For the next several hours, she shopped, buying a black bathing suit, a red one, cover ups for both, a pair of sandals, and two pairs of shorts with matching tops. And because she was here with Jahlil, she also found two cocktail dresses, assuming that he’d take her out to a nice restaurant at some point, as he normally did. He usually chose the more upscale venues, but she smiled at the memory of when he’d swooped into town to take her out to dinner, but she’d convinced him to let her choose the restaurant. She’d taken him to the public gardens that usually had the best food trucks. She’d ordered him to sit down on a park bench, then Maya had disappeared to get their dinner. She’d glanced back at him, understanding that he was painfully uncomfortable. But the meal she’d gotten from the food trucks had more than made up for the less than stellar service and atmosphere.

  “I can get those for you, ma’am,” one of the bellhops said as soon as she stepped out of the taxi that had brought her back to the resort.

  “Oh!” she gasped, pulling back on her numerous bags. “No, that’s okay. I’ve got it.”

  The man looked horrified at the idea of her carrying her own bags. And in the past, Maya knew that Jahlil demanded extraordinary service from his staff and the places where he stayed.

  But now that she was going to do this whole “vacationing” thing on her own, Maya needed to do this without the staff. No time like the present to begin!

  As soon as she stepped into the suite, she knew that she was in trouble. Jahlil’s bodyguards filled the suite, some on the phone, others with radios in their hands, and still more were pouring over maps.

  “What’s going on?” she demanded, dropping her bags and rushing over to the table where she knew Hassan, the lead guard, was on the phone. “Is it Jahlil? Is he okay?”

  A split second later, everyone in the room froze, turning to stare at her.

  “Maya!” Jahlil’s deep voice shattered the sudden silence.

  Maya spun around, eyes wide as she blinked back panicked tears. “Jahlil!” she whispered, then raced across the room to throw herself into his arms. “You’re okay!” she whispered, pressing herself tightly against him, needing to reassure herself that he was safe and healthy. His arms were around her as well and she felt his cheek briefly rest against the top of her head.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, looking up at him. “Everyone looks as if there’s a crisis!”

  “Where have you been?” he demanded, gripping her upper arms.

  “Me?” she squeaked. “I’ve been…” she looked around to discover that all of the guards were staring at her. Some seemed annoyed. “I just went shopping!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t bring enough clothes for the week, so I took a taxi and got some more clothes,” she explained.

  “Maya, you can’t just leave like that!” he told her, an edge to his tone that she’d never heard before.

  “I…can’t?” She stepped back enough to peer up at him, still confused. “But…I go shopping whenever I need something. It’s never been a problem before.”

  “You’ve never…!” he started, only to stop as he pulled her back into his arms, holding her tenderly as if she were something precious! “Just don’t leave without a guard with you from now on, okay?” he asked, his voice rough with unexplainable emotions.

  “I won’t,” she whispered, trying very hard not to react to his closeness. It felt so good, too good, to be in his arms like this. Closing her eyes, she breathed in his spicy, male scent, absorbing each shift of his muscles against her body, savoring them for the future. For the time when she’d never feel them again.

  “Did you eat?” he finally asked.

  Maya pulled back and shook her head. She also remembered the guards that had filled the room and looked around. They were gone! When had they disappeared? And how had they all left so silently?

  Maybe they hadn’t been as silent as she’d thought. Maya knew that she was pretty focused on Jahlil whenever he was around. His presence tended to obliterate everything else.

  “Um…I’m not really hungry.”

  He sighed, pulling back even more. “I’ll order something. You need to eat.”

  Maya laughed, putting a hand on his arm. The touch stopped his momentum and his eyes slashed to her. For a brief moment, there was something in his eyes. Heat? Desire? Or was she only seeing what she wanted to see?

  But before she could interpret the look, it was gone, replaced by the ever-so-polite expression that she hated.

  “You didn’t eat on the plane, Maya. And you just admitted that you didn’t stop for lunch. Why don’t I just order a snack and then we’ll go to the main dining room for dinner?”

  Only because she knew that this was important to him, Maya agreed. It was his way of making sure that she was healthy. “That would be nice. Thank you,” she finally replied. And even as the words left her mouth, she saw the tension leave his shoulders. “And truly, I’m sorry about leaving the resort without telling anyone this afternoon. I didn’t even know that I should have done so.”

  “You’re right,” he replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket. While he typed a message, he continued, “No one informed you that this week might have…” he stopped typing on his phone and looked at her, his gaze guarded, “extra tension due to the meetings.”

  She stepped forward, her heart suddenly pounding. “Is it dangerous, Jahlil?” she asked, her lips feeling numb.

  He paused and that was all the answer she needed. “Can you tell me what’s going on? You look as if you could use someone to help brainstorm.”

  Jahlil watched Maya’s features soften into an expression of concern and he ached to pull her back into his arms, to kiss her and make love to her. Then lay in bed, completely naked while he told her everything that was going on. These meetings were unprecedented. Danger lurked around every corner and he wondered if it had been a mistake to bring her here. Maybe she’d be safer back in Boston? But he hadn’t been able to resist inviting her to stay with him. He knew that Maya loved sunshine and warmth.

  Why she continued living in Boston was a mystery to him. She hated the cold weather. Every time he flew into the city to check in with her, she complained about the miserable snow, sleet, and the traffic that seemed to happen at all times of the day and night. The city had undergone “The Big Dig” several years ago, a massive construction project that created tunnels underneath the sky rise buildings, creating an interconnecting road system. The idea was to alleviate traffic congestion. But as was the case in so many of these “wonderful” endeavors, by the time the project was finished, it was completely inadequate to the new, higher needs of the city.

  “Perhaps we could talk over dinner,” he offered. “I should be in a meeting right now. I’ve ordered some food for you and it should arrive any minute. Will you be okay for a couple hours?”

  Maya’s eyes stopped glittering and he could see the hurt from his rejection in her eyes. And yet, she nodded politely. “Yes. Of course. Go do your thing,” she said in that impertinent tone he loved.

  Jahlil smiled at her jab, warmed that she still felt comfortable enough around him to do so. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. The dining room is semi-formal here,” he called out as he walked away from the one woman who never failed to touch his soul with her kindness and humor.

  As he left, he wanted to punch something, anything to alleviate this building frustration. He didn’t want to go to this damn meeting! He wanted to stay here and make sure that Maya ate something. He wanted to talk with her and tease her until she smiled. He wanted to take that pain out of her eyes. The pain that had been there ever since Sandoor….

  Damn his brother for dying! As he walked towards the conference room, he cursed his brother a million times for doing something stupid which took his life and caused such pain in Maya. Even after five years, Jahlil knew that she still grieved for Sandoor. For the wonderful, fun-loving idiot who had earned her love.

  Stepping into the conference room, he noticed the other two men already there, waiting for him. “I apologize for the delay,” he said to the others, taking his seat around the circular table.

  “Is your friend okay?” Zahir el Hassan, Sheik of Brumadi, asked, taking his own seat. Tazir el Moussa, ruler of Dilaar looked concerned as well. Their expressions, either fake or real, eased some of the tension that had been building since this morning.

  “She’s fine. She left to go shopping without a bodyguard. She didn’t know that…” he stopped, not wanting to speak the words.

  But Zahir, the big brute, had no problem putting it out there. “She didn’t know that we’re here and that we’re working on a peace agreement that others might not want to happen,” he finished.

  Jahlil chuckled. “Well put,” he confirmed.

  Zahir smiled, shuffling the papers in front of him. “Perhaps we should hurry this process along. The faster we figure out the terms, the less time our enemies have to discover our efforts and stop us.” He eyed the other two men. “It seems as if we all have…personal priorities that we’d like to protect.”

  Jahlil blinked at the man curiously. He’d seen Zahir with a woman yesterday, a beautiful woman with long, dark, flowing hair. Was he in the same situation? And Tazir…what was going on with him? Who was the little boy that had raced across the sand to him last night?

  Yes, Jahlil suspected all three of them had similar agendas, none of which coincided with the efforts in this conference room. Which was good, he thought as he leaned forward, ready to dig into the tough issues. Knowing that these men were experiencing the same kind of problems gave him hope that they wouldn’t hurt Maya. Mutually assured destruction, so to speak.

  As the conversations continued, Jahlil was pleasantly surprised to find that all of them seemed to be much more open to compromise. And yet, his thoughts lingered around Maya. Was she eating the snack he’d ordered for her? Was she okay? Had he scared her earlier when he’d impressed upon her the urgency of taking a bodyguard with her wherever she went? He hadn’t specified that she needed to do that even when she moved about the resort. But he’d mention it tonight over dinner.

  And that caused him to wonder what she would wear to dinner tonight. Maya always looked beautiful. He loved sitting across the table from her and just looking at her. Her dark hair and crystal blue eyes calmed him in ways he didn’t fully understand. Unfortunately, it was becoming harder to control his lust for her delectable body. She’d grown up over the past five years. Her maturity had only added to her beauty, giving her features depth and character. And her eyes! Damn, her blue eyes made him ache to see them filled with desire! For him!

  He had to keep reminding himself that she was still grieving for Sandoor. Their love must have been amazing for her to still think of him, even after all this time. Yes, Jahlil missed his brother. The year after his passing had been the hardest.

  How could he help Maya move on? How could he help her find love? Yes, he’d hoped that she might have feelings for him. But that wasn’t going to happen. Maya had fallen in love with Sandoor, the fun, gregarious man-boy who could make riding the subway into an adventure. Maya didn’t need someone like him. Jahlil knew that he was serious and sedate. He wasn’t the kind of man that Maya could ever love.

  Chapter 9

  Maya smoothed the black fabric over her hips, wondering if it was too much. The simple dress had looked perfect on the hangar at one of the shops. She’d thought that it would be perfect for dinner tonight, so she’d hurriedly bought it, thinking she could return it if it didn’t fit.

  But now, looking at herself in the mirror, she thought that it was a mistake. The neckline was too low, showing off a significant amount of her cleavage. More than she’d ever revealed before! And the hemline was just a bit…well, higher than she was used to.

  “I can’t wear this!” she whispered. “It makes me look as if I’m trying to get Jahlil’s attention!” She shifted in the mirror, looking at her butt. “I should wear something else.”

  “I think you look perfect!” Jahlil argued from behind her.

  Maya swung around, startled to find him in her doorway. “Jahlil!” she gasped, stepping backwards slightly. “I didn’t know that you’d finished your meeting!”

  “We finished over an hour ago,” he replied, stepping into the room. “And you shouldn’t change. That dress looks incredible on you.” He extended his arm to her. “Shall we go down to dinner?”

  Maya stared at his arm, worried about touching him. After this afternoon, she wasn’t sure she could handle being around Jahlil. And in this dress? Good grief, she looked like…she wasn’t sure. Because she’d never dressed like this before.

  “I should change,” she repeated weakly.

  “Nonsense,” he argued, taking her hand and placing it on his arm. “You look spectacular.”

  Maya flushed with pleasure at his words. He might be lying, only being polite, but at this moment, she didn’t care. “Thank you,” she replied, walking beside him as he led her through the suite. His body guards circled them as the elevator doors opened. Maya had always wondered what it would be like to be Jahlil. He was constantly surrounded by people, guards, reporters, servants, staff…he rarely had a moment to himself. And yet, he also had every wish immediately catered to.

  She noticed the tight set of his jaw and the intensity in his eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  She felt his other hand cover hers where it rested on his elbow. “With you here, I feel very honored.”

  She knew that wasn’t an answer, but Maya also understood that he wouldn’t tell her if something was wrong. He couldn’t, she knew. Saying anything might endanger too many people.

  “You have so much responsibility resting on your shoulders,” she whispered, moving closer and leaning her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Jahlil.”

  At Maya’s touch, Jahlil experienced a surge of lust, but also a sense of rightness, of comfort. She understood. Too many women thought that he lived the life of luxury. But Maya understood what his life was really like. She grasped the enormous responsibility and the complexity of issues he had to resolve every day.

  Plus, she was sensitive enough to understand that he couldn’t talk about those problems. He wanted to. But he couldn’t do that to her, nor could he violate security protocols by discussing the issues.

  If she were his wife…!

  Jahlil dismissed the idea as soon as it popped into his head. She wasn’t his wife. She was still in love with Sandoor.

  The doors to the elevator opened and the soft noise of the lobby enveloped them. He walked out, slowing his steps because Maya was in heels and…damn, those shoes made her legs look spectacular. Not that her legs didn’t look lovely all the time! But in those heels…! He wanted to see her in those shoes…and nothing else! He wanted to feel her legs wrapped around his waist as he entered her, sliding into her heat and…!

  Stop it, he snapped to himself.

  “Your Highness,” the maître d said as soon as he stepped into the elegant dining room. “Your table is this way.”

  As Jahlil moved through the tables, he noticed Tazir dining with the lovely brunette and…and the same little boy that he’d seen on the beach. The child looked startlingly similar to the arrogant ass. Even the boy’s body language was similar. Tazir had a son?! That was definitely news!

  Keeping his eyes forward, he moved to the table, holding Maya’s chair as she sat down before taking his own seat.

  As he spread the napkin over his lap, his eyes caught the low neckline of Maya’s dress. Correction, he didn’t give a damn about the neckline. He absolutely loved what that low neckline revealed! Normally, Maya wore sweaters or conservative outfits. This little, black dress was…hot!

  “Jahlil?” Maya prompted.

  Pulling his gaze away from those beautiful breasts, he looked at the sommelier, who was standing next to the table. “Might I recommend the Fitzaner white tonight?” he offered, referencing one of the new white wines that had hit the market with a buzz last year.

  “That’s fine,” Jahlil snapped, trying to regain control over the sudden wave of lust. Unfortunately, Maya leaned forward, saying something about…hell, he had no idea. His eyes and his mind were too focused on that lovely cleavage. He thought about her nipples. He remembered seeing them that first night after Sandoor had brought her to Celina to meet him. They’d been mere shadows behind the worn tee shirt she’d donned for bed. But he’d easily discerned that her nipples were pink.

  Pink nipples. His favorite. Okay, that was a lie, he thought, pulling his eyes away and trying to focus on the menu. He had no preference in the color of a woman’s nipples. He just loved nipples! Well, the whole breast, but nipples were incredibly sexy. Big. Small. Tan, pink, mauve…he didn’t care. He loved breasts!

  He smiled to himself, wondering what Maya would say if she could read his thoughts. She’d probably stand up, slap him across the face, and stomp out in a huff!

  Maya felt as if her whole body was on fire. Every time Jahlil looked at her, his eyes dropped to her chest. No, not her chest. He was staring at her breasts! It was the first time he’d ever looked at her like she was a woman! Her heart soared with hope!

  Would it be horrible if she leaned forward, so that he got a better view? What if she revealed a bit more? Yes! Yes, that would be ridiculous. And crude! And yet, perhaps she could excuse herself, walk to the bathroom and shift her dress so that it was ever-so-slightly more revealing?

  Maya silently laughed at herself. What was she thinking? Jahlil thought of her as a sister. A little sister, at that!

  Instead of going to the restroom and readjusting her dress, Maya smiled across the table at him, reveling in her newfound power as a woman. A woman that Jahlil acknowledged. Oh, this dress had been the best investment she’d ever made!