Page 19 of The Sheik's Embrace

How dare they touch his women! But now that another man had laid hands on Nora and Beth Ann, they were sullied. They were worthless. They’d allowed another man to touch them, so he was fully justified in dismissing them from his life.

Of course, Beth Ann was already dirty since she’d been married before. He thought about the situation for a moment, then nodded his approval. The two women were useless members of the congregation since neither were able to procreate. Nora was still a virgin, but since her husband had died before their wedding night, no other community member was willing to risk marriage to her. Hence, why the woman had been a burden to his household for the past several years.

Beth Ann, his mother, was useless as well. Oh, she cooked and cleaned adequately. But she wasn’t a pure woman any longer. She couldn’t remarry since she was no longer a virgin. And therefore, she was a burden to the community as well.

Without the women slowing him down, Elijah knew that he could make better progress in finding his wife. Tara had to be close by. He wasn’t sure where exactly, but eventually, she’d have to come home to him. And if she was no longer a virgin, if Tara had allowed another man to steal her virginity…? Well, then he’d have to bring her back home so that she could be appropriately disciplined. Stoning was still an adequatepunishment for hussies. It wasn’t used often, but when it happened, the stoning process was a sight to behold!

Not only did the stoning send the adulteress to her fiery, bruised afterlife, but it also reminded the other women in the group to obey their husbands and the male elders. It was a powerful lesson for any woman who dared to step out of line.

Kaia adjusted her blond wig, hoping that she could get to her hotel room quickly. She wanted a shower and a glass of wine. And she needed to find Tara so that she could ensure that her baby sister was safe.

Goodness, it had been so long since she’d seen Tara. The warning had been delivered and received, but Kaia had a bad feeling. She hadn’t heard Elijah on the digital feeds lately and that worried her. What orders had Ethan given Elijah?

It didn’t matter. Kaia needed to see Tara anyway. She needed to see with her own eyes that her baby sister was safe from her certifiably insane “husband”.

The taxi ride from the airport to Tara’s apartment building was short, but she still hated the blond wig. It itched and, with the intense sunshine, the wig kept in all of her body heat. However, she knew that, in just a few minutes, she’d be able to see Tara and toss the wig into the trash!

“Thank you,” she told the taxi driver and paid him, giving an extra tip.

Chapter 18

Tara slapped the file folders down onto her desk, grumbling about obnoxious men and their highhanded tricks.

“Ready for dinner?” Zayed asked, poking his head into her office.

Tara spun around and glared at him. “No!”

Zayed merely grinned and stepped into the office. “Shut down everything, Tara. You will no longer be working over a hundred hours a week for me.”

She leaned back in her chair, narrowing her eyes at him. “I don’t work that many hours, Your High…” She stopped when he lifted an eyebrow at her. “I don’t.”

He chuckled and stepped closer, pressing the button on her laptop that would save her work. “Actually, you do. I asked the other people that work around you to estimate the number of hours. Then I went to the security office. There are some weeks when you workmorethan a hundred hours a week.” He took her hand and guided her out of her chair and around her desk. “Did you know you work more than sixteen hours a day most days?”

“I don’t!”

“You do,” he confirmed with a nod, tucking her hand onto his arm once again. “Hayim, the head of the human resources department, has already started interviews for the three assistants that will help you.”

Tara walked alongside him down the hallway, feeling self-conscious as the others in the administrative office looked up from their work areas to watch the procession. It wasn’t just herself and Zayed. Nope! There was an entire entourage of bodyguards surrounding them!

“This is embarrassing,” she whispered up to him.

“Get used to it,” he whispered back.

Tara stayed silent during the trek along the ornately decorated hallway. She breathed a sigh of relief when they finally entered the dining room. He led her over to a chair and held it for her until she was seated, then sat down on the opposite side of the table. With a nod, the servants stepped into the room with the first course.

“What’s this?” she gasped, staring down at the salad in front of her, excitement growing in her chest. “Is this…?”

Zayed eyed the wilted lettuce with a grimace. “I’m not sure. It looks…!” He lifted his eyes to look at her, chagrin changing his handsome features. “I asked the chef to make traditional Kentucky favorites, but I didn’t ask for details.”

Tara laughed with delight. “This is a killed salad,” she explained, poking her fork at the wilted lettuce. “The hot bacon grease dressing wilts the lettuce. It’s absolutely delicious. There’s a touch of sugar, or most likely, honey to the dressing. But it’s probably bacon grease and vinegar, which was what most of the people had on hand when the state was in it’s infancy.” She stabbed a few of the lettuce leaves, took a bite, then closed her eyes as the memories and delicious flavors washed over her. “Oh, this is delicious!”

When she opened her eyes, it was to laugh at Zayed. He’d lifted several lettuce leaves from the plate, his fork hovering in the air as he stared at the droopy food. “It looks disgusting.” But he put it in his mouth, chewed slowly, then nodded. “Huh. Not bad!”

She laughed and started eating with gusto. “I remember the first time I was allowed to eat the killed salad. I’d snuck into the kitchens while the ladies were cooking.”

“How old were you?”

She thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “About ten, I guess. Rarely was any of the fresh food leftover after the men had eaten.”

---