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He stared at her, his face tight with grim purpose. “We must stand our ground and fortify our commitment to democracy.”
“I don’t see what this has to do with me.” She pressed her body into the seat and turned her legs away. “I’ve spent my life marinating in danger,” she mumbled as she stared out the window. “Never knowing when I was going to be emotionally and psychologically attacked.” She spun around to face him. “And now you’re bringing me,us, to a warzone?”
“You’re being overly dramatic. Things have not escalated to that level. I am being preventative. Fortifying Avana’s future.”
“But they could invade, couldn’t they?”
“The forces of evil will never win. But it is not through want of trying,” he conceded. “They agitate and sow discord amongst our men, creating aggression in men of peace. They are the cause of the wave of Islamophobia spreading through democracies around the Western world. They shame us all with this stain. People fear Islam and Muslims because these psychopathic, extremist tyrants have corrupted what is beautiful with their ugliness. They deny the truth and speak in lies.”
She exhaled noisily. “This is exactly why I hadn’t wanted to return to Avana.Ever. It’s surrounded by a hotbed of hostility.”
“The world is a volcano of hostility,habibti.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “It seems like everyone is in love with war.”
“Peace is my passion,” Anwar said. “I will do what I must to protect it.”Even marrying the woman who betrayed my trust.
Lucy’s fear simmered through the aircraft cabin. Her vulnerability stirred his passion. Anwar wanted to ensure her fears were never realized, to protect her at all costs.
“They will not win,” he said to reassure her. “With a wife, I hold more power. Especially in the eyes of my people.”
“How romantic,” Lucy said, her tone marinated in sarcasm. “Besides, I thought you swore you’d never marry.”
“You are carrying my heir. The only possible way we will maintain our sovereignty is to fortify our family line. To leave the responsibility for the continuity of our lineage to my brother, Tariq, would be reckless,” he pressed his lips into a fierce line. “If something happened to him?—”
“But what if something happened to you?”
The worry etched in her voice caused his gut to churn. Nobody had ever worried about what happened to him. He wanted to tell her that. But he decided the best option was to bend his formidable will to his purpose.
“If something should happen to me, my lineage must continue. I have deferred long enough. I do not want to be an old father as mine was. Time is of the essence, and you,habibti, pregnant as you are, will achieve that deliverable goal quickly.”
CHAPTERTEN
The sun slowly dipped below the horizon, casting a flaming array of colors across the sky as Anwar’s private jet soared beyond Manhattan. The irony was not lost on Lucy. Many women would kill to be in her position. Anwar had reassured her that she was in no imminent danger, in many ways, quite the opposite.
She was being spirited away from a life of struggle onboard a luxurious private jet belonging to the enigmatic billionaire Sheikh Anwar na Hassir, pregnant with his child, and an offer of marriage. If you could call a demand a marriage proposal, that was.
Despite her fury, she couldn’t help but admire Anwar. He didn’t run away from danger. He faced it. He prepared for it. He conquered tyrants, despots, and fools. Despite her fury at being taken from her home, she found herself respecting Anwar’s conviction that aggressors would never win. If only she had someone fighting for her in that way.
The jet soared through the clouds, ascending higher into the atmosphere, as Lucy's thoughts drifted to Anwar. He was a powerful man with an insatiable passion for peace and art. Those things alone should make him attractive. As she settled into her plush seat, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
Their passion for art had united them from the start. But now, her breakout exhibition,Desert Dreams, had taken an unexpected turn, forever altering the course of her life. He had once sought her expertise in curating his private collection, and nowshewas to be part of his collection. Her self-reliance was her rock, and now he was crushing it.
She should never have agreed to get into that damned limousine.
Suddenly, the sound of fluttering wings drew her attention to the rear of the jet. Lucy turned to see a magnificent falcon perched near the far window. Its piercing gaze locked onto Lucy as if assessing her worthiness to be in its master's life. Fascinated by the bird's powerful beauty, Lucy couldn't help but feel a strange connection. If only she could be that fierce, she thought.
And that loved.
Anwar’s devotion to his falcon was well-known, matched only by the obsession his older brother Tariq shared to rehabilitate injured birds and protect other animals from harm in the sanctuary he had created in the kingdom of Avana. Would she find sanctuary in Anwar’s extended family? Lucy wondered anxiously as the jet continued its seven-hour journey.
She glanced up as Anwar emerged from his private chamber, dressed impeccably in a long whitedishdashithat emphasized the elegance of his powerful physique.
Anwar approached her with a wry smile, his eyes sparkling with the satisfaction of his conquest. He gestured towards the falcon perched by the window. “I see you have met Zephyr,” he said in a deep, melodic voice. “He is my most loyal companion. Like you, Lucy, he possesses a unique ability to sense beauty.And authenticity. I believe his presence will enhance our life together."
“I don’t think he likes me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Trust is earned,” Anwar said, running his fingers down Zephyr’s dark brown back feathers. “You must prove you are worthy of devotion.”
