The Sheikh's Defiant Girlfriend (The Botros Brothers Series) (8 page)

“Hi,” she said and smiled. She hugged him tighter. “I never thought I’d ever see you cooking,” she said.

“You make me do odd things,” he grumbled as Sara giggled.

Sara sat at the table waiting for breakfast. Tariq brought her a plate of scrambled eggs, pita and a selection of pastries. Sara smiled and thanked him.

“You can thank me later,” Tariq said to Sara and winked at her.

Sara
returned to the Botros Oil Company as an official employee and the newest member of the board. She felt like a new woman after her honeymoon. The house they stayed in was beautiful. It had stone floors with intricate patterns and high ceilings. There was a large swimming pool outside, where she enjoyed swimming naked with Tariq.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Botros,” Adiva greeted Sara as she walked into the reception area.

“Hi, Adiva,” Sara replied.

“Congratulations on the wedding.”

“Thank you.”

Sara walked into her new office, which was much bigger than the one she had before. She looked around; the space wasn't quite how she liked it. She started pushing the sofa to the other side of the room.

“Up to your old tricks, I see,” she heard Tariq's voice. She turned and saw him standing in the doorway smiling.

“When did you get here?” Sara asked, as she stood upright and straightened her skirt.

“Adiva told me you were here, so I came to see you,” Tariq walked towards her. “I remember the first time I saw you, you were rearranging furniture like this with your skirt rising up,” he added. Sara covered her face from embarrassment. She still remembered how awkward she felt.

“And what was your first impression?” Sara asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Tariq raised an eyebrow and pulled her closer to him.

“I wondered what kind of a woman was that peculiar to push her furniture around in the most unflattering way.” Sara frowned at him. “The image of your thighs was burned in my brain for weeks,” Tariq continued and leaned in to kiss Sara but she stopped him.

“You were thinking about my legs all that time?” Sara's mouth hung open. Tariq offered no response. “You liked me first!” she said. Sara hadn't suspected that. He always acted as if he loathed her. Tariq kissed her instead of responding.

Amir barged into the room. Sara and Tariq both turned and frowned at him. “Brother, your time is impeccable as always,” Tariq said sardonically.

“I haven't seen you guys since the wedding, welcome back,” Amir said. He went to hug Sara.

“I was going to come see you later today,” Sara said as she hugged him back.

“You are too close to my wife,” Tariq said with a hint of irritation. Amir grinned at him.

“You have control issues and I am here to speak with Sara about something important,” Amir replied. Sara shook her head.

“It's okay babe, I will see you later,” Sara said and rubbed Tariq's arm. He kissed Sara on the forehead, before heading for the door. He narrowed his gaze at Amir as he left. “Help me move the sofa,” Sara said to Amir as she walked over to the sofa. Amir laughed as he helped her.

“Some things never change,” he said. “Anyway, a lot happened since you were gone,” Amir continued.

“What?” Sara was always up for gossip.

“Malik confronted me about dancing with Soraya at the wedding.”

“Confronted? It was only dancing,” Sara said. They moved the sofa to where she wanted it before she sat down.

“He said I was too close to her. He is suspicious.”

“Then tell him you like Soraya.”

Malik had warned Amir not to play around with his sister. He had seen how Amir behaved with other women and he did not want his sister to be treated the same way. Amir tried to convince him that he did not have any ill intentions towards her, but Malik didn’t believe him.

“I more than like Soraya,” Amir said quietly. He did not recall ever feeling that way about anyone. He wanted to see her all the time, he missed her as soon as she left him, hearing the sound of her name made him smile.

“You're in love, oh my gosh,” Sara sat up.

“I didn't say that,” Amir slid his hands in his pockets.

Sara was pleased to see him so happy. Clearly, Soraya made him happy, but it seemed as though Malik would take some convincing.

*                                 *                              *                                                 *

Soraya was enjoying her day off at home. She did not have any classes or a work shift. She frowned when she heard the doorbell ring. She was not expecting anyone. She stood up and walked to the door. She opened the door and to her surprise, Amir was standing there. Her jaw dropped open. She was not ready for visitors, especially Amir. She was wearing only a t-shirt. He smiled at the sight of her legs.

“What are you doing here?” Soraya spat out. “Wait here while I change,” she added as she dashed toward her bedroom. Amir walked in anyway, ignoring her and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

“I came to see you,” Amir said and patted the sofa for her to come sit next to him. She reluctantly sat next to him. She finger-combed her hair in agitation, before Amir stopped her.

“You look beautiful as you are,” he said. Soraya looked at him as if he was crazy. He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek. He sat back on the sofa and stared at her. Soraya started feeling uncomfortable.

“What are you staring at?” she asked him, as she looked away, pretending not to like his attention.

“You.”

“Stop.” He was always finding an opportunity to flirt with her.

“Aren't you going to offer me something to drink?”

Soraya whipped her head in his direction and frowned at him. Amir laughed and stood up. He went to the kitchen himself. He was intrigued to see what she ate. He opened the fridge and looked inside. Soraya's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe how free he was behaving in her house. He took out a can and shut the fridge. He opened the cabinets, looking for snacks. Spending too much time with Sara increased his appetite. He started eating anything he found.

“Get out of my cabinets,” Soraya called out. Amir smiled and walked over to her.

“You don't like me being away from you for too long?” he asked with a cheeky grin on his face.

“When the heck did I say that?” Soraya narrowed her eyes. Amir put the can on the table and sat close to her. Soraya turned her head and just as she was about to protest, Amir silenced her with a kiss. She melted in his arms and let him kiss her. He wrapped his arms around her. He broke the kiss and stared at her.

“Why are you always staring at me?” Soraya asked.

“I can't get enough of you,” he said. Soraya tucked her hair behind her ear. He took her hand and kissed it. He rubbed her thigh with his other hand. “I don't want another man touching what is mine,” he said.

“And what is yours?”

“This,” Amir said still touching her leg. Soraya raised an eyebrow. He caressed her belly, “And this,” he added. She smiled at him. She didn't mind him claiming her. He ran his hand between her thighs. Just as he was going up her leg, the doorbell rang. Soraya cleared her throat and went to open the door.

“Malik!” Soraya called out. She was not expecting to see him. He rubbed her head and walked into her house. To his surprise, Amir was sitting on the sofa. Amir got up as Malik's face turned red. His sister was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and shorts while Amir was sitting comfortably on the sofa when he was meant to be at work.

“Malik, this-” Before Amir could finish speaking, Malik punched him.

“You slept with my sister?” Malik shouted. Soraya cried out.

“I should leave,” Amir said. He was not going to argue with Malik. He could tell that he wasn’t going to listen to anything he had to say. Soraya touched his arm and gave him an apologetic look. He kissed her on the cheek and told her that he was fine.

After Amir left, Soraya turned on her brother, “Malik what is wrong with you? Amir did not sleep with me,” she shouted.

“You know how Amir is with women. Why would you go there?” Malik shouted back.

“You should leave too. If you think I would easily sleep with someone, then we should not be having this conversation.” 

*                           *                                   *                                             *

Sara was surprised to see Soraya come visit her at the office. She hugged her they both sat down. Soraya told Sara what had happened with Malik and Amir. Soraya knew Malik was against anything happening between them, but not to this extent. She still couldn’t believe that he punched Amir.

“Have you kissed?” Sara asked, switching topics. Soraya laughed.

“What a change in topic!” Soraya said and tucked her hair behind her ear. Sara's eyes widened.

“You did! When?” Sara questioned.

“At the wedding.” Sara gasped. “And yesterday,” Soraya added. Sara clapped her hands.

“Yay! At last, you guys finally are together.”

“We aren't.”

“Ok, maybe not, yet.”

Tariq walked into Sara’s office and grimaced when he saw Soraya. Yes, Soraya had attended both her bachelorette party and the wedding, but he was not aware that they were this close. Sara got up and hugged him.

“Just the person I wanted to see,” Sara said. He gave her a small kiss on the lips.

“What is going on?” Tariq asked. Soraya looked at Sara and shook her head.

“It's okay; he is the only one who can talk to Malik.”

“About what?”

“Amir is in love with her.”

Tariq's eyes widened. His younger brother and Soraya, together? Then he remembered how they were dancing at the wedding. Tariq shrugged his shoulders. This was not something he wanted to be involved in.

“I wouldn't say in love,” Soraya replied shyly.

“Don't be modest. Amir is always talking about her, trying to see her, everything Soraya,” Sara said. Tariq raised his eyebrows. He was clearly unaware. “The point is, Amir has good intentions. He really likes her but Malik doesn't understand because of Amir's past with women,” Sara added.

“You seem to know more about this situation, so I think you should be the one to speak to Malik,” Tariq told her.

That night, Sara invited Malik over for dinner. She thought that the sooner they spoke, the better. Malik arrived promptly at their home. Sara was in the dining room supervising while she held Leylah on her hip. Tariq walked in with Malik.

“Hi, Malik,” Sara greeted him. Malik kissed Sara on both cheeks. He kissed Leylah too.

“Hello, Sara. Leylah is growing fast,” Malik commented.

They had a normal dinner, discussing trivial matters until Sara opened the topic that was on her mind. Malik was surprised that Sara was even aware of what was going on. Tariq leaned back in his chair and watched the situation unravel.

“Sara, you do not know what you speak of,” Malik said.

“On the contrary, I do,” Sara replied. Tariq was silently cheering her on. He knew she could handle herself. She told Malik about how much Amir liked Soraya. She was there when it all began. She told him how much effort Amir put in and how genuine he was, how Soraya liked him too. Malik was shocked at how much Sara was telling him.

“Malik, she is an adult and she likes Amir as much as he likes her. Actually, he likes her more but you need to let them be. Amir won't hurt her,” Sara concluded her plea for Soraya and Amir.

“And how do you know that?” Tariq questioned.

“My question too,” replied Malik.

“Because I will be there to keep his ass in check,” Sara replied. Both Tariq and Malik raised their eyebrows and looked at each other. If anyone could, it would be Sara. She was good with the Botros brothers. She even won over their mother. Malik agreed to it because his sister liked Amir; which he hadn't known and because he trusted Sara. He was going to let them give the relationship a chance, but he planned to keep an eye on Amir.