Beauty and the Sheikh (7 page)

His expression darkened. “Your brother is being brought to the palace.”

Holly was off the bed in a flash, rushing toward the door with her heart pounding a mile a minute with excitement.

Rafiq caught her arm and swung her around before she could leave the room. “I can see where you and your brother have your similarities. Both of you are brazen enough to try and force your way into my palace. Apparently he slipped away from the guard escorting him to the airport.” 

“Please, let me see him, Rafiq,” she pleaded huskily. “I have to know he’s all right.”

“Still you think he has been mistreated?” Irritation flashed across his face. “He is quite well, Holly, and he is only being allowed to see you—and briefly at that—because I have made the allowance.”

She swallowed her pride and gave an acquiescent nod. “Of course. Thank you.”

“Holly!” Her brother’s voice carried through the halls of the palace. Strained and angry.

“Rafiq.” She tugged at her arm, trying to free herself. “Please.”

“Remember,
habiba
—” he quieted his words, “—that you must be very convincing in your appearance that you are my lover now.”

He couldn’t be serious. Her stomach sank. “Even to my own brother?”

“Especially to him.” Rafiq leaned closer. “If he suspected for one moment what the truth is, who’s to say he wouldn’t take it to the nearest media outlet?”

There was truth to Rafiq’s words, she acknowledged silently. Also, if Andrew realized what she’d given in exchange for his freedom, he’d never agree, would probably demand to be placed back in jail instead.

“All right. I’ll be…convincing.” She nearly choked on that last word.

 “I have no doubt.” His gaze slid to her mouth. “One thing before we see him.”

“What is it?”

“This.” 

His mouth covered hers. Hard and demanding, no slow seduction this time but a blatant move to show her she was truly his possession now.

So shocked by the suddenness of the sensual attack, Holly couldn’t even bring herself to struggle against the heat and need that spilled from the broken dam inside her. She forgot where she was and the circumstances that had brought her here. For just a moment she drowned in Rafiq’s incendiary kiss.

When he lifted his mouth from hers, she had to tighten her grip on his shoulders to keep from stumbling.

His gaze was dark with heated possessiveness. “Perfect. That will help the situation appear more believable.”

Ouch
. For a moment she’d thought he’d been caught up with the need to touch her again, that maybe he’d thought about her throughout the day as much as she had him. 

But no, he’d simply wanted to give the appearance of a lovers’ tryst interrupted, and now with her swollen mouth and flushed cheeks, it was entirely believable.

“Come.” He tugged her from the room and closed the door behind them. He called out instructions in Arabic, and a moment later her brother rushed down the hallway, bracketed by guards.

Relief seeped through her and she cried out his name and ran into his arms.

“Holly, sweetheart.” He caught her immediately, drawing her into a protective embrace. 

“Are you okay, Andrew?” She pulled away after a moment to glance him over. 

His clothes were rumpled and his eyes were bloodshot, but he looked otherwise well. Had he been drinking since his release? Her stomach knotted at the possibility.

“God, Holly, what are you even doing in Raljahar?” Andrew’s gaze slid over her, lingering on her mouth. “What has this monster done to you?”

His choice of words did have her flinching this time, and without turning around she could feel the dangerous ferocity radiating off of Rafiq.

“Done to me?” She tried to keep her tone light and followed it with an easygoing laugh. “Nothing. Rafiq is a friend.”

“A friend?” Andrew’s mouth twisted and he gave a snort of disbelief. “I don’t believe that for a second, little sis.”

“Then for once you are wise,” Rafiq’s steely words cut through the air. “Because our relationship exceeds the bounds of friendship, wouldn’t you agree,
habiba
?”

Holly bit the inside of cheek, then gave a slow nod. Of course he would accept nothing more than her agreement that she was his lover. She turned to face Rafiq once more and when he held out a hand in a clear gesture for her to return to his side, she really had no other choice.

It was meant to display power, to prove his hold on her. And it worked.

Extracting herself from her brother’s embrace, she returned to Rafiq. His arm slid around her waist in a deliberate show of possession.

“You bastard.” Andrew lunged forward, but was restrained by Rafiq’s men. “My sister would never become involved with someone like you.”

When Rafiq’s guards moved toward Andrew threateningly, Rafiq waved them back.

“You would do well to remember to whom you speak to,” he reminded the younger man, not raising his voice, but the hint of menace was enough to get his point across. “You are still in my country, being uncommonly released after committing a crime that is punishable by nearly a decade in prison.”

Andrew’s face leeched of color and he stumbled back, the fight seeming to seep from him.

“It’s true your sister came to Raljahar to plead for your release,” Rafiq said, keeping his tone glacial. “But it is not the first time we’ve met, and since her arrival, our relationship has picked up where it previously left off.”

Andrew’s mouth gaped and he looked from Holly to Rafiq in dismay. 

Believe him, Andrew. Just believe him. 

“Is this true?” Andrew asked his sister unevenly. “You’re involved with the Sheikh?”

Holly was silent for a moment and beneath his touch Rafiq felt her muscles tighten. Would she back out of their agreement? Falter now with her brother so near?

His gut twisted at the possibility of her walking away—of her trying to find a loophole in their bargain. 

“Yes, it’s true,” Holly said huskily after a moment’s pause. “We met back when I was modeling. The circumstances we parted under weren’t ideal…” She paused. “When I returned to Raljahar to plead your case, I realized how much I still cared for Rafiq. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to finally be able to make amends.” 

Nearly struck dumb by how convincing an appearance Holly was putting on, Rafiq allowed an intimate smile onto his face as he stared down at her. But not for one moment did he convince himself Holly ever had, or ever would, care for him.

She’d been as skilled an actress then as she was today.

“And I enjoy the way you make your amends.” He lifted her hand and traced her knuckles. 

Her cheeks filled prettily with color and he heard the hitch in her breathing, but her eyes held the faintest bit of resentment when she met his gaze.

The clearing of a throat had them both turning back to Andrew, who was watching them both closely but with less skepticism.

“You’re serious then?” Andrew pressed on almost hopefully, his gaze darting between the two of them. “You haven’t just struck some deal with the guy for my benefit, have you, Holly?”

Her fingers clenched around Rafiq’s but she gave a small, easygoing laugh. “Please, Andrew. That would be ridiculous. It’s not like you to be so dramatic.”  

“So, that’s it?” Andrew asked with obvious confusion. “You’re just letting me go? Why would you do that?”

“Because you mean the world to your sister, and she means a good deal to me. You were a free man when you left the jail hours ago, Mr. Gray,” Rafiq said impassively. “My condition for you remains the same, however.”

Holly stiffened and cast an accusing glance up at him. “What condition?”

Andrew’s expression pinched. “The Sheikh requires that I seek treatment for what he feels is a gambling problem I have.”

“I’ve already spoken with a clinic in London. One of my guards will accompany you on the plane and escort you to the location.”

“Is this really necessary?” Holly pleaded. “Surely—” 

“Yes, Holly, it’s quite necessary.” Rafiq cast her a warning glance that held enough of a threat to make her back down.

And she did, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth and lowering her gaze. Still, her compliance did little to ease the irritation that had swelled within him.

“Your flight leaves soon, Mr. Gray. Please take a moment to say goodbye to Holly, and then we must be on our way shortly as well.”

Holly’s stomach twisted at Rafiq’s words. On their way? Where were they going? Or had he just said that to force the reunion with her brother short?

Knowing she only had a moment left with Andrew, she slipped from Rafiq’s hold and crossed to her brother once more.

He hugged her and sighed. “I really screwed up this time, sis. I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes stung with tears but she blinked them back. She couldn’t argue with him. He’d screwed up, and now she was going to pay the price by exchanging his freedom for her own.

After her brother had been shown out a few minutes later, the silence in the room was almost deafening. 

“You’re sending him to some kind of rehab clinic?” she finally asked, turning to face Rafiq.

The way he leaned against one of the marble columns in the foyer was almost predatory. His narrowed gaze showed little indications of his thoughts, but she knew he wasn’t pleased at her questioning his decision now, any more than he had been when she’d done so with her brother in the room. “The clinic is quite discreet, and has an impeccable reputation. It seems your brother is overdue for an intervention.” 

Her fists clenched. “You shouldn’t be so quick to judge him. He’s not perfect, but since the day a police officer showed up at our door telling us our parents were killed in plane crash, Andrew raised me. He gave up everything for me and any hope of a college education.”

“Perhaps. But I have to wonder, what kind of brother allows his younger sister to prostitute her body for money?”

Holly felt the blood drain from her face at his crude depiction of her career, but it came back quickly in a flush of angry heat once she got over the shock. “Prostitute?” she repeated harshly. “I was modeling. Perhaps you should look up the term if you need refreshing.”

He gave an offhanded shrug, as if the topic already bored him. “You sold your body—whether physically or for imagery—for money,
habiba
.”

“We had very little income. The life insurance was spent—”

“By your brother, no doubt.”

She ignored his thinly veiled accusation. “Modeling was a perfectly respectable means of earning an income. I have to wonder what kind of primitive, narrow-minded world you live in,
Your Majesty
, to think otherwise.”

"Interesting you’ve gone back on your oath not to call me by my title. I wonder what other promises you will break." Amusement warred with the hard glint in his eyes as he straightened from the column and approached her. 

You pushed him too far, Holly.

A shiver of unease skated down her spine, because she knew he was referring to her promise never to sleep with him. 

Each step closer he took toward her echoed with the furious pounding of her heart, but she refused to back up and give him any sense of pleasure in knowing his effect on her. 

“And as to what kind of world I live in? As I have said, it is a world quite different from your own, Holly, and you’d do well to remember that.” He lifted a few strands of hair that had curled over her shoulder and teased them over the swell of her breasts.

Shock ripped through her, holding her motionless even as her nipples tightened beneath her blouse. She jerked back, ignoring the sting of her hair being tugged. “I hate you, Rafiq.” 

“Do you? Because loathing and desire can be easily confused.” Rafiq slid his arm around her waist, stopping her when she would’ve turned away.

Her heart slammed into her ribcage and her mouth dried out. Oh God, how could her body react like this? How could it traitorously crave the touch of this manipulative, cruel man?

His knowing gaze slid over her, lingering on the thrust of her nipples, and more heat flooded her face.

“I think you want to hate me.” His head dipped and his mouth hovered above hers. “How could you not after I humiliated you that day?”

“Thank you for the reminder—one of many—of why I despise you,” she seethed.

“How often have you done it?” he prodded, touching her cheek with the back of two fingers. “How often were you willing to trade that delectable body of yours to gain something you wanted?”

He wouldn’t believe her if she said never. He always assumed the worst about her, and his words could cut deep enough to leave scars on her heart. 

It made her reckless. Made her want to hurt him back, or at least hurt his pride.

“Whenever I needed to,” she replied carelessly. “So if you thought you were special…”

Shock flickered briefly in his eyes, and then his gaze hardened with cold fury. “No. I was never foolish enough to make that mistake.”

The surprising flatness in his tone made her conscience prickle with guilt, with regret. She shouldn’t have said it. It was basically an admission of culpability. But he already assumed the worst anyway, had refused to listen to her try to explain that day.

He would never believe in her innocence, probably assumed because she was a top model she’d slept with dozens of men. How would he react if he knew the truth? That Holly Winchester, once an in-demand fashion model, was a twenty-three year old virgin.

Oh, she knew exactly how he’d react. He’d likely laugh himself silly. 

But as ludicrous as it seemed, it was the truth. In high school she hadn’t felt ready to be intimate with anyone, and she’d gone straight from school into the world of modeling. The change had been so terrifying and overwhelming, she’d never once been able to trust someone enough to go to bed with him. Had never even felt the hum of desire that could make her even consider it. 

Until that week with Rafiq. He’d made her believe in the butterflies in the tummy, Prince Charming, and happily ever after. Then he’d shown his true colors.