Married For The Sheikh's Duty

It seemed at least that part of her story was true.

Zayn vaguely remembered meeting the Italian businessman, known for his cutthroat business tactics. That Amalia had gained a meeting through him did not surprise Zayn in the least.

Was she his girlfriend, then? Didn’t the man know what a menace the woman was to herself? Because if she were Zayn’s, he wouldn’t have let her roam Sintar alone for two months, even if she had been born here.

Nor would he have let her dog the steps of the unsavory crowd that her brother seemed to keep company with. What was her father thinking?

The next thing had been to have someone find him the case file on her twin brother. Which had taken a wasted ten minutes, which he couldn’t really blame on his staff. Lost in the beguiling scent of the blasted woman, he had forgotten to ask what her brother’s last name was.

Finally, he had her brother’s file and a staff member finding the identity of her father. The part about her father was true, too. Professor Hadid was very well known and respected in his circle.

Drug Possession. Intent to Sell. Waiting to be sentenced.

It wouldn’t be anything less than seven years, Zayn knew. He’d been one of the members on the committee who had asked for harsher sentences on drug trafficking in Khaleej.

When Zayn had tried to reach his cousin, however, he had been informed by his aunt in a vaguely roundabout way that he was out of the country. Which really didn’t tell Zayn much. His cousin Karim had never amounted to any good for all his life, but could he have let an innocent man take the fall for one of his activities? It was another headache he did not need right now.

Armed with a vague sense of discontent, Zayn returned to his office.

Amalia—he couldn’t refer to her as Ms. Christensen now that he knew how potent the taste of her mouth was—was standing at one of the tinted windows, looking out into the courtyard. The fading sunlight of the evening drew a provocative outline of her body.

Her shoulders were in a stiff line, her entire stance one of defense and alertness. Despite his preoccupations, Zayn couldn’t stop his gaze from running down her back this time. She was fully covered up, even though that custom had more or less been banned from being required in the last decade.

And yet the flare of her hips, the curve of her bottom, made the pencil skirt the most provocative thing he had ever seen on a woman.

He had met more beautiful women, more charming ones, women who knew how to be seductive and yet feminine at once.

She was none of those things and yet he hadn’t lost his mind over a woman like this in a...actually, never. He did not like anything random in his carefully controlled life and he didn’t like this strange reaction to her, either.

It made his voice harsh as he said, “I have looked at your brother’s file and I have spoken to the official you were supposed to meet.”

She turned around. Her hands wrapped around her midriff, under her breasts, unconsciously pushing them up. “And?”

Zayn forced himself to focus on the anxiety that pinched her features. “The evidence against him is pretty tight. And this is not the first time your brother has been in trouble with the law.”

“I know. But they were petty things.”

“Defaming public property, heading a strike at the university, unruly behavior in a mall...it seems like he was building his repertoire since he was fourteen. I even spoke to the detective who put together this particular case and he assured me that he was thorough.”

“I never said the evidence against Aslam wasn’t damning. I spent two months talking to everyone connected with that arrest. I...dogged every official who was connected with it in the lightest way. Aslam took a package from your cousin minutes before the police showed up. Which, apparently, your cousin knew of.”

“You talk as if you were there.”

“I believe my brother. And my research was thorough. I tracked down the third friend and then fourth. Their accounts of the incident were not the same but definitely suspicious. They seemed to want to help Aslam but when I asked them to come forward, they became slippery.” Frustration made her voice hard. “It’s obvious that they are afraid of your cousin’s connections.”

“Did you not think once if it would be unsafe to find and accost these men? What is your father doing in all this?”

“He is busy with his career and his family, not that I asked him for help. When I did ask him to talk to someone in the palace, he told me he believed in the justice system. And I took acquaintances with me every time I went into new places of the city and never at night.

“I’m independent, Sheikh, not foolish. You, like a lot of other members of your sex, seem to equate the two.”

“Give me the names of these men.”

She nodded, glad that finally she was getting somewhere. “If you tell me when you find them, I can persuade them to speak out maybe. They seemed receptive to my—”

“You will stay out of this investigation and will not continue it anymore, either.”

“I can help.”

“Even though your accusations have no basis, I will check with my cousin. But he is right now out of the country and there’s nothing more I can do about this for the moment.”

“Can’t you command him to return? You’re the sheikh, aren’t you?”

Zayn threw the file on the desk and walked toward her. “On the word of a woman who has told me nothing but lies since I laid eyes on her? Who insists on insulting not only me and my title and my position, but even my government and my judgment?”

Every inch of her rose to attention at his compelling stance. “You’re not being fair. My behavior toward you should not affect Aslam’s case. Not if you were truly intent on seeing justice carried out.”

“That is true. But my hands are tied right now. Return to your job, or your country or wherever it is you came from. There is nothing more you can do for your brother.”

“I’m willing to apologize for my deception, if that would assuage the dent to your ego.”

“You offer to apologize in the same sentence as you insult me again. And there is no dent to my ego, Amalia. You are a nuisance in a very busy schedule. And now I will stop you from being one.”

“You’re forcing me, Your Highness.”

“Into what?” He frowned, not liking the determined glint in her eyes. “I’m making it easy on you. Despite my misgivings, I gave you what you asked for. Once he returns, I will talk to my cousin, although it might be several months.”

“But Aslam would have spent even more time in jail for something he didn’t do,” she repeated, her voice rising. Something like a growl escaped her mouth, and slowly, her breaths returned to calm. “Fine, so be it.

“But if I walk out of here, I’m going straight to the media. To a particularly nasty tabloid paper that is already very fond of you.”

“And what is it you think you can offer the tabloid? How it felt to have kissed me? Will you join the ranks of my groupies, in your words? Will you tell them you tried to seduce the sheikh and failed?”

She went pale. Zayn didn’t feel an ounce of regret. She was veering from nuisance to a bother now.

“No, I will tell them why I found the palace so particularly empty. I will tell them about your Ms. Young and her list of candidates.

“I will paint a very descriptive, colorful picture of what was going on here. That I saw women being brought to the palace, to be looked over by you and to be interviewed by you.

“And maybe, I will conveniently forget to mention the fact that there was a fiancé mart going on over here.” She scrunched her face up, as if this was all a joke. “I don’t know. I can’t decide if it looks bad if I omit the fact and let them jump to all kinds of conclusions like I did or if it is worse that you are picking a wife from a list of eligible candidates.”

“What conclusions did your devious mind jump to?”

“That you were building your own personal harem.”

Zayn hadn’t been shocked in a while, if ever. There were very few surprises in life for him. One extremely unpleasant one had been the exposé by Celebrity Spy! and the domino-like disasters it had started toppling in his life.