The Sheikh's Crown (Sheikh's Wedding Bet Series Book 2) (2 page)

S
amine Isme tried
to look casual as she moved through the party. She’d spent a small fortune on her dress in an attempt to blend in with the wealthy crowd and sneaking into a royal wedding was no small matter. With no invitation, it should have been impossible, but all it took was a small distraction for her to mingle with the group walking in and voila, no one suspected a thing.

At first, she kept to herself. There was no point in inviting unwelcome attention until she’d found her mark. Butterflies fluttered about in her stomach, and she had to take several breaths to calm her nerves. It wasn’t every day that she snuck into the wedding of a sheikh.

Finding the white American proved to be harder than she’d imagined. The Khalidizacks rubbed elbows with people from around the world, and Masoud’s wedding showed the diversity of their friends. Europeans, Americans, Australians, Greeks, and South Africans mingled with all their wealthy friends within the Middle East. Finally, she zeroed in on him.

He wasn’t ugly, but he was rather plain with brown hair and glasses. Dressed in an expensive suit, he looked uncomfortable in the crowd. From what Samine knew of Bruce Summers, he had expensive tastes and loved to socialize with the rich and famous. The wedding should have been right up his alley, but she knew his relationship with the Khalidizacks was rocky. His new brother-in-law, Masoud, had appointed him head of the family’s antiquities, but since he’d betrayed the family earlier, not everyone trusted him. Bruce, no doubt, was feeling the effects of the family’s cold shoulder.

“You look like you could use a drink,” she said smoothly as she smiled at him.

He looked startled and gave her a once over. “It is a party,” he said with a tight smile. Immediately, his eyes shifted, and she felt a little panicked. Her own plan rested on the fact that Bruce would find her interesting. More than interesting. If he didn’t pay any attention to her, she’d never get what she wanted.

“Samine Isme,” she said as she held out her hand. He’d be rude to ignore her, and he gently reached out to shake it. There was no zing in the touch, and his eyes didn’t rest on her for too long.

“Bruce Summers.”

“Oh, brother of the bride,” she said with a smile. “You must be pleased to see your sister so happy and in love.”

He grunted noncommittally, and Samine frowned in frustration. None of this was working out in her favor. “I also heard that you’re now the manager for the Khalidizack antiquities. That must be an exciting job.”

Surprise sparked in his eyes, and he narrowed them as he gazed at her. She’d finally caught his attention, but his eyes filled with suspicion, not interest. “What did you say you did, Ms. Isme?” he asked slowly.

Damn
. “I didn’t, and I’m quite embarrassed you’ve caught me. I’m supposed to be enjoying the party. I told myself right before I left that I was going to leave work at home, but I’m a writer, and I can’t help but be fascinated with this whole story. True love discovered over the dangers of the Solomon Diamond. And now the family is going to share their collection with the world. Oh, I’d love to be able to write a story about it.” She batted her eyes and tried to look innocent and excited at the same time. The truth was that she really was excited. The story would be magnificent.

But she was hardly innocent.

“Ms. Isme, the collection isn’t ready to be inspected. I apologize,” he said stiffly.

She was about to reach out and touch his arm lightly to try to hold his attention, but another voice interrupted them.

“You don’t belong here.”

The husky voice made her stiffen, and she turned slowly to see a gorgeous man slowly raking his eyes over her body. Immediately, her heart sank. She was busted. Sheikh Adil Khalidizack, the youngest of the three brothers, no doubt wanted to know why she was crashing his brother’s wedding.

She dug into her purse and pulled out her credentials. “Samine Isme.”

Surprise crossed his face as he reached out to take her cards. “You’re press?” he asked incredulously. “How did you get past security?”

“I’m not here to cover the wedding,” she said quickly. That, at least, was true. Especially since her credentials were fake.

He handed her credentials back, and she couldn’t help but notice that his hands lingered on hers. Even more embarrassing, she could feel a dull flush creep up to her cheeks. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d practiced this conversation in the mirror a million times. Of course, she assumed she’d be saying this to Jaymin Khalidizack. But, if she got past Adil, she could get to Jaymin.

“If you’re not here to cover the wedding, then why are you here?” he asked as he handed her a glass of champagne.

She accepted it, but her fingers trembled. “I’m here to cover the loan to the Louvre. The collection is said to be quite impressive, and I’d like to have a look at it before it gets to the museum. Not to mention that it’s quite generous of your family to unveil the collection to the public eye. History isn’t meant to stay buried.” She laid on the flattery a little too thick and wondered if she should dial it back.

“Well, we think it’s time. Such precious jewels shouldn’t be hidden away,” he murmured, as his eyes continued to rake over her in obvious admiration.

Samine sipped slowly from the glass. Was he flirting with her? Her job might be easier than she’d first imagined. “Does that mean you’re going to let me take a look at the jewels?” she asked in a throaty voice.

“Ahem.” Startled, she turned to see Bruce was still watching them. Embarrassed, she gave him a quick smile. “As I was just telling Ms. Isme, the collection is not ready. Once it’s properly catalogued, tagged, and crated, then we can discuss a press release on the tour.”

Clearly, she’d been wrong. Bruce wasn’t budging.

“What do you mean it’s not ready?” Adil demanded abruptly. “We’re supposed to be shipping it within a week.”

Bruce gave him a steely glare, and Samine had a sinking feeling that the two men didn’t get along. Squabbling amongst the family about the tour would make things harder for her. Bruce pushed up his glasses. “If you had informed me of the tour sooner, we wouldn’t be having this discussion, but no one thought to ask the person doing all the work whether the items were ready to go on tour.”

“If I remember correctly, the only reason we’re doing this is to satisfy your stepsister. Otherwise, the collection would still be collecting dust,” Adil said coldly. “When the Louvre wants to house your collection, you don’t turn them down.”

Bruce opened his mouth to argue more, but Samine stepped in. If the collection wasn’t ready in time, her timeline wouldn’t match. She needed her window of opportunity to stay open. “Sheikh Khalidizack, I had no idea you had such an interest in the tour.”

“Ms. Isme, was it?” he asked smoothly, as he turned his attentions from Bruce. “You’ll be happy to know that if you want information on the tour to the Louvre, you’ll be speaking with me. I’m in charge of everything now.”

Samine blanched. What? Based on her research, Adil was a playboy. He was far more interested in women than the family business. She hadn’t even factored him in on this. The wheels in her brain turned. This was far too important to give up now. If she had to deal with Adil, then she would deal with Adil. And since he was a womanizer, she would use that to her advantage.

She reached up to stroke her finger over the pendant around her neck. Just as she predicated, his eyes followed. “You have no idea how important this article is to me. My editor doesn’t think I’m good enough to write it. This is my chance to prove to him that I have what it takes, and if the tour falls through, I’ll lose my chance. I’ve done my research on the pieces. Perhaps I can help speed the process up?”

“Absolutely not,” Bruce said with a scowl. “These are priceless artifacts, and it takes more than a little research to handle them.”

She tried not to glare at him. This was really just step one, and she’d already had to change her plan several times. Adil was in charge of the shipment. Bruce wasn’t the pushover she’d expected him to be. “Oh, I’m not asking to actually handle the pieces. I’m sure I could be helpful in other ways.” As she said it, she cast a glance toward Adil, who swallowed hard while Bruce continued to glare at her. “I can type fast while you…dictate,” she emphasized, without taking her eyes off Adil.

“I’d rather have it properly catalogued and then sent to the Louvre at a later date,” Bruce interrupted with a stern frown.

Great. Clearly, her coy words were having no effect on him. Still, she couldn’t give up now. “Well, I’m sure if Sheikh Khalidizack here is in charge, you won’t need me anyway.” She slid her eyes back toward Adil while she fiddled with the pendant. His pupils dilated, and she felt a surge of satisfaction. Adil was her ticket in. If he wanted to make this tour work, she had a feeling that nothing would stand in his way. And she would ride that motivation all the way to her prize.

“Bruce, Jaymin has already made it quite clear that this tour is going to happen. So, if you don’t think you can get it done in time, I see no reason why we couldn’t use Ms. Isme’s help.” Adil gave her a warm smile. Bruce opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Adil put his hand up. “And that’s going to be the last word on the subject.”

Her heart fluttered with excitement. She’d done it. Not only was she going to get close to the collection, but she had permission to do so. Things could not have worked out better for her. She was ready to go back to the hotel and pour herself a glass of celebratory wine when Adil held out his hand to her. “Care for a dance?” he asked with a wink.

Dance? No. She couldn’t dance with Adil. She was supposed to be in and out and be as inconspicuous and forgettable as possible. Adil was a womanizer. No doubt, he would find himself a new woman before the night was over and forget all about her. “I’m going to have to decline. If I am going to work with you and Bruce, I should return to my hotel and get some sleep. I want to be at my best when we get started tomorrow,” she told him smoothly.

He raised his eyebrows. “Since I’m the one allowing you to work on the tour, I am more than happy to give you a night of freedom,” he murmured seductively. He took a step toward her, and she immediately felt her breath catch in her throat. He was handsome. And clearly, he wasn’t used to hearing the word no.

“And as the journalist taking advantage of your generosity, I should take the initiative to prove how serious I am about this. I wouldn’t want to mix business with pleasure, and I’m sure dancing with you would be pure pleasure. Based on some of the looks that other women are giving me, I’m sure you won’t have any problems finding another dance partner,” Samine said, as she sidestepped him. “I will be in touch with you in the morning to iron out the details, and I cannot thank you enough.”

“Wait. How do you intend to get in touch with me?” He smirked, as he handed her one of his cards.

Samine fought the blush, realizing that he would have no idea she already had his number. Smiling, she dipped her head in response. “Thank you, again. Have a wonderful evening.”

Before he could say anything else, a huge cry went up in the crowd. Masoud and Fleur had returned to the party, and were clearly about to say their goodbyes. As the crowd moved closer to them, Samine was jostled out of the way. Moving closer to the door, she turned to see the happy couple.

Fleur Summers was an archeologist with a reputation for being somewhat of a dreamer. Only all her dreams had come true when she’d found the Solomon Diamond and married Masoud Khalidizack. She looked absolutely radiant with her red hair pinned back, and the look she gave her new husband was nothing but love.

Samine felt a little pang in her heart. She’d always been focused on other things, and her encounters with men were brief. Love was always the last thing on her mind. No one would ever look at her the way that Masoud looked at Fleur, and she’d come to terms with that. That was why she hated weddings. They reminded her of all the things she’d put on the back burner.

“The Bathsheba Crown is going to be worth it,” she whispered to herself. The necklace was more important than anything else was. And nothing was going to stand in her way. So, if she had to flirt with Adil to get what she wanted, she’d start tonight and keep him interested in her and less interested in her true plan.

She was going to steal Bathsheba’s Crown.

T
he next day
, Adil got up far earlier than he normally would. He had a slight hangover from the night before, but dealing with the hangover and the lack of sleep was better than running into Jaymin and listening to the blasted man’s lecture on family responsibility. Massaging his temples, he grabbed a muffin and some coffee from the kitchen before heading down to the vaults. First and foremost, he needed to see that the collection was ready for the shipment next week, and second, he wanted to get another good look at the beautiful Samine.

Instead, he found Bruce muttering over his computer.

“You’re a hard worker for a thief,” Adil said casually as he watched the man.

Bruce looked up sharply with a dark expression and scowled. “And you’re up early for a playboy,” he snapped. “Shouldn’t you be in bed with a woman or two? It’s not even noon.”

“Touché,” Adil said mildly. “As I mentioned last night, I’m in charge of making sure the collection is shipped successfully, and Jaymin has made it quite clear that I won’t like the consequences if I fail. So that means that
you
are not allowed to fail. How long before the shipment is ready?”

“Three weeks,” Bruce said. “You have some amazing stuff down here, but only a few of the pieces have been inspected, and none of it has been catalogued. It’s grouped from three different sites, which makes it a little easier to study, but it has to be dated for authenticity. Plus, there are the pieces your family has had in the vaults for years.”

“Well, the whole collection isn’t going; it’s just certain handpicked pieces that the Louvre wants. All these priceless pieces and someone else gets to choose which is more beautiful.” Adil shook his head as he looked around at his family’s legacy. “Work on the pieces for the Louvre and worry about the rest later.” Adil lifted himself onto the table and stared at Bruce. The man didn’t move. “Well? Get to work.”

Bruce cocked his head. “Are you going to help, or are you going to sit there and be in the way?”

“I’m supervising. That means delegating. And I’m delegating everything to you,” Adil said as he bit into his muffin. The man didn’t actually think he was going to work, did he?

“And by supervising, you mean hiring a woman with no experience to help? You do realize how much time we’re going to lose with me teaching her how to catalogue things into the system, right? If you really want this done on time, you’ll do more than just sit on your privileged ass. You’ll do something to help me,” Bruce snapped.

Adil bristled. No one talked to him like that except family. He wasn’t about to share the importance of having the shipment go out on time with a thief. Part of him thought Jaymin would never go through with cutting him off, but part of him feared that his brother was serious. Begrudgingly, he shoved the rest of the muffin in his mouth and hopped off the table. “Fine. Tell me what you want me to do.”

Bruce handed him a stack of tags. “Make sure each of the items on that table there has one of these tied to it. Once I inspect it, I’ll mark everything down, and your reporter can catalogue it into the system. Where is she, by the way?”

“I’m right here!” The feminine voice floated from the stairwell as the woman waved. Her hair was still pulled back, but she was in jeans and a brightly colored teal blouse. Huge earrings adorned her ears, and Adil frowned. The woman’s fashion sense seemed to run to the exotic. “Sorry, I got a little lost. The palace is so large, and I ended up on the wrong side of the building. Thankfully, security was around to show me the way.”

After she bounded down the stairs, she turned in a full circle to view everything. “My God, this is amazing,” she said in a husky breath.

Yes. Yes, it was. Adil eyed her as she turned, and his body immediately responded to her. She filled out those jeans perfectly, and her blouse showed just a hint of cleavage. A small gold chain fell from her throat and between the secret depths of her breasts, and Adil wanted to trace his finger along the necklace to discover what she was hiding.

Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him. “I didn’t expect you to be here,” she said slowly.

Adil frowned. Surely, she hadn’t wanted to be alone with Bruce? “It’s my job to make sure everything is ready. If that means I have to help, then I suppose I’ll have to help. Besides, helping means I get to be closer to you.”

Her eyes lit up with delight. “And why, exactly, do you want to be closer to me? We just met,” she asked demurely.

He reached down to take her hand and lift it to his lips. “Is it wrong that I would want to get to know you better?” He felt her pulse jump in her wrist before he let it go and straightened. She was definitely interested in him.

Bruce cleared his throat. “If you’re finished flirting, maybe we can get to work,” he said dryly. “Ms., Isme, I’ll show you how to input the data.”

“Please, call me Samine,” she said as she followed him to the computer.

Adil took the tags and walked over to inspect the artifacts.

The rumors were that their country sat on the lands of Queen Bathsheba. Wife of the great King David. Mother of the even greater King Solomon. Adulterer. Bathsheba was undoubtedly a woman of power, but Adil had never paid attention to the history of their lands. They’d dug up statues, pottery, and jewelry, but even as he surveyed the collection on the table, he couldn’t feel connected to any of it. If it weren’t as old as it was, he would consider it junk. But the artifacts on this table were worth millions. And now they were going to risk it all by sending it out to museums.

Seemed absolutely ridiculous.

With a sigh, he began to tie the tags around the artifacts. The collection was supposed to be thirty pieces, and as Adil counted, he frowned. “Bruce. Something is missing.”

“It’s not missing,” Bruce said as he came over to join him. “The crown is in the max security vault. It’s by far the most valuable piece. People all over the world have been looking for it, and some people were not happy when your family announced last month that you’d had it all along. It requires twenty-four-hour security, and I’ve begged your father not to let it out of the palace walls.”

Adil lifted an eyebrow. “Your stepsister is the reason we’re doing this. Does she know that you don’t want the crown to join the rest of the tour?”

“She does, but Fleur is stubborn and an idealist. She thinks that the Khalidizack family has enough money to keep it safe. Tell me, Adil, do you agree with her?” Bruce crossed his arms and challenged him.

“I think it’s an interesting inquiry coming from the man who stole from us to begin with,” Adil said evenly. He met the man’s gaze and gave him a cold smile. “Any of your old contacts looking into our collection? Anyone who makes you worried?”

“If you’re suggesting that I’m trying to sell your pieces, you’re wrong. Your family is paying me enough to make me comfortable, and I won’t do anything to hurt my sister. But that doesn’t change the fact that there are people openly searching for the crown. That’s why we need to lie about the shipment dates.”

“What?”

“I think that we should publicly announce the shipment date in two days, but hold off for a week. If anything goes wrong with the first shipment, we can recall the whole thing. Please.”

Adil shrugged. It wouldn’t cost that much money to do a fake shipment, and it sounded like a good plan. “Fine. Has the crown already been tagged and catalogued?”

Bruce nodded, and Adil looked over at Samine. She was hunched over the computer and looking over the paperwork. “Good. Get to work on the rest of the pieces. I’ll help Samine.”

“Of course you will,” Bruce muttered, but Adil ignored him. The man was smart, but that didn’t mean Adil had to like him. “So what’s your angle?” he asked Samine as he approached her.

She looked up, startled, and he was surprised to see fear in her eyes. “Angle?” she asked.

“Your article,” Adil prompted her with a smile. “The article that you’re writing on the collection.”

“Oh, there are so many different angles.” She straightened and gave him a coy smile. “Bathsheba is a fascinating character. There are some who believe she’s a seductress. She bathed outside under the view of King David until she finally caught his attention. If that’s the case, she’s devious. We have a woman who slept and killed her way up the chain of command to marry a wealthy king and birth one of the most infamous kings.”

“Killed?” Adil asked as he cocked his head.

“King David ordered Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, to fight on the front lines in hopes that he’d be killed in battle, and he got his wish. If Bathsheba knowingly seduced King David, then she put her husband’s life at risk. She may not have gotten her hands dirty, but she had a direct impact on her husband’s death.”

He reached for the papers she held and brushed his fingers along her skin. “Bathsheba, the seductress,” he murmured. “Fascinating. What’s the other story?”

She gave him a cocky smile. “That she was seduced. The subjects of King David, Bathsheba included, would be at the whims of the royal family. If he wanted something, all he had to do was ask. Bathsheba would not have had the right to refuse him. He wanted Bathsheba, and he got her.”

“Now that’s an angle that I can relate to,” Adil said in a low voice.

“Oh? And what do you want?”

He took a step forward, and she immediately stepped back. Laughing, she walked around the table. “The Bible only discusses David’s sin, so most theologians are inclined to believe the latter story. David wanted Bathsheba, and he betrayed quite a few people to get what he wanted. But David and Bathsheba birthed one of the most legendary kings in history, so we can’t deny the motherly factor as well. Bathsheba is the reason that Solomon got the crown and not Adonijah, the first-born. Bathsheba clearly favored her second born, and she made David promise to pass the kingship to him. She crowned him herself, and he gave her a seat on his court and listened to her advice during his reign.”

Adil shrugged. “Well, I don’t know about you, but the motherly angle is not nearly as sexy as Bathsheba, the seductress.”

“So, should I go with the sexy angle?”

He couldn’t help but notice that her smile lit up her entire face. She was interested in him, so why was she playing hard to get? He had no problem flirting and chasing if it meant that he would eventually get her under him at the end. “Sex sells,” he tossed back.

“Hey,” Bruce barked. “Enough flirting. Back to work. I believe it was both of you who were pushing that we finish this in time.”

Adil winked at her before snagging the paperwork and giving her space to work. As the hours passed, he couldn’t help but keep a close eye on her. She was sexy and mysterious. He had a feeling that she was planning on keeping him at arm’s length. It was probably for the best if he had any chance of remaining in his brother’s good graces. Besides, she didn’t strike him as someone interested in a one-night stand. No, she was definitely someone in it for the long-term and that just wasn’t him.

But that didn’t mean he was going to give up; he had to have her in his arms at least once.