The Sheikh's Troublesome Bride Read online

  “I didn’t know that we had an American Embassy in Jawhara.”

  “That is because you don’t. There is no need for an embassy in my country. We consider America a great ally. Some of my best friends are Americans.”

  “Really? How can that be?”

  Kale laughed at the expression upon her face, “Shira, I went to Harvard.”

  Shira’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Really?! That’s why you knew all of the latest dance moves!” She laughed in delight, “I wondered about that you know.”

  Kale laughed with her, “I discovered that I like your dancing much more than that of my own country.”

  “You’re a really good dancer, too.” Shira had been amazed and impressed at his dancing ability back in the states. “Do you have dance clubs in Jawhara?”

  “Sadly, none like those in America. We are progressive, but that type of dancing and encouraging our young women to dance so freely would enrage the elders of my country.”

  Shira had wondered if Jawhara held to the old protocols, and it seemed that they did. She would have to be careful not to offend anyone without knowing it!

  “Little Shira, I see the worry on your face, do not concern yourself. My countrymen will love you, just as I do. Come. Let us retire – I have a need to feel you next to me again.”

  Shira shivered at the promise in his voice and eagerly followed him into the cabana where paradise awaited and she became well acquainted with passions that knew no bounds.

  *****

  The next afternoon, Shira returned with Kale from their camel ride, still blushing at the spectacle she must have presented to his people.

  “Are you truly alright, habibiti?” Kale asked as they entered the palace gates.

  “Everything except my pride. I’m sorry, Kale, I’ve seen pictures of camels before, but I guess I never realized just how big they are. I didn’t mean to scream when it started to rise. It just kind of slipped out.”

  Kale started laughing again, trying to quiet himself when he saw the hurt enter her eyes, “Don’t look so sad, Shira. The camel trainers were as upset as you were by the camel’s reaction.”

  The camel Shira had chosen appeared to be docile as it chewed its cud and sat quietly in the sand. Kale had encouraged her to try riding it by herself and she had reluctantly agreed. She had climbed aboard the saddle easily enough and been gaining confidence in her ability to stay on top of the animal when the trainer had given a command in Arabic and the large creature had started to rise.

  Unprepared for such movement, Shira had screamed in fright, feeling herself slipping sideways in the saddle and had ended up hanging from the saddle, her ankle having become twisted in the ornate decorations which decorated the saddle.

  The frightened animal had finished rising and then proceeded to twist and turn its body in an attempt to dislodge the screaming woman hanging from its side. To make matters worse, the animals bowels had chosen that exact moment to discharge and the poor camel trainer had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  It had taken three trainers, Kale and his two bodyguards to hold the animal still long enough to untangle her foot and remove her from the animals back. “That poor trainer will probably never let me near his camels again. Not that I have any intention of climbing on the back of another one in the near future!”

  “Do not worry, habibiti. Next time, I will get on the camel first and then you can sit in front of me. I will hold onto you and keep you safe.” Kale didn’t want to repeat the afternoon’s catastrophe anytime soon, but riding camels was part of life in Jawhara and if Shira was to become part of his life, she would eventually find herself on the back of another camel.

  “We’ll see. Now, I need to call my cousin and then my bosses. Do I have time?”

  “Certainly. Dinner is not served for another hour. Make your calls and then freshen up. Your belongings have already been moved into my bedchamber. I have some business to attend to so I will see you at dinner, yes?”

  “Yes. Thank you for taking me, even though it was a complete disaster.”

  “Thank you for an enjoyable afternoon. I will see you later.”

  Shira watched Kale stride away, noticing how he held himself and loving the way he moved his big frame – effortlessly and with a sense of controlled power. She managed to find her way to the small library where her computer had been set up and she called her bosses first and promised to start setting up a field office the very next day.

  Next, she placed a call to Erin. They talked for only fifteen minutes as it was still very early back in the states and she had obviously woken Erin up. She promised to write her all about her adventures in an email later that night and Erin promised to read it after she got to work.

  Shira took a shower, feeling much more in control by the time she entered the dining room. Putting the camel incident behind her, she was determined to explore her new relationship with Kale and make her bosses proud of her by setting up a stellar field office.

  Chapter 11

  Twelve days into her stay in Jawhara, and Shira had managed to set up an entire office and hire two local Jawharan’s with advertising/marketing experience to assist her. Rick and Damon had been impressed with her accomplishments and work was underway to obtain the pictures and video footage needed to put together the advertising plan.

  Shira spent time each day in the office, learning about the culture of Jawhara from her new co-workers, and then after each lunch, she spent several hours with a language tutor Kale had arranged to teach her Arabic. She might never learn to write the language, but she was pleased that she was beginning to understand single words and phrases.

  The only cloud on her horizon had been a disturbing phone call she’d had with her cousin late that afternoon. Erin had sounded horrible and completely rundown. She had excused it away as having caught a stomach bug of some type and promised to get some extra rest and eat better.

  Shira overheard Kamal talking with Kale just before dinner and it was obvious that he was upset about something. When her cousin’s name was said, Shira attempted to understand their conversation but the most she could come up with was Erin, stubborn, and sick. Evidently His Majesty, the Sheikh, was none too happy to hear that Erin was ill.

  After dinner that evening, Shira decided to broach the subject with Kale, “Why was Kam so upset earlier?”

  Kale knew Shira had been able to understand a few of the words and wondered how long it would take her to ask about his brother and her cousin. “Kam is worried about Erin. She is ill and he wanted her to see a doctor. She refused.”

  “I spoke with her briefly today. She said it’s just a stomach bug. The doctors wouldn’t do anything for that, so why waste time and money on going to see them?”

  “That is not how things are done here. When one of the royal family is ill, for any reason, the doctor is summoned to the palace and everything possible is done to alleviate their suffering.”

  “That must be really nice. Sometimes, it can take several days to get a doctor’s appointment back home.”

  Kale was horrified, “Why so long? Do the doctors in America not care that their patients may be suffering needlessly?”

  Shira chuckled, “I can see that things are quite different in Jawhara. Kale, not everyone has access to medical care back in America. Medical care is very expensive, and some people just can’t afford it – so, they don’t go.”

  “That is horrible.” Kale had heard that there was a medical care crisis in America, but had not really understood the impact upon its citizens until know. “Does your cousin have access to good medical care?”

  “Oh, yes. She has an excellent insurance plan and wonderful doctors. Don’t worry about her, she’ll be fine. I’ll check in on her in a couple of days.”

  Kale nodded his head, glad that Kamal’s Erin had someone to help look after her. He had been angry at her refusal of a doctor, and had been further enraged when she had hung up on him. Shira would look after her cousin,
and if need be, Kale would let Kamal know he needed to intervene.

  “I need to discuss some future plans with you. I spoke with Rick earlier today.”

  Shira looked surprised, “You did? But, I spoke with him around 3 o’clock and he didn’t say anything to me about having spoken to you.”

  “That is because I asked him not to. The field office is set up?” When Shira nodded, he continued, “You are happy with the people you have employed?” When she nodded again and opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off quickly, “Hold on. Rick would like you to stay on and run the Jawharan office – permanently.”

  Shira’s mouth dropped open at the implications and she closed it while she tried to think of something to say. She had been dreading leaving Jawhara because of Kale. She was also growing to love the people and their culture and thoughts of returning to the states had saddened her. She never dreamt that she might actually be asked to stay here! Her bosses and Kale had mentioned something to that affect when she first arrived, but she figured that staying for two weeks had been long-term in their books. The original delegation was only to be in Jawhara for six nights.

  “Before you say anything else, I want you to know what else is being offered.”

  “There’s more?” Shira asked, still trying to come to terms with a possible future in Jawhara.

  “Habibiti, these last two weeks have been nothing short of perfect. You fill a spot in my life that I always knew was missing, but had never found an answer to.”

  Shira’s eyes burned with unshed tears at his tender words, and when he took her hand and knelt before her on one knee, they ran unchecked down her cheeks.

  “Shira, I understand this is how they do things in your country. Would you do me the honor of becoming my bride and spending the rest of your life with me?”

  Shira didn’t even have to think twice, but eagerly nodded her head when he produced a stunning ring of sapphires and diamonds. Placing it upon her finger, he then kissed the back of her hand and then her palm.

  Standing, he gathered her to himself, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “Why do you cry?”

  “Because I’m so happy!” Shira said through her tears. Swallowing, she asked, “If you were following your country’s customs, how would you have asked for my hand?”

  Kale got that look in his eyes she was coming to know well and she bit her lip as she waited for his reply. “Asking is not really in our nature. I would have simply carried you off on a camel, into the desert. A tent would have been waiting for us and we would have spent several days there. When we returned, we would have been considered legally wed according to our customs.”

  Shira looked at him aghast, “But that’s barbaric. What if the young lady being carried off doesn’t want to marry her kidnapper?”

  Kale looked confused by the question, “All young ladies wish to be married. It is their duty and honor to marry and have children.”

  Shira shook her head at him, “That is so backwards. Don’t your women want to get an education, and do something with their lives besides bear children?”

  Kale nodded, “Yes. And many of them do just that. But the majority of our women are content to become wives and raise children. We are a country steeped in tradition, speaking of which, there is one catch I must tell you about.”

  “Catch?”

  “Well, according to custom, Kamal must marry first. But don’t worry. I do believe your cousin is pushing him beyond his abilities to continue watching over her from afar. I would not be surprised to see her visiting Jawhara in the next several weeks.”

  Shira smiled, “She never said, but I knew something happened between the two of them that night. She was mopey and depressed for days after he left. That whole incident with the bodyguard was over the top as well.”

  “Enough about my brother and his love life. I believe I have a fiancé I haven’t properly kissed all day. Come here.”

  Several hours later, Kale lay in his large bed, arms wrapped around Shira, thinking of the future they would have together. Shira had expressed a desire to return to the states and pack some of her belongings and Kale had promised to make the arrangements the next day.

  Khalil had spoken to Kam just before lunch regarding his proposal to Shira and received his brother and his ruler’s blessing. Now, if only Kam could obtain a bride, his life would be perfect.

  Chapter 12

  Kale watched Shira as she spoke to her cousin on the phone a week later. Shira had been calling Erin daily, hoping to hear more strength in her voice, but concerned at the end of each call that Erin was only pretending to feel better.

  At the concerned look upon her face, Kale strode across the room, wrapping her in his arms as she finished her call. “Still not feeling well?”

  Shira shook her head, “She says she’s fine, but I can hear it in her voice. Something’s not quite right. I really wanted to tell her about our engagement, but it doesn’t seem right to tell her something like that when she’s feeling so poorly.”

  “Is she still going to work?” Kale asked, leaning his chin atop her head.

  “Yes. Maybe she’s just having trouble with one of her cases. Sometimes when the case is really difficult, it gets to her.”

  “Well, how would you like to check in on her personally?”

  Shira turned her head, looking up into his handsome face, “We’re going back to the states?”

  “Tomorrow. I figured we would spend six weeks or so letting you pack up your belongings and take care of any other matters. You said your parents might be coming home around that time…”

  “Well, they’re not really my parents. They’re Erin’s parents; I just kind of adopted them.”

  “Whatever their relationship is to you, I know it’s important to you and I want you to have some time to spend with them before I bring you back to Jawhara.”

  Shira turned in his arms, kissing him with all the emotion she had in her heart. “Thank you. That means so much to me. I’ll check in on Erin when we arrive and if she’s still sick, I’ll make her go to the doctor. She can be stubborn, but I learned from the best and I’m not only stubborn, I can be mean, too.”

  Kale lifted her up into his arms, heading for their bedchamber, “I think you only pretend to be mean. You’re all soft and caring inside that hardness and you know it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, but don’t tell my cousin that. She still thinks I won’t hesitate to make her life miserable.” Shira laughed, quickly turning her laughter into moans of pleasure as Kale removed her clothing and then his own.

  The chemistry between them continued to get better and the emotional bond between them was unexplainable. They had learned much about each other, and took great delight in making the other crazy with desire.

  Shira knew just how to touch Kale to send his heart rate racing and his thoughts fleeing from his head. Likewise, Kale had learned all of the secret spots that caused her knees to fold and her body to melt for him.

  Together, they could run each other up the mountain of pleasure and then fall into each other’s arms on the way down.

  Kale didn’t waste time once he joined Shira back on their bed. He touched her everywhere, tasting her behind every touch and leaving her writhing in pleasure and unfulfilled lust on the bed. When she attempted to wrestle control from him, he allowed it, letting himself be pushed back on the bed as she straddled his hips.

  When she was sitting astride him, letting his hardness melt beneath her heat, he watched her through slitted eyes as she ran her hands up and down his chest, using her lips and teeth to make him just as crazy as she had been moments before.

  Using his hands on her hips, he lifted her slightly, bringing her down as their bodies joined together. In a dance as old as time, Shira began to move her hips as Kale guided her and soon, she was collapsing across his chest in complete satiation, a smile upon her face.

  She fell asleep moments later, dreaming of the things she needed to do before she returned to Jawhara and
her new life. She would miss certain aspects of her American lifestyle, but being with Kale would make up for all of those things and then some.

  Chapter 13

  Kamal stopped his brother the next morning after breakfast, sending Shira on ahead to finish packing for the flight back to America. “We received some disturbing intelligence this morning.”

  “More trouble with the refugees?” Kale asked.

  “No. It seems that the faction that overthrew their government is divided on the issue of their return home. I will be travelling to meet with the new leaders and ensure that they understand these refugees need to come home.”

  “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “No. I don’t believe so, but threats have been made against Jawhara, specifically the royal family, if the refugees are allowed to cross the border.”

  Kale was stunned. “They would attack us personally for allowing their own countrymen to leave Jawhara?”

  Kamal nodded, “Yes. I am under no illusions that my life is always being threatened. My concern is for Erin and Shira at this point. I tell you this so that you will be extra cautious during your travels. Six weeks is a long time to be on your guard and while in America, you will not have the same level of protection that you have here.”

  “I’ll see to the protection of myself and Shira. What about Erin?”

  “Yes, what about Erin? I haven’t decided yet. I will wait and see how my meeting with the delegation goes. If everything can be settled peacefully, I will go to America and bring her back myself. For now, Talib has been made aware of the circumstances and has been instructed to make the appropriate calls to secure adequate security.”

  “Slade’s group?” Kale asked, speaking of his college roommate who had become an FBI agent and now owned a freelance security company. His employees were mostly ex-special forces, and they excelled in personal security details and search and rescue operations. Being a private company, they were able to enter countries the US Military could not, and were not held to the same rules as the government groups. It worked well for everyone involved.