The Sheiks of the Arabian Coast Series: 5 Book Box Set Read online

  His brother’s hand on his shoulder forced Khalid to turn and stare into Maarku’s eyes. “What are you talking about? Someone other than Dareen?”

  “You know Dareen doesn’t wish to marry me,” Khalid said and pushed his brother’s hand away, fed up with the way his brother seemed outraged at the thought of Khalid even meeting someone, “So what if I have met someone? Shouldn’t I be allowed to be happy?”

  Shaking his head, Maarku glared at Khalid, “You can’t. There is a treaty. If you don’t marry Dareen, there will be war, you know it and I know it. Stop thinking with your dick and set whoever it is you’ve met aside as your mistress. Maybe set her up in a cozy little apartment somewhere. Throw money at her to make her happy, but marry Dareen.”

  Clenching his teeth, Khalid sighed and turned his back on his brother. “If that’s all then...”

  Khalid didn’t stop. Not even when his brother called out after him, “You know what the right thing is to do, Khalid!”

  7

  Amelia felt as though she were walking on air. She’d never missed someone so much as she did Khalid, even though they talked so much when he was gone. Khalid wouldn’t be back in Toronto until Sunday and Friday was girls’ night at her friend Gia’s townhouse. Their small group of five usually got together once a week or every other week. They’d all met in university and instantly clicked. Tonight would be the first night in years that Amelia would bring up the fact that she now had a boyfriend.

  Her friends had a right to be worried and Amelia was starting to realize that. Hiding away as she had before she met Khalid was ridiculous and foolish. Now, Amelia knew what she and Khalid had was special. Giddy, Amelia quickly scanned the area outside of the moving SUV. They were getting closer to Gia’s house.

  “Haseem?” Amelia called from the back seat.

  “Yes, Ms. Jones?” Haseem asked back and Amelia suppressed her eye roll reaction at him calling her by her last name. She had demanded Haseem call her Amelia, but the staunchy, by the book guard, was having none of it.

  “You’re not going to come into Gia’s house, are you? You’ll wait outside with the car, right?” Amelia asked, nervously fidgeting in her seat. “It’s just that, I think it might make things awkward for my friends and it will be difficult to explain to them.”

  Tonight, Amelia dressed as though this were any other girls’ night. She wore a soft cashmere sweater and simple leggings with fuzzy socks hidden beneath her leather boots. On her wrist, she wore the bracelet Khalid had given her. It was light and sparkled when the light struck it just right. It’s twinkling reminded her of Khalid’s green eyes. She may not look different to her friends, but she certainly felt different. Looser in a way. Perhaps even more relaxed than she had been in years.

  And it was all thanks to Khalid.

  “No, Miss. My team and I have already cleared your friend’s home and surrounding area for any possible threats. I will be right outside if you require assistance,” Haseem murmured softly in his thick accent. Amelia inwardly did not even want to know what the man meant by “cleared your friend’s home and surrounding area”. She hoped it wasn’t by doing anything illegal.

  Smiling at the stoic man, Amelia bounced in her seat. “Thank you, Haseem.”

  She was thankful for the man. Getting used to having a bodyguard and driver had taken some time. Especially when it came to her work. The school children still stared at Haseem when he dropped her off and when he picked her up, but their parents were used to it by now. Even her coworkers thought it was the coolest thing to have her own driver. Meghan had commented that she should take advantage of the perks, but Amelia had just laughed the enthusiastic woman off. She didn’t want to cause any waves where Haseem was concerned. The man was so serious all the time that it must have been due to the stress he was under by being her guard.

  As Haseem parked the car in front of Gia’s townhouse, Amelia waited until the man opened the door to let her out. She’d gotten an earful one day from the serious man about waiting in the car before he helped her out. Just in case. Though Amelia wasn’t sure of what he was so worried about. There had been no media presence following her or Khalid since they started dating, though their dates tended to be very private. She had to wonder if Haseem and Khalid were overreacting and intended to bring it up to Khalid as soon as he returned from his trip. As well as tell him that she was ready. Ready for him. All of him.

  Nodding to Haseem’s farewell, Amelia strode over to the front door and rang the bell. In her hands were two bottles of wine. It was her night to bring the wine, though from the excited and chatty voices behind the door, Amelia wondered if they had started drinking without her.

  Grinning when not only Gia’s smiling face appeared at the door, but also Bea, Christine and Alexa stood behind Gia, all vying to welcome Amelia to their girls’ night.

  All four called out her name in an excited way and Amelia stared wide eyed at their flushed and excited faces. “Um, hi. What’s going on?”

  Bea pushed Gia aside and sauntered up to Amelia, though her eyes strayed to the street behind her. “Nice hunk, Lia. You didn’t tell me you were bringing your boyfriend to girls’ night. He’s a beast.”

  Scanning the other girls’ faces, Amelia snickered when she saw that all four girls were drooling over a stone faced Haseem who was standing stoically at the car, no doubt waiting for her to enter the house so that he could resume his post inside the SUV.

  Laughing nervously, Amelia waved the girls’ attention away from Haseem. “Down, girls. He’s not the guy I’m dating. That’s Haseem, he’s more like my driver or bodyguard as he likes to call it.”

  All four girls eyes leveled from Amelia and back to Haseem before shrieks were let out and questions were being thrown at Amelia a mile a minute. Bea called everyone to silence and the authoritative woman frowned at all of them. “Wait. Let’s do this in the house! We don’t need Gia’s neighbors thinking we’re a bunch of hyenas.”

  Everyone agreed and before she knew it, Amelia was sitting in Gia’s living room, a glass of wine in her hand and all eyes staring at her in rapt attention. Nervously shifting in her seat, Amelia scanned Gia’s living room. The woman was a decorator and Amelia never knew what the artistic woman would have changed as the weeks went on between their visits.

  “The house looks great, Gia. I love the new coat of paint,” Amelia mentioned and blushed when Bea groaned loudly from her seat on Gia’s leather sofa.

  “Forget the idle chit chat. We want details about your new lover boy,” Bea demanded and all the others nodded along with her, excitement for their friend in their eyes.

  Sipping at her wine, Amelia cleared her throat and began from the beginning describing how she’d met Khalid. She tried to circumnavigate the part where she blurted out to the man about her virginity, but Bea and the others were relentless. Finally, she revealed everything. From Khalid’s insistence that they wait to they make love to their naughty video call a few nights ago.

  By the end of her story, Amelia felt exhausted. Leaning back in her seat, she finished the rest of her wine and winced at how much her cheeks hurt from smiling.

  Bea, who since learning Khalid’s name began an internet search to find out as much as possible about Amelia’s new suitor, had been unseasonably quiet.

  “How is it possible this man isn’t on Google or social media. Everyone is!” Bea finally grumbled and threw her phone onto the coffee table next to her.

  Laughing, Amelia shrugged. “Khalid says he prefers to deal with people in person and doesn’t care for social media as a whole, unless it’s business related. He’s right though, the internet is vast and constantly growing. It can be overwhelming and intrusive.”

  “Do you at least have a photo of your mysterious lover boy?” Gia asked, her brown eyes wide over the rim of her glass.

  Nodding, Amelia dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “We went hiking one weekend. It was fun, but I looked like a total mess.”

  Showing the
girls her phone screen, Amelia blushed when they all let out a sound that resembled the noise people make at the sight of a cute puppy or kitten. Grinning and pulling the phone away, Amelia stared at the photo, completely entranced by Khalid’s big smile. They had reached the top of the summit and both were exhausted, sweaty and aching, but in that photo, she knew she had never been happier when he’d wrapped her up in his arms and told her to take a picture.

  Sighing in delight, Amelia put the phone away and only just realized the room had gone silent and all four of her friends stared at her in amazement.

  “What? Is there something on my face?” Amelia asked and out of habit touched her cheek. Alexa, a chef in Toronto had made a fluffy cake with boiled icing. Amelia had devoured her piece the moment it was placed in front of her.

  Bea sighed, her eyes filled with dreamy stars, “You love him.”

  Laughing nervously, Amelia stood and set her empty glass on the coffee table. Shifting in her spot, Amelia cringed at the way she was standing and crossed her arms.

  “That’s ridiculous. I’m not in love with Khalid. I like him and we have a lot in common. We’ve only been together a few weeks and we haven’t even, you know, done the deed yet,” Amelia rambled, though she could tell none of her friends bought what she was saying.

  Bea nodded and pursed her lips, her mass of curls bouncing as she shifted in her seat, “You love him.”

  Collapsing into her chair, Amelia closed her eyes and cringed. “How could I? We come from two different worlds. Once his business is done here, he’ll jet off and I’ll be all alone again.”

  Gia patted Amelia’s hand soothingly. “Did he give you any indication that was the case? I mean he gave you a bodyguard. Obviously he feels protective of you.”

  Shaking her head, Amelia sighed in frustration. “No. We talk everyday either by text or video chat and when he gets back to the city, we spend as much time together as possible. He only stays in his hotel to sleep and he works when I’m at the school. He’s just so, perfect.”

  Throughout the night, Christine, the lawyer of the group, who was sitting off to the side of the group, had been unusually quiet this evening. When Amelia turned to her and asked, “What do you think, Christie?”, Amelia was leveled with a naughty grin and waggling eyebrows.

  “He’s a hunk, Lia. Even if it doesn’t work out, you said it yourself that being with him makes you happy and you deserve to be happy. Be selfish. Get yours,” Christie said, raising her glass in the air as a toast. Bea and the rest raised their glasses in the air and hollered in agreement as Amelia thought about their words.

  Amelia thought about everything that had been said that night, even when Haseem was driving her back to her apartment. A nagging thought in the back of her head, prompted her to speak to the silent guard, in the hopes of getting more answers than questions.

  “Haseem?”

  “Yes, Ms. Jones?” Haseem answered with not a hint of irritation.

  “You’ve obviously known Khalid for a long time and you probably know everything there is to know about mine and his relationship?” Amelia asked, waiting for his answer with her breath held tight in her throat.

  “Yes, Miss,” Haseem confirmed.

  Nodding along, Amelia sighed, releasing her breath as she fingered her bracelet, “Do you think Khalid is serious about our relationship? I mean, do you think he has real feelings for me?”

  Silence enveloped the car for a few minutes before Haseem cleared his throat and met her gaze in the rearview mirror for only a second before they were back on the road once again.

  “Mr. Majeed has never sent a woman flowers before, Ms. Jones,” Haseem simply stated before continuing, “While my employer is known to be fond of women and the physical entanglements that follow, he has never expressed such an interest in one woman as he has with you.”

  With that, the car enveloped in silence once more. Fingering the bracelet on her wrist, Amelia smiled at the sight of it. Her heart warming in her chest as she thought of Khalid and Haseem’s words.

  It was silly of her to wait any longer. Her friends were right. She loved Khalid. Even though it had only been a few weeks. Resolved in her thoughts, Amelia began making plans.

  It would be a night neither of them would forget.

  8

  Amelia flitted about her apartment like she was being chased by the boogeyman. More like a race. A race against time. Khalid had just gotten off his plane and was headed this way. There wasn’t much time at all to do everything she had planned. As she entered the kitchen and checked on the roast warming in the oven, Amelia felt as though the butterflies in her stomach would revolt.

  Stay calm. This is just like any other night. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.

  Another part of her was screaming. It was a big night. It would be the night, if she had anything to say about it. Pulling her wrap dress further down her thighs by the hem, Amelia scanned herself in her hallway mirror.

  Is this too slutty?

  A text beeped on her phone and when she read it, she groaned. It was too late to change now, Khalid had just pulled up to her building. Flying around the room and lighting candles on the way, Amelia grabbed the small, wrapped package she’d bought for Khalid. She hoped he would take it the right way. It was a bit of a gag gift, but she wanted him to know she was ready. What better way to say you want to have sex then with the gift of condoms?

  A key jingling in her apartment door had Amelia straightening and she quickly hid the gift under a pillow on the couch. Standing before the front door in the hallway, Amelia quickly scanned the area. Everything was clean in her apartment and nicely scented with a few spicy orange candles. Her table was set and the veggies were piping hot on the cooling racks.

  Straightening her hair, Amelia smiled when the door opened and Khalid appeared. His large form took over her door frame as he entered, only narrowly missing his head. Laughing in delight at the sight of him, Amelia raced over, forgetting herself, and dove into his arms.

  He caught her easily in his strong grip, dropping his briefcase and suitcase as he did so. Spinning her around the hallway, Khalid laughed along with her, murmuring words she didn’t understand in Arabic.

  Setting her down in front of him, Khalid pushed her hair away from her face and stared at her in appreciation. “My dove, I have missed you.”

  Kissing her softly, Khalid pulled back suddenly and sniffed the air. “What is that I smell?”

  Shrieking, Amelia raced into the kitchen, “My roast!”

  Amelia sighed in relief to see the roast hadn’t been scorched as she placed it on a platter and cut a few chunks up. From behind her, Khalid pressed himself against her back and his nose delved into her scented hair. Feeling him breathing in deeply, Amelia shivered when she felt his tired sigh brush against her neck.

  “You have no idea how much I missed this, Lia,” Khalid crooned into her ear. “I hadn’t realized how stressful life can be without you by my side.”

  Blushing, Amelia brought a small piece of her roast up to Khalid’s lips. “Try it.”

  Taking it from her fingers with his teeth, Khalid sucked on her fingers until every last morsel of flavor was gone. Moaning in obvious delight, Khalid pecked Amelia on the cheek.

  “It tastes delicious, ya amar. What are we celebrating that you would make such a feast?” Khalid murmured and helped her gather the wine as she took the meat over to the table.

  Allowing him to pull out her chair, Amelia smiled and waited until Khalid was sitting and pouring them both a glass of wine before bringing it up.

  “I’ve missed you as well. I wanted to do something nice for you. We’re always going out to eat and, tonight, I just want you to relax. After we eat, you can go take a hot shower and then maybe we can watch a movie on the couch,” Amelia said, though she was lying, she tried to keep her voice even and avoided his gaze so that she could scoop out food onto his plate.

  “Is that why you asked Haseem to ensure I brought my suitcase up?”
Khalid queried and, at her nod, murmured back, “Sounds like a plan, ya amar.”

  Not wanting to distract him from eating, Amelia told him all about her week, or at least anything she had missed telling him about during their many calls. She even told him about her girls’ night and Bea’s insistence to find out everything she could about Khalid.

  “So, I’m sure to receive a report about you any day now from Bea, she’s a bit of a bloodhound with this kind of thing. I mean, she’s in marketing at a real estate firm, but that doesn’t stop her from learning everything there is to learn about the men I’ve dated or one the other girls have dated.” Amelia laughed before adding, “Don’t worry, I told her you were a perfectly normal guy.”

  Khalid paused in eating his food and snapped, “She shouldn’t be so nosy about our relationship.”

  Amelia stared in shock at Khalid’s sudden outburst of anger before she set her glass down and reached over to touch his tense fist that was clutching his fork. Her touch seemed to ease him a bit and he dropped the fork, but the anger hadn’t left his face or his eyes. Now that Amelia was staring at him in concern, she saw the tiredness under his eyes and the strain in the way he sat.

  “I’m sorry, Khalid. I didn’t mean to insinuate she was looking for something untoward in your life. Bea is just being a concerned friend. I’ll tell her to back off. I know how much you prefer your privacy about your family life. I mean, if they are as unbalanced as you have said, I wouldn’t want anyone digging into my past either,” Amelia reassured, her words obviously getting through to Khalid as he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

  Sighing, Khalid closed his eyes tightly before opening them again. This time, they were much clearer and no hint of anger lingered in them.

  “My family are only a small part of why I don’t talk about that part of my life. My family believes in responsibility above all and tradition more than anything. All of my life I’ve balked at it. I apologize for snapping at you, but this past week has been incredibly stressful. I’ve been dealing with my family and our holdings. They wish for me to pursue a business deal for all the wrong reasons and I have no wish to be a part of it. They also do not approve of my relationship with you,” Khalid conceded.