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She was shuddering beneath him, crying, locked inside the heavy pulses of agonizing sensation still tearing through her. She was his. In that moment, in that second, she sensed it like an animal senses its mate.
She belonged to him totally.
Chapter 9
Khalid stared out the window of his library, three days later, a frown marring his brow. He watched the breeze drift through the trees surrounding the gardens. He looked tired, he thought, catching sight of his reflection in the window. Nothing like the charming seducer he was supposed to be. Or the carefree lover he tried to be with Marty. Though, he admitted, at the best of times, he was anything but carefree.
Working for Joseph Mathews and Zachary Jennings had done this to him, he thought, with a twinge of amusement. He thought perhaps he had earlier even glimpsed a gray hair or two in the thick black strands of his hair.
Of course, knowing his brothers would move against him didn't help things. A man could grow old before his time looking over his shoulder as often as Khalid was forced to. Not to mention the strain it had placed on him of all those years fighting his overwhelming desire for a woman who he knew would be placed in danger the moment she came to his bed.
Marty was in the thick of it now, and protecting her was his main priority. His brothers had sworn they would destroy any woman who held his heart, and he feared they were now making good on thier promise.
Ayid and Aman should have been dead after the explosion that had been set off in the terrorist headquarters in Riyadh so many years ago, and the initial report had stated no survivors. Abram and Khalid had relaxed their guard for no more than hours. Just a few short hours, but long enough for Abram's father, Azir, to demand that Abram rush to Riyadh to find out what was going on. Just long enough for the brothers to contact their followers in the region and have Khalid kidnapped and held.
He rubbed his hand over his face and moved away from the window. Just a few hours. It had been enough to allow the brothers to make their way back to the palace and torture and kill the woman Khalid and Abram secretly had been sharing. The woman Abram had claimed as his own, the wife he had cherished.
Lessa had paid with an agonizing death for Khalid's part in the destruction of that terrorist cell. Simply because Ayid had somehow learned of the part Khalid had played in the attack against the terrorist cell's headquarters in Riyadh.
After Khalid had left Saudi Arabia, Abram had returned to being the son Azir had demanded. It was the only way to keep Khalid safe, he had claimed. Though Khalid knew Abram was simply biding his time, waiting until he could destroy his younger brothers without the threat of Khalid paying in some way for his crimes.
It hadn't worked, though. Khalid had never been safe, and now Marty was in danger as well.
She had worked her way into his desires, then into his heart. She was in danger because of him. He could feel it. The attempted drive-by shooting had been a clear message. Ayid and Aman were tired of waiting for their vengeance. For whatever reason, they were moving now.
And he couldn't still the fear that no matter her training and her abilities, he would still lose her.
His Marty was determined to always be the risk taker. At least, in some areas. Unfortunately, having her risk her life didn't sit well with his possessive male tendencies.
The sound of the door opening behind him caused him to stop his musings, and he turned from the window. He watched as Joe and Zach entered the room, glancing at him with concerned expressions.
"Khalid, you're looking tired. " Joseph wasn't one to mince words when the situation warranted it.
"I have no idea what would cause such a thing," he answered, with subtle sarcasm. "Perhaps it's the late nights I'm keeping. "
Nights spent trying to track the information that had come in that Ayid and Aman were tired of Khalid's interference in their terrorist activities over the years. That, added to the deaths of their wives, had exhausted their patience.
Zach moved to the bar and began pouring drinks. He hadn't spoken yet, but Khalid had a feeling that once he began, they would all need them.
"Have a seat. " Joseph waved to the seating area in front of the cold fireplace.
"The news is this bad?" Khalid took a chair across from Joseph as Zach moved to him and handed him the straight whiskey that he had poured.
The situation must be grave indeed. The meeting the two men had asked for had surprised Khalid, especially when they requested that Marty not be made aware that they were arriving.
"The reports coming in are inconclusive so far," Joe stated. Zach took a seat on the short couch facing the fire. "Ayid and Aman crossed the border into Iraq last night. There are murmurs that they've sent someone to the area, but not against you. A single terrorist, rather than a cell sent to strike against a strategic target. "
Khalid sipped the whiskey.
"Sheikh Azir Mustafa contacted the consulate when news of the attack on Marty was first reported and your name was mentioned as having arrived at the scene of the attack. He's demanding that they provide proof of your well-being. "
Khalid snorted at such an idea. Trust the old bastard to use the attack to stage a display of fatherly affection that didn't exist. If the old man gave a damn about his eldest and youngest children, then the two sons who had struck against them would be dead now, not benefiting from their father's benevolence.
"Tell him to go fuck himself," he muttered, knowing his father had only demanded the proof because of his fears that Ayid and Aman was coming after Khalid. Should the Saudi king learn, for a fact, that Azir's sons were terrorists, then Mustafa would lose all hold they had on the region that they ruled.
"The ambassador thought perhaps a politely worded assurance of your health was more in order, all things considered at the moment," Zach retorted, his expression deadpan. "It seemed to require much less effort, and less bureaucratic red tape. "
Khalid glared back at him.
