The Sheik's Furious Bride (Love By Accident) (16 page)

“I don’t,” he countered, stopping when he was right in front of her. 

She blinked at him, confused and trying very hard not to become defensive.  There was something strange about the way he was looking at her.  Perhaps she’d understand him after about ten years into their relationship. 
“Then I don’t understand.  Are you angry that I’m out here doing things with your people?”

He thought about that for a moment
and sighed heavily
.
  A part of him wanted to kiss her because she looked so amazing surrounded by all of these children and they responded to h
er so well.  Another part of him
wanted to
toss her over his shoulder, carry
her back into the SUV and head immediately back to the
security of the
palace so that he knew she was safe from harm. 
“I’m not sure what I’m feeling right now.”

She bit her lower lip and thought quickly.  “Okay.  Well, when
you
figure it out, how about if you let me know so I can react appropriately to your issues?”  She was teasing, sort of.  And what’s more, she was definitely relieved when he laughed. 

He nodded his head in agreement. 
“I’ll get back to you on that.  Are you done here?”

Isla looked around the
classroom
, noting that the body guards had shooed out the teachers and administrator
so they were thankfully alone for this conversation
.  “Yes.  We should probably leave so they can finish up their day.”

He turned back to her and stepped slightly closer. 
“And are you finished for the day?” he asked, a somewhat ominous tone in his voice.

She looked up at him warily.  “I’m finished for today. 
But what about tomorrow?”

He didn’t answer her immediately.  “Considering that I canceled my inspections when I heard you were out and about…”

She shook her head, her mouth showing her surprise at his statement. 
“Why did you do that?  I had my security guards clear it with their supervisors.”

He
rubbed his hand over the top of his head, his hair moving right back into place since he kept it so short now that the
war and fighting
was over
.  “Let’s go back to the palace to discuss
this
, okay?”

He didn’t stop and wait for her answer.  Putting a hand to the small of her back, he led her through the doors, shaking the hands of the teachers and administrators who were
almost
prostrating themselves as he passed by.  He was very gracious, but all of them were in awe of his presence and Isla saw a whole other side to him.  She was very confused.  After spending two days in this man’s
country
, she couldn’t reconcile the man’s evil reputation with the man she was getting to know
and the reactions of his people who appeared to adore him
.  But how could so many rumors be false?  And why wouldn’t he allow reporters into the country?  What was the issue with the rest of the world getting to know all the wonderful things that
were
going on inside the country?

She kept her silence though as they made their way through the crowds.  So many people had heard that
Hussan
had arrived and they were thrilled to see him, exuberant at their upcoming wedding and several people rushed up to give her flowers, smiling eagerly at
Hussan
before backing up. 
Isla took the flowers, feeling a warm glow of acceptance with the lovely
gesture. 

As soon as they were inside the vehicle,
Hussan
took the flowers and tossed them into a bag his body guard handed to him.

Isla was horrified
as her pretty flowers disappeared
.  “Why did you do that?” she demanded, reaching for the bag, intending to take the flowers out again.  They weren’t the best, but they had been a very sweet
token
by a little boy and a teenage girl.  Both of them had looked so sweet and sincere as they’d handed her flowers they’d probably picked out of their garden or any field they
’d
c
o
me across
. 

“We don’t know what’s on the flowers,”
Hussan
explained quickly and wiped her hands down with a cloth that smelled of rubbing alcohol. 

She couldn’t believe what he was saying and grabbed her hands, hiding them behind her.  “Pollen?” she snapped.  “What are you thinking?  They’re just flowers!”

He shook his head and grabbed her hands again, wiping off as much as he could
before tossing the wipe into the same bag into which her flowers had disappeared
.  “They might not be just flowers, Isla.”

She sat there staring at his strong profile for a long moment. 
“Why would you say something so ridiculous?”

He sat back against the leather seat and stared straight ahead.  “One of the tactics I used to get rid of my enemies during the civil war was to send presents to them.  They thought it was a gift meant to show them my respect and acquiescence, but there was poison on various parts of the gifts.  Not enough to kill, but something that would disorient them.”

She stared at him, stunned and more than a little horrified.  “You’re kidding me, right?”

He shook his head
emphatically
. 
“Nope.”

It took her several minutes to absorb this tactic, considering the man and how tough he looked right at the moment. 
“How many times did you do this?”   She wasn’t sure if she was impressed or disgusted. 

“Too many times to count,” he responded grimly. 

Ugh.  That meant that his
uncle and all of his generals and deputies had been
stupid, vain and greedy.  Once was bad.  Twice was just evil.  But when one’s enemies fell for the same trick over and over again she couldn’t help but think
that Hussan
was diabolical.  “Um…okay then.”  She took a deep breath and thought over that idea.  “So your uncle was….” She considered her words carefully, wondering if he might have respected the man or
had some familial feelings towards his father’s brother.  She had to be considerate if he still thought of the idiot man as a
revered
family member
who was just in the way of his political ambitions
. 
Even as she thought it, she knew that wasn’t the case. 
Hussan
was strong, but she didn’t think he was maliciously ambitious. 

In the end, she didn’t have to be careful. 
Hussan
filled in the blank she was struggling to define. 

“My uncle was a greedy idiot who ruined this country, bankrupted the economy and tortured his people.  He didn’t deserve to rule and if you have any issues with my assumption of power, we need to get those reservations out of the way immediately because I will not tolerate that man’s name being brought up within the borders of this country.”

Isla had never seen him so harsh, so absolute.  He’d laid down the law and expected her to follow.  She thought about it for a moment, but then nodded her head.  Isla had seen the destruction.  Had assumed it was because of
Hussan
’s rule but she was now coming to understand that it was more likely the result of his uncle’s greed and dissolution.  “I have no issues with you being the
S
heik of S
i
laria,
Hussan
,” she said softly. 

He watched her for a moment, noticed the sincerity in her voice and her eyes,
then
nodded.  Turning away, he looked out the window as the driver brought them back within the palace walls. 
Isla noticed that Hussan visibly relaxed now that they were back within the confines of his security system.  She wondered if it was for his safety, or if he was more concerned with her own safety. 

Despite all the things she’d heard about Hussan, the one description that had repeatedly come up in conversations was that this man was fearless.  He would dive into any battle and come out the victor
.  So she felt a warm glow of happiness come over her as she deduced that Hussan was more concerned about her safety than he was about his personal
security.  It made him a bit more human, more caring than she’d originally given him credit for. 

The vehicles pulled up outside the main entrance and Hussan stepped out first,
then
turned to help her out, taking her hand initially, but then simply lifting her out of the car and placing her in front of him on the ground.  She looked up at him, her thoughts immediately returning to the night before and all he’d
made her feel.  He held her gaze until she blushed and pulled away, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. 

She heard his soft laughter and then felt his arm move around her waist, pulling her close for an affectionate hug before he released her and moved towards the entrance of the palace.  
Drat!  That man knew exactly what she was thinking!  How could he know?  Had something besides the blush come across her face? 

She glared at his disappearing back, wondering how she could get back at him.  She needed some sort of protection against a man so smart and intuitive.  She had to have some secrets, didn’t she? 

She took a deep breath and calmed her raging temper.  She had to live with this man so it was probably more important to figure out how to get along with him rather than to get back at him for being an obnoxious brute who could read her mind. 

“Can we discuss my plans for tomorrow?” she asked, scrambling after him as his long
, muscular
legs ate up the ground
while
he re-entered the palace.
  Being so much shorter than her husband could definitely have some disadvantages, she thought as she hurried to catch up with him.
  She assumed he was heading back to his office and she was right. 
Unfortunately, several other people were way ahead of her, or had been waiting in ambush for
Hussan
and
got his consideration first
. 
She followed behind him
more slowly when she realized that she wouldn’t get his attention immediately
, waiting her turn while several men rushed up to him, giving him news, documents to review or sign, a paper to approve or whatever it was. 
He really was an impressive ruler, she thought, leaning her shoulder against one of the less destroyed columns in the hallway outside of his office.  She
admired
the way he listened carefully to each person’s concerns, gave instructions or guidance, sometimes asking for additional research and information and then moving on to the next person. 

There were about seven or eight people vying for his attention and she saw the impatience in his eyes, but that was only because she was looking for it.  None of the people requesting his attention noticed or they didn’t pay attention and Hussan did a good job of hiding it for the most part.  She had to give him credit for being available to the people he assigned to follow through on his instructions. 

She listened attentively as he didn’t just hand out instructions all the time, but slowly tried to get each person to make the decisions themselves.  As she watched, she realized that Hussan wasn’t just leading the country, he was teaching the others how to lead.  Apparently, each of these people
were
heads of one department or another.  All were young and eager to please, but not overly experienced.  He was fashioning his government, slowly and patiently through guidance not an iron fist. 

Had she been wrong?  Every moment she spent in this man’s company showed her more and more that he wasn’t the person she’d originally thought him to be.  He was
demanding and hard at times, but not the brutal dictator she’d heard through the gossip mills.  Were the border villages just having a harder time being reached?  Their progress was so much farther behind than the inner cities.  Was there something else going on that she wasn’t aware of?  Were there petty dictators around that might
be
try
ing
to usurp his
control
? 

She shuddered at the possibility of Silaria going through yet another power struggle.  The civilians were always the victims in
s
o
many ways
when a war started.  The elite fought on the front lines, the soldiers were hurt and killed in
horrible
battle
s that could destroy their bodies and sometimes even their minds
.  But the civilians bore a heavy burden when the fighting came their way.  Homes were destroyed, women and children hurt and killed, whole towns demolished and memories lost when villages were flattened
or burned
. 

She pushed away from the column and walked towards her bedroom. 
Suddenly, s
he wanted to help the man.  Wished she could do more for him.  She had to figure out a way to give as much as he did.