The Sheik's Secret Bride (2 page)

With a sob, her head tilted forward, resting on his chest.  “Don’t do this,” she begged.  “Please, just walk away and pretend that you never saw…me.”  She almost slipped and told him about Luca but she knew that if he found out about his son, he would never leave here.  Five years ago, when she’d been so rapturously happy just being with him, they’d actually talked about children, about how another generation might give his people hope and pull them out of the war. 

In response to her pleas, he lifted her head and his mouth covered hers once more.  She couldn’t stop him and after a moment, she didn’t want to.  It had been so long, so very long, since a man had touched her.  She whimpered, her hands reaching up and clutching the silk of his dress shirt as if it were a life line.  She held him there, kissing him and waiting for him to lift her into his arms and carry her to the bedroom, to make love to her as he had so often in the past. 

The ringing interrupted them, although she had no idea how long the phone had been going off but he lifted his head, his arm wrapping around her and holding her close even while she snuggled up against his chest.  She was shivering and trying to think creatively about how to handle this situation.  She simply couldn’t be swept away by this man again.  She had to protect their son!

While he spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, she stood there in the circle of his arms, enjoying, for the last time, the strength of him wrapped around her.  This had been her man.  She’d built dreams around him, wanting to marry him from the first moment she’d seen him, the first time he’d spoken to her.  And for weeks, she’d thought he felt the same way.  She’d gone with him, flown out of the country to be with him only to discover that his life was too hard for her.  She had been too weak. 

Zahir muttered a curse as he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.  Callie was still in his arms and she was softer than he remembered, more amazingly feminine and all he wanted to do was ignore that phone call and lose himself in her arms once more.  But the call was urgent and he couldn’t ignore his responsibilities.  “I have to go, but I’ll be back.”  He bent and kissed her forehead. 

She heard the words and felt cold, almost desolate, with his strong arms no longer around her.  But the absence of his touch gave her back rational thinking and she shook her head, remembering all the reasons why she had to be strong and resist him now.  “This has to end, Zahir,” she told him and pulled out of his arms, grateful when he allowed it.  She knew he was strong enough to hold her but she moved several feet away, wrapping her arms around herself.  “You have to go away and leave me alone.”

He answered by swiftly shaking his head and pulling her back into his arms, her soft, full breasts pressing against his hard chest and his dark eyes boring into hers. “This isn’t over and there’s no way I’m leaving you.  I’ll just have to show you that this can work, that the peace will hold.  And eventually, you will trust me, Callie.”

A moment later, he was gone and she shivered at the stillness of the room.  When Zahir was around, the air practically vibrated with his energy.  He was like a live wire and she’d become addicted to his power, to his energy. 

Goodness, it had taken so long for her to recover from that man the first time.

“Momma!” Luca’s voice called out.

Callie turned around and bent lower just in time for her son to throw himself into her arms.  She grabbed him and held him tight, eager to see him and hold him.  “Hi there, buddy!” she said, running her fingers through his hair.  Not for the first time did she notice how similar Luca’s hair was to Zahir’s.  And his eyes as well as several of those endearing mannerisms that only alpha males, or soon-to-be alpha males, could get away with. 

Always sensitive to her emotions, Luca’s pudgy hands moved to each side of her face so he could look directly into her eyes.  “What’s wrong, Momma?” he asked, pulling away slightly so his dark eyes could see her more clearly.  She almost started crying when his lips compressed in that manner, just like his father’s had done only moments ago.  “Are you okay?” he asked, his dark eyebrows furrowing with worry.

“I’m fine,” she said, laughing at how cute he looked.  “What did you do today?’ she asked.

“I read Harry Potter!” he exclaimed, eager to tell her about his day.  “Did you know that he’s magic?”

Callie laughed, delighted with his enthusiasm but more than a little stunned that he was reading something as complicated as the wizard story.  She put him down and picked up all of the mail that had scattered across the floor.  Storing her computer against the wall and her keys on the hook, she dumped the mail on the counter, nodding her head as she listened to Luca describe all of the problems the famous wizard had gotten into on his first day at magic school.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t focus all of her attention on his excited chatter.  Her mind was too amazed, stunned, horrified and….okay, she admitted that she was excited to see Zahir, but she ignored that defiant emotion trying to get through to her consciousness and focused on how she was going to avoid Zahir the next time he came around.  Perhaps she could take a vacation.  Just go away for the weekend?  Maybe he would get the idea that she really was serious about them not getting back together. 

She was busy making dinner when she suddenly realized that there was silence behind her.  She glanced around and saw Luca sitting on a stool staring at her.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, her hand holding the spoon carefully over the pot of boiling water.

Luca’s brown eyes crinkled up with laughter.  “Momma, why did you just pour cereal into the pot?”

Callie stared at her son for a moment, trying to understand what he was saying.  “What do you mean?” she finally asked.

He nodded his head towards the boiling water and Callie spun back around to the stove.  Sure enough, instead of bow tie pasta in the water, there were a bunch of whole-wheat circles bobbing up and down. 

“And I don’t think tuna fish in the spaghetti sauce is a good idea, Momma.”

Callie’s eyes dropped to the saucepan right next to the pot of now-mushy cereal.  Yep, tuna fish and spaghetti sauce.  “Disgusting,” she sighed and her shoulders sagged.  Turning to face her little man, she forced a smile on her face and said, “Let’s go out to eat!”

Luca’s face split into a huge grin and he threw up his hands.  “Yes!” and he jumped off of the stool.  Callie cringed, thinking he was just too little to do that but he was such a sturdy little guy. 

She grabbed her purse and keys and they stomped out of the building.  At their favorite restaurant, Callie ordered a salad without dressing and Luca ordered a burger with fries, his favorite since she rarely cooked burgers herself. 

“Why are you eating a salad, Momma?” he asked as he took a bite of his burger. 

“Oh, you know, just trying to be healthy.”

He looked at her with a knowing glance.  “You’re trying to lose weight again, aren’t you?”

Her lips pulled back into a cringe.  “What do you know about trying to lose weight?” she asked.  She’d tried to hide all of her little secrets from him, including her fear of gaining weight.  She’d been pretty good about it up until an hour ago.  But with Zahir back in the picture, she was suddenly conscious of her weight, wondering if she’d put on pounds lately since she hadn’t had time to get to the gym. 

He only shook his head again and laid a sacred fry on the edge of her salad bowl.  “You’re beautiful, Momma,” he told her.  “Ms. Fisher told me I have to say that anytime I see a woman dieting.”  He nodded his head for emphasis…and then took an enormous bite of his burger.  Callie had to laugh.  There were startling moments of brilliance from this little guy, then he reverted back to his precious, four-year-old mind-set. 

Goodness, she loved this boy, she thought.  Which only reinforced her desire to protect him by staying away from Zahir. 

“So?  Are you going to accept?” 

Callie looked up from her computer, taking a long moment to focus on the woman standing in her doorway.  Ever since Zahir had come back last night, it had been a constant struggle to focus.  So when her friend walked in and sat down in the chair in front of her desk, Callie wasn’t sure what they were talking about.  “Accept?” she asked. Her mind had been far away, memories of both last night as well as five years ago swamping her mind, not allowing her to focus on today’s priorities. 

Laura laughed and took a seat in the chair in front of Callie’s desk.  “Yeah.  Are you going to accept if he asks you out finally?”

“Who are we talking about?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she tried to think back to previous conversations, but her mind was a blank other than the worry that Zahir could walk into this office at any moment.  Was it possible that he knew where she worked? 

Her mind instantly scoffed at that question.  The man was ruler of his country with a security staff that protected him non-stop.  Of course he knew where she worked! 

“The delivery guy!” Laura came right back with an excited wiggle in her chair.  “The one with the buff arms and the smile whenever you sign for a package?  That one?”

Callie sighed as she glanced down at a file on her desk, trying to remember what was going on and who Laura was talking about.  Was there really a delivery guy that smiled at her?  And would that smile be better than Zahir’s?  Callie rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out what to say and do.  Everything felt like a struggle from moment to moment today. 

A voice from her doorway stopped her before she could form reply.  “Laura, how is the design going for the Trundle account?” their boss asked, referring to the web design that Callie had assigned to Laura.  “Isn’t it due tomorrow?”

Laura grimaced but only Callie saw the disrespectful expression.  “It’s almost finished,” the younger woman said, standing up and walking out of the office quickly, ducking around the lioness that managed the company.  Marcia was an amazing boss, always available for help and words of wisdom, and she was fiercely protective of all of her employees.  But she was also a stickler for protocol, emphatic about work ethic and pushed all of her employees to strive for a higher level of excellence.  It showed in their output and in the way the company had grown over the years, but Laura still wished that the dragon lady would relax every once in a while. 

Marcia watched Laura hurry down the hallway for a moment before turning to face Callie again.  “Do you have a new boyfriend?” she teased, completely changing the subject. 

The image of Zahir popped into her mind but she quickly banished that possibility.  Zahir could never be a part of her future.  She’d been too hurt in the past and she couldn’t venture into that country again.  Never! 

Instead, Callie snorted as she shook her head.  “In order to have a ‘new’ boyfriend, I’d have to have had an ‘old’ boyfriend.  And since it feels like my entire world is made up of women and very,” she paused as Tom walked by her office doorway, “strange men,” referring to Tom’s odd habits which included taxidermy and entomology, “it isn’t very easy to find a date.”

Callie leaned back in her chair with a resigned sigh.  Thinking that finding a man who could replace Zahir might be a good idea, she tapped a pen against her nose, trying to come up with a plan of action.  “Maybe I should just use the online dating services.  It would definitely broaden my pool of available men.”  Callie didn’t see Marcia’s body stiffen with her words but she’d heard her friend’s and boss’ concerns about the online dating world before.  “I know that you have several friends who have gotten hurt by the men they found online, but really, I’m getting a bit desperate.”  Especially now that Zahir was back.  She had to find a way to resist him!  She just had to!  Perhaps a new man would banish, or at least diminish, Zahir’s impact on her. 

Marcia smiled gently and sat down in the chair Laura had just vacated.  “I wish I knew of some available men. I’d set you up with one of them in a heartbeat.”  She paused.  “I think what you really need is a change of scenery.  You need a vacation.”  She held up her hand even as Callie opened her mouth to protest.  “I’m now making this an order, Callie.  You haven’t had a vacation in two years.  And that adorable little boy of yours deserves an interesting expedition.  You’ve been saving up for a trip to Disney World for years.  Why not just head down to Florida?  And if you don’t want to go there, then you are going to my parents’ lake house.  It’s just two hours away and gorgeous. You’ll be close enough to Luca’s doctors if something happens, which it won’t, and you’ll be able to swim and relax and enjoy the sunsets with a huge margarita in your hands.  I’ll even give the housekeeper free rein to cook up anything she likes so you won’t need to cook.  How’s that?”

Callie was almost salivating at the thought of, not just a vacation, but a way to get away from Zahir.  Marcia was right about the relaxing though.  It had been a long time.  In fact, her last vacation had been two years ago and she’d only taken Christmas off to be with Luca.  They’d had a good time, but he had so much energy, a trip to a lake house might be just the solution.  He could get out into the sunshine and run around, breathe in the fresh air and just be a little boy.  Sometimes, he was just too smart for his age.  She worried that he was growing up too quickly. 

“I suppose I could take a break,” she said, tapping her pencil against her desk as she tried to think of all the things she’d have to coordinate in order to get out of town quickly.

Marcia stood up and pulled something out of her pocket.  “I’m glad that you are accepting my offer this time because I was going to kick you out of here anyway.  You’re officially on vacation right now,” she said, dumping a set of keys onto Callie’s desk.  “I don’t want to see you back here, for any reason, until next Monday.”

Callie opened her mouth to protest but Marcia was almost out of the doorway but she stopped and lifted her hand into the air, silencing Callie’s protests before she could even start.  “I’m not kidding Callie,” Marcia warned with the “evil eye” her boss and friend had perfected over the years.  “Get out of here.  I’ll even let Laura take over your job while you’re gone.  You’ve been telling me she needs more responsibility for months so now is her chance, unless you take it away from her.”

Callie snapped her mouth shut and glared at her boss.  “You don’t play fair, Marcia.”  But a moment later, her expression cleared up and she smiled brightly.  “But you’re a wonderful person, so I’ll forgive you.”  She was almost dancing in her excitement and relief to get out of town, to avoid Zahir, which was really the only way she was going to stay out of his arms.  He was just that lethal to her willpower. 

Marcia hmphed.  “You don’t know how evil I can be.  If you don’t show up at my parents’ lake house by lunch time, I’ll bring back ten more projects from the Erinson Company.”

Callie gasped at that threat.  The Erinson Company was a nightmare to work for.  Callie worked for FabWebDesigns and normally she loved producing designs for the various clients, trying to figure out how they wanted their websites to look and feel, the main purpose of their needs and giving it to them.  It was a dream job that had saved her both physically and psychologically after she came back from Larcatia and the horrible events there. 

Besides, Marcia was the most amazing boss.  When Callie had first started working here, it had only been the two of them.  Callie had heard about the job accidentally and submitted her resume, had an interview with Marcia the following morning and was working on designs by that afternoon.  Marcia had given her a chance when she’d been a complete mess, trying to mentally and physically recover from a nightmarish period in her life.  At the time, she hadn’t even known that she was pregnant with Luca but, when Callie had discovered her pregnancy, Marcia had been there all the way, almost like a grandmother, excited and protective throughout the whole pregnancy. 

The Erinson Company was just one of those clients that could never be satisfied.  They demanded more graphics and complicated web designs, requesting schemes outside the scope of what the design team would normally take on.  On the one hand, they’d challenged Callie to learn more, to work harder and, in the end, the Erinson Company had praised her work.  But it had been a challenge that she didn’t necessarily want to endure again.  Clients like that were miserable to work with. 

So when threatened with more projects from that company, she gave in without further argument.  “I’ll go!” she laughed, raising her hands in surrender.  “Let me just finish up what I’m doing and I’ll leave Saturday morning.”

Marcia immediately shook her head.  “No.  Take off now.  I know there’s nothing urgent on your task list right now so go, pack up Luca’s stuff while he’s still at Ms. Fisher’s house,” she said, referring to the amazing woman who lived across the hall from Callie and loved watching Luca during the day.  Ms. Fisher was like the grandmother she’d never had with a loving hand and a penchant for making the most delicious cookies.  Callie’s hand moved to her stomach, thinking that she needed to cut back on some of the cookies. 

Marcia immediately noticed the self-conscious gesture and laughed.  “Don’t even try to tell me you’re getting fat,” Marcia teased.  “If anything, you’ve lost weight and could stand to put on a few pounds.  Oh, what I could have done twenty years ago with looks like yours,” she laughed.  “I could have snagged a king.”  Marcia laughed at her joke as she turned and walked out of the office, supposedly heading to her own domain.  She had no idea the impact her words had on Callie. 

Callie tried to pick up the keys, pretend that Marcia’s words were just a fluke, but her hands were shaking and her stomach suddenly felt like it wanted to empty the protein bar and apple she’d eaten for breakfast. 

Would it always be like this?  Even a casual reference to her past and she was trembling so badly she couldn’t even stand up.  Oh, if Zahir could see her now, his black eyes would crinkle in the corners, the only sign of his amusement.  And then he would…

She gasped as the impact of what he would do seized her and she shook her head, taking several deep breaths to try and calm herself down.   Bending over, she took great, heaping gulps of air, trying to banish the image of Zahir from her mind. 

“So…” Laura popped back into Callie’s office and Callie swung her head back up, staring at her friend with wide, nervous eyes.  “Are you okay?”

Laura looked at Callie across her desk and rushed in, setting her coffee cup down on the corner of the desk to hurry around to the other side.  “What’s wrong?  What just happened?”

Callie fought back the tears and Laura’s protective instincts kicked in.  This beautiful woman seemed to be sad more often than not.  And Laura had no idea why.  Men in restaurants stumbled over themselves when Callie passed by, conversations stopped and women’s eyes narrowed with jealousy.  Even Laura would hate Callie if she weren’t so kind and sweet on the inside.  Never had lived a more generous person than Callie and Laura was now worried about her best friend. 

Callie raised her hand, trying to assure Laura that she was okay.  But her hand was trembling and she tucked it back on her lap.  “I’m fine,” she said, trying to actually be okay. 

“What happened?” Laura asked again, this time more gently, but with a tone that spoke volumes.

There was no way Callie could explain.  It was silly really, but just the mention, the mere reference to Zahir always sent her mind spinning out of control, not to mention her body’s silly, crazy reaction.  The actual man, if he could be called a mere man, had a much more substantial impact on her senses.  Goodness, she had to get over him!  It had been almost five years!  She was twenty-six now!  She should be more mature, less crazed when his name came up. 

“The dragon lady said something to you, didn’t she?”  Laura took Callie’s hand, trying to rub some warmth into her freezing fingers.  “I promise you, her bark is worse than her bite.  She’s really an old softy inside so whatever happened…”

Callie laughed and shook her head, reassured that Laura understood that Marcia wasn’t really so bad.  “No.  I’m fine, really.”   And she would be fine!  Darn it, she would be perfectly fine.  “In fact, she insisted that I take a vacation.”

Laura’s smile brightened.  “Good!  You need one.  You’ve been working way too hard.”

Callie laughed as she rolled her eyes with Laura’s agreement.  “I was out of here before you last night,” she countered.

Laura shrugged.  “Yeah, well, I guess I’m just a sucker for a cute guy.  I spoke to the client last night and he sounds really hot.  So I’m trying to impress him a little.”

Callie could definitely understand that.  “Yeah, we need to find some nice, available men, don’t we?” Callie refused to think of Zahir as “available”.  The man was not available or even a nice guy.  He was totally off limits. 

She sat up and took a few more deep breaths.  “I’ll be out of town at Lake Anna for a week.  But when I get back, let’s just make it a plan to find some hot, interesting men for the two of us.  We’ll make it a mission.”

Marcia stepped in and took the file back that she’d given to Callie earlier.  “That sounds like a much better plan than doing the online dating thing,” she told the two women.  “Laura, you’re in charge of the team starting now since,” she turned to glower at Callie, “your supervisor is leaving for a well-earned vacation.”

And again Marcia walked out the door.