Sheikh's Possession (12 page)

He took a deep breath before continuing. "I will be honest, I am not proud of that. I was only desperate for you …"

"And when we came back, when you ignored me? Why was that?"

Instead of responding, he reached for his phone. After a few flicks of his finger, he showed it to her.

Bemused, she found that he had turned the screen to an international headline, one that read "Financial Disaster Averted by Swift Action of UAE Talks." The blurb talked about a crisis that had involved most of the UAE along with many neighboring countries, and in the photo that was taken of the accords, she could see a man that she quickly recognized as Rasul standing in the center, addressing the delegates.

"That's you," she said with surprise.

"It is," he said. "And when I tried to contact you when I could, my messages hung up. They were all undelivered when I finally thought to check on it."

"You … during all this, you tried to contact me?"

"I did. It was a special kind of terrible when my Minister of Finance contacted me before I had even sat down. My presence was needed immediately. I had hoped you would understand."

Berry felt her cheeks burn as she realized exactly what had happened.

"But I didn't," she said slowly, "Because of my own damn insecurity, and because Farnsworth … Oh my God  …"

Suddenly, she couldn't stop shaking. It felt as if all of the emotions that she had been trying to control for the past few days came roaring up on her. She could feel tears in her eyes, but she could also feel a certain lightness to her heart as well, as if a weight that had been on it had finally lifted away forever.

Rasul's arms came around her, holding her tight, and he lowered them both down until they were sitting in the swing again, this time with her on his lap.

"Will you listen to me now?" he asked, and unable to reply, she nodded.

"You were always more to me than what we could do to each other in bed. When I first saw you in the souk, I would have done anything to get your attention, to make sure that I could see you and speak with you. We spoke, and we sparked off of each other like flint on steel. You disappeared, and I thought that I would never see you again.

"Then at the party, I felt my heart beating out of my chest because there you were, but when I saw you on Farnsworth's arm, I thought you were doubly lost to me. Then, miracles of miracles, there was a chance to see you, to spend time with you.

"Perhaps it was foolish and crude of me to seize on the chance that was offered the way I did, but I did as my heart told me to do, and right now, I have no regrets."

"Rasul …"

"Shh, a little longer, and I will let you say what you need. Right now, simply listen to me."

She swallowed hard, subsiding into silence. Something inside her felt as if it were breaking apart.

"I knew what Farnsworth was trying to do. I knew from the beginning. Men like him make offers to me all the time, and those offers are worth nothing to me, nothing at all. What was far more important was the woman in front of me, and, Berry, please, you must believe me when I say that there was nothing in my head about buying you or taking you. I only wanted … to worship you."

Berry sucked in her breath at his use of that word, the one that had caused them to fall together in the first place while biting and snapping like cats and dogs.

"Worship," she said with wonder, and he smiled a little.

"Yes, worship. Because, Berry, when I look at you … I see a future I had only imagined before. I see the woman I want to treat as the sun in my sky and the moon in my night. I want to love and protect you for all of my days, if only you will allow it. Since the beginning, I have known that you were special. After just a little bit of time with you, I know how truly special you are."

He took a deep breath. For a moment, Berry was reminded of warriors bracing themselves for battle.

"Berry. I love you. I love you with all of my soul. Please, will you stay in Alamun? Will you be my queen?"

Tears started in her eyes, and blindly, she reached for his hands. She was shaking, and at first, she could barely get the words out.

"Yes … oh yes, Rasul, I love you … with all my heart. I love you, I love you …"

She found herself crushed against his broad chest as he embraced her, tilting her face up so he could kiss her.

We will do this forever,
she realized, her heart opening with joy.
This is forever …

As she looked up into his clear gray eyes, she knew that this love would only grow, that she had finally met the man who would treat her as his goddess, the light of his life.

THE END

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Royal’s Wedding Secret

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By: Sophia Lynn

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Copyright 2015-2016 Sophia Lynn

CHAPTER ONE

New York City, Now

Marnie froze, which was very awkward given the fact that she was currently hovering over the cheese tray in the rear corner of the bookshop. She had wanted to make sure that she got some cheese and some grapes before the rest of the crowd realized that there was free food, and she thought she had done quite well for herself before she turned around and caught sight of the dark-haired man closer to the front of the room.

It really can't be him, can it?

She told herself that it was foolishness. There was no way it could be Philip, none whatsoever, but the longer she watched, the more she recognized the man's way of standing, the tilt of his head, even the way he raked his fingers through his thick, dark hair as he spoke.

Cassie elbowed her in the ribs. "Marnie, you really need to step aside and let someone else—oh hello, that's nice, isn't it?"

Her best friend offered the object of Marnie's regard an appreciative look, but when she glanced back at Marnie, it was clear that Marnie wasn't just appreciating a handsome man.

"Look, I know you've not managed to get out for a while, but seriously, we're in New York. There are lots more handsome men around, though I have to admit, the one that you're eying up is pretty impressive. What gives?"

Marnie recovered enough to step back from the table. Without thinking of what she was doing, she stuck herself behind a shelf of travel books. She was short, and it hid her quite well, but still she had to resist the urge to crouch down.

"I know there are more handsome men out there, but this is one that I know." When Cassie still looked a little confused, Marnie winced. "He's one that I know
intimately.
"

"Oh my, one of those situations, eh? Well, what do you want to do? Want me to start talking loudly about politics so you can make your getaway?"

Marnie bit her lip. If she were being practical and sensible, there would be nothing smarter than to take Cassie up on her offer. Cassie was a good friend, and the only thing she liked more than having a good time with her friends was causing a scene.

However …

It was Philip.

Some people enter your life and write their initials on it. Over time, their initials might become eroded or worn away entirely. When it came to Philip, he hadn't just initialized her rock. He had blasted his full name into it, and some days, the letters looked as if they had been cut yesterday.

"I don't know," she said, but then he turned towards her. If she had had any doubts that it wasn't Philip, the man's nearly black eyes would have blown those doubts away. She had never known anyone with eyes that dark, and as always, it was a struggle to avoid drowning in them.

The moment he saw her, he started cutting through the crowd to get to her, and Cassie tensed.

"So what's the plan? Do I trip him so you can make it through the fire exit?"

"There's no plan," Marnie said faintly, but then what else was new? When it came to Philip, there never was.

***

New York City, Six Years Ago

Marnie had been minding her own business, but if she were being honest with herself, that had never saved anyone. She was as wary and mistrustful as any native New Yorker, but the truth was that you simply couldn't be on guard all the time. That spring day, she had had nothing on her mind more pressing than getting down the street to the café to do some writing. Her small laptop was zipped securely in its bag, safe from theft, but apparently, she had left her wallet in the open front pocket.

The thief saw it, and apparently, it was too good to pass up. In another world, the thief got an easy wallet, she cursed her absentmindedness, and Philip Demarier kept right on walking. She didn't live in that world, however.

The thief plucked her wallet out of her bag, but somehow, at the last minute, his arm got tangled in the strap. Marnie was pulled back with a hefty yank, and thanks to years of martial arts training, she spun around and got her fists up to defend herself and to also make anyone who threatened her very, very sorry.

At that point, the thief wanted nothing more than to get away, but somehow he had gotten even more tangled in her strap. Marnie, who was not entirely sure what was going on, yanked backwards, making things worse, and at that point, she still had no idea he wanted her wallet.

They were both shouting at each other, unwilling to give a single inch, and that was when Philip intervened.

To Marnie's view, a tall, striking man stepped up and grabbed her strap with one hand, while grabbing the thief's arm with the other. With a surprisingly deft move, he pulled them apart, and when the thief tried to melt into the crowd, Philip shook him just enough to make him quit.

"What the hell is going on?" Marnie sputtered, which in retrospect was not the most charming thing she had ever said to a handsome man.

"This man was trying to pick your pocket," Philip replied, a slight note of humor in his voice. "If it helps, I wasn't trying to do anything but help. You, not him, if there's any confusion."

A policeman had been found surprisingly quickly, and then it was just Marnie and Philip standing in the middle of the pavement while people crowded around them.

"Oh, let's get out of the center of the sidewalk, people are trying to walk," she said.

Without thinking of what she was doing, she hooked her arm through his and tugged him into the slight protected area right next to a building. Now that she was calming down, she was startled to see how truly handsome her rescuer was. He towered over her own five feet nothing, and his black hair and black eyes combined to give him a compelling attraction. His face was stern, but his lips were sensual. When he smiled, he sent a shiver up her spine.

"Are you all right?" he asked, and his voice was like chocolate—rich and dark.

"I'm just fine, thanks for the assist," she said. Now that it was over, she was a little shaky, but she wasn't sure if that had more to do with the theft or the man who had helped her.

She patted her bag, startled when she realized that she couldn't find her wallet, the subject of all of this fuss.

"Oh god, I think I lost …”

Marnie blinked when he held her wallet up to her.

"I saw it hit the ground, and I figured that the last thing that you wanted was to go rummaging underneath the foot traffic to find it."

"Yeah, that's a good way to get trampled," she said ruefully, taking the wallet from him.

"I have been in stampedes that were calmer than Manhattan sidewalks," he said with a slight smile, and she realized that while his English was perfect, there was a certain crispness to his words that made her think of Switzerland and Germany.

"Have you been in that many stampedes?" she asked. She wondered if she sounded like an idiot.

At the age of twenty, she had had the odd boyfriend, but she always seemed to fall into relationships rather than have them occur with any planning. She was short, her black hair hanging free to her shoulders, and curvy, but most people would likely say that her best features were her dark blue eyes. Marnie knew that she wasn't bad looking by any stretch, but she wasn't really the type to pick handsome men off the street.

He shrugged. "I've run with the bulls in Pamplona. That's about as close as I care to get."

It sounded like a story or a myth, but he said it as if it was as normal as going to Brooklyn for some really good pastry. Marnie's eyes widened, and suddenly her fascination was deeper than simply for his looks.

"Wow, that sounds amazing," she said. "Look, have you got some time? I'd love to pick your brain all about that, and I could buy you some food for your trouble. Oh, and to say thank you for the help, too, of course …"