The Sheikh’s Stubborn Bride by Leslie North

4

The next morning, Kadir woke up early and stared at the wall beside him, picturing Stella snoozing away in the room next door. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He was a married man, and honestly? It wasn’t as bad as he’d expected.

Sure, there were still things they needed to learn about each other and yes, Stella seemed to have some opposing views about the future of his country, but then she’d only seen a small sliver of Al-Fatha while she’d been here. He couldn’t wait to begin showing her all the things he wanted to build, the ways he would lift up his country and connect it to the modern era and the world. Al-Fatha had been isolated for most of its history—far too long, in Kadir’s opinion. He planned to carry on his father’s work toward openness and progress and take it even further. The thought energized him, his mind sparking with ideas and optimism. He’d spent years developing them, testing them by gathering advice from noted financial leaders around the globe. Statistically, modernization was the way to go. Stella would come to see that in time. Yes. He was excited to see where this new collaboration would lead.

He’d meant what he’d told her last night. He loved smart women. Plus, Stella was funny and sweet and kind. Not to mention their sexual chemistry was off the charts. Things could’ve been a lot worse. Perhaps his punishment for Salah’s practical joke would become a blessing after all.

A soft knock on the door was followed by a servant poking their head inside to inform him that breakfast would be served in the suite’s dining room in an hour. Usually, he ate breakfast with his family, but he wanted to keep his new bride to himself for a little bit longer. And frankly, his family could be…a tad overwhelming first thing in the morning. He could imagine Salah’s wisecracks this morning, of all mornings.

For today he’d arranged a private meal, picking out all of Stella’s favorite morning foods from the list in her dossier to help her feel more at home at the palace.

He got up and showered and brushed his teeth, then trimmed his beard before coming out and wrapping up in his robe, a match for the one the servants had been instructed to leave for Stella in the other room. Kadir was used to getting up before dawn and getting right to work. He wasn’t used to the fizzing anticipation inside him when he pictured walking next door and seeing his new wife. He stepped into the suite’s living area, their shared living and dining rooms, and caught his breath at the sight.

She was sitting at a table near the balcony, the gorgeous sunrise outside setting off fiery highlights in her auburn curls. She was wearing her matching robe, and her back was to him. Kadir closed the door quietly behind him before walking over to place his hands on her shoulders and bending to kiss her cheek.

“Good morning, habibi,” he whispered, smiling when she turned to meet his gaze over her shoulder, her gray eyes bright and sparkling with the same excitement he felt. And yes, he’d called her my love instead of sweet, but it was just an endearment. It didn’t mean anything. Not yet, anyway.

“Did you order all this?” she asked, as he took his seat beside her.

“I did,” he said, lifting several of the silver domes to reveal scrambled eggs and turkey bacon and sausages, and pancakes with real maple syrup. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving.” She grinned, then squinted at the platter of bacon. “I didn’t think Muslims consumed pork.”

“We don’t,” he said. “But this is made from turkey. There is also French toast, croissants, and hash brown potatoes.”

Her grin widened, and she tilted her head to the side endearingly. “You did that for me?”

“I did.” He snagged a strip of bacon and bit into it, smiling as he chewed. “In case I haven’t made it clear, it is my duty as your husband to make you happy.”

“Really?” Stella gave him some serious side-eye as she picked up a croissant and nibbled on the end of it, winking. “I’ll remember that for later. Do we serve ourselves?”

“Allow me, halu.”

After filling their plates with an assortment of food, they ate while looking out the open French doors at the beautiful view of the gardens below and near the horizon, the distinctive skyline of Jazid. Stella had a healthy appetite, and Kadir took as much pleasure in watching her as he did in eating his own food.

“How is everything?” he asked, smiling over the rim of his coffee cup. “To your liking? Our chefs are award winning, but if there’s something you crave that’s not here or something is not to your liking, please let the servants know and they will pass on the information.”

“Everything’s perfect. Thank you.” Stella grinned around a mouthful of pancakes. “Did you get all this from the dossier? I had no idea when I filled out all that paperwork that she’d include so much of it.”

“Right?” Kadir said at the same time she did, and they both laughed. “My sister takes her duties very seriously. I’m pretty sure she now knows me better than I know myself.”

“Naziha is incredibly perceptive, and she pays attention,” Stella said once she’d swallowed the last bite of her food with a healthy swig of tea. “That’s probably why we became great friends working at the coffee shop together. In my line of work, I’m all about the details, too. We bonded over common ground.”

“That’s what she told me.” Kadir pushed his now-empty plate aside. “I’m glad you both found a friend.”

“Me too.” Stella wiped her mouth with a napkin, then pushed her hair over her shoulder.

They chatted about favorite foods and morning routines and their childhoods—all information that had been in their dossiers but made so much more real and exciting hearing it firsthand. Plus, they shared some new tidbits about themselves that they hadn’t disclosed before, discovering new connections they had. They both enjoyed contemporary classical music—a genre some people hadn’t even heard of before. Not the old standards by Bach or Beethoven, though those were good too, but more modern pieces by composers like Philip Glass or David Lang. Or Emily Howell, a computer program that was programmed to generate original music, which Stella found especially fascinating.

By the time they’d finished eating, they found themselves finishing each other’s sentences and laughing at little inside jokes just between the two of them. It was a completely unexpected experience for Kadir, and amazingly joyful. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt this happy and content.

Then Stella pushed back from the table at last and stretched, her robe parting slightly more with her movements to reveal a delectable V of creamy flesh between her breasts. Kadir swallowed hard and looked away. He did not need to be thinking about her that way right now. Not with a full day ahead of him.

She relaxed and stared at him, her expression eager. “Thanks again for breakfast. So, what’s on our agenda for today? We were going to take that tour.”

“I thought we might start right here at the palace, if that’s acceptable to you.” He finished his coffee and set the cup on the table. “Then perhaps we can go into the city for a bit, if you’d like. Touring the rural areas will take an entire day on its own, so we’ll need to plan that a bit more in advance.”

“Sounds great.” Stella started toward her bedroom. “Let me just get ready and we can go. Should I dress in any particular way?”

“Wear something comfortable. We’ll be doing a lot of walking.” He watched her move away, once again admiring the sway of her hips. His body tightened, and he coughed then stood. This was crazy. He was hardly a schoolboy, lusting after the pretty, popular girl. He was a grown man, experienced; he should have complete control over himself regardless of the temptations. Besides, there’d be plenty of time for that later, once they got to know and understand one another better. Today, they had places to go and things to see, and he wasn’t a man used to wasting time.

Once they’d both changed in their separate rooms, he and Stella met up again in the suite’s living room. While much of the palace was decorated using vivid reds, purples and accents of gold, Kadir had opted for a soothing palette of cream and navy, like a high end hotel. Kadir had dressed for comfort himself, in khaki pants and a white shirt. Stella had taken his advice, wearing jeans and a pretty pink top that skimmed her curves beautifully.

They headed out to tour the palace, starting first in the administrative wing, then moving on to the private art gallery and the residential wing. The complex was huge, serving as both a home and a government building. Modeled after the Alhambra in Spain, it had been built by Kadir’s ancestors four hundred years ago. The complex sprawled across thirty-five acres on the edge of the Al-Fatha desert, including the gardens and the huge courtyard at the center of the complex.

As they walked down corridor after corridor, admiring the mosaics and the vaulted architecture, Kadir took the opportunity to learn more about Stella’s career. After all, her work was important to her, just as his was to him.

“Tell me more about what you’re working on right now,” he said, leading her into a mirror lined hallway with glittering tile mosaics covering the walls and ceilings. Her delighted gasp made his heart happy. “I don’t really know much about that aspect of technology. As I said, Salah played some of them as he grew up, but those were mainly war-type games, some fantasy worlds. Is that the type of thing you design?”

She stopped oohing and ahhing and shifted her gaze from an intricate mosaic to him. “Not exactly. My designs aren’t really the norm when it comes to gaming. I produce more immersive, artistic experiences. Games that involve exploring beautiful, natural worlds. It’s the main reason I came to Al-Fatha in the first place. I wanted to use the history and traditions here as inspiration for my newest design.”

“Really?” He followed her out of the hall and into a large foyer adjacent to the marble stairs leading back up to the private residences. They continued chatting as they crossed the foyer and headed into the public wing of the palace. This was where guided, scheduled tours took place on weekdays.

“The new design has by far the highest budget of any project I’ve worked on. Luckily, my previous titles were successful enough to warrant my investors giving me more funding.” They headed out into the glorious courtyard, with its intricate brickwork underfoot and the surrounding columns and black-and-white arches gleaming in the sunshine. “I’ve actually got a demo on my laptop now, if you want to try it out.”

“I’d love to,” he said as they squinted around the bright space. “Though I’m not sure I’d be any good at it.”

“I’ll help you, don’t worry.” She placed her hand on his arm, sending sparks through his nervous system and his stomach into a tailspin. Or maybe that was her smile. Either way, it left him unsettled and unexpectedly warm.

Kadir resisted the urge to run a finger under his collar and cleared his throat instead, leading her back into the cooler shadows of the covered walkway, then back inside the palace. “Those are the highlights of the palace. You’ll see the private dining room when we eat with the rest of the family. What do you think?”

“I think I need a map to keep from getting horribly lost.” She laughed.

“Don’t worry, habibi. Just as you’ve promised to guide me through your game, I’ll always be there to guide you through our home,” he said, enjoying her slight blush more than he should. That seemed to happen each time he used the endearment with her, and it made him wonder if she’d been denied affection in her life. The thought furrowed his brow. Unable to resist, he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He kept hold of it as they went back upstairs to their suite. He let them into their rooms then closed the door behind them, feeling a bit awkward for the first time all day.

“So…”

“So.” She rubbed her palms on the legs of her jeans then pointed toward the sitting area. “How about I pull up that game for you to try? Unless you have something else to do.”

“My schedule is dedicated entirely to you today. And yes, I’d like to try the game.” He followed her to the sitting area, then took a seat in the armchair beside hers. She booted up the game, then set the laptop on his thighs. What appeared to be a map of Jazid appeared on the screen, complete with the ancient ruins scattered about town. It was detailed and beautiful and quite impressive.

“How do I play?”

She pointed to the arrow keys on the keyboard. “Those are what you use to control your character and move around the scene. Okay. See the kitty at the bottom there?” Stella pointed to it, leaning against him so that her breast brushed his arm. Not that he noticed. Nope. He stared harder at the game and swallowed past the sudden, unwanted lump of lust in his throat. “That’s you. To make it to the next level, you have to find a path through the city that leads you to the temple there in the upper left corner.”

He nodded, not trusting his voice at the moment. Carefully, he guided his feline through the streets of Jazid, maneuvering around street vendors and pedestrians and bazaar stalls. The longer he played, the more Kadir found himself charmed by the experience. It was uncanny how Stella had really captured the essence of the bustling, bright capital. The graphics were stunningly real, almost photographic, and the background music was a tune he remembered from his childhood. Combined with the sunrise in the virtual sky and the sounds of the marketplace, it all felt completely familiar, and yet it was totally new and innovative. Exactly what he was trying to do himself with his plans for the future of his country. His spirits lifted even more.

Things were going along well in his level, and he was making good time to the temple. Along the way, his cat stopped to preen or knock objects off people’s balcony railings and shop counters, which made Kadir laugh out loud.

“This is fantastic. Totally realistic.”

“I’m glad you think so. Coming from you, a native to the area, it means a lot.” Stella grinned at him. “Be careful in the market, though. If you get stepped on, you have to start over.”

“Understood.” To avoid losing one of his nine cat lives, Kadir deftly steered his virtual kitten into a semi-derelict building diagonal from the market as a shortcut to the temple. Except he got lost inside and ended up going to the roof to get his bearings. “Whew. Okay. How’d I do?”

“Not bad.” Stella pointed toward the glowing beacon of the temple a short way off. “That’s your goal. If you get there, you level up. I suggest trying to jump from one roof to the next. It’s the quickest route.”

He took her advice, and after a short trek and only one close call where he nearly tumbled to an untimely end and only survived due to his quick reflexes and sharp claws, he made it to level two. “That was amazing, habibi.”

Onscreen, Kadir watched the temple background dissolve into a new level, and a new district of Al-Fatha stretched out before him. Instead of feeling delighted, however, this new vista made his shoulders tense and his gut tighten, like he’d been sucker punched. His smile faded as he stared at the computer screen, his fingers unmoving on the keyboard. Maybe she didn’t know that the location for this level was the one he’d chosen for construction of his new technology hub, but Kadir had his doubts. The project had been all over the news for months, and after what she said the previous evening in the gardens about preserving the culture and the past of Al-Fatha, he couldn’t deny he felt a bit manipulated. He set the computer aside and stood, stalking over the windows for a breath of fresh air.

“What’s wrong?” Stella asked., frowning. “Is something wrong with the game?”

“When exactly did you design that level, Stella?” he countered. “Was it before or after you accepted my proposal of marriage?”

She scowled, her expression confused. She paused the game, then moved closer to where he stood. “I’m not sure, honestly. Why? Does it make a difference?”

“Yes, it does, actually.” He turned away. The one concern he’d had about marriage, and one he’d stated clearly to Naziha, was his fear of a potential partner using their union to further her own political agenda. He’d not thought Stella was like that, but was it an act? Had she married him just to try to change his mind about his plans? Would she try to sway him into doing what she wanted, then walk out on him? It wouldn’t be the first time someone had left him behind. Dammit. He shook off the fears of the past and did his best not to let them cloud the present.

Kadir was coming to care for Stella and had thought they’d formed a solid, if new, friendship today. He hated to think it was all for show on her part, that his new wife might do something like that. Perhaps it was an innocent mistake. Given her stunned, hurt expression, it seemed that’s what she wanted him to believe. He sighed and stared out at the gardens. No. He should give her the benefit of the doubt, not jump to conclusions. If he were being honest with himself, he’d have to concede that designs so intricate and detailed would take quite a while to put together. They’d only been engaged a few weeks. Surely not long enough for her to put together a game level like that.

Stella was still watching him, her gray eyes wary, hurt flickering in their stormy depths. She looked completely innocent, and damn if he didn’t want to believe her. He took a deep breath and reminded himself to take it slow, gather all the information before reaching a conclusion, just like his father Ibrahim always advised.

“How long does it take you to design a level like the one I played?” he asked finally, circumventing the issue.

“A few weeks, usually. But that’s after all the research and onsite visits. I also try to interview some residents who live near the location I intend to use so I can color the whole experience with details that make it even more immersive. The cityscape in the background of the first level took me over a year to get right, with the thousands of assets and the lighting and the music and so on. I have sketches and storyboards dating back to the day I arrived, practically.”

A year. Well before either of them had even agreed to work with his sister’s matchmaking service, and maybe even before she’d met Naziha. The knowledge helped calm Kadir. She hadn’t set him up or manipulated him into marrying her to try to get him to change his plans. Good. There were still their differing opinions on progress, but he didn’t want to fight with her now. Their day had been going so well up until that point. Perhaps, instead, it was time to show her what he envisioned for the new Al-Fatha.

“I need to run downstairs for a moment and finish up some paperwork in my office. I hope you’ll make yourself at home. And please feel free to explore the palace on your own. If you’d like, I can also send up a staff member to help you set up an office here with whatever you need for your work. They can get you logged onto the palace wireless network as well. We can meet up again in a couple hours, then head into the city for the rest of the afternoon. Afterward, we’ll have a night on the town. I’ll choose the events. It will be a surprise. Sound good?” He gave her a crooked half-grin. “Or perhaps your boss has given you vacation time?”

“Funny.” Stella chuckled. “But doesn’t the staff have an itinerary planned out for us for the evenings?” She walked over and picked up a piece of paper one of the servants had left on a table. “It says here we have preplanned dates this week, courtesy of your sister. Activities to help us get to know each other better.”

She handed him the paper and he scanned it before setting it aside. Naziha had covered all the bases, and while he appreciated his sister’s help, Kadir felt confident he could handle things himself from here on out as far as courtship of his new bride was concerned. Besides, he wanted to make up for his little faux pas just now and show Stella some of the results of his innovation and modernization. In fact, he had the perfect venue in mind.

Kadir grinned as he headed for the door. “My sister has some fine things on that itinerary, but a man must forge his own path once in a while, too. We’ll get to all those things later, and I’m sure my sister will understand. Today, I’m feeling…inspired.” He headed out, then stopped on the threshold and looked back at her over his shoulder. “See you soon, habibi.”