by Erin Snihur
“Hello. I’m so sorry about this afternoon. It was all a bit of a shock. For you as much as it was for us, I’m sure,” Teresa’s American accent sounded silly as she spoke in Arabic. It was obviously difficult for the woman, who Amira came to understand had only been a Sheikha for a short time.
Nodding, Amira smiled and answered in English, which seemed to relax the woman, “It’s alright. I’m happy to meet Kasin’s...friends.”
As she spoke his name, Amira felt his gaze almost instantly. Turning her head, she saw him. He and three of the Sheiks all stood on the balcony, glasses of water and ice in their hands. Inwardly, Amira was thankful he wasn’t drinking alcohol. She couldn’t bear it.
“Amira, my love!” A booming and teasing voice broke her concentration as Amira turned away from staring after her husband to Tariq whose arms were swept open to embrace her.
Grimacing and pulling back with a wince, Amira rolled her eyes as Tariq laid his arm around her shoulders. Giggling could be heard behind them as Samara called out, “How about that, Tariq! Finally, another woman who finds you repulsive! I knew Amira was a perfect fit for our little group.”
Hand to his heart, Tariq spun himself and Amira around to face the women as they grinned back in teasing, “Cut to the quick, my Samara!”
Turning to glance down at her, Tariq winked and whispered in Amira’s ear as he leaned in close, “Put on a good show, little bird, you’ll have him in the palm of your hand in no time.”
Blushing at his close proximity, Amira tried to muster up a retort, but Tariq’s loud and boisterous words overpowered her own, “I know, Amira! I know! I’m so sorry. Our love is not to be, but do not lose hope! I know that one day we shall be…”
“If you finish that sentence, I’ll have your tongue cut out of your mouth,” Kasin’s sharp voice snarled behind them.
With Tariq distracted, Amira pulled away and stared at her husband in the light. The other three men now stood behind Kasin, their grins obvious as they watched the spectacle.
Clearing his throat, Tariq raised his hands up in a show of peace as Kasin’s glare intensified. “Understood, loud and clear.”
Tension palpable as much as the silence, Amira breathed a sigh of relief when servants arrived with platters of their main course.
Amoz cleared his throat and nodded to the food. “Perfect timing. Let’s eat before my wife gets into everything.”
Smacking her husband on the chest, Teresa playfully glared at him. “It’s your son’s fault. How am I to keep up with breastfeeding at this rate. I’m famished all the time. Soon, I’ll be as big as a house!”
Tariq grinned and called from his side of the table, “At least your husband will be wealthy enough to build you a new house.”
Laughter rang out as Teresa blushed and her husband kissed her cheek before escorting her to the table. The other husbands and wives did the same. Amira fidgeted with her hands as she stared at Kasin who hadn’t moved. There were only two place settings left. One at the head of the table and one to the right of the head of the table.
Hand outstretched, Amira stared at Kasin’s strong, tanned hand as if it would bite her. Had his hands grown larger? Stronger since they’d last held her own hand only this afternoon? Impossible!
Not wanting to appear rude, Amira smiled slightly at Kasin and allowed him to escort her to her seat. Waiting until she was settled, Kasin finally sat and servants once again appeared to help serve from the many dishes. Conversation soon filled the table. Some was directed at her, but Amira was thankful the women seemed to understand that Amira was too nervous to keep up with the brunt of the conversation.
It was only after their second course, that the quietest of the group and most intimidating, next to Kasin, asked her a question. Khalid’s green eyes pierced hers, as if she were an enemy he was attempting to extract information from.
“How long have you known Kasin, Amira?”
Setting her utensils aside, Amira smiled slightly when all curious eyes landed on her. Feeling the weight of Kasin’s eyes on her, Amira tried not to squirm under his heated gaze. Why must he watch her so?
“We met when I was five years old and Kasin had just turned nine,” Amira answered, “Our families were close.”
At her side, Amira could see Kasin’s hands clenched tightly around the arms of his chair at the mere mention of his family. Out of instinct and without thinking, Amira moved her hand under the table and softly held his fist in one hand with a soft squeeze. At the feeling of his hand relaxing, Amira looked up into Kasin’s eyes. They were heated and his body was full of tension. But not tension filled with anger. Amira recognized it immediately. She had seen it in him when they kissed. It was breathtaking.
“I can’t imagine our serious Kasin as a nine year old. What was he like?” Amelia asked at her husband’s side with a soft smile.
Breaking contact with her husband and blushing at the thought of being caught, Amira smiled hesitantly at the pale skinned woman who appeared to understand her unease.
“He was the ringleader of the children here at the palace. My half-brothers did everything Kasin did. I suppose I just followed along,” Amira admitted.
Kasin snorted, “You suppose?”
Gasping with her mouth wide open, Amira turned to Kasin who grinned back at her, “What do you mean by that?”
Shrugging, Kasin scanned the room and nodded to Amira, “My lovely wife was the ringleader, I’m afraid. One look and she could get you to do anything. Even steal sweets from the kitchen as I recall or sneak into the hidden catacombs beneath the palace to play games.”
Rolling her eyes, Amira felt herself truly smiling at the happy memories that washed over her. “And whose idea was it to climb to the top of the palace walls naked for the whole capital to see?”
Laughter and groans broke out from the table as Tariq’s booming voice called from the end of the table, “Our Kasin did that?”
“Seems impossible! How old were you, Kasin?” Teresa crooned as well.
Kasin grinned at the table before his eyes landed on her. “I admit that it was my idea. The media sure got a kick out of that story. I was only eleven or twelve. It was my brother’s name day and, before his royal name and title could be announced, I climbed up the walls naked with Amira’s brothers. The media dubbed us Masarat’s Most Eligible Nudists.”
Chuckles rang out and cheers were raised for Kasin’s secret title as Samara cheekily turned to Amira, “Is that when you decided to marry Kasin?”
Blushing, Amira shook her head and tried to steer the conversation in another way, “I didn’t see anything.”
“She held our clothes for us at the bottom of the wall,” Kasin murmured and winked at Amira. “She must have seen something she liked.”
Clutching her hand to her chest, Amelia sighed teasingly, “How romantic.”
More laughter rang out and before she knew it, Amira was being asked for more stories about Kasin as a child. Grinning, Amira turned to Kasin who nodded to her.
“Are you sure you want me to tell all of your secrets?”
Leveling her with a heated looked once more, Kasin murmured softly, “Do with me what you must, zawja.”
Inwardly, Amira caught his unspoken words as his eyes peered deep within her soul. She would do with him what she will before his friends and he would do with her what he will in private. In their chambers.
15
Kasin watched as Amira wished Teresa and Amoz a goodnight. The new parents revelled in their freedom for one night and were quickly rushing back to their chambers to be with their sleeping son. Malik and Samara had gone off for a midnight stroll through the gardens and Khalid and Amelia were no doubt off somewhere enjoying marital bliss.
Kasin had been without a drink since his binging with the guards in the mountains only a day ago. Already his throat ached with thirst and he tried to quell it with water and spiced punch. Nothing helped. It also didn’t help that Amira looked sinfully decadent in her dress. All
Kasin longed to do was get her out of that dress and wrap his fingers in her pale hair until they were joined as one.
Sauntering up to him, Tariq gave Kasin a knowing look. “Play it cool. You’ve been staring at her like she’s your next meal for hours now.”
“Bugger off,” Kasin growled back.
Letting out a tsk, Tariq eyed Amira as she ignored them and waltzed out onto the balcony, “You can’t pull off the British slang, my friend. Samara can, you can’t.”
Rolling his eyes, Kasin inwardly tenses when he loses sight of Amira on the balcony and before he can charge toward it to find her, Tariq’s hand comes up to his chest to stop him.
“What?” Kasin snarls loudly as he stares into Tariq’s grey eyes.
“Give her a few minutes of peace, then go,” Tariq glares back and when Kasin sighs and relaxes, Tariq removes his hand with a pat on his shoulder.
“I need a drink,” Kasin mutters.
“Water?” Tariq offers as he picks up his own glass.
“Not strong enough.”
Gazing at him in the eye, Tariq reaches up and squeezes Kasin’s shoulders. “One day brother, you’ll be offered a drink and won’t feel this need in you. You’ll refuse it. I know you will.”
Staring toward the balcony doors, Kasin nods. “For her, I’ll do anything.”
The cool night air felt amazing. It had been warm in the dining hall. Looking over her shoulder, Amira breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that she was truly alone for the first time in hours. Over dinner and after, if Kasin’s friends weren’t asking her questions, they were telling her something. Be it stories from their childhood or from boarding school. Amira had never been overly social as a child. She’d been taught to be seen, but never heard. At one point, Kasin’s friends had discovered her amazing talent for singing and Teresa attempted to convince Amira to sing a lullaby for her son. It seemed music was the only way to get little Xavier to sleep.
Staring into the night sky, Amira wondered what she should do about Kasin. All night, his heated looks and murmured words teased her. After calming his tensed form the first time, the entire diner was filled with small and fleeting touches. Before she could even make eye contact with her infuriating husband, the touch was gone, as if it had never happened. He was teasing her. She knew it. In five years, Amira had been the only one to seek her own pleasure. Now, her husband’s touch had lit a fire so hot within Amira’s body, she was certain her own touch could not quell it.
Closing her eyes to breathe in and out the scents of the air, Amira’s mind quieted. Shivering as a cool breeze swept all around her, Amira tensed when the coolness was stolen away by the warmth of a suit jacket being placed on her shoulders.
“You should be inside where it is warm,” Kasin murmured, his body pressing softly against her back as he pulled the jacket tighter around her trembling form.
Without thinking first, Amira answered back swiftly, “And where you will surely ravish me into submission?”
Chuckling deeply, Kasin leaned in closer, his arms wrapping around her and his hands grasping the railing of the balcony, sealing her in. “Is that what you want, zawja?”
Sighing, Amira leaned into Kasin’s chest, tired of this dance they played. “You know what I want, Kasin.”
Feeling his nose delve into her braided, loose locks, Amira shivered at the feeling of his lips brushing against her ear. He whispered so softly in that husky way that sent pleasure shooting straight to her core.
“I can’t, Amira. You’re all I have left.”
Heartbreaking for the man Amira used to know, Amira turned in his arms to face him. Gazing up into his eyes mournfully, she shook her head at his words.
“That’s not true, Kasin. You have seven amazing friends. I’ve met them all tonight. They care for you very much.”
“Without you, I have nothing,” Kasin repeats.
Sighing, Amira stares down at her ringed hand. Twisting the jewelled ring around her finger, she moans pitifully in emotional pain.
“And how long should I expect your attention? Until I’m pregnant? Or perhaps until you have your heir and spare? I’m sure once I’ve done my marital duty to the Crown, you will seek the attention of others. Like you have for the past five years.”
Silence ensues. To Amira, it seems like the truth rings clear and his refusal to agree or disagree forces tears to well up in her eyes. Hands grasping Amira’s face and forcing her to look him in the eye, she sees the pain in his dark eyes.
“It was all lies,” Kasin began.
Interrupting, Amira nods, “I know. It’s okay, but a marriage cannot withstand being built on lies and affairs.”
Tsking, Kasin placed a finger on her lips, “Let me finish, Amira.”
Silenced, Amira stares up at Kasin in confusion as he continues, “After the attack, Masarat was in shambles. I wasn’t thinking clearly. At the time, your father came to me and promised funds to help rebuild and find those that had killed my family and people if we would marry. Before the attack, I didn’t need funds to know I wanted to marry you, Amira. I’ve wanted that since we were children, but you were so young and I wanted to wait until you were ready.”
Sighing, Kasin stares at the sky before his dark eyes clash with hers. “I had just turned twenty-five. My father wanted me to become more serious about Masarat’s future. We argued and I left for a weekend away. When I received word of the attack, something inside me broke. My rationale, I suppose. It only grew worse when our enemies slipped through the cracks. I spent considerable resources tracking them down when I should have cared for my people. I wanted revenge. Your father’s money was a means to that end. I shouldn’t have gotten you involved, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I saw you as the last piece of myself that was once normal and even happy.”
“Oh, Kasin,” Amira whispered and touched his cheek softly.
Taking her hands in his, Kasin shook his head. “I was going to court you. Take our time and get to know one another after so many years apart, but then your father came to me with news of threats. They were all lies I discovered after we were married. Your father wished for the ties to the Crown, he wanted to control me and Masarat. Luckily, Abel was there to set things right; but in my state of mind, all I could think of was pulling back a white sheet and discovering you dead in the carnage of another attack. It was too much.”
“At first, you were only going to be sequestered for a few months in the mountains. But then, our enemies attempted another attack. It was on one of my female assistants. They thought, because we worked so closely together, that she was romantically involved with me. So, they attempted to have her killed. I knew that if they discovered you that you would be their next target. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, Amira asks the question she’d been asking for years, “The women?”
Snorting, Kasin shook his head in denial. “Actresses. Paid to make it appear as though I was a playboy Sheik with no strong, romantic ties. I never slept with any of them, Amira, I swear it.”
“Why did you not think to include me in this?” Amira gasps, more confused and frustrated than ever.
Shaking his head once more, Kasin sighs, “Like I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly. It’s no excuse. I thought the gifts I sent would show you I still cared and I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared that I would lose you. I spent my nights drinking myself into oblivion. Ask Abel, he will tell you the same, if you don’t believe me.”
Turning her back on him, Amira wrung her hands as she stared over the balcony’s edge. “I saw the photos, Kasin, it seemed so real.”
Amira felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder as he turned her back around to stare into his dark, smouldering eyes.
“The only thing that has been real in the last five years has been my love for you and the worry I’ve felt over your safety.”
In shock, Amira stuttered, “Why now?”
Brushing a lock of loose hair from her face, Kasin murmure
d, “I’ve come to realize that my attempts at revenge left me a shell of a man I once was. Revenge means nothing when it comes to the love of a woman, my wife. It is all I have needed these past five years.”
“And the drinking?” Amira whispered.
Shrugging, the corners of Kasin’s lips curled in humor. “My wife makes excellent spiced punch.”
Feeling herself smiling as she recalled the way Kasin’s face had sneered at the taste only a few days ago, Amira placed her hand over his heart. Feeling the dull thud every second, Amira sighed in relief. He did have a heart.
Staring into his eyes, Amira could still see the lingering darkness in them. Smiling softly, Amira leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. As she pulled away, Amira murmured, “Your grief still lingers. The only way you will truly begin to heal is if you have closure. Until then, I’ll be waiting.”
Inwardly, Amira prayed she wouldn’t be waiting another five years.
16
Kasin’s mind was reeling. Amira had rejected him. Inwardly, Kasin knew this wasn’t totally true. She’d given him an ultimatum. Find closure. She worried he would wake up one day and take his attentions elsewhere. He knew it. She had said it. He could feel her need to be with him, but it was hesitant. The feeling of a woman who had been hurt in the past.
Now, here he was. Walking through the palace’s catacombs toward the section set aside for his fallen family members. After watching Amira slip away with his suit jacket firmly wrapped around her shoulders, Kasin’s throat had ached for a drink. He’d ignored it and instead found himself walking the halls of the palace until he came across the guarded catacombs. The guards, while silent in their sentry, were obviously surprised to see him up so late and visiting the catacombs. He hadn’t visited this area of the palace since his family’s burial, sealing them and his heart inside.
As he entered the musty room, Kasin’s heart lurched at the sight of the five, rock carved tombs. Above them, nailed to the walls, were the portraits of his family. Each one painted at some point during their lives. Kasin stopped before the smallest of tombs and laid a hand on the top, eyes stinging with fresh tears.
