Loved by the Sheikh (2 page)

She forced the thoughts out of her mind and smiled. "Now, it's your turn to tell me about you."

"Payback, I suppose?" The low rumble from his laugh sent delicious shivers coursing down her spine. She doubted she would ever get enough of that sexy voice of his. "I control an equity firm, which owns companies in various industries from oil drilling to chocolates."

Her ears perked up. "I like chocolates."

He nodded. "Duly noted."

Even though they both knew that they weren't going to see each other after tonight, she beamed. He was a guy who knew how to make a girl feel special and she was more than willing to fall for the game tonight.

"And the rest of my family is all around the world. I am the oldest out of four siblings."

"Four?"

"Yes. I have a brother and two sisters."

"Are any of you interested in following your father's footsteps?"

"That would be my brother Raja. He's hoping to become president one day."

"You were never interested in politics yourself?"

"No. I've seen so many good people become corrupt after-"

"I'm sorry, Sheikh Zahin," the maître d' interrupted. "But your assistant called and asked for you to call him back."

Sadiq thanked the man and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I guess I didn't hear the ring. Please excuse me."

He dialed his phone and stood up to walk to the side of the restaurant. Jenny briefly wondered if he'd gotten his assistant to call in case the date was going bad until his body tensed. Something was wrong.

Not wanting to invade his privacy, she looked away and saw people sneaking peeks at him. They probably recognized him from the news.

When she realized that a few people were looking at her as well, she went back to her food.

He came back a few minutes later. "My dad had a heart attack."

She reached out automatically to grab his hand in comfort. Remembering herself, she was about to take it back, but his hand turned to hold hers.

Shivers coursed through her as his thumb caressed her and she cursed herself. The man's father had just had a heart attack. She could not be thinking about continuing their date.

"Are you going to be all right?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, but I should probably call my brother."

She nodded understandingly. "I'll take a taxi home."

"No no. I'll take you back."

Instinctively, she knew that he would argue if she said no, so she offered her thanks.

Chapter Three

Jenny grimaced as she looked at her computer screen.

It was just what she needed. After a long night spent tossing and turning, wondering what might have been, she was stuck looking at Sadiq's handsome face, trying to decide which pictures to send to her editor.

She groaned inwardly.

There was nothing that could've been done last night and she should just forget about him. A harsh ringing interrupted her thoughts. She grabbed her phone.

"Hello?"

"Jenny."

Jenny froze as the warm voice seeped through her like a warm jacket on a cold wintry night. Sadiq had actually called!

Hope spread through her before she stopped herself. She wasn't going to let herself get carried away and think that he wanted some kind of relationship with her. Men weren't like that, especially multimillionaires like Sadiq.

No. He was probably just feeling bad about how things ended last night.

"How is everything? How's your father?" she ventured.

"He's fine, but things could be better." She heard his tired sigh and wished she knew what to say. It must be hard being so far away from his father at a time like this.

"I have to leave for Atal tonight. Even though my father is all right, there is concern about his successorship if something happens. The older generations what some kind of guarantee that I will run if there's a surprise election."

Jenny frowned. He had already told her that he wasn't interested in politics and yet, he was using it as an excuse to get rid of her. If he didn't want to see her again, he shouldn't have even bothered to call.

"I understand," she bit out bitterly. She wouldn't give him a hard time. Doing so would've just wasted her time and his. And besides, he was making it easier for her to forget him. Knowing that he was a two-faced liar definitely cleared all her notions of him being some kind of gentleman.

"Your family will need you in these hard times," she added wryly.

"Yes." After a brief pause, he shocked her. "Would you like to join me?"

He really was going to Atal? Guilt coursed through her for doubting him before she realized what he'd said.

He wanted to bring her?

"Wait. You're serious?"

He laughed. "Of course. I enjoyed our dinner last night and want to get to know you better."

Or rather, your body.

She heard the unspoken words and shivered at the thought of them getting to know each other intimately. His hot mouth tasting every inch of her skin, her hands glorifying his wonderful taut body... She bit her lip. Sadiq was going to be her downfall.

She could already see how things would end up, how sad she would be when things ended.

But what if she was wrong? For all she knew, Sadiq might have some traits that would turn her off.

She rolled her eyes at the thought. She wouldn't tire of him. Just seeing him smile sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Atal is very beautiful this time of year. I'm sure the beaches will be a nice setting for your photographs."

Pleased that he had actually remembered something that she had said last night and even more pleased that he would try to coax her into joining him, she couldn't help but smile. He was making it sound as if she was the catch instead of him.

Excited, she thought about the offer. She had already taken all the pictures that were needed for next month's issue and if the magazine needed anything, they could always use those stock photos they seemed so fond of. And she would be back in the office to work on the February issue without missing a beat...

But she barely knew the guy.

Her mind boggled at thought. Yes, he made her feel things that no one had ever done before and could make her whole body quiver with just one look, but she'd known him for less than a day!

This was crazy.

Before yesterday, she would've never imagined having a one night stand, let alone jumping on a plane with someone she'd just meet. But there was something about Sadiq that was making her rethink a lot of things. It was as if the rules didn't apply to him.

Her eyes drifted back to her computer screen where she saw a picture of him sitting behind his desk. There was no way she could say no to
him
.

"Sure, I'd love to."

She heard his smile at the other end and knew that her mind was playing tricks with her again. You couldn't hear smiles.

"I am glad to hear that. I will pick you up at your apartment at six."

Jenny grinned as she hung up. She was actually going to have another chance with Sadiq!

And not only that, she was going to Atal!

Excitement spread through her as she opened up an email to tell her boss. She knew that he'd be happy at the news. He'd been pushing her to use her vacation days, claiming that it was messing up accounting somehow. But since she hadn't had the money, she'd never found a use for them.

As she began to type, her eyes floated back to the pictures of Sadiq. Perhaps it would be better if she finished the job before she asked for a few days off.

****

"I am glad you were able to take the time off of work," Sadiq said as they settled into the limo later that day.

"Me too." She smiled. "I had a lot of unused vacation days."

Grateful that she had chosen to spend her valuable vacation days with him, he was tempted to say thank you, but wasn't sure if she would understand. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since dropping her off yesterday.

Images of how their night would've ended up if he hadn't called Rishi back tormented him all night. He'd have invited her to his apartment and slipped that black dress off of her as he tasted every inch of her. And those sweet lips of hers would've moaned his name over and over as she clutched his back for support as he moved in and out of her.

Groaning inwardly, he was tempted to pull her into his arms right now, but was worried he wouldn't be able to stop himself by the time they got to the airport.

Besides, as soon as she got on the jet and they were safe in the sky, she was his.

His lips twitched.

It seemed almost too good to be true. He meets the woman of his dreams and through some miraculous way, she'd agreed to accompany him back to Atal, where he could keep her indefinitely.

Chapter Four

A sudden heat enveloped Jenny as she stepped out of the jet almost twelve hours later.

Used to the winter cold, she welcomed the delicious contrast as she walked down the stairs. From the jet, she'd seen several skyscrapers and a beautiful, sparkling ocean and was excited to see them all up close.

Her heart dropped when she spotted two limos waiting. Was Sadiq leaving her so soon?

She'd thought that they would, at least, spend the afternoon settling in together. But considering how busy he'd been on the jet, she should've known that he had more pressing things to do.

But as soon as they reached the end of the stairs, his assistant said his goodbyes and walked into the first limo.

Sadiq directed her towards the other limo. "Rishi will helping my father's aides. Things have been hectic since the heart attack."

"Do you need to be there as well?" Though she wanted to spend time with him, she didn't want to keep him from his duties either.

"No. I have to see my father first."

She winced. Of course he did.

"Did you get any sleep?" she asked as they stepped into the limo.

He'd told her to sleep on jet, because it would be morning when they arrived, but she hadn't seen him sleep. He'd been glued to his laptop the whole time. He smiled softly. "A little."

A few minutes later, she was surprised by all the trucks on the highway. "What do you manufacture in Atal?"

"Not chocolate, if that's what you're thinking."

Heat rose in her cheeks and she groaned inwardly. Somehow, he made her feel as if she was a teenager with her first crush.

"Remind me to bring you to the chocolate factory in Brussels when we get back. We make the best pralines." Her heart fluttered at the thought of them continuing their relationship when they got back, but she knew better than to count on it. Relationships like these never lasted for long. It would end before she knew it, leaving her with only memories and possibly chocolate, if it lasted long enough.

"Atal doesn't really manufacture anything. Most of those trucks contain merchandise of our neighboring countries who use us as a port to Europe."

"I remember reading about your oil rigs in school."

He nodded. "We still have them pumping in small quantities, but our output is nowhere near the levels that they'd been in the early 1900s."

After a pike in the road, they turned, leaving the fleet of trucks behind them. Glad that her view was free again, she looked out of the windows and was surprised at the architecture of the buildings. They were simply stunning.

Aside from being modern, they all seemed to have such unique designs. She cursed herself inwardly. Why had she packed her camera in her suitcase?

"Many trading companies have set up offices in Atal," Sadiq explained.

"Is this near where we're going to be staying?"

"About a forty-minute drive. Why?"

"I was hoping to take some pictures..."

He laughed. "Of course. I forgot. You can accompany me when I have a meeting with my shareholders later this week. My office is in the crystal building with the triangular top." He leaned over to point at a building and instead of paying attention to where he was pointing to, she found herself smelling him.

"You have shareholders here as well?" she asked, trying to get her mind off of how clean and manly he smelled.

He smiled. "Yes, some of my old school mates and their relatives were among my first investors. I haven't gone back to Atal in almost five years so it will be good to see everyone."

"Wait – you haven't been back in five years?"

He shrugged. "I haven't had much time to visit during the past few years."

Getting the feeling that he didn't want to talk about his family, she smiled and asked, "So how far is the beach from where we'll be staying?"

Chapter Five

Jenny's eyes widened when they turned into the palace's driveway.

With its lush garden and glamorous white dome, it looked like something right out of a history book.

As they got closer, she noticed the two guards positioned by the door and felt her stomach lurch at the thought of Sadiq in danger. She was tempted to ask him to stay inside the palace for the duration of the trip, but she knew he would just laugh it off.

"I'll show you to your room now," Sadiq said as he helped her out of the limo. "My father and brother are probably in meetings right now, but I doubt that they'll let either of us out of their sights once they get here."

Jenny smiled at the picture of a big happy family before she realized that he said his father was in a meeting. "Your dad's gone back to work?"

He smiled wryly. "It would be more stressful if he stayed at home. I don't think he's used to doing nothing."

"How is your mother taking it?"

"My mother is on her latest shopping trip in Paris," he answered flatly.

Disapproval shone in Jenny's eyes, but he had no words to say in support of his mother.

When he hadn't been able to contact Rishi after his father's accident, he'd called her.

Though he should've known better, he was surprised when she'd laughed and asked if he was in that much of a hurry to take over his father's position, as if all he cared about was power.

He shrugged. "It's okay. She's been this way for as long as I can remember."