Page 2 of Sheikh's Virgin Love-Slave

Chapter Two

Twenty-four Hours Earlier…

He was enjoying the opera when the alarm went off, the signal blaring out from his cell. Sheikh Ravi Shamon felt the adrenaline surge through his body as he stretched his long legs and unfolded himself from his seat. Il Pagliachi would have to wait for another night, though that didn’t bother him much. He’d never been a fan of the fine arts, but his escort for tonight—Sabella—always had a soft spot for opera. To him, it was just large women in Viking hats singing at decibels he didn’t want to deal with. He reached for Sabella’s hand and pulled her with him.

“Someone’s broken into the summer house, and Allah knows what they’ve been trying to steal. Are you going to come with me?”

She pouted, her lips pursing delicately, making her look all the more delicious. “I wanted to see the second act, habibi.”

He sighed and shook his head. The things he did to please the whims of some of his harem. He dated often and extensively—everyone from the Hollywood starlets to the most beautiful royal heirs of Arabia. Yet, every so often, when he was between his latest conquests, he came back to his lead harem girl. He didn’t love her; he’d never loved anyone in his life. That just wasn’t in his nature, at least not so far. But Sabella amused him, and she could get most anything out of him with an expression like that. So, as usual, he gave in to her demands.

“All right, you stay, and I’ll go and deal with whatever rat the staff has captured.” He squeezed her hand. “You bring me back a program and some of those opera glasses, pet.”

“And then something later tonight?” she purred, turning to press her breasts against him.

He sighed, feeling that boredom creep over him. To be honest, while she was an amusing distraction, Sabella wasn’t what he wanted, at least not currently. However, there was no need to add to the friction, especially not when his app was going off a second time to let him know that security had something big that required his immediate attention.

“We’ll talk about it later. Hopefully whatever is happening will finish up shortly enough, and we’ll be able to move on from there.”

She nodded, but doubt laced her eyes.

Tough. He had other things on his mind, like dealing with whoever had been fool enough to try to steal from him. These weren’t the days of his grandfather, so no one would lose a hand or other appendages, but there would be a swift trial for anyone who dared to rob him followed by years of prison after that. No one crossed the reigning sheikh of Dubai.

No one.

***

“Sir,” Adil said as he walked into the main hall of his luxury vacation estate at the Palms. The old servant bowed low and then stroked a hand through his white beard. “We apprehended some moronic foreigner attempting to steal your latest van Gogh acquisition. He’s detained in the security briefing room, my sheikh.”

Sheikh Ravi nodded and bent low to his old friend. “You don’t have to be so eager to please, Adil. I blame my security for being lax enough to let some…”

“American, sir. It was an American we think.”

“Yes, that would make sense. Only one of them would be either intoxicated or crazy enough to even attempt to do this to a sheikh.”

“True, but I felt briefing you would be best for helping you to prepare for interrogation.”

Sheikh Ravi bunched his fists together at his side. “Tell me, old friend, that the guards haven’t start without me. I don’t like it when people touch my things.”

Adil smiled. “No, sir, the intruder has been left trussed up and ready or you,” he replied as he followed the old servant to the security room.

As the door was pulled open, Sheikh Ravi had to smile as he gazed at the three well-armed guards fanning out around a wiry looking man. He was older than Ravi expected, with greying hair and deep wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. He might have been quite the cat burglar in his heyday, but now it was clear the intruder was past his prime. Ravi almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The asshole had to have been both crazy and desperate in order to try something he was no longer fit for.

To be fair, with the amount of security Ravi had at his disposal, the best thief on Earth would have issues escaping with the painting. This man was completely out of his league. Then again, it was his painting. Its monetary worth and the impression it made on others were meaningless compared to what this painting meant to him. It was dear to Ravi, and this bastard had dared to violate that. It would be quite the joy to give him a bit of working over before turning him over to a tribunal.

“So, what do we have here?” Ravi said, circling his uninvited guest. “Do you dare to steal from me? Do you really dare?”

The thief’s color drained from his already pale face. “I can explain.”

Ravi shook his head and slugged the thief hard enough for the older man to spit blood. “You’re very lucky I’m not as harsh as the other sheikhs in the Arabian Peninsula. If I were, you definitely wouldn’t have hands any longer, and it’s debatable if you’d have a head. But my mother… well, she always believed in due process, and I do as well.”

The man spit blood again. “Doesn’t taste like it from here.”

“Well, I did almost lose my prized possession tonight. You can’t blame a man for being upset by that. Now, do you want to tell me what the hell you’re doing in my home and why you tried such an incredibly stupid stunt?”

The other man struggled in his bonds before sagging, as if he realized how futile his actions were and how trapped he was. “You don’t know anything about what I’m up against.”

“Nor do I care, but I’ll be honest: I’m about to take you to trial and it won’t be good for you. I’m the ruler here and we have video footage as well as the testimony of the guards. It’s only my mercy that will keep you from spending the rest of your life rotting in a very dank prison cell.”

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