The Sheikh's Stubborn Lover (The Adjalane Sheikhs Series Book 2) (8 page)

Adilan called in a few favors—big ones. Then he drove to the prison where Michelle was being held, a squat building on the edge of the city with tall fences and gates. He gave his name at the gate and was waved through. Inside, the guards met him and made themselves scarce. One escorted him through the halls, glanced around, shut off the security cameras and showed Adilan through the gates and into the back cells.

The place was stuffy, sterile, and not as bad as Adilan had feared it would be. But it stank of misery. Michelle sat on a cot in a bare cell with only a hole for a toilet. She had her back against the wall and her knees to her chest. She looked up at Adilan, her face expressionless.

He gestured to the door and the guard opened it. “Michelle, I am taking you out.”

She looked at him and at the guard. “I’m released? They’re dropping the charges?”

“Come, we must go,” Adilan said.

She glanced at the guard again and her eyes narrowed. “He looks nervous. This isn’t a legal release, is it?”

Holding out a hand, he told her, “We may have to run. Stick close.”

She sat where she was, her hands fisted on her knees, and shook her head. “I am not adding a valid charge of breaking jail to the invalid one of bribery.”

Frowning, he crossed his arms. “Do you wish me to carry you?”

The corner of her mouth quirked. “Off on a camel into the desert? Thanks, but I’ll pass on that.”

Dragging a hand into his hair he cursed and asked, “What do you wish me to do woman? Let you sit here and rot? You will lose your land. You may be deported.”

Michelle said nothing. That worried him more than if she’d been hysterical. She pulled in a breath and let it out. “I wish I’d done more research on your country’s laws. I didn’t, but you’ve got to have something about your dad hearing cases and dispensing justice. We need to get this whole thing out in front of your father.”

He frowned. “I am not certain that is wise.”

She opened a hand. “I understand—you worry for him. But this…” She waved her hand. “This thing between you and your brother is officially out of hand. You have to admit that.”

He nodded. “Let me make some calls.” Moving away, he pulled out his cell phone to call in more favors. He reached the family lawyers for advice, and put a rocket under them to act now. He came back to Michelle. “We will have action within the hour. I will wait with you.”

She gave him a trembling smile. Adilan asked the guard to take them to a better place to wait. They headed to a visiting area. Less than an hour later, a lawyer showed up, the security cameras were back on and the lawyer sniffed and handed over paperwork to the guards. Everyone muttered, someone said something about irregular, and someone else about how this law has not been quoted in decades, but Michelle was given escort to meet with Sheik Nimr Adjalane.

Handcuffs were brought out. When Adilan frowned, they were put away. She was given leave to change back into the clothes she had worn when she had been arrested. Adilan lead her out, one hand on her elbow. She kept her chin up and her eyes straight ahead, but he could feel her shaking. Adilan put her into his red Tesla. The guards followed in another car.

At the palace, it seemed to Adilan that every light in the palace must be on. Hassan waited at the door. Adilan asked in rapid Arabic if someone had called his father about Michelle Reynolds and this unofficial—or perhaps it was official--hearing. Hassan bowed and gestured inside. “The sheikh awaits you in his office.”

Adilan took Michelle’s elbows and led her inside. Her heels clicked on the hard floor, then softened on the carpets. Leaning close to her he asked, “Can you do this—face my father?”

She offered him a weak smile. “I’m just so glad to be out of that prison.”

“Me too.”

Stepping into the large, imposing room, Adilan paused. As a boy, he had hated this room. Portraits of ancestors hung from the wall—they had always seemed to be glaring at him. Books lined the walls between the large portraits in their heavy frames. An oak desk dominated the room, but his father sat beside a low brass table that held fragrant hibiscus tea in a silver service.

His father did not wave for anyone to be seated. He looked grave, his skin a touch sallow. He wore suit trousers, a starched white shirt, open at the neck and no tie. The top button of his shirt was open, and he had put off his
keffiyeh
as if he had started to settle and relax, but then had been called to this duty.

“Adilan.” He glanced at Michelle, examined her face and nodded. “You have your mother’s eyes. Every time I see you, I think of her.”

Adilan wet his lips. “Father, I have failed you, but I think this can yet be made right.” Adilan poured out the story in a rapid flow of Arabic. It left Michelle staring at him, looking from him to his father, but that could not be helped. He told of Malid’s taking pictures of Michelle, and of the false bribery charges against her. “But there is more father. I am helping Michelle build her mother a sanctuary at Al-Hilah. But I can still bring the land back to you.” He pulled in a breath, then said in English. “I wish to marry this woman.”

Michelle’s eyes widened. Adilan glanced at her, then looked back at his father.  Nimr shook his head. “Ah, if I were a younger man—I might fall in love with her too.”

Michelle pulled her hand away from Adilan. “This isn’t about love. It’s about that damn property, isn’t it?”

Nimr straightened. “May I remind you, serious charges hang over you. You will behave.”

She blushed and stammered out an apology, but her blue eyes flashed fire. Adilan turned to his father, but the older man held up a hand. “Hassan,” he called out. The man came into the room and bowed and Nimr said, “You will take a message to Malid. You will tell that clever plans are one thing, but hurtful ones are another. False charges are a poor reflection on the honor of our family. I do not wish to see his face for some time. Find Nassir and see to it that he finds a reason for Malid to be elsewhere.” He turned to face Michelle, “I’m sorry you have seen the worst of both my family. As to Adilan, he is like me. I hope you will not hold that against him—and that you have more love in your heart than your mother had. Ours was a different world—but I would not say no to a daughter who brings with her the dowry of Al-Hilah.” He smiled.

Adilan glanced at Michelle. She was not smiling. He looked at his father. “Does this mean the charges—?”

Nimr waved a hand. “The paperwork can wait until morning. She must stay the night in the palace—house arrest. All else will be cleared up tomorrow.”

With a bow, Adilan swept Michelle from his father’s office and upstairs to his rooms. Her arm seemed stiff under his touch, and he did not know what would happen next.

In his rooms, Adilan shut the door and leaned against it. Michelle began to pace. She glanced once at Adilan and then asked, “Is it wrong of me to hope I will never have to see Malid again? I’m not sorry you punched him out.”

Adilan waved at the bathroom. “Do you wish to bathe? I can arrange to have a have a tray brought up—food or tea?”

She stopped pacing and faced him. “I think we’ve both dodged the truth long enough.”

Adilan’s heart skipped. He strode to her side. “If you think to leave me, I warn you I will follow you to America or anywhere else in the world. I did not tell my father I wished to marry you to get the land—I told him that because it is the truth. Malid made me see it. He was the one who said I was in love with you—and that was why he wanted to save me from you. But I am not my father. I will not be happy to let you run away from me. I will follow you. I will court you. If you date other men, you will see me staring at them, willing them to go away. I knew the moment I saw you that there could be no other woman for me in this world. I love you, Michelle Reynolds. I will love you until my last breath and beyond that into paradise.”

She arched one eyebrow. “Are you done?”

He nodded and held his breath. Would she deny him? Laugh at him? He had never asked any woman to marry him—he had never cared what any woman felt. Now he knew the terror of having bared his deepest heart to another. If she scorned him, his heart would break—but he would not give up on trying to win her love.

She came over to him and put a hand on his chest. “I did not plan on falling in love with a sheikh. I am not sure I’m going to love living in Al-Sarid—so far it’s had its ups and downs. But…but every time I’ve thought about having to leave you…Adilan, sweep me off my feet. Please.”

He did, pulling her into his arms, kissing her as if his life depended on her returning his passion—for it did. He pulled her with him to his bed, swept her up in his arms and laid her down. “I don’t think I can be slow and tender right now.”

She sat up and pulled off her suit coat. “Best news tonight.”

He shed his clothes then helped her from hers. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her, and plunged into her. She gave a gasp and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Adilan,” she murmured. He came with a small, strangled shout, and under him Michelle gave a small cry.

Staring down at her, he held her close. “Stay with me tonight.

Michelle smiled. “Where else would I want to be?”

Michelle watched out the town car’s window as the city of Al-Sarid passed by. The city was an amazing place, and she had grown to love it. The temperature was still warm, even with winter coming. She was so glad she’d decided to wear a light dress of sheer pink with a cotton sheath underneath. She had covered her hair with a pink scarf—it was a practical custom, given the heat and the dust.

Having lived in Al-Sarid now for three months, she had come to understand some of the language and most of the customs—so far the balancing act of compromise between her world and Al-Sarid was working.

And the sanctuary was done.

It had been a struggle—she had Adilan had argued, compromised, had to find more money to finish the project, but it was done. Adilan was always reminding her that she deserved nothing but the best things in life—she was always reminding him that a budget wasn’t a bad thing.

The driver—young and full of enthusiasm—pulled up outside rocks that still hid Al-Hilah. This was one of the arguments she’d had with Adilan. She’d argued for easier access; he’d said paradise had to be earned. They’d settled on a paved walkway that made handicap access possible.

Getting out of the town car, Michelle grinned at the bright red sports car already parked nearby. The parking lot was like everything here—it blended perfectly with the surroundings using local rocks and paving stones. She remembered the first time she’d come here and she’d been unable to put a name to the vehicle. She now knew it was a Tesla. Adilan had been able to change his plans and meet her out here after all.

Her heart skipped a beat. Even just the promise of being able to see him was enough to kick it up a few beats per minute. She made her way to the entrance, still a narrow canyon. Guards—or greeters as she liked to call them—met her inside. Since work had begun on the sanctuary, she’d not been able to visit. Some of the craftsmen were old and old school—they believed the presence of a woman would bring bad luck, and so she’d let Adilan handle the site supervision. The photos he’d sent her didn’t do the place justice.

The sand pathway still opened out into green and blue water. But now the surrounding sandstone mountains sheltered domes and structures that seemed carved into the rock.

The oasis pool spread before it, the water mirroring the blue sky above. Stones had been artfully placed, providing a perfect place step into the water. The foliage had been extended and now filled every inch of the valley. Handmade furnishings blending perfectly to create a unique space like none other.

She made her way along the path, stepping up onto the stone patio of the first mud and stone house and turning back to admire the beautiful scenery.

From behind her a deep voice asked, “Do you like it?”

Michelle turned and met Adilan’s eyes. “It is better than paradise.” She still thought he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life. He was dressed all in his usual white trousers and shirt. With his sharp features and dark eyebrows, and barely-there beard, he looked like a desert sultan who ruled over this paradise. As always, it was his eyes that captured her attention and held it.

She’d learned over the last few months that his eyes were indeed the windows to his soul. She had also learned to tell what he was thinking about just from their color—and from the fact that that darker color meant he was thinking about grabbing her and having his way with her.

“It’s better than I imagined.”

Coming up to her, Adilan put his arm around her. “I thought we would get married here. Just family. Yours and mine.” She glanced at him, puzzled. He put an airplane ticket into her hand. “I have arranged for your mother to visit. This is a first class seat.”

“But your father...her…her condition?”

He grinned. “The two of them have been Skyping to each other. It seems there is still some embers of kindness in an old love. And now that Al-Hilah is back in my family—”

“And Al-Hilah is still in mine, too,” she added.

“They have nothing to fight over.”

Michelle smiled. “Except what to name the grandchildren.” She put a hand over her belly.

Adilan’s eye widened. “What—you are? You’re expecting.”

She shook her head. “I missed a period. I haven’t done any tests or seen a doctor, or—”

He swept her up into a spin, laughing. “Children! Father will be delighted.  We must marry soon—he would not like the children not to have a name.”

She shook her head. “They’ll have a name and love and that’s that. Married or not, this baby will be loved.”

Putting her down on her feet, he took her face in his hands. “The first time I saw you, I knew my life would never be the same. We were meant to be together. You are my heart and my breath.
Hayet albi enta.
You are the life of my heart.”

“As you are mine,” she told him.

He kissed her and said, “I want you to stay here in Al-Sarid with me. I want to see your stomach growing round with our child. I want to see the gray appear in your hair as we grow old together.”

She smiled and put a hand over his. “Just as long as we take trips to visit mom. I’m sure she’ll make a trip here to see the sanctuary—I’m hoping it’ll help her. But if she’s not doing well, I want to be able to spend time with her. And I want our kids to know both worlds. They’ll grow up knowing what we had to learn about how to juggle two cultures.”

Adilan kissed her again. “I love you.
uhibboki.
And of course we will travel. Our children will be children of the world—not just of one country.”

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Michelle smiled. “Now, how about carrying me off to a beautiful oasis in the desert? Oh, wait, I guess we’re already here. So what are the accommodations like? You haven’t shown me the bedrooms yet.”

He grinned. “You are a seductress. A houri created to torment men and drive them mad—or at least drive them to great deeds. A
jiniri
with your blue eyes and pale skin sent to make men wish to be more than what they are and to bring fantasies to life for any man lucky enough to catch you in his arms.” Pulling her close, he whispered in her ear. “Do you wish to make use of the bed or is it a swim you prefer?”

She stepped out of his arms. Pulling her dress over her head, she dropped it on the ground. Naked now, she took his hand. “You helped me keep my promise to my mother, and you kept yours to your father. But I want you to know you’re the perfect man for me. I never thought I’d find that—and I really didn’t expect to find the happiness I have here. So come and make love to me, Adilan. Take me to paradise in your arms. Because that’s the only place I ever want to be.”

Grinning, Adilan stripped off his shoes, trousers and shirt. He took her in his arms, pressing her body close to his. “My little American—you never have to ask me twice for that.”