The Sheikh's Reunion Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs 4) (16 page)

"Well?"

"What?" Mia retorted.

"Is everything wrapped up? Do we have something we need to worry about?" Rafiq insisted.

Mia sighed. "I can see you're not going to quit."

Rafiq gave Mia a wolfish grin. "I'm not noted for my patience. In anything," he growled.

Mia squinted at Rafiq. "I'm talking about finances. Serious issues."

"So am I," Rafiq responded.

Mia gave Rafiq an admonishing look. "Somehow I doubt that," she said and shook her head at him.

Mia fell into a long silence and Rafiq could tell he wasn't going to get anything out of her. But, she seemed far less worried about the situation than she'd been before. What had Mia and Naima talked about in the garden?

They drank their tea and coffee in silence for a while. Glances were exchanged over the lips of cups, and Rafiq could see a flickering of nerves in Mia's demeanor. What was she worrying about? Finally, he could stand it no longer.

"At least tell me this. Did Naima talk about me?" Rafiq asked abruptly.

Mia's eyes narrowed and he could see her deliberating. Once again he was seized by a sudden desire. There was such intelligence and life in Mia's eyes. Those pale blue pools had the power to drag him in, make him lose all composure.

"She did mention you a little," Mia replied.

"What did she tell you?" Rafiq asked in a sharp tone, immediately regretting the involuntary harshness of his voice.

Mia took a long sip of tea and peered at Rafiq over the cup. "Just that things didn't work out between the two of you," Mia said hesitantly.

"Did she say why?"
 

Mia shook her head. "No. Just that there were differences in opinion about whether you should both be married to each other."

Rafiq frowned. "It was all her choice. She was the one who decided that I wasn't right for her," he snapped.

Mia's eyes widened at the vehemence of Rafiq's statement. "She seemed to think it was inevitable."

"Inevitable that I wouldn't be good enough for her?" Rafiq demanded.

Mia shrugged. "I think Naima had many pressures back in her own kingdom."

"What are you talking about?" Rafiq asked leaning closer.

"I get the impression she loves her homeland," Mia said.

"And I don't love Qazhar? Is that what she suggested?"

Mia shook her head and peered at Rafiq. There was sincerity in her gaze and he wondered why Mia was defending Naima. The last thing Rafiq had expected was that both women would find some common ground. He'd expected Naima to be jealous of Mia's presence, even accuse Mia of trying to find a way into Rafiq's heart. Wasn't that Naima's natural
 
inclination?
 

Rafiq and Naima had never really seen eye to eye on anything, especially not when Naima had hinted that, once she and Rafiq were married, Rafiq would be in a position to involve himself, and his wealth, in the affairs of Naima's homeland. But, Rafiq had insisted that once Naima became his wife he would expect her to focus all her attention on the affairs of her adopted kingdom. Qazhar.
 

It had been after those conversations that things between Naima and Rafiq had noticeably cooled. And then had come Naima's rejection of the proposed marriage and the subsequent too hasty marriage to Sayid.

Mia placed her cup down on the table and gave Rafiq a long, lingering look. "I think Naima has been misunderstood, Rafiq," Mia said slowly.

"Misunderstood? What on earth do you mean, Mia?" Rafiq asked brusquely.

Mia flinched visibly at the abrasiveness of Rafiq's question. Rafiq drew in a deep impatient breath. When it came to Naima, he still found it difficult to restrain the urge to accuse her of acting dishonorably.

"I think she had reasons for doing what she did," Mia said.

Rafiq frowned at Mia. "Reasons? For discarding the opportunity to be by my side, and share in the good fortune of making Qazhar great?"

Mia shook her head and Rafiq saw a flash of irritation flicker in her eyes. "That's not how it was at all, Rafiq. At least, not according to what she told me."

Rafiq stiffened. "And what exactly did my former fiance tell you?" he demanded. He felt the rush of emotion surging inside him, sense that the irrational response Naima had always been able to provoke in him was rising to the surface. He saw Mia move away from him slightly, a puzzled look appearing on her face.

Mia thrust her hands onto her lap, clasping one hand over the other in a defensive gesture. "I appreciate that you are disappointed in Naima's choices, but..."

"Disappointed! That doesn't even come close to describing how that woman made me feel, Mia," Rafiq interrupted her, his voice rising. He knew he shouldn't show anger, but right now it was as if a switch had been flicked inside him, and he had little control over it.

Mia lowered her head and he saw her lips tighten into a thin line. Her brows furrowed and he felt an instant stab of regret. As had been the case so often in the past, the untamed rage inside him had thrust itself to the surface, endangering everything he valued, everything he held most dear. It was a wound that might never heal.

When Mia spoke it was with a quiet determination. "I was trying to explain why I think Naima might have had good reason to do what she did," Mia said. She lifted her head and looked at him, an imploring look in her eyes.

Rafiq let out an involuntary grunt. "I know exactly what she did, Mia. I know it all too well."

"I don't think you understand..." Mia started to say.

Rafiq stood up and glared down at Mia. "I think I know all too well what you and her were talking about."

Mia stood up and faced Rafiq. "That's not true," she insisted.

"I know when I'm being made a fool of," Rafiq said, the sense of indignation flooding over him.

Mia stretched out a hand. "Let me explain," she said.

Rafiq waved her hand aside and her eyes widened in shock at the ferocity of the gesture.
 

Somewhere deep inside himself a voice screamed at Rafiq not to be a fool. It implored him to stop making an idiot of himself, that Mia didn't deserve this harsh treatment. A spasm of regret twisted in his gut when he saw the expression on Mia's face. What was wrong with him? Couldn't he see the mistake he was making?
 

"That woman has told you lies. She cannot get over the fact that I rejected her, that I found her wanting," he roared suddenly, his voice cracking with emotion. "And now, she takes you to one side and poisons your mind against me!"

"She did not poison my mind," Mia exclaimed.

"That's the way it seems to me," Rafiq responded.

"How can you say that? She was only trying to help me understand..." Mia started to say.

"There is nothing for you to understand," Rafiq declared. "Naima is nothing to me any longer. In fact, she never was anything except an inconvenient possible bride."

"I have no interest in your former lovers, Rafiq," Mia said.

Rafiq stiffened and leaned toward Mia, desperate that she understand a simple truth, once and for all. "Naima was never a lover of mine. Do you understand that? Or, don't you believe me that I would have no interest in her."

Mia turned away from him and he felt an abrupt rush of panic. He'd overstepped the boundary. He knew it. But the rage and anger inside him had been lying dormant for so long it had acquired a ferocious energy of its own. Now that force had leaped out of him and he had turned it on Mia.
 

Rafiq tried to summon up the strength to resist the wave of outrage that had seized him. He'd put the memory of Naima firmly where it belonged. In the past.
 

Now, the only person who really mattered to him was the woman who was standing right in front of him. And she was gazing incredulously at him, a look that was cutting Rafiq up, lacerating his soul with the knowledge that he'd caused that hurt, made Mia feel pain with his pathetic, overzealous denials.

Panic rushed through him like a wave. He'd gone too far. He knew that. He sighed heavily and took a step toward Mia, but she kept herself turned away from him. Emotions tumbled inside him, forcing him to speak.

"Mia. Forgive me," he said urgently.

Mia shook her head and didn't even turn to look at him. "It's fine, Rafiq. I understand," she said sharply.

Rafiq took another step toward Mia but she twisted away from him. When she turned and looked at Rafiq, the emotion filling her gaze cut him to the core.
 

"I think I'll go to my room, if you don't mind. I'm not really very hungry, after all," Mia said slowly.

Rafiq extended a hand, desperate for some kind of connection, but Mia took a few short steps away from him. She turned her back on Rafiq and started toward the door.
 

Before she left the room, she turned to Rafiq one final time. "You'll have my report in the morning, before I leave," she said in a business-like manner. He could see she was trying to contain her feelings. He wanted her to lash out at him, condemn him for the fool that he had been toward her. But she didn't. Instead, she simply walked out the room.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Later, in bed, Mia awoke and reached across to the side table and switched on the light. She saw by the bedside clock that it was just past midnight.
 

She stretched out on the bed and groaned. It was the third time she had woken up since going to bed a few short hours before. She had refused to be tempted to go downstairs and have a face-to face conversation with Rafiq. She didn't know whether she could deal with him, especially since he'd shown such emotion when Mia had tried to explain the situation about Naima. Rafiq had just refused to listen. Obviously there were raw nerves in him, the residue of a pain that Mia had been unaware of. The wound of his rejection by Naima was still open and festering, as far as Mia could tell.

Mia got out of bed and went to the cabinet in the sitting room of her suite and poured herself a glass of mineral water. It was a warm, balmy night. Through the closed French doors she could see the tops of the trees lit by the silvery moonlight. Tempted by the intensely exotic sight, Mia went to the doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony that overlooked the garden. The night was warm against her skin. She felt the cool marble beneath her bare feet. The scent of the flowers in the garden was a dream-like night perfume. It filled her senses as she drew in a deep, satisfied breath.

Mia wore a loose nightgown that barely covered her. In London she would have frozen to death in such an outfit, but here in this wondrous, strange, exotic land you could stand beneath the stars after midnight and feel nothing but a warm, comforting glow.

Mia went to the balustrade and gazed down into the garden. Her suite was one floor up and she had a bird's eyes view of the garden. It looked eerily lit by the full moon, like something out of a fevered dream.

And then, suddenly, Mia saw something that made her skin tingle with an abrupt chill. A figure was walking through the garden, strolling casually, head lowered as if in deep thought.

Rafiq!

Mia's fingers curled involuntarily around the balustrade. What was he doing walking in the garden at this time? Was this something he was accustomed to doing? Was it a nightly ritual?

Mia's heart skipped a beat and she felt a curl of emotion in her middle as she watched Rafiq pacing evenly alongside the bank of trees that stretched away into the distance. He was dressed simply in white open-necked shirt and dark pants.

From up here, the sheikh looked like he had emerged from out of another world, a vaguely insubstantial figure, almost unreal and yet very much the man she had come to know during her time in Qazhar.

Mia thought about taking a few steps backwards into the shade of the balcony's awning. That way he wouldn't see her if he looked up in the direction of her balcony. But she did not move. Because she did not want to move. A part of her wanted him to notice her, needed him to see her standing on the balcony, watching him. She didn't know why that sudden thought had flashed into her mind, but she welcomed it in spite of everything that had happened earlier.

Her heart still thudding, her throat tightening slightly with anticipation, Mia watched Rafiq moving through the garden. He moved easily, as if he possessed the space around him. His movements were lithe and elegant and confident. In spite of the turmoil that must be roiling around inside himself, he still managed to maintain that animal, feral quality she had found so compelling.

He still hadn't looked up at her room, and he was now just a few yards away from beneath her balcony. Mia felt her pulse race and there was a thrumming noise in her ears.

Then he looked up and his eyes widened. He froze on the spot. The breath caught in Mia's throat as she saw the smile that creased Rafiq's mouth. Even from up here on the balcony, she could see the burning desire in his eyes.
 

Rafiq's mouth opened and she was sure he was about to say something, but then he paused.
 

Mia looked down at the man who had so suddenly come back into her life, and felt that the only thing she could do was answer that smile. And that was what she did.

Rafiq lifted his head and took a few urgent steps forward. His gaze locked upon Mia, and it looked as if he was drinking in the sight of her standing on the balcony. He looked as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Some unspoken exchange passed between them in that moment. It was a moment that transcended words because she knew that, ever since they had met, something had been forged, a connection that made a mockery of their past, a truth that could not be denied.

Then she saw Rafiq's shoulders tighten, resolve coursing through his body, and his gaze flashed to the space beneath her balcony. Mia twisted her head and gazed down beneath her. She saw one of the carved pillars that decorated the exterior of the palace and realized what Rafiq intended to do.

He raced across and leaped onto the pillar and began to haul himself up. Mia gasped and then suppressed a shocked squeal, covering her mouth like an excited schoolgirl. Surely he wasn't going to climb up to her room.