The Sheikh's Jewel

The Sheikh's Jewel
Melissa James

Harun smiled—no, he grinned. “Whatever made you think I wanted a wishy-washyYes, dear, of course dearkind of wife?”

In all this time I’ve never seen him smile like that.

Right now, kidnapped and in this strange place, he was all she had—just as she was all he had—and the thought of losing this smiling man, now teasing her and caressing her hand, was unbearable.

“Well, maybe if you’d talked to me about what kind of wife you did want, I could answer that,” she replied, in a light, fun tone. “But right now I’m rather clueless.”

At that, he chuckled. “Yes, you’re not the only one who’s told me that I keep a little too much to myself.”

Fascinated, she stared at his mouth. “In all this time, I’ve never heard you laugh.”

She half expected him to make a cool retort—but instead, one end of his mouth quirked higher. “You think it took being abducted for me to show my true colors? Maybe, if you like it, we can arrange for it to happen on a regular basis?”

Praise for Melissa James

“Melissa James is a fabulous writer who speaks from

her heart straight to the heart of the reader.”

—The Best Reviews

“Melissa James seizes the reader by the heart and

leaves her smiling with satisfaction.”

— Cataromance

About the Author

MELISSA JAMES is a born-and-bred Sydneysider. Wife and mother of three, and a former nurse, she fell into writing when her husband brought home an article about romance writers and suggested she try it—and she became hooked. Switching from romantic espionage to the family stories of the Mills & Boon

Cherish™ line was the best move she ever made.

Melissa loves to hear from readers—you can e-mail her at authormelissajames@yahoo.com.

The Sheikh’s

Jewel

Melissa James

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To my editor, Bryony Green, with my deepest thanks

for all her help as I tried to make the deadline for

this book during an international move.

CHAPTER ONE

Sar Abbas, capital city of Abbas al-Din

Three years ago

‘IS THIS a joke?’

Sitting straight-backed in an overstuffed chair, her body swathed in the black of deep mourning, Amber el-Qurib stared up at her father in disbelief. ‘Please, Father, tell me you’re trying to make me laugh.’ But even as she pleaded she knew it was hopeless.

Her father, Sheikh Aziz of Araba Numara—Land of the Tiger—was also wearing mourning clothes, but his face was composed. He’d wept enough the first day, in the same shock as everyone else; but he hadn’t cried since, apart from a few decorous tears at Fadi’s funeral. ‘Do you think I would make jokes about your future, Amber, or play with a decision that is so important to our nation?’ His tone bordered on withering.

Yes, she ought to have known. Though he’d been a kind father, in all her life, she’d never heard her father make a joke about anything relating to the welfare of Araba Numara.

‘My fiancé only died six weeks ago.’ Amber forced the words out through a throat thick with weeks of tears. He’d been the co-driver for his younger brother Alim, in just one rally. The Double Racing Sheikhs had caused a great deal of mirth and media interest in Abbas al-Din, as had the upcoming wedding.

Even now it seemed surreal. How could Fadi be dead—and how could she marry his brother within another month, as her father wanted? How could it even be done while Alim was fighting for his life, with second- and third-degree burns? ‘It—it isn’t decent,’ she said, trying to sound strong but, as ever when with her father, she floundered under the weight of her own opinion. Was she right?

And when her father sighed, giving her the long-suffering look she’d always hated—it made her feel selfish, or like a silly girl—she knew she’d missed something, as usual. ‘There are some things more important than how we appear to others. You understand how it is, Amber.’

She did. Both their countries had fallen into uproar after Sheikh Fadi’s sudden death in a car wreck. The beloved leader of Abbas al-Din had been lost before he could marry and father a legitimate son, and Amber’s people had lost a union that was expected to bring closer ties to a nation far stronger and wealthier than theirs.

It was vital at this point that both nations find stability. The people needed hope: for Araba Numara, that they’d have that permanent connection to Abbas al-Din, and Fadi’s people needed to know the el-Kanar family line would continue.

She swiped at her eyes again. Damn Fadi! He’d risked his life a week before their wedding, knowing he didn’t want her and she didn’t want him—but thousands of marriages had started with less than the respect and liking they’d had for one another. They could have worked it out—but now the whispers were circulating. She’d endured some impertinent insinuations, from the maids to Ministers of State. That much she could bear, if only she didn’t have doubts of her own, deep-held fears that woke her every night.

She’d known he wasn’t happy—was deeply unhappy—at the arranged marriage; but had Fadi risked death to avoid marrying her?

Certainly neither of them had been in love, but that wasn’t uncommon. Fadi had been deeply in love with his mistress, the sweet widow who’d borne his son. But with probably the only impulsive decision he’d ever made, he’d left his country leaderless in a minute. At the moment Alim, his brother and the remaining heir, was still fighting for his life.

‘Amber?’ her father asked, his tone caught between exasperation and uncertainty. ‘The dynasty here must continue, and very quickly. We only gain from the mother of the dynasty being one of our daughters.’

‘Then let it continue with someone else! Haven’t I done enough?’

‘Who do you suggest? Maya is not yet seventeen. Nafisah is but fourteen, and Amal twelve. Your cousins are of similar age to them.’ Her father made a savage noise. ‘You are the eldest, already here, and bound to the el-Kanar family. They are obligated by their ancient law on brides to care for you, and find you a husband within the family line. Everything—tradition, law, honour and the good of your family—demands that you accept this offer.’

Shamed but still furious, Amber kept her mouth tightly closed. Why must all this fall on her shoulders? She wanted to cry out, I’m only nineteen!

Why did some get responsibilities in life, and others all the fun? Alim had shrugged off his responsibilities to the nation for years, chasing fame and wealth on the racing circuit while Fadi and the youngest brother—what was his name again?—had done all the work. Yes, Alim was famous around the world, and had brought so much wealth to the nation with his career in geological surveys and excavation.

And then she realised what—or who it was she could be turning down. Even though a sudden marriage repulsed her sense of what felt right in her grief for the man she’d cared for deeply as a friend, the thought of who she must be marrying didn’t repulse her at all.

Her father laid a hand on her shoulder. It was only with the long years of training that she managed not to shrug off the rare gesture of affection, knowing it was only given to make her stop arguing. For women of her status, any emotion was a luxury one only indulged in among the safety of other women, or not at all if one had the necessary pride. ‘You know how it is, Amber. We need this marriage. One brother or another, what does it matter to you? You barely knew Fadi before your engagement was agreed upon. You only came to stay here two months before he died, and most of the time he was working or gone.’

Blushing, Amber turned her head, looking at the ground to the left of her feet. Such a beautiful rug, she thought inconsequentially; but no matter what she looked at, it didn’t block out the memory of where Fadi had gone whenever he had spare time—to his mistress. And always he’d come back with Rafa’s smell on his skin, some mumbled apologies and yet another promise he’d never see Rafa again when they were married: a promise given with heartbreak in his eyes.

Amber felt the shadows of the past envelop her. She alone knew where the fault lay with Fadi’s death. Sweet, kind, gentle Fadi had always done the right thing, including agreeing to marry another ruler’s daughter for political gain, when he was deeply in love with an unsuitable commoner, a former housemaid … and Amber, too, had feelings for another, if only from afar. And nobody knew it but the three people whose lives were being torn apart.