Sheikh's Hired Mistress (15 page)

"I have an apartment close by," he said, his voice hushed. "It's a lovely place, with a view of the skyline, and there is a large soft bed. Perhaps I would not worship you, but there is a type of appreciation that I would be happy to show you …"

"Appreciation?" she said, barely aware of what she was saying. She felt as if the day had become suddenly much warmer, as if she were hypnotized by this man, all without seeing his eyes.

"Yes. I would remove each and every piece of your clothing. I would want to run my hands along that fair skin of yours. I would want to run my mouth over your curves until I had come to the secret spring at the center of you, and oh, pretty woman, I would make you cry out as if there was honey on your tongue …"

She pulled back with a jerk, her face flushing with heat not because she was offended but because it all simply sounded too good. She was a professional on the job, and the last thing that she could afford to do was to simply wander off into the arms of a man like this.

"I don't think so," she said crisply, standing up. "And I am leaving now, and you are not going to follow me."

He tilted his head to one side. "And how do you figure that? I am a free man, and I can go where I like."

"Easy," Berry said briskly. "One thing I believe is that you are terribly proud. If a lady asks you for a thing, you will obey, because it would hurt your pride not to. So right now, I am asking you not to follow me."

For a moment, it looked as if he was going to protests, but then he laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Oh, you truly are a gem," he said with admiration. "And it only makes me want you more. All right then. You have asked, and I will obey. May my obedience bring you a great deal of comfort tonight when you are at home in your bed, beautiful girl."

She had a feeling that she would be thinking about him a lot, but she shook it out of her head. She was working in Alamun, and she could not afford to have a fling with a local, even if he was impressively handsome.

"And may you learn that there are situations where you don't need to interfere," she said briskly, and as he laughed, she made her exit.

Berry dodged through the crowd, not stopping to look back until she knew that she was well away from where they were sitting. When she turned around and didn't see the man with whom she had been having such a strange conversation, she felt both relieved and slightly regretful. No matter what else she could say about him, he was charismatic in a way that she simply didn't see often.

Oh, he's gone and you can tell the truth now,
she chided herself.

The truth was that he was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. There was something about him that captured her attention, and when she thought about his smile, something inside her felt like it had melted.

The truth was she hadn't had a boyfriend in a very long time. Between first school and then work, there had been precious little time for love in her life.

The truth was she was attracted to him, and she wished that she wasn't.

Relax,
she told herself.
You're probably never going to see him again, and that's just fine. Calm down.

That worked, sort of, even as it sent a stab of regret through her. She did want to see him again, but right now, she had work to do. With a sigh, she tightened her grip on her bag and started walking along the aisles, her eyes quickly locating anything that might have promise. It was like marketplaces the world over, and most of what was available was simply junk, but here and there were treasures that she knew would send her boss over the moon.

She did not think of the handsome man she had sat with. Or at least, Berry told herself that she wasn't thinking of him.

CHAPTER TWO

"I can't believe that I have to wear this dress," Berry muttered, and her boss, Michael Farnsworth, shot her a raised eyebrow.

"Surely you didn't expect to be able to come to this party in one of your deplorable rags?" he said archly, and she shot him an irritated look.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure why I was going to be at this party at all," she retorted. "I'm your treasure hunter, remember? I'm really not one for big public functions."

Farnsworth smiled at her with a distinct lack of sympathy. "Right now, treasure hunter or not, you are the only one in my employ that I can force to go to this event with me. Consider yourself lucky, I'm not asking for the dress back."

The dress in question was not something that Berry expected to wear—ever. It was a stunning sky blue number with a long beaded sheath and jeweled straps. Unlike other fancy dresses she had tentatively tried on in the past, it clung to her slim figure, rather than bagging unattractively at the bust and making her look as if she were a child wearing her mother's formal wear.

"I still don't see why you couldn't just get your wife to come with you," she said with a sigh.

"Well, I don't pay her, for one thing, and these things are deadly dull until they're not. And now look alive, things are getting started."

They had been milling around in the public area of the hall, but now the staff was guiding everyone towards the tables surrounding the stage. For a moment, Berry had a pang of sympathy for one of the ushers, who was trying to guide a guest who did not care for their seating arrangements. Despite her position at Farnsworth and her currently fancy outfit, she was much more at home with the staff than she was with the guests.

The topic of the evening was an ultramodern mall that was being built at the center of Alamun. It had been a hot topic of debate for the past few years; some felt that it would be the perfect injection of money and elegance to the emirate, while others saw it as an eyesore and an affront to the same.

Farnsworth, who had spent a great deal of his career working in the Middle East, was heavily invested in making the idea take off, and he refused to miss a single meeting where it was discussed.

He guided her to their table, which they shared with some Saudi and some Swiss investors. There were a few tedious speeches, and then a murmur swept the crowd.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"Supposedly, the Sheikh is going to be here," he replied. "Both sides have been courting him for some time, but so far, he has shown neither side any favor at all. Hopefully, someone changes his mind for him tonight."

"And now, presenting Sheikh Rasul ibn Ahmed Sardan, to address the distinguished company …"

The name was certainly familiar enough. Alamun was one of the richest emirates of the UAE, and most of it was due to the fierce independence of the royal family. The Sardan Dynasty were known for being iconoclasts who knew very well how to keep their wealth for their people, and the most recent Sheikh Rasul was known to be good at it.

What Berry hadn't expected was to recognize the Sheikh's face as well. He had been wearing sunglasses at the time, but she thought his lips and jaw looked surprisingly familiar. When he spoke, she froze, because now there could be no doubt. The last time she had heard that voice, it was speaking to her about worship and things that certainly could not be mentioned in polite company.

Now it was talking to her about the future and the past, and the need to pay honor to both, and she felt as if the world were falling out from underneath her.

"How soon can I get out of here?" she asked Farnsworth, her voice low.

He never even looked at her, keeping his eyes and his smile focused on the speaker at the podium.

"Unless you have literally broken a leg, I expect you to stay for at least three hours," he said through gritted teeth. "There is a meet and mingle after dinner and by the love of God, I will not be seen without an escort."

Berry swore softly under her breath, but there was really no arguing with the man who signed her checks. Instead, she listened as best she could to the speech the Sheikh gave, which was surprisingly forward thinking, and clapped with the rest.

It'll be fine
, Berry thought to herself.
There is absolutely no reason to get freaked out or upset. Chances are that had been a stunningly normal day for him. He probably doesn't remember me at all, and God knows I look different enough …

She told herself that often enough that she started to believe it, and when a waiter poured her some champagne for a toast, she felt even better. There was no way the Sheikh was going to come speak to her anyway. Her boss was the one who held all the cards, she was just a pretty piece of arm candy, even if the job was as dumb as hell.

After the speeches dinner was served, which was amazing, and after that, Berry realized that her boss was wrong. It wasn't a meet and greet; instead the floor was cleared for some dancing.

Berry and Farnsworth toured the group for a short time, but when he got involved in speaking with some men who were heading up the mall proposal, she felt comfortable doing a bit of wandering on her own. She wondered how solid that deadline was and whether there was any getting out of it any time soon. After all, it looked like Farnsworth had things fairly well in hand.

Berry was just congratulating herself on getting out of a potentially risky situation with a fairly small amount of fuss when she heard a soft laugh that was absolutely far too unfamiliar.

"So when it comes to worshipers, do you prefer them old and rich?" he asked, a slight bit of acid in his voice.

Berry spun around to find Rasul standing behind her. In his tuxedo, he looked even handsomer than he had at the souk. This time, though, his smile was definitely a little less friendly.

"I beg your pardon?" she said, slightly bewildered.

"I saw who you came in with, and I saw you whispering to each other at the table," he said, stepping a little closer. "With your ideals, and that clear sense of right and wrong that you had, I'm a little shocked at who you are with."

"Who, Michael?" she asked. She was starting to get an idea of what he was hinting at, and it was ugly.

"Yes, Farnsworth. Does he please you well? I would have thought that if you were someone who would balk at having money spent on you that perhaps you would draw the line at marrying old and rich …"

For a moment, she was so stunned at what he was saying that she couldn't think of a response. Then, when the shock blew away, it left behind it a clear rage that made her smile. "Oh, well, the truth is that I was just unimpressed," she cooed. "I mean, five thousand? I don't get out of bed for that."

Something strange crossed his face then. She couldn't tell whether it was sadness or fury or some strange mix of the two.

"Ah, well, I suppose I was more curious about what it might take to get you into bed, not what it takes to get you out of it …"

"Sorry, that's for my husband to know and you to find out …"

He studied her for a moment, and for the first time, he merely looked baffled instead of contemptuous. "Really, what is it? Why are you together?"

"Well, it could be that I love him no matter what he looks like, but the truth is that he's just great in bed," Berry snapped. For a heartbeat, she had no idea what she had just said, but then it crashed down on her.

Oh my God,
she thought distantly.
I just told the Sheikh of Alamun that I'm a gold digger …

Thankfully, at that point, Farnsworth, who had always said that he had a sense for things going south, hurried over.

"Sheikh Rasul," he said. "I see you've met my assistant."

To her relief, Rasul only raised his eyebrows. She wasn't sure exactly what kind of black mark baiting the head of a country was, but she couldn't really assume that it would be less than getting fired.

"Your … assistant?" he asked.

"Yes. Berry is one of my most trusted agents," he said rather fondly. "Tonight she's acting as my assistant and my escort, but most of the time, she's a bit of a treasure hunter. There is no one I trust more in this part of the world; she has an amazing eye for real art and history."

"Well, what a coincidence," Rasul said smoothly. "You know, I just found this piece in the marketplace, a stunning piece that I think might be two centuries old or more. Do you think there is a chance I could borrow her from you?"

Farnsworth's eyes shone as if someone had lit him up from inside. With a wince, Berry could almost hear the old-fashioned cash registers going off in his head.

"Well, of course! One of the great things that having a truly international shopping center would do is bring along professionals of all kinds and put them right at your disposal."

Berry couldn't stop herself from staring at Rasul, who for his part continued chatting amicably with her boss.
He couldn't be serious, could he? This was ridiculous...

"And of course, Berry would be happy to help you date the piece that you have in mind, as well as any other items you might need her to examine. Isn't that right, Berry?"

Berry couldn't bring herself to agree enthusiastically, especially when she had just gotten caught lying to the Sheikh himself. Instead she nodded with a smile that looked more sick than anything else. The men were happy to keep on chatting, however.

"A woman of such skill and ambition would be a welcome addition to the efforts that we are trying to make currently," he said with a smile. "Thank you so much for your generosity, Mr. Farnsworth, and for you as well, Miss …?"

"Berry is fine," she said weakly. Some part of her still couldn't believe that this was happening. "Um, if you will excuse me, it's a little close in here. I need to step out for a moment."

Without waiting to see if they had acknowledged her, she turned and headed for the bathroom. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, she splashed a bit of cold water on her face, still stunned.

This is not good,
she thought.
I need to find a way to get out of this.

When she met Farnsworth in the cab ride going back to the hotel they were both staying at, however, he was adamant.

"Are you mad, girl?" he snorted. "This is exactly the best thing that could have happened. If you think I am going to change this around for anything short of you actually growing another head out of your neck, you're wrong."