At the Sheikh's Command (ebook)

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CHAPTER ONE

“Your Highness,” said the Grand Vizier, frowning. “This visa, while technically in order, was in use under our old system. In addition, the border crossing is remote and its choice is, to say the least, suspicious. I suggest you refuse entry.”
The royal council watched with a mixture of confusion and growing concern as their king, Sheikh Darrius bin Hashim Al Sifra sat in silence, glaring at the paperwork which had landed on his desk. He hated council meetings. He hated the fact he was required to be in an air-conditioned room when he’d have preferred to be hunting out in the desert, and he hated that no one said what they meant. He hated council meetings even more when he was presented with a name which set his soul on fire.
Dr. Leonora Cooper of the University of Oxford was trying to enter his country. He’d known her as Nora—a bright and beautiful university student—who’d been granted permission by his grandfather to do some research in his country. Within days, he’d known her as his soul mate and lover. But they’d only spent a few months together before he’d had to return to the US to complete his education. He’d asked her to wait. She hadn’t, leaving him heartbroken and disillusioned. And now, it seemed, eight years later, she wished to return.
“You must refuse her,” repeated the Grand Vizier. “It’s usual for foreigners to contact the embassy before visiting our country, not simply turn up with an out-of-date visa!”
There were mutterings of disgust from others on the council.
“And, may I remind you,” his vizier continued, “if she had requested permission, she would have been declined it as she overstayed on her previous visit.”
Darrius gave his senior adviser a stony stare. The vizier and his father had been great friends, and he disliked both.
“No, you may not remind me, Ammar,” Darrius said. “And…” He extended his glare to everyone in the room, daring them to contradict him. They didn’t. At least he had the advantage of a reputation of fear and strength, which silenced most people. Most people, it seemed, except his Grand Vizier. “And,” he stressed once more, “she may enter.”
All eyes shot to the Grand Vizier who, after a tightening of the mouth, gave a slight bow of the head, which was contradicted by an arrogantly raised eyebrow. “If that is your decision, Your Highness.”
“It is.” Darrius focused on the papers before him. “That appears to conclude business.” He rose. “You may all leave now.”
As the Grand Vizier was about to walk out the door, Darrius called to him.
“Ammar!”
The Grand Vizier turned slowly to him. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Have a car readied for me immediately.”
The Grand Vizier inclined his head, but his eyes were stony. “Of course. May I ask for what purpose?”
“You may ask, and I’ll even tell you. I intend to drive to the border and bring Dr. Leonora Cooper here, to the palace. Is that enough information for you?”
The elderly statesman’s face would have appeared impassive to anyone else. But Darrius knew it well. He knew what that tight gasp and narrowing of the eyes meant. It meant he disapproved. But he hadn’t needed to see the old man’s facial expressions to know he wouldn’t approve of Nora’s re-appearance. He hadn’t approved of her the first time around.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
Darrius watched as Ammar left the room. He was alone again, which was how he preferred to be, but rarely was. No doubt the old man thought Darrius was intending to revive the passionate affair he’d once had with Nora. He’d be correct. No doubt the old man also imagined Darrius was going to pledge his undying love for Nora. He’d be entirely incorrect on that score.
All Darrius wanted was to take Nora to his bed one last time before he kicked her out of his country for good. Eight years earlier, he’d told her he loved her and wanted to marry her, but she hadn’t bothered to wait out the six months he’d asked of her, and she’d gone. He’d followed, but what he’d seen had made him turn around and go straight home. Now, she’d had the gall to return. It was a shock, it was infuriating, but it was also an opportunity.
He wished to rid himself of the hold she had over his wandering thoughts during the day, and his erotic dreams at night. He knew that there was nothing like a healthy dose of reality to destroy an illusion. And she’d provided the perfect opportunity to do that.
He heard the car draw up beneath his window and strode out of the boardroom. Good, he couldn’t wait to see her again and observe how badly the years of academia had messed up her looks. No doubt she squinted, had hunched shoulders and carried too much weight. He couldn’t wait to see, feel, and taste the reality of her. Only then would he be finally be free.
* * *
Leonora inhaled the hot, dry air, fragrant with flowers from the thorny bushes which clothed the high pass, and looked around at the range of majestic mountains which sheltered Sifra. The view was breathtaking. Her fascination with the country had been sparked during the years she’d spent during her father’s posting as British Ambassador to Sifra, and the spark had been fanned into a flame on her return trip as a university student. She wondered how she could have stayed away from this beautiful country for so long. But, even as the thought entered her mind, she answered it with one word. Darrius.
After she’d made such a dramatic exit, she hadn’t wanted to return because Darrius was Sifra. And then, after Darrius had married, she’d felt heart-sore and kept away. And then, well, the heart-soreness continued. But she’d missed Sifra… and him.
Only a plume of sand and dust hanging in the still air marked where her taxi had returned to the country which bordered Sifra. Leonora hadn’t experienced any problems gaining entrance to that country, thankfully. She just hoped she didn’t have to return to it. She turned back to the Border Control office to whom she’d just handed her papers. They were all in order—if a little out of date—and the chances of further investigation would be less here, at this border crossing in the hills outside the city. Or so she thought. But they sure were taking their time.
“Everything OK?” she asked in Arabic. Again, they looked surprised to be addressed in their language and replied more politely than if she’d spoken English.
“One moment, please,” said one guard, looking back at the computer. He entered her name into a database and then consulted the other guard in murmured undertones which she couldn’t decipher. He shot her an inquisitive glance, and then reached for the phone.
Her heart sank. She hadn’t imagined her name would be blacklisted. Okay, she’d been forced to overstay when she’d last been here, but that had been at the request of the king’s son, and so hadn’t been a problem while she’d been under his protection. Apart from that one potential blip, she was a respected academic and had done nothing illegal in her life, or done anything she’d regretted. Not even when she’d left the man she’d had such an intense affair with eight years earlier. She’d done it for the right reasons. But apparently, Sheikh Darrius, King of Sifra, didn’t think so. Because otherwise, why would her name have triggered an alert?
She sighed, pacing away to the edge of the wire fence and back again as she imagined the scenario. The message would be passed through to the top administration and then there would be a consultation with the king. He’d refuse. Of course he would. No man—particularly a powerful man accustomed to his every whim being indulged—liked it when a woman walked away from him, even if that woman had compelling reasons. And it seemed Darrius was no exception.
In the letter she’d left for him, she’d told him she was leaving because she’d discovered he was to marry another. But that wasn’t the entire story. He wasn’t to know the secret she’d kept from him, nor how her life had shattered into a thousand pieces. She’d kept that secret close—so close few had known.
So she’d left Sifra with her world in pieces, and hoped that time would fade her memories of him. But it hadn’t, and she needed closure. She needed to know she was over him. And she also needed the diamond. Two targets, one stone. By the end of this visit, she’d be able to return to her university, be promoted to professor and resume her relationship with her ex. It was all she wanted.
The minutes ticked by as she paced up and down the narrow space. The clock hanging in the guard’s hut showed half an hour had passed. It didn’t bode well. She continued to pace.
The guards leaned against the hut, smoking, while they waited for a response. She walked away from them and looked around at the mountainous terrain, pulling her scarf further forward to protect her face from the harsh sun, which was growing warmer with every passing minute. She felt as if her life hung in the balance, and squeezed her eyes closed as she whispered a prayer. Without the closure which seeing Darrius could bring, and without the diamond, she couldn’t move forward with either her professional or personal life.
Then suddenly a phone rang, and she whirled around. The guard listened for a few moments, and then put down the phone and looked up at her. Eyes still fixed on her, he exchanged a few words with his colleague. Their words were muffled by the window. He stood up, stretched, and then came around to her, holding out his hand. For a moment, she wondered if he wanted a bribe. Then he barked out the word ‘passport’ and she held it out for him. He passed it to his colleague, who stamped it and returned it to her.
“Have a pleasant holiday, Dr. Cooper,” he said, his eyes bright with curiosity.
“Thank you,” she replied, understanding his interest. No doubt he’d be wondering why she was on the list, and also why she’d then been allowed in. He wasn’t the only one.
She continued on to the waiting taxi she’d arranged. It sat a little apart from the two other vehicles, which, no doubt, belonged to the guards.
She stopped briefly on the ridge and looked down at the ancient city spread out before her. With its ancient, earth-colored buildings, crenellations and windcatcher towers—down which cool air was brought to make the desert city liveable—the city was unique, exotic and made her heart leap. Because, despite everything that was riding on her visit, despite her fears and her hopes, she had the weirdest feeling that she’d come home.
She shook her head. Ridiculous! She was so far from home it wasn’t funny. Everything she’d been working towards her whole life she’d left behind in England. The weeks ahead of her were simply a necessary break in her life in order to put it back on track. Something she had to get over with. That was all.
She walked briskly to the car. The rear window lowered, and she bent down to look in. She couldn’t see into the car’s interior, nor the back of the man’s head, swathed in the customary headdress. He lowered the glass barrier between the front and back seats briefly to exchange greetings.
“As-salamu Alaykum.”
“Wa Alaykum as-salam,” muttered the driver.
“Taxi for Dr. Cooper?”
The man grunted in agreement, and she opened the door and climbed in. She was glad she didn’t have a suitcase, only a carry-on bag which the taxi driver didn’t seem willing to help her with. She slid it across the seat and then followed it, settling into the comfort of the car’s leather interior and air conditioning as the car drove away.
She named a place which had 360-degree views of the city and which was popular with visitors. From there, she’d go to the hotel, but she needed to visit the gardens first. And not for the reasons the driver might imagine.
He gave another disinterested grunt. Despite several attempts on the short drive, the driver gave no response to her tentative questions in Arabic. Either her Arabic had gotten a whole lot worse, or she’d encountered the only taxi driver in the world who was unwilling to talk. At least she could be alone with her thoughts.
It wasn’t until they’d entered the city and police officers held back traffic to allow them to move uninterrupted down the main street that Leonora became uneasy. She sat forward, looking around, and noticed that, not only were they miles from the gardens, but they’d also passed her hotel.
“Hey!” she said, forgetting Arabic. “That was my hotel!”
Still the driver said nothing.
She knocked on the window, leaned forward in her chair for the first time. “Stop! We’re going the wrong way!”
The window between them slowly descended and, for the first time, the driver looked in the rear vision mirror and caught her gaze. She gasped and fell back against the seat. Dark eyes were fixed on her. Dark eyes which used to warm when she touched him. That warmth wasn’t in evidence now.
“Darrius!”
He looked away from her and continued driving. She followed his gaze. They were heading directly for the palace, and her shock turned to fear. What the hell was going on?