Promised to a Sheikh. Carla Cassidy

inside her that will make her valuable not only to me as a man, but to my country as my queen.”

      “And it doesn’t hurt that she is not hard to look at,” Rashad said slyly.

      Omar grinned at his assistant and friend. “No, that certainly doesn’t hurt.”

      He redirected his gaze out the window, his thoughts once again filled with Elizabeth. He liked her even more than he’d thought he would. He’d known from her letters that there were many things he admired, but he hadn’t expected to enjoy her company quite as much as he did.

      Of course, his feelings for her would never deepen into anything remotely resembling love. His father, Sheik Abdul Al Abdar, had warned him from an early age that love took away a man’s power, made him look dependent and weak in the eyes of his countrymen.

      Love was out of the question—but desire certainly wasn’t, and the thought that Elizabeth had never been with a man before stirred Omar with anticipation.

      If he could seduce her tonight, he had a feeling she would easily succumb to his wishes that she marry him.

      He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, planning the seduction of the lovely Elizabeth Fiona Carson.

      In a jungle in a rain forest in the Central American country of Mezcaya, Luke Callaghan leaned his head back against a tree trunk, closed his eyes and for a moment imagined he was back home in Texas.

      The sound of distant gunfire, the buzz of the infernal mosquitoes and the exhausting humidity seemed to fade away as he thought of home.

      Luke had grown up on an estate twenty miles north of Mission Creek. Orphaned at seven, he’d been left an amount of money that made him a millionaire many times over, but he’d never cared much about the money.

      The military had provided the family Luke had wanted, and now at the age of thirty-four he had achieved his desire. He was a double agent, working for the military in a position so secretive even his best friends didn’t know about it.

      He smiled grimly and raked a hand over his jaw as he thought of his buddies back home.

      They would all probably think he was off on another party jaunt, wining and dining women all over the world. None of them would believe that he was in a stinking jungle fighting terrorists.

      His mouth watered as he thought of a rack of ribs dripping with barbecue sauce. Ribs and a cold beer—that was the first thing he’d order when he got back to Texas.

      If he ever got out of this infernal jungle alive.

      Four

      For the first time in her life, Cara felt just a little bit like Fiona as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. The red silk dress she’d borrowed from Fiona’s closet, and now wore, made her feel flirty and sexy and desirable. Or was it Omar who made her feel that way?

      She had spent the afternoon after he’d left, playing and replaying in her mind the entire time with him. Each time he’d looked at her with those beautiful dark eyes of his, she had felt a shiver of excitement. For in his eyes she’d seen desire.

      When she’d told him about her trouble at school and he’d pulled her into his arms, she’d wanted to remain standing there forever.

      His arms surrounding her had made her feel more safe than she ever had, and for just a moment she’d thought she could hear his heartbeat against her own.

      A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts, and she whirled away from the bedroom mirror and hurried to the door, certain it must be the car to drive her to Omar.

      She opened the door, surprised to see not Rashad standing on her front stoop, but her father. “Daddy!” she exclaimed in surprise.

      “Hi, darlin’. Don’t you look like a picture of prettiness?”

      “Thank you,” Cara replied, and smiled affectionately at her father.

      Ford Carson was a big man, with broad shoulders, a belly that just overhung the large belt buckles he favored, and hair that had gone a snowy white in the past couple of years. Since Cara had moved into the cottage two years before, Ford often dropped in un-announced just to visit with her.

      He stepped into the living room but remained standing. “I guess you’re on your way out,” he said. “Your mama told me Sheik Al Abdar is in town and you’ve been spending time with him. I hope this isn’t anything too serious.”

      Cara looked at him in surprise. “You don’t like Omar?”

      “Hell, I like him fine, but I’d hate to see my little girl taken off to some foreign country, even if the country is friendly with the United States.”

      Cara smiled. “Daddy, I’m not a little girl anymore, and I’m sure I could come home to visit whenever I wanted.”

      Ford frowned, his bushy dark eyebrows pulling together in the center of his forehead. “So, this is serious.”

      “Oh, I don’t know. But I like him a lot,” she replied honestly.

      Ford sighed. “I always figured it would be your sister who’d eventually go off to live in some foreign place. She’s never seemed satisfied in Mission Creek. But you…I just always thought you’d be around.”

      With a small laugh, Cara threw her arms around his neck. “I’m not gone yet,” she said. “I’m just enjoying Omar’s company at the moment. Don’t look so worried.”

      Ford kissed her soundly on the cheek. “I always worry when it comes to my family.”

      Cara stepped back from him. “Well, you know you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not about to do anything foolish or impulsive.”