The Sheikh's Second Chance Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 5) (7 page)

Lana peered at Mia. "Is this some kind of matchmaking that is going on?"

Mia laughed. "You can take it any way you like," Mia said with a broad grin.
 

Lana rolled her eyes. Lana suddenly reminded herself why she was here, in Qazhar. She looked at Mia. "You know that I'm really here for you," Lana said. "Not to date a sheikh."

Mia nodded. "And I'm so happy that you're here. Maybe, while you're here, though, you could have some fun."

Lana squinted at Mia. "Fun? Trying to keep Malik at bay?"

"That doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world," Mia said.

Lana groaned and smiled. "We'll see how things go. I don't want to be rude, and I don't want to cause anyone to get upset. After all, we are all here for the same thing. We are here to celebrate your wonderful union with Rafiq."

"So, I can ask Rafiq to tell Malik that you and he might go on a date?" Mia asked enthusiastically.

Lana shook her head vigourously. "Not a date! Just good friends. Acquaintances, if you like."

Mia sighed. "I think you and Malik are going to get on like a house on fire."

"Nothing is going to be set on fire," Lana said with a barely contained giggle.

"You try telling Malik that," Mia said. "One thing I know about Malik is, he knows how to have a good time."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Lana asked incredulously.

Mia reached across and patted Lana's hand. "Just giving you a heads-up," she said.

The door opened, and Rafiq leaned his head into the room. Mia stood and went to her fiance. Rafiq looked surprised to see the women alone in the room. "What's going on?" he asked.

Mia kissed him on the cheek. "Lana and I were just having a private girl talk."

Rafiq's brows rose. "Anything I should know about?"

Mia took Rafiq's arm. "Let's get back to the reception before people start asking questions." Mia turned to Lana. "Are you coming?"

Lana waved a hand. "You two go on ahead. I'll catch up in a moment."

Mia and Rafiq left the room. Lana paused before following them. She needed a moment to consider what she'd just agreed to do. Nothing less than spending time with Malik. A dangerous proposition, if their previous encounters were anything to go by.

Malik was a sheikh and very much a man. He was a sheer male presence the likes of which Lana had never encountered before. The memory of his touch made her nerves tingle.
 

Lana tried to shake some sense into herself. She was sure she knew how to handle Malik. After all, Lana knew she'd been keeping men at a distance for longer than she cared to remember. But, that was another thing entirely, something she didn't want to think about right now.

Malik.

She was sure that there were things that she could enjoy while being in his company, even if she was determined to keep her distance.
 

Lana stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. She looked down the corridor and saw Mia and Rafiq walking down the corridor hand in hand. They looked so happy together, so absolutely perfect. They were a dream couple, and the last thing Lana wanted to do was spoil the upcoming next few days.

Being with Malik would be enjoyable, and that would be all it would be. Pleasant. Lana didn't care if Malik was on the hunt for a wife. Because, there was one thing she was absolutely sure of. Lana was not one of Malik's possible wives.

CHAPTER SIX

The reception had finished, and all the guests had left. Malik closed the huge, ornately carved front door and looked at Rafiq. His brother's shoulders slumped in relief at the departure of the last guest. The hallway was quiet. Peaceful, at last.

"Where is Mia? Malik asked.

"She said she had some preparations to attend to for the wedding," he replied.

"At this time?" Malik asked.

"Mia does what she wants," Rafiq said. "That's the kind of woman she is."

Malik laid a hand across Rafiq's shoulders. "You've certainly got yourself a live one there, brother," Malik said.

Rafiq nodded. "I already know that. I knew that when I was trying to get her to become my wife."

Malik gave his brother an appreciative look. "Well, you certainly did a good job of that."

"I am the older brother," Rafiq said. "I guess I was always going to be first."

Malik and Rafiq walked side-by-side down the corridors as they had done so many times before when they were younger. It felt good to walk beside his brother even if, in a few days time, things between them were going to change irreparably.

Rafiq looked at Malik. "Father talked to you, didn't he?"

Malik shook his head firmly. "Let's not talk about that just now."

"Why not?" Rafiq asked.

"It's complicated," Malik said running a hand through his dark hair.

"Finding a wife is never simple," Rafiq admitted. "But it's important."

"I know that." Malik wanted the conversation to end before it became too difficult. The last thing he wanted was to have this kind of conversation with his brother so close to the wedding. He knew how much it meant to Rafiq to be getting married. Even if Malik didn't share Rafiq's enthusiasm for matrimony, there was no doubting the happiness in his brother. And, Malik wasn't so selfish that he would deny such happiness to one of his own siblings.

"If you know why it's so important to be married, then why are you so resistant to the idea?" Rafiq asked softly.

Malik shrugged. "I don't know. I am the way I am. I chose this life for myself. No-one forced it on me."

"Maybe it's time to move on," Rafiq suggested. "There was always going to come a time when you had to consider things in the clear light of day. You couldn't spend your whole life like that, could you, Malik?"

"Why not?" Malik asked. He knew there was defiance in his tone of voice, even if deep inside he knew that what his brother was telling him was true. Perhaps it was time to change. Maybe it was time to move on from the life that he had known for so long.
 

For a long time now, Malik had felt a growing emptiness inside. All those nights, all those parties, the whole lifestyle had begun to wear upon him in recent times. He would never have admitted that to anyone. Because, after all, he was Malik Al Kharif. He had a reputation to maintain, and he had done as much as he could possibly do to maintain that reputation. Even if it seemed that had caused pain to some of the people he loved the most, especially his family members.
 

In his quieter, more lonely moments, Malik had often castigated himself for being a fool, for wasting the opportunities that had been granted to him. He knew that others would have given anything to have what he had. Was it the case that he was just wasting what he had, that he was just throwing things away, ruining what he had?

They emerged into an open area with a fountain in the centre of a cavernous domed enclosure surrounded by tall white pillars. The water cascaded down the ornately carved fountain forming a cooling pool. Malik had often come here as a child, especially when he had done something about which he felt shame or embarrassment. Was it that he felt those emotions now? Was that why Rafiq had led him here? To a familiar place, a space where Malik could be reminded of his own past?

Rafiq paused at the fountain and dipped a hand into the water. He flicked some water across Malik's face causing his brother to grimace and wipe the moisture from his face. "I always hated it when you did that," Malik said with a grin.

Rafiq grinned. "How could I forget?"

Malik resisted the urge to thrust his hand into the water and drench his brother. It felt good to play like this, Malik reflected.

"Maybe father is right," Rafiq said. There was a sudden gravity in his brother's gaze, and Malik knew what was coming. It wasn't going to be good, but Malik knew that Rafiq had no option. Ever since they had been children, Malik had always deferred to his older brother when it came to matters of importance, and now was no different.

Rafiq reached out hand and placed it heavily on Malik's shoulder. "What can I say to you?"

Malik narrowed his eyes. "Don't say anything."

Rafiq shook his head. "You know I can't do that. I'm your brother. I have a duty to make sure that you do what's best for you and for our family."

Malik sighed. "I know you are only thinking of the best for me," he said. "And father is probably right. But there was one thing he said which I find it difficult to accept."

Rafiq's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

Malik turned away from Rafiq. He didn't know how to bring up the subject, but he knew he had to. Rafiq needed to know the whole picture. Malik turned and looked at Rafiq. "Father said something unforgivable."

Rafiq expression became grave. Malik continued. "He called into question something very important to me. Something important to all of us brothers."

Malik leaned back against stone rim of the fountain. He folded his arms. "Father did something he's never done before. He questioned whether I am fit to be a sheikh."

Rafiq's eyes widened. Malik saw the shock on his brother's face. "What are you talking about? Father would never do such a thing."

Malik shrugged. "Well, this time, he did."

Rafiq shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe he would do such a thing. You're his son. One of the most precious things in his life. Why would he question you in such a way?"

"You know he does not approve of my choices in life." Malik felt the cold stone against his back. The sharp sensation ran up his spine, chilling him to the core.

"So, he wants you to marry so that you can take on your role as a sheikh?" Rafiq asked.

Malik nodded. "It's pretty much that simple. Otherwise, he doesn't consider me a real man."

Rafiq gasped. "Why, that's just ridiculous."

Rafiq came to Malik and laid a hand on the shoulder. "You are more of a man than most I have known," Rafiq said.
 

Malik looked into his brother's eyes and saw pride there. "Thank you, brother," Malik said quietly.
 

For a moment, both brothers looked at each other, an understanding between them that stretched back through the years. Malik knew that he could always rely on Rafiq. The connections within the family were binding and unbreakable. Somewhere deep inside Malik knew that his father only meant well, merely wished to persuade his precious second son to make the best possible choice at this important stage in his life.

Rafiq sighed slowly. "So, you're looking for a wife now?"

Malik shrugged. "I guess I am."

"Do you have anyone in mind? Or have I already met the person you might be interested in," Rafiq said, a grin creasing the corner of his mouth.

Malik smiled. "What do you mean?"

Rafiq grinned. "I might have heard something," he said slowly.

Malik looked questioningly at Rafiq. "I haven't made my mind up yet. I've barely had time to think about it."

"Of course, you haven't," Rafiq said looking completely unconvinced. "Mia was telling me all about Lana. It seems you and her were quite friendly out on the terrace earlier this evening."
 

Malik felt his face colour. "How do you know about that?"

Rafiq raised a brow. "Mia doesn't miss very much."

Malik took a few steps away from Rafiq, anxious to put some distance between them both. He needed time to think. Had it been that obvious? Malik figured his attraction to Lana hadn't really been noticed by anyone else. He wondered just how many people knew about it already. He turned to Rafiq. "Lana and I are going to be together over the next few days before the wedding. Anyway, there's nothing really between us."

Rafiq grinned. "So everything is fine then," he said enthusiastically.

Malik groaned. His brother wasn't about to give up. "Lana isn't too pleased with me at the moment. Apart from which we hardly even know each other."

Rafiq shrugged. "That's never been a problem for you before, has it? You have plenty of time to get to know her."

Malik looks surprised. "What? A few days?"

Rafiq nodded. "It doesn't take long to fall in love."

Malik felt his face go pale. "Who's talking about love?"

"Only joking," Rafiq said teasingly. "At least you have a chance to spend time with Lana over the next few days. Mia and I are going to be real busy getting this whole thing organized. Apart from which, this will prove one thing to Father."

Malik squinted at Rafiq. Rafiq continued. "That you're every bit the sheikh and every bit the real man that our father hopes you will be."

Malik heard the passion in Rafiq's voice. Maybe his brother was right. Perhaps it was time for Malik to grow up, to move on. Images of Lana floated into his mind, and he felt the same sensations that had overcome him when she had been in his arms only hours before.
 

The problem was that Lana seemed determined to keep Malik at a distance, a very safe distance. It would be up to Malik to win her over because there was one thing he knew above all else. He would take great pleasure in proving to Lana just what it meant to be claimed and possessed by a man who was determined to become what he had always been destined to become.

A sheikh.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I'm amazed a place like this exists in Qazhar," Lana said gazing around the dark interior of the club. Malik had brought her to this place in his limo with all the pomp and circumstance he could muster. He'd made a huge fuss of the fact that he owned this exclusive club in the heart of Qazhar City. Apparently, it was the place to be seen for the elite of Qazhar society. At least one part of that elite; the modern part that had seized upon the great changes in Qazhar culture in recent years.

All around Lana were the trappings of wealth. Richly upholstered sofas and chairs; a well-appointed bar that stretched the length of the long room; a stage upon which there were some abandoned musical instruments. Soft lighting and soft furnishings. The place exuded luxury and a very Western style of comfort. All that was missing were the roulette tables, but Malik had already explained that gambling wasn't allowed in Qazhar.