Sheikh's Revenge

This one specialized in necklaces but they weren’t thin by any means. They were what her mother always called statement pieces, collars almost more than necklaces, bedecked with jewels upon jewels. Even the filigree-style necklaces were stacked, with several layers twisting and curling together until one, intricate design would lay down over a whole throat and her chest as well. These were the types of necklaces worn by starlets on the red carpet or the wealthy at Monaco. She was neither of those things, and she’d done nothing to deserve it.

“You can. I want to do this for you, Addy. You’ve had so much sadness this year.”

“It’s been so much better since I met you,” she admitted. “It’s been everything I ever dreamed it could be.”

“Then pick one necklace and think nothing of it. Believe me when I say that I and my family have more money than I can spend in five lifetimes,” he said, his golden eyes brimming with honesty. “I want you to have something beautiful, something that is almost as beautiful as you are.”

“I…”

“Please. If you’re reluctant, then I’d like to tell you that in my culture, it’s considered rude to refuse a gift. It assuredly is.”

She nodded and felt her breath catch in her throat. It was almost as if she needed sunglasses to wade through all the brightness of the shimmering gold. She listened as the stall owner—a small, wizened man—and Zahir haggled a bit in Arabic. The stall owner then unlocked one necklace from his collection and brought it forth for her to try it on.

Golden teardrops.

The intricate loops of gold swirled around each other until they fell low against, but each teardrop wasn’t just made of gold. They fell into fat green stones, the emeralds dripping from it were stunning, and to be fair, would have looked amazing with the corset dres

s she’d worn the first time they’d ever met.

Somehow it had that Victorian feel to it. Perhaps it was the intricacy of the design overall.

“It’s perfect for you,” he said, even as he took the necklace from the shop owner and draped it over her neck. He clasped it shut, and she couldn’t help but blush at the wealth she displayed. It wasn’t heavy, but it felt like it should be, considering how much gold and how many precious stones hung around her neck. “You look like the sheikha you could be.”

She grinned, even at the hint that Zahir might one day make all of this permanent.

Her fingers seemed to reach up of their own accord and stroke the gold around her throat. “It’s exquisite.”

“It’s perfect. Take it, please. After all, what’s the point of having a sheikh for a boyfriend if he can’t spoil you?”

She stilled, unsure she’d actually heard him. “What?”

Zahir took the necklace back off and passed it to the merchant, barking orders to him in rapid-fire Arabic. The little man rushed off to pack the necklace away safely and, she assumed, prepare a receipt.

“What? I don’t know if I understand the question.”

“I just…did you really say boyfriend?” she asked, her heart beating as fast as a rabbit’s. There was no way she’d heard that—that so much good was happening to her finally. “It’s okay if you didn’t mean to. It’s really alright. I understand if you didn’t mean to say it and it just slipped out. I mean, just the other day I found myself humming this annoying Beiber song in front of my brother…well on Skype. It’s really—”

Soft lips were on her own, and when they finished kissing, those familiar and amused golden eyes were regarding her as well. “Trust me, Addy, I want this to be a full relationship. You’re the girlfriend of the sheikh of Dubai, and you deserve to be festooned like the queen I see you as.”

Well, damn, how can a girl argue with that?

***

“I still feel like I have to thank you about a billion more times so I don’t feel guilty about having more emeralds than I can probably count around my neck,” she said.

He watched as she gestured to her throat as if he’d be confused by what sartorial item she meant. They’d gone back to the palace that night, and then he’d spent what felt like years making love to her with that gorgeous set of jewels around her throat. Part of him found this guilt complex of her annoying, but another part of him was amused by it. Maybe it was some Bostonian family values thing. Seriously, it was merely a trinket’s cost to him. He wanted her to be happy, to feel and look as regal as he already viewed her. Maybe soon his lovely redhead could have the confidence to see herself the way he did.

“And it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made.”

“I just can’t believe the month or so I’ve had. Everything was horrible with Mr. McDermott, and now it’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven. You’re a great boss at work and you’re a caring boyfriend,” she said, stretching out the word boyfriend and winking at him. “I think I won the lottery. It feels that lucky.”

Zahir leaned over and ran his finger over her bare shoulders, tracing an imaginary lattice work that only he knew the true pattern to. “Maybe you deserved it.”

“Well, at least I’m not kicked in the face all the time. The further I get from what happened, the more I realize what my twin was trying to tell me all along. Mr. McDermott really was an ass. He had the whole office terrified of him, everyone stressed and popping Tums and everything else to deal with the indigestion and ulcers he was giving people. You’re kind to everyone.”

“Some people think it’s better to be feared than loved. I think it’s better to show your employees the respect you wish to have from them.” He leaned lower and trailed a tongue over the soft curve of her neck, suckling eagerly at her pulse point. He loved when he was able to mark her, to draw up the small bruises and love bites on her skin. It was hard to maneuver a clear spot around her necklace, but Zahir was determined and he managed well enough. “There’s not finite amount of kindness, and I think there’s no problem with showing it first. Clayton doesn’t see it that way.”

“He doesn’t respect anything but himself,” she said. “I…I think I helped him do some very bad things. I mean, not just me. I think that most of the secretarial pool knew that when we were taking calls and noting down orders, especially in the overseas deals, that the numbers didn’t add up.”