The Sheikh's Christmas Maid (Shadid Sheikhs 1)

“What?” he was immediately at her side to help her. “Are you okay? I can carry you up to my room, and we can eat there.”

“I’m fine,” she protested with a laugh. “Just a little sore. I’m sure it’ll be much worse tomorrow. We could bake our mincemeat pies if you want and finish decorating your Christmas tree. Seriously, all those boxes of lights and decorations lying around the living room are driving me nuts.”

There was something strange in his eyes as he looked at her. It wasn’t filled with heat and desire but something else that woke the butterflies in her stomach. “I’d like that,” he whispered.

Just as she finished dressing, there was a loud explosion in the distance. Poppy turned to the window in alarm, and Samir immediately grabbed her and forced her behind him.

“What the hell was that?” she gasped as she looked around him. Smoke spiraled in the distance, and anxiety knotted in her chest. “Oh, my God.”

The door flew open and Melka burst into the room. His eyes swept over them disapprovingly, but he reached over and grabbed Samir. “We’re leaving. Now.”

The man tried to pull Samir from the room, but the Sheikh pulled out of his grasp. “Poppy. We’re taking Poppy.”

“We can’t,” Melka spat. “The next place isn’t meant for three people. She’ll be fine here. They aren’t after her.”

“I don’t care,” Samir snapped. “They could hurt her to get to me, and I won’t let that happen. She’s coming with us or we’re not going at all.”

Melka narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Fine, but we’re leaving now. Grab your jackets.”

Stunned, Poppy let Samir pull her from the room. What the hell was going on?

Was someone trying to kill them?

12

Two days into the new place, and there was nothing but tension in the air. Samir paced the small living room and occasionally glanced out the window. “How could you not tell me that you thought we were followed?” he yelled at Melka. “You didn’t think that I would care about that?”

“You seemed otherwise preoccupied,” Melka responded coldly.

Poppy flinched at the words and closed her eyes. There was only one bedroom in the small apartment in the city. Samir wasn’t allowed to go outside for fear that someone would recognize him, and Melka wouldn’t leave his side, so Poppy was the one running errands. It was nice to get out of the apartment, but she couldn’t shake the fear that someone was after Samir.

An empty cabin near the safe house had exploded. Melka believed it to be a bomb, but he hadn’t gone out to investigate it. “What are you waiting for?” Samir snapped. “I need to know what’s going on.”

“And leave you alone with her?” Melka snarled. “She shouldn’t even be here.”

Unable to hear anymore, Poppy deliberately dropped the box of cereal to let the guys know that she was back. She thought she heard Samir say something under his breath, but she couldn’t hear it. “I’m back,” she said in a shaky voice as she lifted the scarf from over her hair. “I know we can’t have mincemeat pies, but I thought we could still have some roast turkey with a few trimmings.”

“Why?” Samir said through gritted teeth.

“Because it’s Christmas.”

“You don’t like Christmas.”

A lump formed in her throat, but she pushed it down. She and Samir had shared the only bed in the apartment, but he hadn’t touched her. She didn’t push for it since she knew that he was anxious, but she felt a chasm growing between them.

Maybe it was time for her to accept that things were over. Samir was facing reality, and it didn’t include her.

“I’ll go investigate the explosion,” Melka muttered. “You will not leave this apartment. Do you understand me?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Poppy said reassuringly, but Melka glared at her. The past two nights on the couch hadn’t helped his disposition toward her. Not that he would be sleeping anywhere else in such tight quarters.

Grunting, the bodyguard stomped away, and Poppy turned away from Samir. Even if it killed her, she was going to do her best to make tonight somewhat special for him. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she rubbed her hands nervously on her pants. “I know things aren’t easy for you, Samir. Let me make you dinner, and you can go relax. Lay down for a little while. I know you haven’t been sleeping well.”

He muttered something angrily under his breath, but he left her alone in the kitchen. When she heard the door close to the bedroom, she sighed in relief and got to work. She’d only gotten a small turkey breast, so it wouldn’t take long to cook it. Without any of the recipe books from the safe house, she only had her memory to work from.

Her grandmother loved to cook, especially around the holidays. Poppy remembered being elbow deep in sweet potatoes, pleading with her grandmother to let her put marshmallows on top. As always, the older woman would protest and pretend to clutch her chest in horror at the idea of using marshmallows, but she always gave in.

It always ended up being her family’s favorite dish.