Page 40 of The Sheik's Kiss

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, and Mandy experienced a surge of relief at the tender gesture. "I understand now. I should have discussed this issue with you, my dear," he admitted, sighing softly. Shifting his position, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her gently. "Now that you’ve discovered the leader of the embezzlement scheme, I need to identify the individual within my security team who is leaking information to Hasan. That's why I've allowed him to linger in the palace recently—feeding him false information to observe his actions. We both know Hasan is involved in deceitful schemes. However, I must uncover the full extent of those involved in his plots. Once I have that information, I will apprehend every one of them."

Mandy found his explanation to be logical and reasonable. As this realization struck her, an overwhelming surge of love erupted within her, flooding her heart and mind with unparalleled intensity. "I love you," she whispered, stunned by the ferocity of her emotions. "Truly, I love you!" Another revelation struck her in that moment. "I’m really sorry that I didn’t trust you. I should have. Raven is right. Deep down, you’re a good person. I didn’t fully understand the complexities of this situation.” She sighed and snuggled closer. “I will work on trusting you more and learn to understand that the decisions you make are multi-faceted.”

“Allaena, woman!” he growled, pulling her into his arms. “It’s about time!” And then he kissed her. Mandy was overwhelmed with happiness as she kissed him back, needing to show him how deep her feelings were for him. When he lifted his head again, Mandy laughed to find herself sitting on his lap. “So, you’re going to marry me?”

She lifted the gold chain with the diamond ring on it. “Only if I can exchange this for something smaller,” she told him, then cringed. “I’m sorry. I know that you selected this, but it’s just…so big. And I’m not comfortable wearing diamonds this large.”

Zahir threw back his head, laughing at her disdain for the ring that cost over one hundred thousand dollars. Hugging her to him, he said, “You’re probably the only woman of my acquaintance who would think that a diamond is too large, Habibi.”

“Does that bother you?”

“The complete opposite,” he told her. “It tells me that you’re not marrying me for the wealth or power that comes with marriage to me. It tells me that you love me for myself.” He chuckled. “Because I’m not made with dates, apparently.”

Chapter 12

“I found him!” Mandy whispered, staring at the information on her screen.

Raven looked up from the files she was packing into boxes. “You found who?” she asked.

Mandy laughed, then jumped up, doing a little dance. “I found the guard who was working with…?”

Mandy’s celebratory dance abruptly halted when a strange looking servant stepped into the room with a tray of drinks and desserts. “Good morning, ladies,” the woman commented. “His Highness asked that I bring you some refreshments.”

Mandy stared at the servant, startled by the interruption, as well as the thick layer of makeup. The color of the foundation didn’t match the color of the skin on the servant’s neck. So there was a weird line where the makeup ended and natural skin began.

Mandy glanced over at Raven, relieved to see the confusion in her friend’s gaze as well.

“Thank you,” Raven replied. “If you would set that down on the table, we’ll have our treat as soon as we’re done here.”

The servant hesitated, looking over at Mandy with a strange shimmer to her eyes. “His Highness was very eager for you to try this dessert, ma’am. He ordered it specially for you.”

Adam’s apple! Mandy noticed that the large, oddly shaped “servant” had an Adam’s apple. Plus, one boob was significantly higher than the other. The left boob had fallen nearly to the “woman’s” belly button.

In other words, this wasn’t a woman! And most likely, not a servant.

“I’ll be sure to thank His Highness when I see him,” Mandy replied, walking over to Raven and standing in front of her. She felt Raven’s hand on her shoulder and knew that the other woman was trying to reassure Mandy that they were in this predicament together.

“Don’t you want to try them now?” the servant asked, shifting the tray forward. “The cookies are fresh from the oven and delicious. A palace specialty, made with secret ingredients.”

Raven snorted and Mandy remembered Astra’s attempt at making cookies with a “secret” ingredient.

“As delightful as that sounds, I need to get back to work.”

The servant set the tray down on the table, then folded “her” hands in front of her. “That’s very diligent of you. It sounded like you were excited about a new discovery. What sort of services do you provide to our illustrious leader?”

Raven’s fingers tightened on Mandy’s shoulders at the derogatory way the servant had said, “services”, implying that Raven and Mandy were here for sexual convenience.

“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Raven snapped, stepping to Mandy’s side. “We’ll sample the dessert later, when we have time. Thank you for delivering them to us.”

The servant’s eyes sharpened. Obviously, this person didn’t like being ordered about.

Instantly, Mandy realized she knew who this person was. “Hasan!” she gasped, then slapped a hand over her mouth. Hasan Isfari was the man she knew was embezzling money from the Sidrina government! He was the head of the Urban Affairs department!

A gun was pulled out of the man’s “boob” in the next moment.

“Okay, that was unexpected!” Raven hissed. Both of them backed up, terrified of the weapon. But in that same moment, one of Zahir’s personal bodyguards slipped into the office, silently stalking the man. Since the “servant” had his back to the door, he was unaware of the movement. Two more guards were right behind the first, all ready to tackle Mr. Isfari.

“You’re going to tell Sheik bin Aristi that you don’t know anything, then you’ll be on your merry way out of the country. Do we understand each other?”

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