Sheikh’s Fiancée (4 page)

I don’t know about that,
a voice whispered in her head. Karim might be fuckable, but he didn’t really seem like the one-night-stand kind of guy. Alice knew that if she fell into his bed, it would be with the expectation that she wouldn’t be crawling out of it any time soon. Which meant that if she was going to do that, she had to be very sure of her decision.

After all, she’d already promised herself that she wouldn’t push any man into the situation she’d been in several years ago when Jason had broken her heart. She wasn’t going to be that girl. Not ever.

“Well?” Karim arched a brow. “Are you going to sit down?”

“Sure.” Alice cautiously settled herself on the bench next to him, sitting as far away as possible while trying not to make it look like she was purposefully avoiding him. She took in a breath, inhaling the citrusy scent of orange blossoms mixed with Karim’s own dark, spicy scent. Heat flared in her lower belly, and she shifted uncomfortably on the hard bench. “So, what’s going on?”

Karim turned his head to stare down at her with those piercing amber eyes. “Alice, what do you think of me?”

Alice sat up straight, surprised by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you think I’m a good man? Do you find me interesting to talk to? Am I pleasing to the eye?” He took her hand in both of his, his eyes searching her face almost desperately, his voice pleading.

“You already know that you are all of these things,” Alice told him with a frown, trying to ignore the warmth flowing from his hands into hers and up her arm. The feel of his skin against hers was distracting, to say the least. “Why are you asking me? You can’t tell me that Azisa’s rejection is making you call your charms into question. She is one woman.”

“Yes, but she was to be my
wife.
” Karim let out an exasperated sigh, jerking his gaze away from her. He stared out at the gardens, his features tightening into a pensive expression. “We were paired by a reputable matchmaker. We both had our DNA tested for any genetic markers that would cause us to produce defective children, and none were found. We were
perfect
… and now we’re nothing.” Bitterness seeped into his voice.

Alice flinched at the way he talked about ‘defective children’, as if they were something to be manufactured, rather than born out of love or passion. He talked about his upcoming marriage as if it were some kind of recipe, or a set of factory plans, rather than something created out of love and respect.

“Maybe that was the problem,” she said slowly, trying to figure out how to put this into words without being offensive. “Maybe you were too focused on making it perfect, and not focused enough on making it right.”

“What does that even mean?” Karim released her hand so he could throw his arms up into the air. “Doesn’t making something perfect ensure that it’s made right?”

“Sometimes it’s the very imperfections in things that make things work as well as they do,” Alice said, wondering where on earth she was pulling this sage wisdom from. It wasn’t as if she were a stellar model for relationships – she examined and discarded men on a regular basis because she found them lacking and didn’t want to progress further and find herself entangled in something that would only end in disaster. She’d probably read that line in a book somewhere… but it rang true for her, and seemed appropriate to the moment. “I think that if you stop looking at marriage like it’s a business proposal and more like a relationship between two flesh and blood people, you might have better luck.”

“But that’s just the thing, Alice.” Karim plopped his hands back down onto his thighs… his very muscular thighs, Alice noticed as she watched them flex beneath his dark slacks. “For me, right now getting married
is
about a business proposal.”

Alice’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Karim turned to look at her, his expression grave. “When Kahlid and Sheridan became engaged, I began to realize that I wanted a wife, too. I’d gotten out of a two-year relationship that I thought was going somewhere and ended up going nowhere. I felt like I’d wasted all this time and that I needed to get my life back on track and start a family. So I went to a matchmaker to find myself a wife.

“In doing so, I quickly discovered that I had an inheritance coming that I wasn’t even aware of, from my mother’s side of the family. They are going to give me an estate and a healthy bit of money, but only if I marry by the end of the year.”

“Oh.” Alice’s stomach sank. It was already the middle of September. “So in other words, you’re about to lose the land and the money because Azisa waited until the last minute to call off the wedding.”

“Yes.” Karim let out a frustrated breath, looking away again. “She knew about the arrangement as well, so it would have been nice to know earlier so I could have tried to make other arrangements. But apparently she didn’t realize this wasn’t going to work out until just a few days ago.”

“I see.” Alice pursed her lips. “So you’re going to lose your inheritance, then?”

Karim turned back to face her, his amber eyes blazing. “Not if I find a wife first.”

“Oh no.” What Karim was suggesting finally hit her, and she backed away from him, her heart thumping erratically. “No way, Karim. I’m not – ”

She backed herself right off the bench, and nearly went toppling into the tree. But Karim’s strong arms caught her around the waist, and he yanked her back, pulling her so close that her hip was flush against his, her breasts nearly brushing the hard muscles of his chest. Alice sucked in a breath as she stared into Karim’s glowing amber eyes, which hovered mere inches from her own.

“Do you not agree, Alice Winter,” he said quietly, his soft breath fanning her face, “that there is… chemistry between us?”

“I…” Alice’s cheeks flushed, and she glanced away, trying to escape Karim’s hot gaze so she could compose her thoughts. She’d gotten a few glimpses of heat from him in the past, mostly from the wedding night, but not like this. Never like this. The fact that he’d had a fiancée and that she came to visit only every once in a while enabled them to keep each other at arm’s length. But now that he was single again, and she was practically sitting in his lap, the reasons to resist were becoming fewer and farther in between.

“Just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean we should get married,” Alice murmured in a low voice, turning her gaze back to Karim’s again. “I’ve been in plenty of relationships that were all chemistry and no compatibility.”

“I don’t think we’re so incompatible,” Karim murmured, lowering his head to brush his lips against her cheek. “You and I are both designers of a sort, are we not? We’re both of a similar age, ambitious, in good health…”

“You sound like an eHarmony ad,” Alice tried to snap, but her voice was far too breathy. Karim feathered kisses over her cheek and down her jaw, tracing a path to her earlobe and setting her core aflame. His strong fingers dug into her waist, pulling her closer as her legs weakened.

“Well, I am trying to sell myself to you.” Karim gently closed his teeth around her earlobe.

Alice moaned as an arc of electricity shot straight to her core. She was hot and aching, and it had nothing to do with the brutal sun or her interrupted yoga workout. Karim was setting her aflame with nothing but whispered words and caresses…
and he hadn’t even kissed her yet.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to know what you would sound like if you moaned,” Karim murmured against her earlobe. “And now I guess I have my answer.”

Alice’s face flushed, and she pushed against Karim’s chest, putting some distance between them. Had he just admitted out loud that he’d been fantasizing about her, too? Jesus, this was going way too far.

“I can’t just up and marry you like this, Karim,” she said firmly, trying to regain her footing in the conversation. “I’ve got my own life to think about. I’ve just been offered a promotion at my job, and – ”

“I heard about that,” Karim interrupted. “You could move to Dubai, continue your career here. I would not stop you from continuing in your line of work, just like you would not interfere with my work as an architect.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” It was Alice’s turn to throw up her hands now. “First Sheridan, and now you, too?”

Karim folded his arms. “It’s a logical argument.”

Alice scowled at him. “Why is this inheritance so important to you anyway?” she demanded. “It isn’t as if you want for anything as a member of the royal family. You live here in the palace, you have a great career, and access to all the money you want.” She swept a hand wide to gesture at the palace and the sprawling grounds.

Karim’s gaze darkened. “That may be true, but I want something of my
own
.” His amber gaze turned toward the palace, and something like bitterness flickered in the depths of his eyes. “Don’t misunderstand me, Alice. I love the palace, and I love my brother and his wife. But I am a second son, with little chance to inherit, and my career itself is fully dependent on my brother’s own business investments. This may sound like foolish male pride to you, but I want an estate of my own, a career of my own, a family of my own. I have no intention of cutting ties with my brother or refusing to help him, but I tire of being nothing but an extension of his own family. I want my own life. Don’t you understand that?”

He turned his amber gaze back to him, and the desperation in his eyes tugged at Alice’s heartstrings despite herself.

“I can’t argue with your logic,” she said softly, “but I also don’t understand why you’re asking me, when you could literally find almost any unmarried woman in this city who would gladly throw herself at you for the chance to marry into the sheikh’s family. If any woman will do, why does it have to be me?”

“Because,” Karim said, his voice lowering as he took her hand in his again. He pressed his lips to the back of her hand, whipping the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy again. “I like you, Alice. You’re beautiful, intelligent, and have an excellent sense of humor. And you were the first woman I thought of.”

A different kind of warmth flowed through Alice’s chest then, and she recognized the feeling as pride. He was flattering her, and it was working.

“Besides, though it is certainly true that I could pick nearly any eligible woman off the street, it is simply not proper for me to rush her off into a marriage ceremony. Our people are very traditional, and they would expect all the months of preparation that their daughters deserve. You, on the other hand, do not have an Islamic family to appease.”

“Oh.” Alice bit down on her lower lip. She hadn’t considered that. “You really don’t think you could find someone around here on such short notice?”

“No, not really.” Karim shook his head.

They stared out at the garden in silence for a long while, the rustling of leaves in the wind and the sound of buzzing bees the only accompaniment to their quiet breathing. An orange blossom fluttered down from the canopy of tree branches overhead, and Alice caught it in her cupped hands, then leaned close to inhale its citrusy fragrance.

Beautiful
,
but impermanent.
Like all things, this gorgeous blossom would eventually wither and die, becoming nothing but a memory.

“What happens if things don’t work out between us?” she asked softly, still looking down at the flower. “What if you and I end up despising each other?”

“I can’t imagine ever hating someone as lovely as you.” Karim’s voice was just as soft as he reached out and slid his fingers beneath her chin, angling her gaze toward his. His expression was solemn, but his amber eyes were warm as he gazed down at her. “But if it makes you feel better, I will agree to release you from our marriage after a year if you really can’t stand being with me.”

A jolt of surprise struck Alice. “A year?” she echoed.

Karim nodded. “Once the land is given over to me, it cannot be taken back unless the marriage is not consummated. A year is more than enough time to convince the eyes of my family and the public in general that we were well and truly married. Divorce is frowned upon in our culture, and especially in a marriage so young… but you are American, and I imagine the public will be more forgiving.”

Alice snorted. “You mean of you, not me. They’ll just view me as a money-grubbing whore who married you to fill her pockets and then ran off at the first opportunity.”

Karim shrugged. “Only if you leave. And even if they do, why would it matter? You’ll be back in America, or in Italy, or wherever you choose to go afterward. Even if you decide to stop working, I would not leave you destitute, not after such a great favor.”

Alice’s mind whirled as she tried to weigh all the possibilities. Yes, she was agreeing to marry a man she didn’t love, but she did like him and she was doing it to help him out, temporarily. Didn’t people do this all the time, marrying foreigners to help them obtain visas and get in and out of countries? And they got divorced and went on with their lives? Why couldn’t she do the same for Karim, a man whom she not only liked, but was family?

True, she was agreeing not to date or have sex with anyone for a year… but she
would
be able to make love to Karim whenever she wanted, and if the sparks between them were any indication, she knew he wouldn’t leave her unsatisfied. Plus, she would still be able to work for Armani out here. Really, what did she have to lose?

“All right,” she told him. “I’ll do it.”

Karim’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes.” Alice exhaled, and it was almost a sigh of relief now that she’d made the decision. All the emotions whirling around in her chest died away, replaced by a kind of resignation. “I’ll do this for you because you’re family, and I like you and I want to help you. But after a year, unless we’re madly in love, we go our separate ways, is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Karim’s lips curved into a smile, and he snagged an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “There’s only one thing left to do now.”

“Oh yeah?” Alice’s pulse raced as Karim pulled her flush against him. “And what’s that?”