Page 29 of The Sheikh's Fake Fiancée

He undid the zipper on his pants to release himself, then plunged into her. Pain rent through her and this time she couldn’t stop her scream.“No!”

Chapter Seventeen

Dawn light filtered through the bedroom window as Kain watched his fiancée—pretend fiancée—sleep soundly. That she’d woken him in the night with a terrified scream had made him ponder for hours the possible reasons behind her nightmare.

Had she been having a random bad dream or had it been something more insidious? Something that affected her on a daily basis? He swallowed hard. Something that she hid from him, a secret she didn’t trust to share?

Damn it.He’d give her the world if that was what she wanted, and he hated that she might have issues he didn’t know about. They were almost one week into their engagement already, and though he felt he knew her on a deeply physical level, there was a whole emotional plane he was yet to cross.

His gaze automatically swung toward the bedside drawers, where her cellphone had been stashed. Was the clue to her nightmare sitting somewhere on the screen of her phone? He rubbed at his brow. Though reading through her messages was a massive invasion of her privacy, he’d do it as a last resort.

He’d do anything to now claim her as his real fiancée and bride.

For now though, he’d leave her to sleep in again. His morning was a full one. The process of delegating much of his workload to trusted advisors and managers was a lengthy one, but it would soon free him to more easily run his country while giving him the quality time he wanted with the woman who’d captivated him from the very start on Holly Island.

That she’d been romantically involved with a man beneath her worth wasn’t something that sat lightly with him. He’d crush Tabari if necessary. As it was Kain had yet to show her all the newspapers with their headlines. Some of the more memorable ones immediately sprang to mind.

From riches to rags. The man who’d had everything and now has nothing.

He smirked. It was well known Tabari was in financial strife. Now that the whole world knew it, thanks to that headline and the picture of him with his head down and shoulders hunched, as though trying to be invisible, he’d be as big a social outcast as Zania had been after Tabari had left her to fend off all the accusations by herself.

One man’s failure in love becomes another man’s marital success.

The next headline could be taken in two ways, with Sheikha Aisha finding love and marrying a sheikh, and Kain engaged to the woman Tabari had all but ruined. Either way, it was enough for Tabari to be made to look a fool. Because hewasa fool. An idiot of the highest order.

Kain sighed heavily as he ran a hand over his face. He’d yet to tell Zania the news about Aisha’s nuptials. He wasn’t sure how she’d take it. Would she fall apart? Would her lack of invitation push her back two steps when she’d just taken a giant leap forward?

He cast one last, lingering look at her while she slept, then turned away and forced himself out of bed when all he wanted was to fold her back into his arms. She’d find out in her own time. He headed into the walk-in closet and flicked through the many soft and quality fabrics of his thobes. Selecting one, he dressed quickly.

The sooner he was done with the business meetings and politics, the sooner he’d be back here with his woman.

Hiswoman. He closed his eyes, his chest warming. There was something so right, so satisfactory in acknowledging the truth. That his feelings were so empowering told him just how perfect she was for him.

Knock. Knock.

He strode to the front door, his chest compressing at seeing one of his senior advisors standing there. “Talib. What is it?”

His advisor wouldn’t be here unless it was important.

“Sheikh Kain, I’m sorry to impose this early in the morning. But I thought you might like to know Tabari Usamah flew into Qaman early this morning.”

“He did?” Kain scratched at his jaw, absently noting the prickly growth. He needed to shave. “Any idea as to why?”

“As far as we’re aware, it’s not for business.”

Which left pleasure. Or perhaps revenge if Tabari had got wind of the article in the newspapers. Though unless Tabari knew someone on the inside of Kain’s publishing empire, he’d only be guessing at Kain’s influence.

“You have men watching him now?” he asked Talib.

“Yes. Two of our best. He won’t be able to blink without our men noting it.”

“Good.” Kain’s stomach was a hard ball. “Keep me posted. I want regular updates.”

“Of course,” his senior advisor replied, bowing then before he left.

Kain stared at the now empty doorway, his busy morning now stretched interminably out in front of him. His duties suddenly seemed inconsequential when his personal life felt as though it was in upheaval.

He stepped through the doorway and pulled the door shut behind him with a soft, decisiveclick.He hadn’t come this far to lose Zania now. He’d do whatever had to be done to see her happy and become his wife.

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