Page 44 of At the Sheikh's Pleasure
“In six months’ time, after all the paperwork is done, we will transfer the disputed lands back to the Kingdom of Harran.Back to your father.I’ve done it for one reason only, to show you that you come first.Always.”
She opened her mouth to speak but was so surprised that no sound emerged.
“Please, say something, Rosana.Put me out of the misery I’ve been in ever since you left me.”
She shook her head, trying to rid it of the confusion.Suddenly, she wasn’t sure if she’d heard right.“The disputed lands?You’ve given them back to my father?”
“Yes.My brothers and I decided it was the only course of action.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“Oh, yes, it was.”He stepped forward and caught the hair which had escaped her hood in his hands and wound it around his fingers and brought it to his lips and kissed it.“If I ever wanted to do this again, it was.”
She reached out and touched his cheek lightly with her fingertips, as much to make sure he was real as to make contact with him.It took nothing, barely a movement, to step into his arms and press her lips to his.At last she felt warm, despite the snow which continued to fall, settling briefly on their heads and shoulders until their heat melted them.And in that moment, she knew where her future lay.She knew she could never turn away from this man again because he’d obliterated any remaining doubts.And he’d done it for her.Something no one in her life had ever done before.
As their kiss deepened, he pulled away, his breathing coming hard.
“We’ll go back to my apartment,” she said breathlessly, beginning to walk away.
“No,” he said, pulling her back to him.“Not until you give me an answer to my question.”
“What question?”For the life of her, she couldn’t imagine what question she hadn’t answered.
He got down on his knees, this time in the snow, and asked her again.“Rosana?Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she laughed, “yes, yes, yes!”
Their laughter and running footsteps couldn’t be heard in the muffled snow or above the clanging of the quadrangle bell—which this time sounded like a welcoming peal of good times to come.
Chapter21
It seemed shecouldbe warm in England, after all.But only if Zaire warmed her bed at night, and stayed close to her during the day.She stretched up her arm to admire her ring.It glinted in the stream of sunshine which beamed in through a gap in the curtains.
“Diamonds are forever,” she said, turning to him with a smile.“Forever is a long time.”She rolled onto her stomach, propped her chin on her hands, and gazed up into his eyes.She knew she’d never get enough of the way he looked at her.It was a selfless way, as if all he could think about was her.A girl could get accustomed to such adoration.“Are you up for forever?”
He took a lock of her hair and swept it behind her ear before stroking her face lovingly.“You bet.In fact,” he said, shifting closer to her until she was very aware of how much he wanted her, “I’m not sure forever will be long enough.I, as King of Sifra, demand you accept my company in the afterlife, too.”She raised an eyebrow, in a way which usually had people retreating.But not, apparently the King of Sifra.He traced her eyebrow with his finger before running the tip of his finger along her lips.“What say you, sheikha?”
“Well, my king, if that is a command, then I suppose I must obey.”
“It is no command.It is an invitation, if you like.”
“Hm,” she said, caressing him in such a way as to make him shift his focus back onto her.“At the sheikh’s pleasure, no doubt.”
He nodded with a smile.
“Well, my king, so long as it’s also at the sheikha’s pleasure, I agree.”
He kissed her.“I think,” he murmured against her lips, “you’ll find that they are the same thing.”
The weekswithout Zaire had dragged by.Rosana couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him, and how everything which had seemed so important to her in her life at Oxford now paled into insignificance.She was relieved that finally the day of the bi-centennial celebration had arrived.Her colleagues Janey and Leonora were in her room, dressed in their finest to toast the beginning of new lives for them all.The men would arrive soon and they’d meet them in the dining hall.But all three women wanted to take some time alone together.
Leonora, who’d begun this quest, raised her glass to the others.“Here’s to the diamond, which has brought us greater riches than we could ever imagine!”
The others laughed and clinked glasses.
“The hunt for the diamond certainly changed our lives,” said Janey, grimacing slightly.“But it’s a shame we couldn’t locate it.”
“Yes.I really thought we were in with a chance.I guess its whereabouts will remain one of life’s mysteries,” said Rosana.“Lost forever.”She shrugged.“Who knows?Maybe it’s best that way.”
