Page 14 of The Sheik's Embrace

“Sister?” she prompted, pretending to be ignorant.

But his dark, raised eyebrow warned her that he wasn’t going to accept her dumb act. “Kaia Treon sent you the initial message, didn’t she?”

She had to protect her sister. Kaia had been doing the same for Tara for more than thirteen years. It was Tara’s turn.

“My sister has nothing to do with this,” she told Zayed.

“And yet, she’s the one who sent you the warning.”

Her eyes narrowed and she curled her fingers into her palms. “Leave Kaia out of this conversation.”

Another curiously amused eyebrow shot up with that order. “Interesting,” was his only comment, and he shifted, moving so that he was facing her on the sofa. “So tell me about this wedding. Did you consent to marrying this Elijah person?”

“No!” she blurted before she could think of a better response. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “No, I never consented to marriage. Most of the girls who are members of my former community are married young. Ethan says that girls should be married young so that their husbands can teach them how to be good wives and mothers. He says that, if womenare allowed to learn in a school room, they might question their husbands. So it’s better that the girls marry young so that their husbands can mold them into whatever they need them to be.” She gritted her teeth, her chin wobbling as a fresh wave of anger washed over her. “A happy marriage is only achieved through a woman’s compliance.”

“That sounds archaic,” Zayed growled, furious and horrified by what she’d gone through. “Obviously, you disagree with that idea, but how did you end up married?”

She lifted her chin, trying to push past the shame at what she’d been forced to endure. “I wasn’t given a choice,” she admitted. “The negotiations were already started before I was even asked if I approved of the union. Ethan thought it would be good to eventually merge the two farms. And after that, it was merely a matter of working out the details. Then I was informed of the ‘blessed event’,” she mocked that word, “and after a brief ceremony, I was Elijah’s wife.”

“Did you…officiallybecome his wife?” Zayed asked.

Tara looked away, her fingers crumpling the already mussed dress. “If you’re asking if I had sex with him, no. Kaia had somehow heard about the wedding.” She stared out the window in his office, but she didn’t see the beautiful flowers or trees shimmering in the sunshine. All she saw was the face of Elijah moments after Ethan had declared them married. Elijah had licked his lips, wiped the sweat from his forehead, then clapped his hands together as if he’d been given a delicious piece of candy.“After the wedding ceremony took place, I was sent to Elijah’s house while Elijah, and Ethan, along with several of the other community elders, toasted the union, laughing and slapping each other on the back, congratulating each other over such a brilliant union.”

“What happened, Tara?”

She looked down at her hands, trying to stop the tears from falling again, but her efforts were futile. The tears wouldn’t stop as she kept wiping them angrily away. “Like I said, my sister somehow discovered what was happening. She snuck into Elijah’s house with some clothes and helped me get away.”

“Do you know how she did that?”

“No,” Tara replied, sighing with frustration. “My sister…she’s…amazing. She’s protected me all my life.” She stood up and walked towards the windows, wrapping her arms around herself as if she needed a hug. “My sister is two years older than I am. I remember running across the muddy grass in our backyard with Kaia holding my hand.” She smiled sadly. “Apparently, she’s never stopped trying to protect me.”

“She sounds like an extraordinary woman.”

Tara smiled. “She is.”

“Tell me more.”

Tara stared out into the sun-drenched courtyard. “Kaia left the farm before I got married. I don’t know where she went, but when she heard about the negotiations, she came back and fought with the community when Ethan made the wedding announcement.”

“If your sister is older, why didn’t your father arrange for her to be married to this Elijah person?”

Another tear slipped out and Tara swiped it away. “Kaia was always rebellious.” She sniffed. “Everyone who lives in our town attends the same services and ceremonies. There’s only one grocery store, and it’s owned and operated by one man in our community. Everyone volunteers a certain number of hours there. We don’t have a police force, per se. Instead, we have…”she stopped, thinking back to the cruel men who lurked around the outskirts of the town. “There is a team of four men who are allowed to do…whatever they deem necessary. When the minster, who acts as the mayor, tells these men to discipline someone, they go at it with all of their heart and soul.” A moment later, she snorted. “I don’t believe that they have a soul. Not anymore.” She turned and looked at Zayed. “Nor do I believe in Ethan Collin’s version of a divine spirit.”

“You are an atheist?”

She shrugged, still hugging her waist. “I’d say I’m more agnostic than an atheist. You can’t grow up in Tobra, Kentucky, and not attend church. Ethan held services every night and every morning. And for several hours on Sunday.” She sighed. “Sunday was the sabbath and Ethan mandated that the sabbath be strictly observed with a vengeance. There were classes in the morning, then worship service, then more study classes, then prayer for the rest of the afternoon.” Her chin jutted up slightly. “Anyone who had broken one of Ethan’s laws was required to,” she paused, swallowing back the painful memories, “pray while kneeling on a line of raw rice all day on Sunday.” She looked over at Zayed. “Do you know what it’s like to kneel on rice for hours at a time? No bathroom breaks. No food. No water. No relief from the excruciating pain?”

“I don’t,habibi,” he said softly. Tara was grateful for the softness of his gruff voice. If he wanted to hear this story, she needed to be able to think about what she was saying, how much to reveal.

“Tell me how your sister protected you.”

She sniffed again, then looked around, saw the box of tissues on the corner of his desk and grabbed several. “When Iwas about five years old, I accidentally knocked a glass of milk off the table. Kaia took the blame and the punishment for it.”

“What was the punishment for breaking the glass?”

A long silence, then Tara said, “The glass didn’t break. But I’d spilled the milk. I’d wasted ‘the divine spirit’s’ offering. Since Kaia said that she’d done it, she was forced to pray on that miserable rice for three hours that Sunday.”

“Damn!” Zayed hissed, shaking his head at the lack of humanity.

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