by Leslie North
“It is not what you think, Ahmed. This is Carolyn Michaels…”
“The woman you won a date with at the auction? The same woman who stood you up last night?” Ahmed’s opinion on the matter was evident in his tone.
“One and the same. She is in need of a vacation from her life I think, and will be accompanying us back to Al-Sarid.”
Ahmed shook his head, “Sir, I don’t believe that is in your best interest.”
“It is for her own good. She is in some sort of trouble, and until I know what that is and how to help her, she stays with me.”
“You can’t kidnap her.” Ahmed argued with him.
“I can’t stay in the States either. I have meetings beginning tomorrow that cannot be postponed any longer. You know this.”
Ahmed nodded his head, “I’m aware of that. Perhaps after your business is concluded you could return to the States and offer her your assistance then?”
Mahil shook his head, “Unacceptable. She needs help now.”
“You can’t simply take her!” Ahmed told him again, trying to remember whom he was speaking to and yet talk some common sense into the man who was clearly acting without thinking things through. They had been friends for enough years that their relationship extended beyond the usual role of employer and employee.
“I just did,” Mahil told the pilot, walking around him and climbing the stairs into the plane.
Ahmed followed him, watching as Mahil set his cargo down on the plush leather couch and tucked a soft blanket around her body.
Mahil glanced back at his pilot and nodded towards the cockpit, “I am ready to take off whenever you are.”
“Sir, I must caution you against this again. She isn’t Lyla--”
Mahil blanched but looked his pilot in the eyes, “I know she is not Lyla.”
“Do you? Tell me you aren’t drawn to this woman because she needs help and you’re trying to make amends for what happened with Lyla?”
Mahil said nothing for a moment before inclining his head, “This is my second chance and I’m not going to screw it up this time around.” I’m not going to let her down.
Chapter 5
Carolyn stretched her arms, feeling the soft sheets beneath her skin and hugging the plush pillow to her face as she inhaled the scent of… Jasmine?
Her eyes sprung open as she shoved herself up in the bed. Looking around frantically, she took in the luxurious room she was in, from the four-poster bed with the white and gold draperies to the gold satin sheets she was lying on.
Where in the hell am I? She tried to recall having gone to some swanky hotel, but that memory didn’t register. The last thing she remembered was being at the diner, and Mahil…
Mahil! This has to be his fault!
She jumped from the high bed and stalked towards the double doors with the intricate woodwork and gold accents. She grabbed hold of both door handles and tried to throw the doors open, but they were locked. She jiggled the handles and then pounded on the door, “Hello! Hello! I’m locked in here. Somebody! Please, can anyone hear me! Mahil!”
She banged her fists on the door several times and then waited and listened. Nothing! Turning around, she looked around her lavish prison. A fireplace stood to one side with a marble hearth and mantelpiece. Queen Anne chairs were situated in front of it with a beautiful rug adorning the floor.
A large armoire stood just beside the bed, and she flung it open, hoping to find her phone or her clothing. She was currently wearing some diaphanous gown that reached from her neck to her ankles, and while the material felt very nice against her skin, she longed for her own clothing. Inside were several garments, all traditional Middle Eastern dress, complete with head adornments and veils. No way am I wearing those!
She slammed the doors shut and quickly perused the remaining furniture, but nothing of her own could be found. Not even her diner uniform!
She ventured into the adjoining bathroom and stared at the marble tub and lush greenery that seemed to occupy every corner of the room. A glass-encased shower stood on the far side of the room with jets coming from both sides and a large rain showerhead occupying the entire top of the enclosure.
Unable to resist, she turned the water on and closed her eyes as the sound of raindrops hitting the marble floor soothed her ragged spirit; her mother used to love the sound of rain as it fell on their tin patio roof. The sound of the bedroom doors opening and closing had her hurrying to turn the shower off and enter the bedroom again.
There were three women dressed in neck to ankle Middle Eastern outfits, their dark hair carefully contained in chignons at the back of their necks, their elegant hands decorated with beautiful henna tattoos. They were whispering to one another, but upon seeing her, they stopped and the oldest of the three turned to address her.
“You slept well, miss?”
The woman’s English was broken and she seemed to hesitate before saying each word.
Carolyn nodded her head and asked, “Where is Mahil?”
“Gone. He had… business meetings.”
“Gone? But where am I?”
“Al-Sarid, miss.”
Al-Sarid?! “The Middle East? I’m in the freaking Middle East?” When the woman looked at her and nodded, Carolyn sank down on the nearest chair, “How did I get here?”
“Sheik Mahil brought you here, miss.”
“He brought me here and then left me?” He kidnapped me? I wish I knew what was happening here. I can’t be in the Middle East. I need to be back home! “Could you bring me my clothes and my phone? Oh, and maybe call a taxi or something to take me to the airport?”
The three women said something to each other and the oldest one told her, “No. We cannot do that. We do have fresh clothing for you here,” she gestured towards one of the woman who was carrying a pile of traditional clothing.
“So, you’re refusing to let me leave?” Carolyn asked, gauging the distance to the doors and wondering if she could fight her way past the three women.
The woman seemed to consider her question carefully before replying, “It’s for your own good. Your safety.”
Carolyn shook her head, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to get back to the United States. Now. Today!” She needed the work hours before her time ran out. Dammit, Mahil! What have you done?
“That is not possible,” the woman informed her calmly.
Carolyn could feel herself getting angry and she stalked towards the women, smiling when they backed away from her, “Then make it possible. I have to get back. I owe people money, really scary people. If I don’t make my payments on time…”
She let her voice trail off, not even wanting to think about the penalty that would be extracted if she didn’t come through with the right amount and on time. She had to make those payments on time. She just had to…
The woman she’d been speaking with murmured something to the other two women, and they quickly backed their way out of the room. Carolyn felt like crying when she heard the key turn in the lock, once more imprisoning her.
She returned to the bed, and as she realized she was completely at the mercy of people she didn’t know and had no way of returning home, she finally gave way to her tears. She curled on her side at the end of the bed, crying herself to sleep as her exhaustion and the stress of her life overcame her.
*****
Mahil returned home later that afternoon to find the staff nervously waiting around the large foyer of his home. “What is this?” he asked Ahmed as he stopped to survey the small group of people who were watching him carefully.
“Your guest has been creating quite a ruckus today.”
Mahil glanced up the winding staircase with a frown upon his face, “What’s happened?”
“She is very upset at being here and every time someone tries to enter the room to offer her food or company, she becomes more agitated and ends up screaming in frustration at them.”
One of the maids stepped forward and offered
, “When we leave the room, she then cries. It is very hard to listen to, sir.”
Mahil apologized to his staff and bid them to leave the premises for the remainder of the night. He would see to his guest until morning.
“Do you think that is wise?” Ahmed asked, watching as the maids and male servants quickly left for their own living quarters at the back of the property. Normally, there would be at least three maids in the main house around the clock, seeing to the Sheik’s needs without delay.
Mahil nodded his head, “I’ll deal with her. Stay here until I’ve spoken with her. I need to find out what kind of trouble she is in back home so that it can be taken care of.”
“And if she doesn’t want or require your help?” Ahmed asked to his retreating back.
Mahil didn’t answer him, but continued up the winding staircase. He listened as he reached the landing and could hear a rhythmic thumping sound coming from the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Directly opposite his own chambers.
He reached the door, but before turning the key in the lock, he called through the wooden structure, “Carolyn, back away from the door so I can enter.”
He counted to ten and then turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open. He entered the room and was pleased to see that she had listened and was standing at the foot of the bed. He closed the door and locked the door, pocketing the key, never once taking his eyes off her. She was breathtaking in that gown, as she stood there taking deep breaths. Her hair hung in a tumbled mass around her and her face was flushed with anger, hinting at what she would look like when it would be from passion.
“I understand you are unhappy about your accommodations?”
“Accommodations? Those are what people get at a hotel. Where they’ve made a conscious choice to be. This is a prison and I want out of here and a plane back to the States. Immediately. You don’t have a clue what you’ve done!”
Mahil tried not to let the unshed tears in her eyes dissuade him from his course. Instead, he calmly walked over to one of the two chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down, “Please join me and let’s talk.”
Carolyn sighed dramatically and joined him, “I don’t want to talk. I want to go home.”
“You are in trouble. Explain to me why you were so tired you fell asleep at the diner.”
Carolyn shook her head at him, “I don’t have to tell you anything. Why have you brought me halfway around the world without my permission? There are laws against that sort of thing.”
“It was for your own good. I want to help you with your trouble, but I needed to return for a very important meeting this morning. The only logical thing was to bring you with me. You didn’t seem to mind…”
“Mind?! I was dead tired and didn’t even know what was happening around me!”
“Precisely my point. Why is a beautiful young woman like you working herself into an early grave?”
Carolyn stood up from the chair and began to pace the room, “And I’ve told you I take care of my own problems. You can’t even begin to know how much more difficult you’ve just made my life by your heavy-handed actions. I need to get home…”
“Not until you tell me what is going on,” he insisted.
Carolyn was standing next to a small table with a beautiful vase of flowers on it. Before Mahil could even begin to predict her next move, she had picked up the vase, flowers and all, and hurled it across the room at his head.
Mahil leapt from the chair, ducking just in time to avoid being struck by the vase, ignoring the sound of shattering plaster and water as it smashed against the marble fireplace. “Enough!”
He was beyond frustrated with her and the urge to yank her to him and shake some sense into her had him fisting his hands at his sides, “You are not leaving here until I know what is going on. How long that takes is entirely up to you!”
He stalked to the bedroom door, letting himself out and clenching his jaw as he heard yet another object strike the wooden door. He heard her muted scream of frustration and shook his head in confusion as he locked the door and pocketed the key.
All he wanted to do was help her, and he was in a position to do so, but she wouldn’t let him. He’d never had his offer of assistance turned down before and was unprepared for how to deal with the emotions it evoked. The emotions she evoked in him. Or the fact that the angrier she got, the more turned on he became.
Shaking his head, he headed back to the main floor to find Ahmed in his library, drinking his best Scotch with a knowing look on his face. “That doesn’t sound like it went all that well,” he said blandly.
“You heard?” Mahil asked, pouring himself a glass and downing it before pouring a second.
“I heard some of it, but only because I had the intercom turned on.”
Mahil shook his head. “She is being very…difficult.”
“She’s an American and very willful. I did try to warn you,” Ahmed reminded him.
Mahil shook his head, “That doesn’t matter. I want you to find out what is going on with her. I am going to help her, but since she won’t tell me what is wrong, use whatever means are necessary to get me the information I seek.”
Ahmed looked at him, “Are you sure? Say the word and I will have her back home by tomorrow morning.”
Mahil nodded his head grimly, “I’m sure. She needs help, and I am going to give it to her.”
Chapter 6
Carolyn hadn’t seen Mahil since the night before when she’d started throwing things at him. She usually had more self-control than that, but he seemed to bring out such strong emotions in her. She still couldn’t believe that she’d thrown things at him; something she was not going to apologize for since he was the one who brought her here against her will.
The last few years had not been easy for her, as she had to cut back on her classes and take on so many extra hours of work. She knew that he was right and she was working herself into an early grave but she was so close.
When she had agreed to the auction, she had been shocked when the bidding went so high and when she met the winning bidder; her heart had immediately begun to race. At the time, she had attributed it to nerves and lack of sleep, but when he started showing up in her dreams, she knew she would have to stand him up. She simply couldn’t afford to waste what precious time she had on trivial things like dating.
The maids had returned the next morning, cleaning supplies in their hands along with fresh linens for the bed, towels for the bath, and several changes of clothing for her. Carolyn had insisted they leave, telling them that she was more than capable of cleaning up after herself.
She tried not to feel embarrassed at how she’d basically run the women from the room by yelling at them, and she quickly changed her sheets and then took a quick shower, trying not to enjoy the rain showerhead too much.
She didn’t want to enjoy any part of being in Al-Sarid, and after the refreshing shower and donning clean Western clothes, she was ready to lock horns with Mahil again. The maids returned with reinforcements thirty minutes later, giving her very worried glances when they saw what she’d accomplished on her own.
“Miss, would you like one of us to help you with your hair?” a young girl who introduced herself as Jessenia asked her.
“No, I can do it myself.” When Carolyn saw the maids pick up the dirty linens she had left in the bathroom, she stood up and told them, “You don’t have to wait on me. If you would show me where the laundry facilities are located, I can do my own laundry.”
The women tittered amongst themselves and Jessenia explained, “That would be very rude of you. They are employed here by Sheik Mahil and enjoy their work. If word were to reach him that a guest had done their own laundry, they would be out of a job and bear the shame of treating a guest poorly.”
“But see, I’m not really a guest…”
“You are a guest because Sheik Mahil says you are guest,” Jessenia assured her.
“Fine.” Another maid entered bearing a tray laden
with Middle Eastern food. There was a plate of fresh figs, a large bowl of lamb stew, and several other dishes Carolyn couldn’t name. While she admitted the food was probably good, it was barely eight o’clock in the morning and she couldn’t imagine eating such foods for breakfast.
“Don’t you people eat normal breakfast food here?”
“Normal breakfast food?” one of the other maids asked.
“Yes. Like cold cereal or eggs? Pancakes?”
They all looked confused and Carolyn sighed, “Fine. Show me where the kitchen is and I’ll make my own food.”
“That is not possible. Guests do not cook for themselves,” she was informed very quietly.
Carolyn looked at the gathered maids and then crossed her arms across her chest, “Then this guest will not eat!”
She turned her back on them and headed for the window. She’d briefly looked out on the grounds the day before, and did so again, trying to ignore her protesting stomach. She was hungry, but she was upset enough and to eat such a heavy meal this early in the day was sure to make her sick. This is all Mahil’s fault! And he’s not even here for me to take my anger out on!
She had asked to speak with him earlier in the morning, but had been politely informed that Mahil was already gone about his business of the day. When she’d asked when he was expected to return, she’d gotten shrugs of shoulders and shakes of heads.
She could hear the women talking to one another behind her, their language foreign to her ears, and yet having a nice melodic tone to it.
“Miss?”
Carolyn looked over her shoulder to see the maids all staring at her. Turning to face them, she nodded her head, “Yes?”
“It would not please the Sheik for his guest to go hungry. If we show you where the kitchen is, will you promise to eat?”
Carolyn was shocked, “You mean I can come out of this room today?”
“Yes. Sheik Mahil left two guards to stay with you. You are free to explore the main house.”
