Her Desert Protector, page 8
“Me too.” Khalid stared at the wall. “I just can’t remember where. Ryan?”
“Nothing.”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Rafi asked as he and Bobbie entered the conference room.
“Rafi, come look at this. Khalid and I have seen it but can’t remember where,” Malik said, waving his brother over.
Khalid moved out of the way so his brother could look at the picture. “Where did you get that?”
“You recognize it?” Zoey asked.
“Yes, it’s an old design. It signifies a call for peace,” Rafi said.
“That’s it.” Khalid rubbed his forehead. “We found markings like that around the marketplace a while back, not as big.”
“Yes,” Rafi said. “I was talking with the tribal leaders, and they showed it to me in the old records.”
“Zoey, where did you take this?” Malik asked.
“About a block before the building Khalid was using for his security team.”
“Maybe that’s why the men followed you and why we were shot at,” Khalid said.
“Why would you think that?” Zoey stared at him.
“You were in the vehicle and had just printed those photos.”
“Yes, but there’s no way anyone could know that. Only the owner knew what I printed out.”
Malik shook his head. “I don’t believe the owner would be involved.”
“Malik, we have to suspect everyone,” Khalid said.
“But if the symbol means peace, why would someone be upset I took a picture of it and attack us?” Zoey asked.
“I don’t know.” Malik rubbed his chin. “Rafi, would you talk to the tribal leaders and maybe with a couple of the scholars at the university and see if this symbol means anything else and why someone would want to protect it?”
“Sure. It all could be a coincidence,” Rafi said, picking up the photo. “Is it okay if I take this, Zoey?”
Zoey nodded.
“I really don’t believe in coincidences,” Khalid muttered.
She shook her head. “You suspect everything. In the meantime,” Zoey began gathering up the photos, after making sure Rafi had what he needed, “I need to get out there and do my job.”
“And that’s our clue to get lost,” Rafi said, chuckling.
Zoey laughed as everyone but Khalid filed out of the room. He opened his mouth but Zoey held her hand up.
“I know you want to keep me safe, but I do have a job. I’ll take Habib with me.” Khalid crossed his arms over his chest.
“Oh, excuse me,” Bobbie said when she walked into the room. “I was told Rafi was in here.”
“He was. He’s probably in Malik’s office. Is everything all right?” Khalid asked.
“Fine. We’re due at the hospital with Zain for his appointment,” Bobbie said.
“Is that where Catherine’s mural is?” Zoey asked.
“Yes,” Bobbie said. “If you want to come with us, you’re welcome to.”
Zoey looked at Khalid.
“All right, but Habib stays with you.”
“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek. “Can you give me five minutes to grab my stuff?”
“Sure. I need to go find my soon-to-be-husband anyway. Meet you by the front door.” Bobbie turned and left.
Zoey sat back in the SUV as they left the hospital several hours later. Zain dozed between Rafi and Bobbie.
“Is he doing all right?” Zoey asked. The little boy was cute but still a bit shy around her.
“Tired. That’s the last of the doctor visits for a while, thank goodness,” Bobbie said, brushing a long strand of hair from Zain’s forehead.
“How did you like the mural?” Rafi asked.
“It’s beautiful. Catherine did a fantastic job.” Zoey had taken picture after picture. “Rafi, do you think Catherine would mind if I interviewed her?”
“You’re part of the family. I don’t see why she would mind.”
“Part of the family?” Now she was really confused.
Bobbie grinned. “A part of our extended family.” Bobbie glanced at Rafi and then back to Zoey. “What did you have in mind?”
Zoey wasn’t sure how she felt about being called part of the royal family, even as an extended member. It wasn’t like she and Khalid were dating or anything. And she was only in the country for a short time. She wouldn’t correct Bobbie now, but later she’d ask what this was all about.
“Well, I’m thinking about a small art magazine that’s always looking for articles on artists. I bet they’d be interested in Catherine’s work, and it would have human interest since she’s now queen.”
Her idea from earlier took a hold in her mind. What fun it would be to interview not only Catherine, but all the women. How they came to Bashir and fell in love. There were several magazines that would eat that up.
“I’m sure Catherine will be fine with it,” Bobbie said.
“Actually, I’d like to interview all of you.”
“All of us?” Bobbie’s voice rose.
“Only if you want.” Zoey saw how Bobbie reacted to her words. She wondered if there was a story there. “It doesn’t have to be anything formal.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Rafi said, hugging his soon-to-be wife. “It would be great PR for Bashir.”
“I’ll have to think about it,” Bobbie said, as the vehicle pulled up to the palace.
Zoey slipped out of the vehicle. “Take your time, Bobbie. I’m going to go find Catherine and Sara and see what they think.”
7
Khalid pushed aside the report he was reading. It was almost six. Rafi and Bobbie should be back from the hospital by now. So where was Zoey? And why did he expect her to show up in his office? Did she even know where it was?
It wasn’t like him to be so tied up about a woman. He looked at the piece of rope in his hand. He’d been playing with it for the last hour as he read. He wondered if Zoey would let him tie her up like she had him tied up.
She hadn’t resisted on the way to the city this morning when he’d tied her hand. She’d mentioned how decorative she found it. That’s what shibari was for him. Decorative. It could lead to some intense sex. The concentration it took for him to create the knots centered him, and with the right person, it could led to a very deep emotional connection, though he’d never yet tried that.
He pushed away from his desk, tossed the piece of rope down, and headed out. Rafi was in the entryway with Zain in his arms.
“Where are the women?”
“They’re in the lounge talking. I’m going to take Zain up to his room. He woke up long enough to eat a snack but fell right back asleep.” Rafi climbed the stairs toward his wing.
Khalid turned and made his way to the lounge. He heard laughter before he even reached the room. It warmed his heart to see Zoey getting along so well with the others. She fit right in.
“How was your afternoon?” Khalid asked as he entered the room.
“Great. Catherine is a very talented artist.”
“She is.”
“Please, enough,” Catherine waved her hand. “Zoey, I’ll make time on my schedule for you.”
“Me too,” Sara said.
Then they looked at Bobbie, who squirmed in her seat. “Oh, all right.”
Khalid wondered what was going on.
“Great, thank you all.” Zoey picked up her camera. “And don’t worry, Bobbie. You’ll be able to read the article before I submit it, and I’ll make any changes you want.”
Relief flashed over Bobbie’s face. “Thank you.”
“Article?” he asked.
“Yes, they’ve agreed to let me interview them. I know several magazines that would love to have articles about being part of the Bashir royal family.”
“And don’t worry, I’ll clear it through Malik before we do anything,” Catherine said, standing.
Khalid nodded. Not that his brother said no to his wife very often.
“Rafi thinks it’s a good idea,” Bobbie commented.
“I’m sure Hassan will too.”
The three women walked out of the room, chatting as they moved. Khalid watched Zoey fiddle with her camera. Why was she nervous? He wanted to talk with her, and they would need some privacy for that. “Would you like to go out into the garden for a bit?”
“That would be great. I’ve been wanting to explore it.”
Khalid took her by the elbow and escorted her into the garden. “You are more than welcome to explore anytime.” He’d beefed up security so she would never be alone, even in the garden.
Her grin lit up her face. The moment they were outside, she raised her camera and began taking pictures. He stood and watched her smile play around her lips. This woman was happiest when doing her job.
In a way, she was like him, but Khalid didn’t mind staying in one place. With Zoey, he had a feeling it would be like trying to clip the wings of a butterfly. And that was something he wouldn’t do.
“So anything exciting happen while I was out with Rafi, Bobbie, and Zain?” she asked as she took pictures of the flowers and garden paths.
“Not really.” He walked behind her, enjoying the way her body moved.
“Does that mean I can go back to the hotel now?”
Khalid laughed. “Still on that?”
“Yes. Really, do I need to stay here?”
“You do.” He waited until she’d lowered her camera before leading her over to the gazebo. Here they would have some privacy. He guided her up the stairs and then motioned for her to take a seat.
“What has happened?” She put her camera down on the bench and stared at him.
“What makes you think something has happened?” He sat down and turned toward her. Her silver eyes were filled with concern.
“Well, you obviously wanted to talk to me and found someplace private.”
“I did.” Her straight talk made his lips curve up. She wasn’t one to beat around the bush. He reached over and took her hand in his. “This isn’t about why it’s ill-advised for you to leave. Tell me you don’t feel it.”
“Feel what?”
“This connection between us.” He threaded his fingers through hers. “When we kissed I wanted nothing more than to carry you to my room and spend time learning your wants and desires.”
Her cheeks turned pink, and her lips parted. His instincts were right. She did feel something for him.
“And if I do feel this connection?” Her voice was soft.
“Then let’s explore it. I can’t do that if you’re in a hotel.” She let out a laugh, and he continued. “We’d have more privacy.”
“Would we?”
She wasn’t shooting him down. “No one would dare invade my rooms. But at a hotel?” He shook his head.
“If I agree to this?”
“We’ll take things one step at a time.” His desire flared. “You liked what I did this morning with the rope.”
“Yes.” Her silver eyes flared with heat, and he tightened his hand around hers.
“Would you like to explore more?” He would only take this as far as she wanted. It wasn’t like he needed kink in his life. He knew his brothers enjoyed some form of kink, but for him, shibari was enough.
She swallowed. “Ummm.” Her cheeks turned red.
“Tell me, Zoey.” He kept his voice low and deep.
“I don’t mind a little kink.”
“Explain what you mean, please?”
She shook her head. “This is not a talk I thought I’d be having today.”
He let out a small laugh. “I didn’t either, but you’ve been in my head all day. Interfering with my work. I want to explore what is between us. I want to explore with you. I want to explore you.”
Where were the words coming from? He had never waxed poetic before. He also had never showed his heart as he was right now. There was something about Zoey that called to him, something that made him want more than just a casual relationship with her.
“Oh, Khalid. I want that too.” She leaned forward, and her lips brushed his cheek before she whispered in his ear, “Kink-wise, mainly I want to explore more bondage and toys. And I’d love to be your shibari model.”
Lust roared through his body, and he barely held himself back from dragging her into his lap and having his way with her right there in the gazebo. “We’ll take this slowly.”
“I’d like that. I don’t have much experience.”
He stared at her upturned face and waited. There was more, he was sure of it.
“I’m not a virgin, but I haven’t had many relationships. My job doesn’t lend itself to it.”
“Like mine does.” He smiled at her. “It’s been a while for me. As I said, we’ll take this slowly and together.” He cupped her chin and brushed his lips over hers.
A clearing of a throat had him moving back. He turned toward the sound.
“Sorry, Khalid,” Ryan said, standing at the bottom of the gazebo steps. “Jahir has found something.”
Khalid sighed. “Sorry, sweetheart.” He brushed his lips over hers.
“Go. Do your job.”
He stood, then gave her another hard kiss before dropping her hand and walking away. For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to do his job.
The next two days passed quickly. After Ryan had interrupted them, Khalid hadn’t had time to spend with Zoey. Jahir had found a money trail from Kalif to outside the country, and they were following it. Unfortunately, the trail had gone cold.
But Malik had already contacted two different countries that the money funneled through. They were on the lookout, so maybe they’d catch a break.
Rafi had talked to the tribal leaders about the symbol. It was indeed an old symbol for peace, and it was cropping up more and more in Bashir City. No one knew how it was getting onto buildings. Whoever was doing it avoided the surveillance cameras. Was there some sort of rebel faction he didn’t know about? He’d talked with Ryan about it, but so far they couldn’t come up with anything.
Khalid sat down in his office and went over the official list of events for the 300th anniversary. It would happen in a little over a week. There were several parties that the family was expected to attend. At least they were narrowing them down, and only one royal couple would attend each event. The tough one was the parade, which involved the entire family.
A security nightmare. But he’d find a way to keep everyone safe. Any of these events would be perfect for Kalif to attack. But honestly, so far, except for the marketplace attack, Kalif hadn’t harmed any locals.
He and his group mainly targeted the family, trying to get them to leave him and his poppy-growing business alone, but that wasn’t going to happen. Since the drug rehabilitation wing had opened up at the hospital and Hassan and Sara had started doing outreach, opium was no longer as popular as it had been.
Sara had been right. Education was the answer. Khalid was working on that too. Talking with the people, advising them what to watch out for and whom to call. The Bashir City police force, which had been very small, maybe ten men, was now a full force of seventy-five. Along with Khalid’s security force of fifty, things were moving along quite well. The country was blossoming more than ever. Now to keep Kalif and his men from throwing them all back into the dark ages.
“I figured I’d find you here.”
Khalid looked up to see Zoey standing in the doorway. Zoey. In the days they’d been apart he’d reined in his protective instincts and allowed her to go out with Habib around the city. Of course, he’d been in the city working as well, just in case something happened.
“Come on in.” He waved her over, took her hand, and stared at it, thinking of the shibari knots he’d tied the other day. “What can I do for you?” He was upset they hadn’t been able to spend more time together, but his job and hers kept them both busy.
“Sara and Bobbie mentioned a restaurant in town, and I was wondering if it would be possible for us to visit it?”
What were Sara and Bobbie up to? “And what is the name of this restaurant?”
“Wafi’s. They said it was a local hangout, and I’d really like to check it out.”
That made sense. Wafi’s would appeal to Zoey and be great for her article. “I see no reason why not. Let me call Wafi and let him know we’ll be there tonight.”
Zoey smiled. “I better go change.” She turned and disappeared. Khalid couldn’t help but grin. Such a small gesture made her happy. He wondered what else would make her smile like that.
He looked at the folder on his desk marked with her name. Like everyone who came into the royal household, he had had her investigated. But he hadn’t read the report. Instead, he’d handed it to Ryan and asked him to look for anything he needed to know.
Ryan told him the report was clean. But that didn’t mean Khalid wasn’t curious. Maybe over dinner he’d get her to open up about her life. Because he wanted to learn more about the woman he wanted in his life.
After they were seated, side by side, Zoey looked around Wafi’s in delight. She’d have to talk with the owner about coming back and taking some pictures. She’d left her camera at the palace on purpose, wanting to take in the atmosphere of the place before she started photographing it. After she’d submitted her first article on Bashir, the magazine wanted more. And her first blog post ... she’d never had so many hits and comments.
People were curious about this tiny country, and Zoey couldn’t blame them. She was enjoying her time here, and a certain man as well. She glanced at Khalid from beneath her lashes.
This dark, mysterious man. The cliché fit. Zoey had a feeling there was a lot more to Khalid than what he’d showed. She’d noticed he let his guard down a bit when it was just family, but most of the time, he was always alert.
She was also aware he didn’t sleep a lot. Four days ago, she’d discovered she was sharing his wing, and his room was next to hers. The same night, she’d jolted from a nightmare. Unable to fall back asleep, she’d gone out onto the balcony to calm herself. The lights had been on in his room, shining out the balcony doors.
