Dedicated to my mother for unknowingly making me discover the wonders of Harlequin books (not that she knows that I found her secret stash of Harlequin Mills & Boons books - and I hope she never does). When parents tell you don't look, it's natural to say that the child would look, right? :D
Chapter 8
Annabelle did not puke throughout the whole plane ride.
The plane arrived at Arandia at noon, just in time for Annabelle to see the most popular thing about all deserts. Sheiks riding through the desert. Despite entering into the 21st century, it was very nice to see a balanced mix of culture and modern civilization in Arandia. There were females in long pretty dresses and males in business suits and there were also some milling along the streets in their traditional outfits. They got into a four-wheel drive as soon as they arrived. Annabelle was excited about everything she saw.
As they rode in the backseat of four-wheel drive, Rashiq pointed out everything about his country to Annabelle. Annabelle took everything in with interest. The ride stopped just beside the desert. Annabelle took countless pictures of sheikhs with their full traditional costumes as they rode their horses into the desert.
Arandia was separated into two parts, the desert part and the town. It might be a small country but its worth was big in the oil industry. The country had oil located almost everywhere. Some of the world's rarest jewels can also be found in Arandia. But what was most important to Rashiq were the people of his country. They were the essence of his country. They were the people who formed the name for his country. Without his people, the country was worth nothing.
His next stop was to the palace where Annabelle would be meeting his father formally.
The palace was beyond words.
Annabelle gripped Rashiq's hands tight as he held her hand in his. He led her up the stairs to the palace. The guards opened the door, all of them greeting Rashiq in their traditional language. Rashiq nodded at them before ushering her in. They walked up a flight of stairs before they entered a room.
"This is my bedroom."
Annabelle took a look around. The room was exactly like she imagined Rashiq's room to look like. Perhaps a little bigger but nevertheless still the same. His big bed lay in the center, a small table to the side, a dark blue couch near the windows, and a big mahogany table at the corner of the room. Small pieces of his childhood could be seen around the room. The room was swathed in colours of black and blue. It was pretty similar to his choice of colour in his dorm room.
"I like it."
Rashiq smiled at her before gently pushing her to the bathroom. You can wash up first if you want or you can take a nap. You might be jet lagged after the long flight. I have to see my father first. You'll see him later."
"Okay."
Rashiq left her in his room as he walked briskly to his father's office. His father had asked to meet him as soon as he arrived. He knocked twice on the door before his father uttered 'Come in.' He entered and stood before his father.
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes."
"Did you bring her?"
"Yes, you'll see her later during dinner."
"I'm afraid that's impossible, my son. Malek, the king of Satrin has heard of your arrival and urges me to have a ball to celebrate your return. He wants to introduce you to Hanna. He has allowed for the wedding to be postponed because of the excuse that Hanna is too young but I'm afraid I have not gotten around to telling him about the wedding being cancelled."
"It's been three months, father! Four, nearly! What reason can you have for not telling him yet, other than the reason that you want this wedding to happen as much as him? I will attend the ball tonight with Annabelle but don't expect me to be more than cordially polite to Hanna."
He left without waiting for his father's reply.
He walked back to his room, trying to conceal his anger. He opened the room door expecting to see Annabelle leafing through another one of the tourist guides she brought with her, but instead saw her passed out on the bed. He walked towards the bed and gently tucked the covers over her. She was the first female to ever sleep in his bed and the sight of her in his bed gave him a sense of satisfaction that he never expected. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before going into the shower.
He wrapped a towel around his waist after his shower. He walked to his bed and gently shook Annabelle awake. "Annabelle? Wake up. We have an event to go to."
She turned to face him, rubbing her eyes before finally opening them. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. What did you say earlier?"
"There's a ball organized in honour of me returning, we need to get ready."
Annabelle immediately stood up. Blood rushed to her head, making her a little unsteady. "Are you okay?" asked Rashiq.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks." It was only then that she noticed Rashiq was practically naked. Her eyes zeroed in on the drops of water trickling downwards, heading towards the towel.
"No, no. Don't get that look on your face. We would never make it out of here if you don't. We have a week's worth of sex to make up for," Rashiq said although his libido jumped at the thought of taking her.
She cleared her throat. "What time is it and what time is the ball?"
"Three in the afternoon and the ball is at seven thirty in the night."
"Okay, I'm going to take a bath."
"Good."
Annabelle stripped of her clothes one by one till she was naked, leaving a trail of her clothes leading from the bed to the bathroom.
Rashiq swallowed, "What are you doing?"
"Removing my clothes."
"I mean, why are you doing that here?"
"Oh. I'm seducing you. Seeing as we have about four and a half hours before the ball and since you're practically naked with an erection that you can't hide, I thought we might as well make good use of it and –"
The rest of her words were swallowed by Rashiq's kiss as he pushed her into the bathroom.
They didn't get out till well after an hour later.
Rashiq excused himself to another room to change after their shower, giving time for several of the palace's maidservants to enter the room and help Annabelle to change. Rashiq told her that the maidservants were to help her put on Arandia's traditional clothes.
The maidservants brought in a set of garments in a black with several glittering stones on them. She was handed a simple silk chemise to wear before she was given a long sleeved dress to wear. The dress fitted at the waist before falling loose at the bottom. A long heavy robe was put over her shoulders to complete the ensemble. Her hair was pulled up in an elaborate twist before a black translucent veil was put over it, covering her hair like a scarf. Annabelle looked at the mirror and gasped. She looked exactly the part of a sheikh's princess. She thanked the maids before taking out her phone and texting Rashiq that she was ready.
The door to their room opened shortly after and Rashiq stood before her, dressed in flowing robes. In his robes, he looked every part of the sheikh prince that he was. She had never seen a person as handsome as him. He held out his hand and she took it.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ears. She shivered and looked into his eyes. And she knew with every fiber of her being, that she was falling in love with him.
Edited on 10th June 2015