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“Once we’ve made progress, I’ll inform you of the rules.” Ahmad’s athletic build leans over me as he buckles my seatbelt.

I glare through him before he takes a seat across from me.

Sometime later, the jet streamlines into the air. Ahmad clears his throat. “It’s just about time for breakfast, Luxury.” His tone is calmer. After waiting a few beats for my response, he mumbles, “Suit yourself.”

As tears trickle down the cinnamon freckles on my cheeks, I watch as Ahmad feasts on a variety of food. My only thought is Victor. I wonder what he’s doing now.Has he noticed I’m missing? I know he will search for me, but how will he find me?

Another hour into the flight, Ahmad wipes his goatee-framed lips with a linen napkin. He gives an abrupt hand wave, and the attendant whisks away his silver tray. He places a straw into an untouched glass of apple juice, bringing it to my lips, and I set my mouth in acrimony.

“Drink when you’re ready. Eat when you’re hungry.” His thick accent laces with sincerity as he removes the glass. Again, his demeanor changes, turning serious. “Now, for the rules. How you will address the sheikh.”

Tears blanket my eyes, and I’m left sightless as he dictates what will be expected of me.

“And finally,” Ahmad pauses, clearing his throat, “you will be required to attend to his needs. Hadiyah will discuss the more feminine requirements.”

Whoever she is, Hadiyah will teach me all right.Teach me how to fuck the sheikh to his standards. Sharp talons claw at my veins and send vomit hurling up my throat. I bite it all back down.How is it possible this is happening?Forced to sleep with one man while I'm having the child of another.

* * *

Here I am in another foreign country with no family. Not even a friend like Burt. Or the man I love. The jet just landed in the center of a metropolitan area. The buildings here make NYC look like a contractor's model. The skyscrapers shoot up into the blistering blue heavens with no cloud in sight.

Before we exit the plane, the flight attendant provides me with modest clothes—loose blue jeans, a blouse, and tennis shoes. After all the rules about Al Rafi, I figure that this attire is to ensure I don’t appear to be an abductee among the wealthy tourists. I look like one of them.

Sweat drips down my back as Ahmad escorts me into a hotel and casino that apparently belongs to the sheikh.

Gold-trimmed marble floors and columns are just the beginning of the extravagance. A river of water, with soaring fountains at each turn, stretches through most of the building. I look around for a familiar face, an American or an Englishman, anyone who might speak English. I fear that the foreign faces won’t understand my plea for help. It will do no good if my pleading is for nothing or could possibly lead to a beating. No matter how nice Ahmad seems, I don't trust him.

At a long bank of elevators, we step into one at the end. A couple starts toward us. My eyes meet the young women of mixed, unfamiliar heritage. Her eyes are questioning. The doors swoosh closed as I open my mouth to utter my first word—a plea for help—in hours.

Ahmad opens a panel beneath the bank of buttons and enters a code. The elevator shoots up. After a lengthy climb, the doors open at level 157. Ahmad steps out, and we head down a corridor, which is not as long as I think it should be. Perhaps it is one of the top floors. We stop in front of a door, and he pulls out a key card, unlocking it.

The room is a rainbow of colorful, rich tapestries. Three women in dark garments appear to be waiting on a woman. Vibrant, purple silk encases her shape. The woman resembles Princess Jasmine fromAladdin, but there’s an internal hardness about her, something in her amber eyes. She is gorgeous with skin almost as brown as mine. We have the same petite frame. Her hair is in a loose braid down her back, and no veil covers her head. Could it mean she doesn’t follow the rules? Her tone is calm as she says, “I am Hadiyah.”

It takes Hadiyah a mere second to smile while assessing me. “Sheikh Al Rafi will be pleased. Undress.”

I shake my head no.

“What's the matter?” The warm aura evaporates at my lack of answer, and her gaze snaps to Ahmad. “Leave us!”

With his ever-calming voice, Ahmad replies, “I will be discrete.”

“You will leave,” she orders. “Only the sheikh’s permitted to see her disrobed.”

His jaw clenches. “I will be right outside.”

There is no response on Hadiyah's part because those mysterious eyes of hers are all over my body. She only looks away from me to ensure that one of her women has locked the door.

“That Ahmad, I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” She sighs as if we're all old friends. “Oh, I suppose he did just whisk you away from your home, Ms. Luxury. He probably didn’t even entice you with how good you will have it here. You belong to one of the most powerful and wealthy men in the world.”

She speaks happily of the sheikh. His riches. But I already belong to a rich and powerful man. And right now, I’d gladly take Victor as a blue-collar worker. Fuck it. I’d love every inch of Victor’s beer gut every night.

I continue to half listen. Somewhere, I left my friggenfight, and I’ve shifted into the little freckled girl who took what her bullies dished out.

It’s like I’m frozen.Reality hasn’t hit yet. And if I friggen pinch myself one good time, this will all just disappear, and I’ll be arguing with Victor like usual.

Telling him to use his words.

To open up more.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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