ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance (123 page)

“I enjoyed lunch very much, and I’ll make an effort to see you more before the wedding,” he said formally as he helped her from the car outside her home.

Jada shook her head. “That’s not necessary. This situation is strange for both of us, and I think it might be best if we just focus on the wedding. We’ll have the rest of our lives to get to know each other,” she said lightly.

Kamal leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. He was almost pleased to see her face warm under his touch. “Take care, Jada,” he said softly as he walked away.

She was right, of course. There was no point in courting her, and if it did nothing to ease the path into the marriage, what was the point? Still he couldn’t help but feeling a little bereft as he slid into the car. Kamal had imagined that his wife would be one who would want to spend every waking moment with him.

Now he would have one who didn’t even want to see him during the few weeks that led up to the wedding. What was he supposed to do with that information?

The day of the wedding was sunny and warm. Although the festivities wouldn’t begin until after dark, her aunts and cousins gathered around her for the day of pampering. Her skin was moisturized and oiled, and she closed her eyes and tried to get into the mood as she dried. Gold chains hooked to her fingers and wrapped up to the cuffs under her arms. Her nails and face were painted, and they massaged different oils into her hair to make it silky and shiny. Finally, they tucked her into her ornate dress and fitted the veil over her hair. Although a few curls escaped, most of the strands were tucked neatly underneath.

“You look beautiful,” her aunt whispered with a smile.

Jada took a deep breath and surveyed herself in the mirror. She did look like a goddess, but it simply didn’t look like her. Every part inch of her was covered in something. She looked like the Sheikh’s wife.

But she didn’t look like Jada.

“Is it time?” she asked anxiously. She wanted to get this over with.

Her aunt gave her a disapproving look. “Jada, I know you are a hard-headed and stubborn woman, but the entire country will be watching you. This dress will only go so far. You must act the part.”

“I know,” Jada muttered. “Hence why I want to get this over with.”

“Do you not approve of Kamal Al-Basir? He is a good man.”

Jada smiled as she remember their awkward date a few weeks ago. “He is a good man, but he’s in love with another, and every time he looks at me, he wishes I were her. How would you feel entering a marriage knowing that?”

“That is his past. He will grow to love you. Everyone loves you, Jada.”

“Yes, everyone loves me. Only I’m not me. When I’m in this dress and in front of people, I’m the woman that I’ve been groomed to be. It hardly seems fair. But you and everyone have done such a good job, and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I know how much work it takes.”

Her aunt laughed. “Jada, you are a beautiful woman. It takes no effort at all.” She reached out and enveloped Jada in a hug. “When I look at you, I see your mother. I often wonder the kind of woman you would have been had she been here to help raise you, but then I realize that she is with everyday in all of us. Your father loves you dearly, and I have no doubt that your mother would be so pleased at how you turned out. I know this isn’t the wedding day that you dreamed about, but you must have faith that this is the path for you. You are so upset when Kamal looks at you, and that can only mean that you feel something with you look at him.”

Jada was careful not to smudge her make-up on her aunt’s dress, but she hid her face at her aunt’s words. It was true. She was jealous of a woman that she had never even met simply because Kamal loved her in a was that he would never love Jada.

Her aunt chuckled. “Fine. Don’t confide in me. But at least admit to yourself the real reason that you are upset about this marriage, and it has nothing to do with politics.

“I barely know him,” Jada muttered. “It makes no sense that I would react to him like this.”

“And soon, he will be yours. That should put a smile on your beautiful face.”

Jada nodded, but her heart wasn’t into it. He would be hers on paper, but his heart wouldn’t belong to her. What was worse? Wanting a man and never having him? Or being married to a man and still never having him?

She feared it would be the latter.

Now she had two things to worry about. She was a woman who wanted to rebel against the social constraints of being the Sheikh’s wife, and she feared she may love her husband who would never love her in return.

By the time they made it to the wedding, she was a mess. Kamal, like every other man in the building, was dressed in the traditional robes. She saw the tension and stress on his face, and it did nothing to help her own anxiety. As she went through the motions, she felt all eyes upon her.

And just like that, it was over. She was the wife of Kamal Al-Basir, future Sheikh. They locked eyes, and for a moment, she felt the rest of the world melt away. At least with him, there was an understanding of fear of the unknown. Tonight would be her first night with him, but that was only the beginning. They would have to forge a life together, and they barely knew each other.

Suddenly, she was pulled away. With a small cry of mourning, she allowed Kamal’s mother to whisk her away to enjoy the festivities with the rest of the women. Kamal would face the powerful men of the community as they congratulated him and offered him advice, and she was able to enjoy food and wine.

Food. Her stomach rumbled at the mere thought.

Ameena laughed. “Have you not eaten today? Your stomach is louder than the music!”

“I was nervous,” Jada admitted. She was about to make a beeline for the buffet table, but every time she took a step, someone was grabbing her arm.

“You looked so beautiful up there!”

“Thank you,” Jada murmured as she looked past her wistfully at the food. She broke free, but it was someone else in her way.

“You are so lucky to be marrying Kamal.”

“Hmmm, lucky, yes.” Another side step, and she was three steps closer.

“You must ask Ameena who helped her with all the details. My daughter is getting married soon!”

“I’ll pass that along,” Jada said impatiently as she took a few more steps.

“Are you nervous about tonight?”

Jada stopped short and stared at the young woman. At no point in time was she prepared to talk about tonight on an empty stomach. Or on a full stomach. Ever.

Of course she was nervous. She’d never been with another man before, and she knew that two things would happen. It would either be completely magical, or she would realize that she’ll never be fulfilled for the rest of her life. And she really didn’t want to contemplate option number two.

“So many other things on my mind,” she said apologetically as she tried to move even closer. A hand closed around her wrist, and she spun around angrily.

“What in the…Kay!” She sighed with relief and hugged her friend. “I was about to cause a scene at my own wedding.”

“Shh…” Kay winked and handed her a plate filled with food.

“I love you,” Jada said as she immediately stuffed something into her face. “Seriously. I may divorce Kamal and marry you instead. It’s legal in some places,” she said with her mouth full.

“Divorcing me already, wife?”

Jada practically choked as she whirled around. Kamal was staring at her with an amused look on his face. Eyes waters, she swallowed and coughed. “No of course not. I’m just very hungry.”

His eyes softened. “Kayla, perhaps you could take my wife into one of the private rooms where she can finish her meal without interruption. I would hate to have you faint before the end of the festivities.”

“Of course,” Kayla said. Jada felt her heart skip a beat as her friend led her away. “You are such a lucky woman.”

“Says the girl who married for love,” Jada murmured as she popped something else in her mouth. She moaned out loud when they were finally in a room with the door shut. “So tell the truth. How bad was the wedding?”

“What are you talking about? It was beautiful, and it went off without a hitch.”

Jada eyed her friend. “But…”

Kayla sighed. “You two looked like mannequins standing up there. I couldn’t tell if you two were about to rip each other’s clothes off or if you were going to run screaming from the wedding. What is going on? Surely you two are comfortable with each other by now.”

Jada swallowed another bit and brushed the crumbs off her dress. “I might have suggested that traditional courting rituals would be a waste of time in our position. He tried a few times to extend an invitation, but I’m sure it was at the behest of his parents. I declined, and I’m sure he was relieved.”

Her friend stared at her. “Jada, this is the twenty-first century. Sure, we have arranged marriages, but you don’t have to marry a stranger. What were you thinking? No wonder it was awkward. He tried to take you out, and you rejected him!”

Glowering at Kayla, Jada polished off her plate. “It wasn’t like that,” she muttered.

Kay snorted and crossed her arms. “Well, if you have any questions about tonight.”

Alarmed, Jada covered her ears. “No. No. We are not having this conversation. I can’t here you. La la la la la,” she said as she reached for the door. Kayla shrieked in laughter and bounded after her. Throwing the door open to escape her, she ran straight into a hard body.

Kamal.

“Whoa,” he muttered as he caught her. “In a hurry for a second plate?”

Would this day never end? “I’m so sorry,” she muttered. Kayla chuckled behind her, and she stiffened. She would kill her friend before the day was over.

“Our presence is requested so that my father can make a speech,” he said as he took her arms gently.

“You could have sent someone to fetch me,” she snapped. Immediately, she blushed. Why was she upset that her husband wanted to find her?

“That’s true, but it gave me an excuse to break away from the crowd,” he said softly. He leaned down and brushed his lips gently across hers. She stiffened under his kiss. “Just relax or people will think I forced you into this.”

Great. She was embarrassing her husband on their wedding day. With a deep breath, she looked up and tried to smile. “I’m sorry. I’m nervous. I’ll do better.” Short sentences. Very little eye-contact with men or older women. Gaze to the floor. Be more open to conversation about the wedding. She repeated these instructions over and over again as they made their way through the ever growing crowd.

Finally, they were at the main table. The Sheikh gave them both a smile as he rose. Immediately, a hush fell over the crowd.

“I want to thank you all for being here to witness the union between my son, Kamal Al-Basir, and the lovely Jada. It has always been my greatest hope that my son would choose a strong woman to be by his side. My wife has been the rock by my side, and Kamal would need the same by his when it was his time to become Sheikh. When the played together as kids, I wondered if this would be the match for him, but as most children do here, they’re lives parted them as they learned what it would mean to be adults in this world. I am happy that they have been reunited, and I know that with Jada by his side, Kamal will go on to do great things.”

Nahid even winked. “I am also pleased to announce that the board has reviewed Kamal’s expansion plans for the company. Within a few months, Kamal will be in America to oversee the new quarters there. When he returns, we will be stronger, more profitable, and more powerful than ever.”

A huge cry went up in the crowd, and even Kamal himself hissed. He left Jada to embrace his father, and Jada felt her breath escape her lungs as she looked around.

Everything slowed as she realized what this would mean. Kamal would never take her with him when he went to head the new section of America. He would leave her behind for months, even years.

Discarded.

As the crowd continued to celebrate and laugh and cheer, only one person looked at her. Ameena.

There was nothing but regret and sorrow on her face. She knew what was in store for Jada. And she was sorry.

It took all of Jada’s training not to lean over and hurl. What kind of Sheikh’s wife would she be then? Instead, she stood tall and plastered a fake smile on her face. She would support her husband. No matter what.

That was what she was bred to do.

Jada peeled down her wedding dress and stepped carefully out of it. With trembling fingers, she slowly put it on the hanger. She reached in for her robe and wrapped it around herself. She was nervous. She was more than nervous.

Kalil was still down at the reception speaking to everyone, but she’d had enough. There was a twisted knot in her stomach and it grew with each passing moment. Any minute now, he’d come to the room and open the door and demand that she perform her wifely duties. She wasn’t scared. Jada didn’t get scared.

But she was definitely nervous. And anxious.

Pacing, she stopped when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She was still in her wedding make-up, and her hair was still curled and styled. She looked like the woman she was bred to be, and all she wanted to do was scrub the make-up off, gather her hair into a band, and rip off all her lingerie.

“Get it together,” she muttered. “This is your life now.”

The door opened, and Kalil leaned against the doorframe. “I must be taking too long if you’re talking to yourself,” he said with a smile.

Her eyes widened, and she ducked her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a joke, Jada. Don’t be sorry.” He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “It’s been a long day, Jada. I won’t hold it against you if you want to just sleep.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m a virgin.”

Startled, he narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”

“I think you hear me,” she said dryly. “But if you want to force me to say it again, I’ll be more than happy to.”

“No.” Kalil shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m just surprised. It’s rare these days. How?”

“Really? You need me to go over how I didn’t have sex?” Immediately, she blew out her breath. “I’m sorry. That was rude. It just happened. I’ve been focused on other things, and I just never got around to sex.”