts were consumed with her. When he was sheathed within her, she was warm and welcoming. It had been a long time since he’d felt that way with a woman. Even when he was with Sara, it wasn’t like this.

  Thinking of his ex-lover made him angry, and he tried to push the thoughts away. It wasn’t fair to his wife that he would be thinking of another. While it was customary for men in surrounding countries to take multiple wives and lovers, Kamal wanted to be faithful.

  If nothing more than that he believed more than one woman would be far too much trouble.

  His wife stirred, and when she opened her eyes and stretched, he hardened. After the day he’d had at work, he wanted nothing more than to bury himself within her. He knelt down by the couch and ran his hands over the curves of her torso and over her hips. Jada parted her lips in surprise. “Kamal?” she asked sleepily.

  “Shh,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her. She opened readily for him, and as she tangled her fingers in his hair, his senses were reeling. These moments with her were more than just sex. She bared everything for him, and he finally got to see the real her. It was both physically and spiritually intimate.

  Gently, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He didn’t mind that every second with her tonight was a second that he would have without sleep. It was worth it to feel the connection between them.

  And when she cried out his name in the darkness, it made him feel something that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

  * * *

  His mother was delighted when they showed up for breakfast. Although the looks she sent his way were anything but pleasant, she hugged Jada and kept the conversation going.

  “Darling, I have some errands that I need to run today. Would you like to join me?” Ameena asked.

  Nahid gave her a sharp look. “Why don’t you send someone to do your errands for you?” he asked her.

  “I’m perfectly capable of running errands,” she muttered. Kamal studied them. Why were they fighting over errands?

  “I would love to join you,” Jada said quickly. “It’ll be nice to get out.”

  Get out? “Why do you need to get out?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he immediately regretted them. His wife immediately looked down at her plate.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t need to go.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said impatiently. He opened his mouth again, but his mother shot him an angry look.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Kamal and his father seem to be very busy with work, so they don’t need to pay any attention with what we do today. We may run errands all day long. We might go see a movie and have lunch and maybe, just maybe, we’ll have dinner out tonight and tell the staff to take a day off,” Ameena said in anger.

  Stunned, Kamal sat back and stared at them. What the hell was going on with his parents? Nahid stood. “Come on Kamal, we need to finalize some details before you leave,” he said darkly as he stalked from the table.

  “Jada, can you give us a minute,” Kamal said gently. Jada pushed her chair back and immediately left the dining room. “Mother. I know you’re upset that I’m leaving for a little while…”

  “Kamal, you are so blind. So blind. Your wife is trying so hard to please you, and you are never home. Not only are you never home, but now you’re leaving. At the very least, you should take a few days off to spend with her,” she interrupted him sharply.

  “Why?” Kamal said in frustration. “She’s not comfortable enough around me to even be herself. I’ve seen her when she’s talking to herself alone and when she’s with her friends. She’s crazy and fun and sassy, but when I get around here, sh
e can barely look at me. I feel like she thinks she’s a prisoner, so she probably thinks it’s a relief that I’m leaving.”

  In frustration, he got up and left the table. Jada stood in the hallway staring at him. He could tell from the look on her face that she’d been listening. “How much did you hear?” he asked quietly.

  “Just the part where you think I want you to leave.” She took a deep breath and met his eyes. “This is all very new for me, Kamal. I’m not going to get the hang of being your wife in just a few months. And I’m sorry that I’m not pleasing you, but you’re not right. I don’t want you to go. But as your wife, I know I’m supposed to be supportive. So go. Do your thing. And when you get back, maybe we can finally talk to each other and find out how we can make this work. Because I really want to make this work.”

  She didn’t wait for a response. As she brushed past him, he closed his eyes and shook his head. He was married. He should be fighting for the marriage to work like her, but the truth was that if anyone felt like a prisoner, it was him. He stayed out late on purpose. He was looking forward to leaving.

  But she was beautiful, and when she was in his arms at night, she was perfect. She was absolutely perfect. So why the hell was he so happy to run?

  Chapter Seven

  Kamal had been gone for a week now. Nahid and Ameena were barely speaking to each other, and Jada had been cooped up in the wing all this time. She was going stir crazy, and she needed to do something.