The Sheik’s Captured Princess (The Samara Royal Family Series Book 4) (15 page)

After gagging each of the men, she went back around to the driver’s seat and started up again, driving straight into the city.  When she reached the city limits, she pulled her cell phone out and called the captain of her guard.  She couldn’t go to the police station and drop off her cargo, not without an explanation.  Her only option was to drive back to the palace and confess to Jurar.  He would be furious, but perhaps if she were to explain well enough, he would understand.  And maybe forgive her for deceiving him? 

Calling her bodyguard captain when she finally had cell phone service, she informed him of the situation, thinking he could announce the news.  Maybe the worst of it would be over by the time she strolled into the palace compound.  “Amir, I’m on the main thoroughfare heading into the city.  I need you to meet me at the front of the palace.  I have something I think might be helpful.”

Ten minutes later, she was pulling through the palace gates and there was a rush of security surrounding her beat up old truck.  As she stopped at the front entrance, Jurar was striding down the stairs.  Ciala couldn’t believe the look of fury in his eyes.  She hadn’t even come to a stop when the door to the vehicle was yanked open and she was pulled out of the seat.  “Where the hell have you been?” he demanded. 

Ciala put a hand on his chest, remembering how he’d said he liked it when she touched him.  “I’m fine,” she told him, trying to reassure him that she was okay.  She felt a bit of the tension leave his body, but he was still furious.  “And I brought back some men I think might be rebels.  Or they’re just opportunists.  I have no idea.  But they tried to ambush me out in the desert.” 

Jurar listened to her words but he wasn’t able to gather her meaning. 

His head of his security had already moved around to the back of the SUV and peered inside before coming back to Jurar.  “Your Highness, you’re not going to believe this,” he said with an astonished grin. 

Jurar pulled his eyes away from his beautiful, treacherous wife and looked at the ridiculous expression on his guard’s face.  “What?” he growled out.  He was still debating whether to lock his wife up in prison or tie her to his bed for the rest of her life. 

“Come look for yourself, Sire,” he said and gestured to the opening of the truck. 

Jurar peered at his other men, all of whom were staring at the back with expressions varying from amusement to awe.  No one was saying a word. 

He held onto Ciala’s arm and dragged her with him so that he could see what everyone else was laughing about. 

When he looked into the back of the truck, he seriously couldn’t believe his eyes.  There were three men in just their canvas shirts, underwear and boots.  No pants.  And all of them were trussed up with their hands and feet bound with gags stopping whatever vitriol they were trying to spew. 

Three rebel soldiers, bound and gagged, would have been an amazing sight.  But the three men struggling in his wife’s truck were actually the leader of the rebels and his two deputies!  She’d captured the head of the rebels!  His delicate, beautiful wife… the woman he’d held in his arms and taught her to shyly accept his body into hers, had taken down the highest man in the rebel army!  She’d done what his entire military and police force had been unable to do!

He had no words.  His hand still held onto her arm, but there was no strength in his grip as he continued to stare at the three men struggling. 

“Hopefully, one of them might be able to tell you where the rebel stronghold is.  I don’t know who they are or their importance.  They aren’t very smart so they’re probably pretty low on the totem pole,” she was explaining. 

Jurar turned and looked down at her.  Her hands were by her sides as she watched the men struggle.  She wasn’t lying, he thought.  She had absolutely no idea who these men were! 

And what was even better, the leader didn’t know who she was!  If they were lovers, they were damn good actors!  Fayad had been lying!  Damn it, the piece of trash had been lying through his teeth!  All the damn prisoner knew was that his lovely wife was wealthy!  She’d paid him too much and the bastard had given her up, probably to the police as well as to the rebels who had tried to capture her to ransom her off!  Damn!  His wife was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen! 

Shaking off his stupefaction with effort, he turned back to the trussed up prisoners.  “Lock them up,” he ordered to his men.  “Find out what you can from them.”  Then he pulled his adorable, oblivious wife into the palace, all the way to their suite and slammed the door closed a moment before he pulled her into his arms, kissing her with a passion he’d never felt before.  She tasted like sand and salt and she felt incredible! 

His delicate, beautiful wife had defeated the rebel army by cutting off the serpent’s head!  It was only a matter of time before his troops could round up the others.  But he was going to make love to this woman like there was no tomorrow.  Because this morning, he’d thought that there might not be a tomorrow. 

“I love you!” he told her and framed her face with his hands.  “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Ciala!”

His words stunned her.  After yesterday and this morning, she didn’t understand.  “You love me?  Then…why…”

“Because I knew that you’d snuck out yesterday and that you were lying to me.”

She blinked and her stomach muscles tightened.  “You knew?  And you…”

“No!” he interrupted, knowing where her mind was going.  “I wasn’t allowing you to leave on your own!  Good grief no!  I just didn’t think…” he shook his head and rested his forehead against hers as he struggled to explain.  “You have to understand, Ciala.  I don’t trust easily.  After the way my uncle ruled Drakar, the horrible things he’d done, I had to take on this role suddenly.  I had my own businesses, my own world.  Women were in a section of that world and I didn’t let them impact any other area of my life.”

She wanted to pull back, but his hands moved to pull her closer.  “I still don’t understand,” she told him, pressing her cheek against his chest. 

“I didn’t trust them, Ciala.  I didn’t want to trust you.  Initially, I thought you were a spy working for the rebels or spying for Kilar.  I hadn’t figured out which.  But then you convinced me that you were a brilliant historian.  I didn’t want to believe it, but you somehow convinced me.  It was slow in coming, but I started to trust you.”

She pushed away from him, not liking where this was going.  “And what happened?”

He smiled down at her, but it was a bit self-deprecating.  “The police picked up a man yesterday.  He said that you were the lover of the rebel leader.  If I were to trap you, then the rebel leader would come to free you.  That the two of you were madly in love.”

Ciala’s mouth fell open in shock.  “I don’t even know who the rebel leader is!” she gasped.  “I’ve never met the man!”

Jurar chuckled at further proof of her innocence.  Not that he needed it.  “Honey, you brought him to the palace doorsteps a few minutes ago, all trussed up and looking ridiculous in his underwear.”

Ciala blinked up at him, not sure what he meant.  When it came to her, she pulled back in horror.  “THAT was the rebel leader?  But…he was ridiculously easy to catch!” she told him.  “He had no evasive moves at all!  You should have seen him trying to….”  Ciala stopped, not wanting to worry him any further. 

Jurar threw back his head and laughed, holding her close.  When his laughter finally died down enough, he looked at her and tried to explain.  “You have no idea the number of soldiers and police officers that have been trying to capture that man, Ciala.  And you stand here telling me it was ridiculously easy?”  He kissed her forehead.  “No, honey.  You’re just ridiculously amazing!”

Ciala relaxed against him with those words.  “You really love me?” she asked, feeling ludicrously happy. 

His hands slid down her body, resting gently on her hips.  “Yes.  I love you.  And I’m sorry that I doubted you.  I’m sorry that I let work issues take over after we came back from our honeymoon and I left you alone here.  I’m sorry that I didn’t fully understand your need to do research and I’ll make it up to you.”

Her smile brightened with his words and she snuggled closer to him.  “What does that mean?”

He sighed even as he cringed inwardly.  “It means that I’ll work with your guards to ensure your safety when you need to venture out into the world for your research.”

She wanted to jump up and dance.  “You mean it?” she asked hopefully.  “You won’t mind?”

He laughed.  “Oh, I’ll mind!  Definitely I’ll mind.  I thought you’d been kidnapped the other day, Ciala and I just about lost my mind until I’d found you.  So yes, I’ll mind.  I don’t want anything to happen to you.  I can’t let anything happen to you.”  He sighed and looked down into her soft, brown eyes, realizing that the excited light had diminished slightly.  “But I also want you to be happy.  I know that you have a great deal of talent in analyzing and understanding history.”  His hands gripped her waist with a tighter grip for a moment before he said, “I also realize that you’ll sneak out whenever you want if I don’t figure out a way to keep you safe.  So…”

He couldn’t finish that sentence because her arms had wrapped around his neck and she was hugging him tightly.  “Oh thank you!  You’re the most wonderful husband in the world!” she said and jumped up and down, unaware that she was almost knocking his chin with her head. 

She stopped jumping and looked up at him, tilting her head way back.  “I love you, Jurar,” she whispered.  “I didn’t want to.  I wanted to be independent and strong.  I resented you from the moment you…” she smiled, “well, from the moment you squeezed my neck and caused me to pass out.”

He shook his head, his hands moving along the skin of her elegant neck where the bruises had faded.  “Don’t remind me of that day,” he told her and lifted her hand, kissing the faint lines still scarring her palm. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day,” she laughed and curled her fingers back around his hand.  “You found me that day,” she whispered. 

“You ran from me that day,” he reminded her with a gravelly voice that revealed his emotions as accurately as any declaration could. 

“Never again,” she promised with a seductive smile. 

Jurar held his tiny son in his arms off stage, both of them watching as Ciala entranced an audience of more than two hundred.  It was standing room only.  Again. 

This was the third presentation of her findings and every time, Jurar was amazed at how she charmed the audience.  Just like she’d charmed him.  But no one knew how surprising his wife really was.  She could flatten a criminal with a swift kick one day, then charm an ornery diplomat the next.  She was a fascinating minx with a façade of sweet innocence and frailty.  But inside, she was tough as nails, ready to fight for what she believed in, unwilling to bow down to archaic, outdated laws but still the most tender, beautiful woman he’d ever held in his arms.  She was such a contradiction and he loved her more every day. 

The tiny infant in his arms, his son, wiggled his feet as the audience clapped, even standing up in an ovation of appreciation when Ciala’s presentation finished. 

“I agree,” Jurar said to the tiny man in his arms.  Ciala was walking off stage, causing their son to wiggle in anticipation of his mother coming to hold him.  “She’s pretty amazing, isn’t she?”

Ciala smiled up at Jurar, kissing him as soon as she’d moved off stage.  “He’s not taking a nap?” she asked as she took her little boy in her arms.  “Shame on you, Rami,” she chided her nine month old son as she hefted him into her arms.  He was a big guy already and she shuddered to think what he would be like as a toddler. 

Jurar put his arm behind her back, leading her out into the crowd that was already gathered by the stage door.  “He just didn’t want to miss your presentation.”

She rolled her eyes.  “You guys have seen it a couple times already.  You didn’t need to be here for it again.”

He leaned down and kissed her gently.  “I like watching you in front of the crowds,” he told her.

She laughed.  “You like making sure your security personnel are keeping me safe,” she countered.

He shrugged.  “Absolutely,” he replied as if that were a given. 

She looked up at him, amazed at the strength in this man and the happiness she felt each morning when she woke up in his arms.  “I like it,” she told him and lifted onto her toes to kiss him back.  “I love you.”

He pulled her closer, one hand on her back, the other on his son’s.  “I love you too.  Now get out there and answer all of their questions so I can have you to myself,” he growled.

Ciala did just that, but cut many of the other historians off because the questions wouldn’t end if she didn’t.  Besides, she wanted to be alone with her two men. 

Book 5 in The Samara Royal Family Series

Coming June 17, 2016!  Preorder your copy now! 

The tingling sensation was her first clue that something was off. 

Glancing around, Shantra tried to figure out what was causing the strange sensation.  Walking towards her brother’s office was a normal occurrence.  She did it every day.  So why was it weird now…what felt so wrong today?  Something must be going on, she thought and looked around, trying to determine what could be causing the sudden tension. 

But as she passed by, the servants were walking about their business as usual, the administrative staff hurried from office to office or clicked away at their computers, always busy, always looking as if a crisis were about to erupt.  As far as she could tell, everything seemed normal. 

So why did she feel as if…as if…

Shantra shook her head, thinking she was being ridiculous.  Nothing was wrong.  She was simply imagining a tension because…well, perhaps because she was lonely.  Her sister had left the palace after marrying a few months ago.  Her sisters-in-law were wonderful, but nothing could really take the place of a sister.  She and Ciala had gone through so much together but Ciala was in her own home now, even expecting her first child!

She forced her feet to move forward, dismissing the imagined tension.  Nothing was wrong and she was just being silly, trying to find something to worry about since everything was going so well lately.  She smiled as she thought of her spring line of dresses.  She’d been working on the designs for months now, wanting to get them right, needing to top last season’s incredible success.  This season would have to be better, more amazing than the last, she told herself.  Maybe she should adjust the collar on the silver dress.  And the green pants that matched that green silk, perhaps if she heightened the waist slightly, it would look more elegant.  Thinking of the black cocktail dress, the way it draped over….

Oh my! 

Shantra almost stumbled, catching the handle of the door only moments before she made a fool of herself and fell flat on her face. 

He couldn’t be real, she told herself.  Impossible!  No man could look that…whew!  The muscles and brawn.  The man was packed with muscles! 

Shantra couldn’t say that the enormous looking man was handsome.  Nope, with a jaw that hard and eyes flashing like the razor edge of a blade in her direction, this man was definitely not handsome.  Harsh.  Rugged.  Brutal even.  All perfectly good adjectives to describe the man staring back at her. 

The man standing in her brother’s office was possibly the most…attractive man she’d ever seen in her life.  The scar on his cheek and the chiseled facial features could only be described as raw, powerful – terrifying!  Compelling, she thought as her body froze.  And melted.  Heat!  Those sharp eyes captured her and froze her in place but there was a heat that flared out from that look that she’d never experienced before. 

Her trembling hand gripped the doorknob to balance herself and she had a short reprieve as the man’s eyes moved from hers down to her hand which was resting on the knob as if her life depended on it.  Her own eyes moved down to her hand, pulled by the force of his look, then back up and she was once more a prisoner of those dark, compelling eyes. 

He was perhaps ten feet away from her but he had her under his power even from that distance.  She wanted to step back, to retreat, but his eyes wouldn’t allow that. 

She breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes moved, but that reprieve was short lived.  His eyes only moved lower, shifting down her body.  She couldn’t believe what was happening to her!  Men did not affect her in this way!  Men were the annoying gnats that buzzed through her life, trying to get her attention only to be thwarted because they were pointless and annoying, getting in the way of her concentration. 

But there was no denying the tightness in her breasts when his eyes stopped and stared.  And she couldn’t slow her breathing down as his gaze continued to heat up her body. 

When his eyes moved back to hers, there was a higher level of heat, intensity, in that look.  A part of her wanted to shrink back from that look, her body feeling like he’d just caressed her even from ten feet away.  Trembling, she told her feet to back away, to retreat.  But nothing happened.  She stood there, her eyes taking him in even as his own did the same. 

She should feel violated after his perusal.  She should be angry that his gaze had sharpened on her breasts.  She knew that she should speak up and put him in his place, but the appropriate set-down wouldn’t form in her mind. 

She could not handle this man!  He was too intense, too fired up.  But another part of her was drawn to him in a way that she didn’t understand.  She wanted to run away while, at the same time, step closer.  She was like a moth that knew the flame was dangerous but wanting to be closer to the heat regardless. 

“I apologize for the delay,” another voice called out. 

Shantra jerked away, looking down at the floor as her oldest brother, Ramzi, came back into his office holding a thick file folder.  He stopped when he saw her and Shantra immediately tried to step back out of his office. 

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, feeling like the heat was increasing.  Or maybe that was just the ridiculous, childish blush that bloomed over her cheeks.  “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

Ramzi looked down at his baby sister with an odd look.  “You’re fine.  Did you need something?” he asked. 

Shantra shook her head.  “No.  I’m…” she looked around but she couldn’t remember what she’d stopped by his office to discuss.  “I’ll just be on my way.”

“Shantra,” his reproving voice stopped her desperate retreat.

Shantra stopped but the trembling increased.  She knew what her brother was going to do and her eyes pleaded with him silently to not do it.  “I really am in a hurry,” she almost whispered. 

Of course her oldest brother ignored her silent plea.  “Let me introduce you to my guest,” he said, putting a hand to her elbow as he urged her forward for the introductions.  “This is my youngest sister, Princess Shantra Samara.  Shantra, this is Sheik Laithir del Hassam of Piora.”

Shantra could feel the tremors in her body as the man’s name was revealed.  Of course, she thought.  This would be him.  That man.  Now that she had his name, she remembered pictures of him but he had been out of the press for the past five years.  Not him, of course, because he was a powerful ruler, but there had been no new pictures of Sheik del Hassam after, well, after the tragic event. 

Realizing that she was still staring rudely at the man, she jerked out of her silly, frozen state and stepped forward, praying that he wouldn’t recognize her trembling for the intense awareness of him as a man.  Hopefully, he would just think she was shy.  Which she wasn’t!  Normally, she was eager to meet guests, enjoying the company of even the most ornery diplomat or aide. 

It was just this man, she thought as her brainwaves pinged around in her head, making her feel more flustered. 

Remembering her manners, she blinked and focused on the man in front of her, not allowing herself to act the ditz.  Her brothers already thought she was flighty and superfluous.  For some reason, she didn’t want this man to walk away with that same perception of her as a person. 

Squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin, she looked back at the man as calmly as her trembling body would allow.  “It is an honor,” she said.  She knew she should extend her arm, shake the man’s hand.  But she couldn’t do it!  Not with this man!  Oh goodness, she wanted to run and hide!

But that was cowardly, she told herself.  She had to face him no matter how powerfully he affected her.  Just extend her hand, offer a brief, polite greeting and pull back.  Then calmly step out of Ramzi’s office and…run.

Shantra stepped forward but her feet felt odd, as if they were…floating.  Looking up at the man, she realized that he seemed more than a foot taller than she was, but he was most likely only about three inches over six feet.  All of her brothers were about the same height but somehow, this man’s size made her feel small, vulnerable. 

She wasn’t small!  She wasn’t vulnerable either!  She was creative and strong, she knew how to take care of herself and had her own income that she had used to help grow her business.

Of course, these men knew nothing of her work and they never would.  It was her secret world, her life that she controlled and managed without their masculine condescension.  As she extended her hand towards the man, she told herself over and over again that she was strong, that she wasn’t afraid of anything!

But then his strong fingers closed over hers and the heat that shot up through her arm startled her.  She tried to pull back, her eyes flashing up to his, but his grip tightened around her fingers and she was once again trapped, once again vulnerable. 

The man’s eyes flashed and his fingers curled around her smaller hand, trapping her and intensifying her trembling.  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Shantra.  I haven’t heard a great deal about you.  You must be one of Kilar’s best kept secrets.” 

Her brother laughed softly, oblivious to the increasing tension between the other two people.   “Shantra could never be described as quiet, but she wasn’t one of those women that craves the night life or the spotlight.”

The stranger’s features didn’t move in any way, but there was a sense that he was smiling at her for some reason.  She was fascinated by his eyes so she was watching the dark depths and realized that there was a band of yellow around the outside of the dark iris.  But even those fascinating irises weren’t completely black, or dark brown.  Somehow that yellow band made him…no, there was no way that she could say that this man was soft.  Not in any way was he soft.  His shoulders were broad and the hand holding hers was rough, almost as if the man worked in construction or something like that.  Her heart beat accelerated even more with that discovery although why rough hands would do that, she had no idea.

She took a deep breath and stepped back, relieved when he released her hand. 

Her brain wasn’t functioning properly, she thought.  Her brother was talking about something although she had no idea what that might be, his words muffled as she tried to recover from the intensity of this stranger’s touch. 

And then there was silence.  She looked up and realized that both men were looking down at her expectantly.  “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

Shantra knew that her brother was trying hard not to roll his eyes.  “I was asking if you could take Mia’s place tonight for dinner.  She still hasn’t recovered yet.”

Shantra nodded her head, intensely relieved for a change of subject.  Anything to get her out of this man’s presence, she told herself.  “Of course.  I’ll help in any way I can,” she told her brother.  Mia was Ramzi’s wife and had just delivered their daughter, an adorable baby girl with a head of thick, dark hair.  She was a week old and already, Ramzi was spoiling his little daughter.  Shantra’s two nephews were pretty excited about having a little sister too.

“It’s settled then,” Ramzi said and Shantra took that as her cue to escape. 

“If there’s anything else Mia needs, just let me know,” she said and walked towards the doorway. 

And then it hit her.  Dinner? 

She spun around, aware of Ramzi talking about some sort of tariff agreement.  But her brother was looking down at the papers in the file folder while the other man…he was staring right back at her.  Once again, his features hadn’t changed but there was triumph in his look. 

That crazy trembling increased and she reached behind her, fumbling with the doorknob.  It took her several tries and she even stumbled over her feet because the man held her gaze. 

Shantra groaned silently as she exited with the least amount of grace possible.  She couldn’t believe it when she actually walked into the wall instead of the open doorway.  A loud “oomph” stopped her brother’s conversation and she felt both men’s eyes on her.  “Sorry,” she whispered and struggled to find the open area so she could exit. 

It felt like an eternity before she was finally on the other side of the doorway, door closed and relative freedom.  Goodness, she’d never felt like that before.  Never!  No man had the right to do that to her!  She was strong and creative, she was a good businesswoman!  Why had she let a man affect her like that? 

She was leaning her head back against the wall, trying to get herself back under control.  If she’d been more aware of her surroundings, she would have sensed her other brothers walking towards her.  But she hadn’t and her first realization that she was still looking foolish was when she heard, “What in the world is wrong with you?”

Shantra opened her eyes and realized that both of her brothers were staring down at her.  Turk, the second oldest and Minister of Defense, was standing next to Rais, the third brother and Minister of Finance.  Both of them had papers in their hands and both looked like they were ready to take her to the palace clinic for a psychological evaluation. 

She stammered out something, hopefully an excuse, but the words weren’t meaningful in any way.  Couldn’t something go right today?  She pushed away from the wall and took a deep breath.  “Um…Just…uh…leaving.”

Rais lifted an eyebrow.  “Doesn’t look like you’re leaving.  Looks like you’re leaning against the doorway like a ragdoll.”