Maggie Cox - The Sheikh Who Married Her - One Desert Night / Strangers in the Desert / Desert Doctor, Secret Sheikh

In an hour’s time, after he had been examined again by his physician, Zahir was due to address a meeting of his council regarding the uprising by the rebels. But right now the topic that consumed him even more than that was definitely Gina . He had offered her a situation that most women would have grabbed at—but, no. Not her . Instead she preferred to put her job and her ailing father back at home before him … again!

While he privately had a grudging admiration for her loyalty to both her job and her family, it didn’t stop him from feeling intensely jealous and aggrieved that he still clearly featured so low on her list of priorities. But he could not let her leave so easily. He had to find a way of making her stay in Kabuyadir for longer than just a few short days. After seeing her again he knew he would not easily get her out of his blood a second time—no matter how angry he was.

‘Zahir!’

A slight, dark-robed figure was hurrying towards him along the paved pathway, arms extended. As his sister reached him, she all but stole the breath from his lungs when she threw herself into his arms. Zahir couldn’t stop the grunt of pain he emitted as her body collided with the inflamed bandaged wound at the side of his ribcage.

As she stepped back in alarm, he saw the damp smudges beneath Farida’s pretty eyes—evidence that she’d already been weeping.

‘I couldn’t believe it when I heard that you’d been shot. Why didn’t somebody tell me? Was it because you ordered them not to? I’m not some little child you have to constantly protect, you know. I was a married woman until recently, and I won’t fall apart if I hear bad news—even if it frightens me. What on earth possessed you to travel into the heart of the brigands’ stronghold with just a handful of soldiers and a bodyguard?’

Zahir could hardly believe his ears. Here was another woman chastising him for doing his utmost to resolve a situation that was bringing fear and suffering to his people! Had his father’s actions been questioned with such doubt and disbelief? He didn’t think so.

The scowl on his face was inevitable. ‘I had to try and talk to their leader. He’s a hot-headed egomaniac, seeking to gain power by getting a band of similar unthinking idiots to rob and intimidate the villagers. In the end—when I saw that reason simply did not compute with him—I gave him a warning that if there was any more trouble I would imprison the lot of them for life. We were just about to make our return home when he pulled out a pistol and started firing.’

‘You could have been killed!’

‘Yes, but I wasn’t.’ He rubbed a weary hand across his eyes. ‘Please do not fear for my safety so much, little sister. I would hate to think that you were fretting every time I set foot outside the palace walls!’

‘But somebody shot you, Zahir. Do your wounds hurt badly?’

Seeing the loving concern on her dear face, Zahir retrieved his sense of humour. ‘Not badly. They’re inconvenient , more than anything.’

‘What do you mean?’

A stirring image of Gina fleshed out nicely in his mind—one in which she was wearing only her bathrobe, her golden hair all mussed and sexy, her cheeks flushed from a steamy bath and the scent of exotic oils clinging to her exquisitely soft skin. Straight away the thought acted as a flaming torch, igniting his blood.

His ensuing smile was almost painful. ‘I only mean that I will probably not be as active as I would like for the next few days.’

‘What about the man who shot you? What happened to him?’

‘Right now he is languishing in a prison cell in the city. He was taken there last night by my guards.’

Farida patted down the silk hijab that covered her hair, neck and shoulders, and looked perturbed. ‘There is no chance that one of his men will try and seek revenge and hurt you again, Zahir?’

‘If they dare, my punishment will ensure they will never pick up a firearm or a weapon again. Not in this lifetime!’

But even as he contemplated such a repugnant reality, a wave of doubt and concern rolled through him. Had he made a huge error in judgement, thinking that he could reason with such a lawless band? Now wasn’t the time to consider such a disturbing notion—not when Farida was so clearly worried and upset.

He laid his arm reassuringly round his sister’s slender shoulders. ‘The palace is a steadfast fortress that has stood the test of time. No amateur trigger-happy fool is going to get at me here. They would be crazy to even try. Now, enough talk about that. Let us discuss more pleasant things, hmm? What are you planning on doing with yourself this day?’

They were walking back along the shaded pathway, and the balmy agarwood scented air seemed to ease Zahir’s troubled mind with its rich and mysterious fragrance as they walked.

‘I hope to spend some time with Gina Collins, actually.’

‘You have met Dr Collins?’ Stopping dead in his tracks, Zahir stared at his sister in surprise.

‘Yes, I have met her, and I like her very much. She said something rather wonderful to me about Azhar that gave me great comfort. I don’t have many girlfriends around my own age, so it’s very nice to have someone like Gina staying at the palace for a while. As you have employed her to make an inventory of some of the more important family artefacts, I thought I might be able to assist her? What do you think?’

The little speech she had just made was so surprising, so unexpected, that it took Zahir a few moments to digest it properly. It was the first time since Farida had been so tragically widowed that she’d shown even the slightest interest in anything other than her own misery. If Gina had been able to effect such a dramatic change—even in the short time she’d been here—what else might her presence be able to achieve? Zahir’s mind raced with something that felt very much like hope.

‘I am sure that if I speak with her on your behalf she would be only too happy to have your help. Do you by any chance know where she is now?’

‘I was just about to go and look for her.’

‘Let me do that. Why don’t you stay out here for a little while in the shade and relax? When I’ve discussed your suggestion with Dr Collins I will send Jamal to come and fetch you, okay?’

‘She is very pretty, brother … don’t you think?’

She is beautiful beyond imagining , his mind answered immediately. But Zahir curbed the words that hovered on his tongue for something a little more measured. After all, he didn’t think it wise to alert Farida to his deepening interest in Gina—or the fact that he had asked her to become his mistress!

‘Yes.’ He allowed the briefest smile to touch his lips. ‘She is very pretty … clever, too.’

He turned away before he had the urge to elaborate further on all Gina Collins’s very appealing attributes.

On returning to her luxurious rooms the previous night, Gina had known that sleep would elude her for the rest of the night-time hours. After her encounter with the man who set her heart racing like no other, finding him injured and then furious when she refused his offer to become his mistress, she’d been both distressed and heartbroken. It shocked her that he had such apparent disregard for his own safety—so much so that he would venture into a lawless region of his kingdom to deal with some gun-toting rebels. Did he not realise how much the people close to him cared for him?

But she was hurt, too, because all he seemed to be interested in as far as she was concerned was appeasing his lust. Had she imagined the tender words and fervent feelings he’d declared when they’d first encountered each other in the Husseins’ garden? Then she’d been so sure of his mutual love and affection that she’d given him her most precious gift. Had that meant nothing to him?