“Hello,” Irene says. Hamid’s breathing changes a little bit as he stares at her. Alright, that’s working a little bit better than I planned.
Finally, Heather sits, and my brother’s and I do as well.
“I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight,” I say, never taking my eyes off of her.
“All of us?” Irene asks.
“Hell no,” Hamid growls.
“Oh,” she says looking down at her lap.
“Don’t be like that,” Hamid says, lifting her chin so that she’s looking at him. “I simply meant that he won’t be taking you out. You’ll go out with me.”
“O-okay,” Irene stutters, causing Hamid to smile.
“I did just mean Heather,” I say chuckling.
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll admit that I am curious about you Omar,” she says, taking a drink of the coffee the waitress brought over for the girls.
“My lord, we must be going. Your presence is being noticed by the locals,” Tariq, my head guard states coming up to the table.
“My lord?” she asks.
“Ah, I am afraid our time has come to an end, but I will explain that later. I will pick you up at the embassy tonight at seven. Is that acceptable?” I ask.
“Yes,” she responds breathily.
“Wonderful. It was a pleasure to finally meet you,” I tell her, extending my hand again. She takes it and I take the opportunity to lift hers to my lips.
“It really was,” she replies.
I wait as my brothers make similar plans with Sasha and Irene and then we leave. Outside the cafe, I pull aside three guards from our teams, all-female. They are highly trained protection agents.
“Watch them. Keep them safe. Your very lives depend on it.”
“Of course, My Lord,” Aaliyah, the highest-ranked guard says. The other two, Sada and Zara nod in agreement.
“Excellent. Reports to your commanders every two hours. Oh, and don’t allow anyone to touch them, other than their parents. That should go without saying though.”
“Not a problem,” Aaliyah responds. We get into our car and head to our hotel. Home is still about a hundred miles by land and two miles by ferry from here. I have two conference calls between now and seven, but I am anxious to get her alone. I should have taken her when I first laid eyes on her, but I didn’t want our relationship to start out like that. Now, I am regretting that decision. I should have kidnapped her and made her fall in love with me. Then she’d already be mine and this infernal waiting would have come to an end long ago, but I want her to crave me just as much as I crave her. I crave her on a level that I didn’t know I had, and she must reciprocate, or I will have to take those drastic measures.
I’ve waited my whole life, all thirty-five years, to find a woman like her. It is a thousand-year-old tradition for the Sheik’s of Erurstan to be pure for their brides and I have honored that silent, sacred pledge. The time for waiting is over. I intend to wed, bed, and breed her, in no particular order. Heather Faulkner is mine.
God help anyone who tries to stop me.
Chapter Two
Heather Faulkner
The journey to Cairo was long and at times tedious, but we are here now, and I am trying to make the best of it. As much as I love my family, I haven’t had a moment to myself in weeks and I need it. I know that I could have stayed home in DC, but my entire family was moving here, and I couldn’t be without them for three years while my father serves at the pleasure of the president. My mom had the idea to make it a month-long trip around Europe before arriving in Cairo. At first it was fun, but as time dragged on, I got bored.
Of course, I noticed who I now know to be Omar in Athens at several tourist spots and didn’t think anything of it, but then I saw him where we had dinner. Honestly, how could I not notice him? He’s gorgeous. Commanding. I was drawn to him without knowing him. I couldn’t figure out why he was there, at a tiny hole in the wall restaurant outside of Athens when there are tons of restaurants in the city. That was the first night I dreamed of him. I’ve seen him at least once every day since then. Today, I had the overwhelming urge to know him. I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence that he was in the cafe, sitting there like he owned the place. When I walked up to him, I felt a burst of confidence like I’ve never had before.
A quick internet search brought up Omar Iben Shah, Sheik, or leader, of an island nation, Erurstan. It’s no wonder he knows all about me. He has the power to find out anything he wants to about me. Why does that turn me on? I remember studying this island my freshman year in college. Rasul was sheik then. Omar is thirty-five and he’s never been married. He has two younger brothers, I met them earlier. His official portrait is so sexy. So stately, majestic. He’s going to be important to me, I can feel it. What the hell does a man like that want with a woman like me? Honestly, I can’t wait to find out. Whatever it is: a quick fuck or forever, I’m down. He’s awakened something inside of me. Something dark and dangerous. Something I want to explore. I am dressed in the cutest dress I own, a below the knee black dress, with bright yellow flowers on it and black ballet flats. I don’t know where we are going, but a dress is both dressy and casual in my opinion. I’m trying to be respectful of the people in this country as I am a guest, but I honestly don’t know how they do it. It’s almost dark, but it’s still hot as hell. This headscarf is going to be the death of me. It’s the lightest material I could find, but still, it’s stifling.