The Sheikh's Desert Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 8) (16 page)

"Tell me about your friend," she said quickly. "You said he was married to an American."

She heard him sigh. Was that irritation that she was trying to change the subject? He paused, apparently gathering his thoughts.

"Raz is one of the Al Kharif family."

"Who are they, again?" she asked.

"Only one of the most influential families in the kingdom," he explained. "They're involved in some way in most of the top levels of administration. Mostly in an advisory capacity. Raz is involved in environmental protection, especially connected with oil exploration. That's how he met Ella. She was here investigating some kind of toxic pollution spill near the border." Azim grinned. "She's pretty feisty. But, cute nevertheless."

"She sounds like my kind of gal," Lucy said.

"I think you and her will get along. Looks like you've both got a lot in common."

"Yeah?" she asked raising a brow.

He nodded. "Sexy American women coming to our country to make sure we sort things out," he said teasing her with a grin.

"So, Ella's sexy is she?" Lucy asked, squinting at Azim.

"Raz certainly seemed to think so," he said ignoring her taunt. "It was a whirlwind romance. He proposed after only knowing her a short while. Seemed like love at first sight. At least, that's how everyone saw it. According to what I heard from his brothers when Raz and Ella met at first they fought like cats and dogs."

"What's so unusual about that?" she asked.

Azim peered at her. "Apparently it's more common than I thought," he said with a weary grin.

Lucy ignored that last remark. "So, now Ella's living in her prince's palace by the sea," Lucy said. "Now, that does sound like something out of a fairytale."

Azim gazed into the distance. She saw his eyes narrow. "You'll get a chance to see for yourself. We'll be there soon."

"What are we waiting for, then?" she asked.

"Let's get going," he said coaxing the horse to a faster pace.

Lucy peered ahead at the horizon and thought about what awaited her at Raz Al Kharif's coastal palace. It would be interesting to see how one young American woman had adjusted to life in Qazhar. It sounded like she and Lucy had more than a few things in common. What was it about Qazhar men and American wives? Was there some strange attraction that the sheikhs found irresistible?

One thing was for sure. It was going to be interesting seeing just what it meant to be the foreign wife of a sheikh.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"What do you think?" Azim asked Lucy as he pulled the horse to a halt atop a rocky outcrop, high above the thin line of a tarmac road which wound its way through the steep slopes of ridges. In the distance was Raz's palace, a beautiful, white, huge building perched atop cliffs that faced out over the sea.

"Wow. That's beautiful," he heard her say. And she sounded like she meant it. Azim had to admit the palace, nestling against the low, coastal ridges facing the sea, was impressive. He'd always thought so, every time he'd come out to visit Raz.
 

In the distance was the shimmering blue of the sea. The fresh wind had a salty scent that was welcome after the dryness of the desert. They'd finally made it through the desert, and he had to admit that he felt relief that they'd made it. After their brief talk, which had almost ended up as an argument, they'd passed the rest of the journey in relative quiet. It had felt so good to have her next to him, to hold Lucy close, savor her presence. And now, they'd reached the end of their journey. He wondered what was going to happen next.

One thing he did know was that he needed to get them to the palace as soon as possible. They were both covered in a thick layer of sand, and he could only imagine how surprised Raz and Ella would be to see Azim arriving, out of the blue, with his former lover. He was sure he could find a way to explain it without it sounding crazy.

As he guided the horse down to the road and toward the welcoming sight of the distant palace, he couldn't help wondering how he was going to persuade Lucy to stay longer. He wanted her to remain and attend his brother Zarif's wedding to Rachel, his brother's amazing English bride-to-be. A knot of jealousy twisted inside Azim at that thought.
 

He admired Zarif for the way he'd refused to let anything stand in his way when it had come to winning Rachel's heart. He'd heard all about it from Zarif. The way he'd had to pursue Rachel, overcoming her hesitancy about their relationship at every turn.

That sounded all too familiar to Azim, he thought, wrapping his arm around Lucy, who was too busy gazing ahead at the palace to notice Azim nuzzling closer.

They rode alongside the road, staying on the sand by the tarmac surface. He didn't want the horse injuring itself on the hard road surface. He could tell the animal was exhausted after carrying both of them across the desert. There would be good care for the horse up ahead. He knew Raz had a small stable of his own mounts.

Finally they reached the large gate which luckily was open. Azim guided the horse into the courtyard. There was a welcome coolness in the shade of the white buildings. Azim pulled the horse up and helped Lucy slide down onto the stone surface of the wide courtyard.
 

Azim leapt down next to Lucy.

"It's nice, isn't it?" he said.

Lucy's brows rose and she shook her head. "It's impressive."

Over in the corner Azim saw one of Raz's red sports cars parked. He grinned at the welcome sight, remembering how much Raz liked his cars.
 

Azim took Lucy's hand and saw her look at him in surprise. Ignoring that, he led her slowly to the high wooden palace doors and pushed one of them open. He stepped inside and called out. "Hello. Raz. Ella. Is anyone at home?"

He stepped into the high-ceilinged hall, holding onto Lucy's hand, and glanced to either side where there were two open doors leading to rooms. He didn't see anyone. He peered up the length of the staircase that stretched high up ahead. "Hello," he called out, hearing his voice echoing around the ornately tiled walls.

Azim glanced at Lucy and shrugged.

Then he heard a familiar male voice call out. "Azim? What are you doing here?" He looked up at the top of the stairs and saw a couple standing there.
 

"Raz and Ella," he called out, smiling broadly.

Raz and Ella came down the stairs and halted in front of Azim and Lucy. He could see the confusion on their faces.

Azim saw Raz gaze up and down at him. Taking in the sight of white robes covered in sand. He saw Ella look at Lucy with the same expression of confused disbelief.

"What's going on?" Raz asked.

Azim sighed. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. We've spent some time in the desert," Azim said. He glanced down at his robes. "As you can see."

Azim saw Ella looking at Lucy, obviously awaiting some kind of introduction. "Raz. You remember Lucy," Azim said gesturing to Lucy.

Raz seemed momentarily put off his stride. Lucy must have been the last person he expected to see standing by Azim's side. "Of course, Lucy," Raz said. He hugged her and they shared an air kiss. "It's been a while, hasn't it," he added.

Azim flinched slightly when he heard that. He saw Lucy nod hurriedly. "You could say that," she muttered glancing quickly toward Ella. "You must be Ella."

"You're American," Ella said brightly. She smiled at Lucy. "I can tell. It's the accent," she said with good humor and hugging Lucy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy," she said.

"How did this happen?" Raz asked looking bemused.

Azim waved a dismissive hand. "I'll tell you all about it later. I'm afraid I've left my horse next to your sports car." Azim grinned at Raz. "I hope you don't mind."

Raz smiled. "I'll get one the staff to take care of it."

They were led into one of the rooms. All four of them took their places on two facing couches. Servants brought drinks for Azim and Lucy. They both drained multiple glasses of water from the large pitcher.

Azim wasn't sure how much of Lucy's story he should share with Raz and Ella. He ended up concluding it would be better of if he let her tell them as much as she wanted. Better to leave it up to her.

Azim only spoke about how he and Lucy had made their way across the desert after meeting in the mountains. Judging by the expression on Ella's face, that seemed scary enough. Lucy eventually opened up, telling her own tale. Ella's shimmering green eyes had filled with amazement on hearing some of the details of Lucy's adventures.
 

As he recounted some of what had happened to them, Azim looked more closely at Raz and Ella. They both looked incredibly happy together. Ella looked beautiful and graceful, her pretty face framed by a thick mane of blonde hair. Raz also looked as if he'd prospered since marrying Ella. He was fitter and more handsome than ever. Marriage had obviously been good for them. The same as it had been for all the Al Kharif brothers.
 

He felt a tinge of envy as he watched how they joked with each other, teasing one another at every opportunity. He wanted some of that, he told himself. Listening to Lucy tell Ella about how she'd come from the States to document some ancient monuments, Azim could tell just how much it meant to her.

And then, it struck him that she was talking about love, after all. Her love for his country, for the place which had made him what he was. He wondered how he'd been so foolish as to ignore that blatantly obvious fact. Lucy was already a part of his land. Just by caring about it so much she was almost an honorary Qazhar citizen, he told himself.
 

Some light snacks were brought for them, and then they were led up to rooms which had been prepared for them on the upper floor of the palace. Azim knew Lucy would be glad to enjoy some of the benefits of civilization, especially a well appointed bedroom and bathroom. He had to admit that he was desperate to get out of his robes. He and Raz were the same size, so he was sure there would be something more casual he could wear around the palace.

As they made their way along the corridor toward their rooms, Azim chatted with Raz while Lucy and Emma trailed behind.

Raz paused outside the door to one of the bedrooms. "We've given you this room, Lucy," he said opening the door and revealing a sumptuous interior.
 

Azim saw Lucy's eyes widen with delight. Emma led Lucy into the room and immediately started showing her around the huge suite.

Raz and Azim waited by the door. Raz glanced at Azim. "How long are you two planning to stay?"

Seeing the hesitation on Azim's face, Raz added quickly. "You know you're both welcome to stay as long as you like,"
 

Azim smiled. "Thanks, Raz. That's kind of you," he said in a quiet voice. He didn't want Lucy to hear this conversation. Right now, he had other plans. Now that they were in the palace, he knew he had a golden opportunity that he might never get again.

"I think we'll stay for the night. You know Zarif's getting married this coming weekend."

"How could I forget? My sister Aliyah won't stop talking about it," he said with a wry grin.

Azim smiled. He knew how much Raz's sister loved to get involved in anything to do with other peoples weddings. Even if, it seemed, they were only related by friendship.

"We've put you in separate rooms," Raz explained. He glanced at the door to the suite right next door to Lucy's. "You're there, you'll be pleased to know," Raz said with a grin.

Azim nodded. "That should make things interesting," he said.

Raz stepped a few steps away from the door and Azim followed him. "How are things between you and Lucy?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Azim lifted his gaze to the ceiling and sighed. "To quote Lucy, things are complicated," he said.

Raz's brows furrowed. "How?"

Azim shook his head. "Maybe we can talk about it later."

"Join me downstairs after you've changed and washed up," Raz said glancing down at Azim's robes. "I think you could do with a change of clothes. There're some things in your room. Stuff I haven't had a chance to wear, yet." Raz smiled. "Ella likes to go on these huge shopping trips for me. She comes back from Qazhar with bags of stuff. Most of it I never even get a chance to wear."

"That's reassuring," Azim joked.

Raz laid a hand on Azim's shoulder and smiled warmly. "It's good to see you, friend. I can see we've got some catching up to do. Join me downstairs when you're ready," he said.

Azim went to the door and opened it, revealing a luxuriously decorated room, just like Lucy's next door suite. Doors opened onto a balcony which faced to the sea. The doors were open, and Azim could hear the delightful sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below. The air in the room was fresh and it was with huge relief that Azim stripped off his robes and plunged, naked beneath the welcoming torrent of the cold shower in the bathroom.

He was instantly reminded of the last time he'd plunged into cold water, back at the oasis. As he thought of what that had led to, he felt himself firm, sensed tension return to his body. He saw the effect those thoughts were having on his body and groaned in frustration, turning to temperature of the shower down to icy cold. That made him roar out loud and he wondered if Lucy had heard the sound. What would she think he was doing in here?

After a while he felt clean enough, and calm enough, to step out of the shower and towel himself dry. He found some crisp white shirts, dark pants and flat shoes to wear. Once dressed he found some mineral water and stepped out onto the balcony. He stood at the balustrade and gazed out across the sea, taking in the view, savoring the sheer power and beauty of the sea in the early evening light.

What a day it had been, he told himself. He felt a rush of emotion as he thought about everything that had taken place during the last twenty-four hours. It was almost too much to comprehend, almost took his breath away just to reflect upon it.
 

He thought of Lucy and desire curled inside him, a sudden burning need that he knew would never be extinguished. No matter what happened in the coming hours and days. Whether she stayed with him or not, there would never be anyone else for him except Lucy. He was destined to be with her.