The Sheik's Lost Princess Read online

  Like his father. Or like the man she’d once imagined Shakir to be.

  William had even been the first to suggest that they take in the other lost boys to live with them until their families could be located with the help of the United Nations. She and Darin and his wife, Rylie, were still trying to find the parents for three of the boys. So far, they’d reunited one child with his family in Switzerland. A fourth boy, the Asian-looking one, insisted that he couldn’t go home. That his parents were too poor to take him back. Rylie had agreed it was quite likely his parents had sold him to Umar. That sort of thing apparently happened in the Far East all the time.

  Nikki’s heart went out to the child. He needed a lot of attention, but William was wonderful with him.

  She wanted to do much more. During her research, Nikki had discovered many thousands of lost children all over the world—just like these boys. It was heartbreaking, and she’d been mulling over ways to make a difference.

  As she considered the possibilities, something appeared in her peripheral vision at the side yard. It was a man. Heading toward the children.

  Shakir’s brothers had warned her to be careful of strangers. Tarik had even put up a surveillance system with cameras. But it might take too long for anyone to come to their assistance.

  Nikki refused to have a gun in the house with children. But she kept Shakir’s knife, the big one that had saved her life more than once, nearby at all times.

  Reaching high into the cabinet, she grabbed the knife and hurried out the back door in a matter of seconds. By now the man had reached the boys and was talking to them. Talking to William especially.

  She ran about fifteen feet before she slowed. There was something about the man that didn’t seem as threatening all of a sudden. He was broad-shouldered and might’ve been tall, but it was difficult to tell because she now saw that he was leaning on a cane.

  Ohmygod. The man must be Shakir. It had to be him.

  Jolting to a complete stop, Nikki was torn between the need to see the man she loved and the anger building toward him for not telling her he was coming. At just that moment, Shakir turned to look at her as though he had been hearing her thoughts.

  So much was written in his expression as he stood watching her that she couldn’t separate the longing from the obvious guilt in his eyes. The man was tearing himself in two, and she wanted to know why.

  William spotted her where she stood and came running in her direction. “Maman, Papa’s here! He came. He came to see us.”

  Slowly, she began walking toward William while keeping her eyes on Shakir not far in the background. Her son had been hearing more about his father recently, through his uncles. And now William must be convinced Shakir was going to stay and be his real father.

  Nikki wasn’t as sure. But she slid the knife into her dress pocket before William could spot it.

  “Will Papa play football with me?” She had never seen William so excited.

  “Your father is still injured, son.”

  William turned to look at Shakir. “Oh. From when he saved us. I know. Well, I can help him. I can hold him up on the bad side. That would be good, wouldn’t it, Maman?”

  Tears filled Nikki’s eyes, but she held them back as she reached out for her son and pulled him close. “I need to speak to your father. You can talk to him more a little later. For now, why don’t you and the other boys go inside and ask the housekeeper to fix your lunch. I think she was planning on baking cookies.”

  Her son looked disappointed but he nodded his acceptance. Then he turned and raced for Shakir, hugging him so hard around the middle that the two of them almost toppled to the ground.

  Shakir whispered something to him and William nodded again. Finally, her son began gathering up the other boys and they ran off with the promise of cookies after lunch in their minds.

  Nikki straightened her shoulders and went to Shakir. “We need to talk.”

  He tilted his chin and agreed. “Is there somewhere we can sit? This is the first day I’ve walked this far and…” He shrugged as if he was embarrassed to be in pain.

  “Certainly. Over there under the tree.” She pointed to the wooden bench in the shade.

  Once they were seated together and she felt his warmth at her side, it was all she could do not to wrap herself around him and kiss him senseless. How could he have made them stay apart this long?

  But Shakir didn’t look like he was ready to kiss and make up. A chill wind off the ocean shivered over her skin, making her doubt his intentions.

  Oh, God. What would she do if he told her goodbye?

  It was all Shakir could manage to keep his hands off of Nikki. Those long months of dreaming about her had never been as good as the real thing.

  But here she was beside him, all soft and silky warm. With the curves in all the right places that he remembered. And with that upturned nose and proud chin that he’d always adored. He had to clasp his hands together to keep from touching her.

  “How are you feeling? Does it still hurt very much?”

  “Not a lot.” He had to pull himself together and say what he’d come to say.

  Tarik had called him a coward and Shakir supposed that was what he was. He didn’t want to face this. Didn’t want to see the look of disappointment in her eyes when she heard him tell her the truth of who he was.

  “You’re right, Nik. We do have to talk. I need to…” The words clogged up his throat and when he finally forced something out, he said, “Why didn’t you tell me before that I was William’s father? Why didn’t you find me and let me know about the baby?”

  He hadn’t meant to say that. Why had those been his first words?

  Nikki’s eyes grew dark and tight. “I tried, damn you. I searched and searched when I found out I was pregnant. Where the hell did you disappear to?”

  “You looked for me?” He hadn’t expected her to say that. He’d supposed that she’d been grateful not to be burdened with a man like him as a father to her child. And he’d been absolutely positive her parents would be thrilled to be rid of him.

  “I nearly killed myself looking for you,” she said. “I even found an address for your family and mailed them a letter asking for your whereabouts.”

  “Did you tell them about the baby?”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t any of their business. But I did receive a return letter from Darin saying he hadn’t heard from you in months. Where’d you go?”

  “I…I…” The time for keeping secrets was over.

  He hung his head so he wouldn’t have to watch the disappointment in her eyes. “When you told me you were marrying someone else, I was devastated and miserable. At the time, I tried to convince myself that I felt bad because of my hurt pride. But it was more than that. Deep down I was sure you sent me away because you’d decided I wasn’t good enough for you. I knew that’s what your parents thought, and I tended to agree with them. I wasn’t nearly good enough for you.”

  Nikki remained deadly silent. He wished he knew what she was thinking, but it was time to open up about everything.

  “I’m still not good enough, Nik. Nothing’s changed in all these years. I’m a killer. You’ve seen me in action now. You know. I don’t feel a thing when I take a life. That makes me a savage and not worthy of being loved.”

  “Oh, for pity’s sake!” Nikki punched him hard on his good arm. “Look at me. Listen to me.”

  He raised his head until he met her gaze. Those warm hazel eyes of hers were blazing green.

  “Answer me this,” she demanded. “Have you ever taken a life for fun or profit?”

  His stomach churned at the thought. “No, never.”

  She punched him again. “Of course not. You kill because you or someone you love is in danger. You’re not a savage. Far from it. You’re a good man who is strong and brave and is prepared to defend the people who matter.”

  Rolling her eyes, she added, “I would never have fallen in love with a man who enjoyed killing.�
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  “You love me?”

  Nikki pulled her arm back, preparing to slug him again, but he captured her fist in both of his hands.

  “I told you that in the helicopter, you imbecile.” She gave him a sharp nod of her head. “I’m sure you heard me.”

  He’d thought he dreamed those words. Thought he’d wanted them so badly that he made them up out of his pain.

  He reached for her, needing to feel her body next to his heart. But she pulled back.

  “So where were you when I went looking? I always figured you were in some other woman’s bed.”

  The chuckle escaped his lips before he could catch it. “Nothing so tame. I couldn’t think when you said it was over. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t any bloody good for anyone and I acted the part. Took myself on a little three week binge. Tore up every bar in London, until finally I landed before a magistrate who gave me a choice. Jail time or enroll in the army. I chose a paratrooper regiment and never looked back.”

  “You were a British paratrooper?”

  “Until recently, yes. Served in Afghanistan for most of those years.”

  Shakir saw the confusion and hurt in her eyes begin to lift. He was glad he wasn’t the cause of her pain anymore. But he wasn’t sure where they went from here.

  “Do you still love me?” she demanded suddenly.

  “I… Yes, Nik. More than life itself. That’s why I came today. I couldn’t live without seeing you at least once again.”

  Flinging her arms around his neck, she pasted herself to his chest. “Then marry me! Be William’s father and my husband. Stay with us. Love us and let’s be a family.”

  With her bottom stretched halfway across his lap, his thigh hurt like a son of a bitch. But he almost didn’t notice.

  Here was everything he had always wanted and never thought he would have. Here was peace and love and someone who knew exactly what he was—and didn’t care.

  He kissed her hair and whispered his reply. She sighed deeply and kept on holding him tight. Her happiness rippled through him long afterward as he silently vowed to make her just this happy for the rest of their lives.

  And sometime later, it occurred to him that the pleased sighs of the woman he loved were the most wonderful sounds he had ever heard in his entire life.

  Epilogue

  It was a quiet family ceremony on the beach with a soft breeze blowing in over the sun-kissed ocean waves. The bride and groom were barefoot in the sand. Not in the royal tradition at all, but the way Nikki had always dreamed it could be on the day of her wedding.

  Well, it had been quiet for a while at first, she mused. Until three little boys became slightly bored and started to squirm. Chuckling to herself, she waved the children away to play in the sand and kissed her new husband. And kissed him again.

  She would never tire of kissing Shakir. He looked handsome enough to eat today in his black tuxedo and stark white Bedouin head scarf. He made her feel like a princess.

  It was a glorious spring day in the Mediterranean, with picturesque yachts anchored in the harbor. The ships’ flags were unfurled and jewel-colored flowers adorned their sleek white decks. The many boats bobbing on crystal blue waters added to the romantic atmosphere.

  Shakir’s family surrounded them, congratulating and kissing her and patting him on the back. Everyone had something to say and well-wishes to add.

  When most of the people wandered off down the beach to help themselves to champagne and cake, Tarik lingered behind. “I was just given a little bad news, brother.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” Shakir pulled Nikki close and grinned. “It’s too nice of a day.”

  She wrapped her arm as far around his waist as it would go and said, “Go ahead and say whatever you must, Tarik. All our days will be good ones from now on. And we know life goes on.”

  “A nice life sounds wonderful,” Tarik told her with a sober nod. “But nothing will be really nice until we can convince the world authorities that the Taj Zabbar are terrorists.”

  He offered Shakir a congratulatory cigar and went on. “I’ve heard from my old bosses at D.O.D. They’re not ready to admit publically that the facility at Kuh was a nuclear centrifuge in the making.”

  Shakir raised his shoulders. “No? What do we have to do to prove it, take them on a tour?”

  “No, but it might’ve been helpful had we gotten a few pictures before we blew it up.”

  “Right. Sorry I forgot to bring along my camera.” Shakir chewed on the end of the unlit cigar.

  That brought a weak smile to Tarik’s lips. Nikki was glad. She wasn’t used to seeing Tarik without his happy-go-lucky grin.

  “I think we might have another chance to get our proof,” Tarik told them. “Rumors are running rampant throughout the Taj organization about a big deal going down in a few weeks. Supposedly, one of the other elders has a line on buying the same kind of nuclear technology that they lost in Kuh. My guess is if they can’t make the stuff themselves, then they think obtaining the same thing premade will be as good.”

  “Is that possible?” Shakir’s eyes had grown dark. “I didn’t think any of the countries in the world that’d developed nuclear weapons were in the position to sell them.”

  “Everything has a price, brother. And the Taj Zabbar are now wealthy enough to afford whatever the cost.”

  “This time we need proof.” Shakir ground the cigar between his teeth.

  “I’m working on a plan. By the time you return from your honeymoon, I’ll have everything set up.”

  Tarik walked away as Shakir turned and pitched the cigar into the sea without ever lighting it.

  The two lovers stood arm in arm, watching the children play near the ocean as the setting sun shot Valentine colors across the sky. A deep rosy glow brightened the land and sea.

  “Are you sure you feel right about going away and leaving the boys in Darin and Rylie’s care?” Shakir kept his voice soft and his arm around his new bride.

  “I’m never felt surer of anything in my whole life. We have the rest of time for the children. I know you want to catch up for the years you lost with William, but you can’t rush it. And the two of us come first.”

  Shakir tightened his grip on her waist, his woman, his love. “You’re really something, you know that? Too smart for the likes of me.”

  She was his light and his life. “That idea you had for starting a ‘lost children’s’ network in the Kadir name just about knocked me over it was so bloody brilliant. Our family’s respectability and integrity will increase around the world exactly at the time when we need it the most. And,” he added as he kissed the top of her head, “you will be the perfect person to head such an agency.”

  Nikki leaned against him and drew in a breath. She was perfect in every way. She was behind him in everything he did, and she gave him the family he’d always wanted but was afraid to dream about.

  Tears backed up in his eyes as he thought of how close they’d come to never actually grasping this perfect love they’d found.

  “Come show me how much you love me.” She coyly shifted in his arms.

  “I’ll show you, all right,” he promised. “Over and over for the bulk of the next four days on our holiday. And then again for every day afterward if I have my way.”

  He leaned down and kissed her, his embrace welcoming her to the home they would be making in each other’s arms for the rest of their lives.

  She was his love. His family. His forever.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7964-7

  THE SHEIK’S LOST PRINCESS

  Copyright © 2011 by Linda Lucas Sankpill

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying a
nd recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  *The Gentrys

  **The Gypsy Inheritance

  †Night Guardians

  ††The Safekeepers

  ‡Desert Sons

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue