Page 26 of Kismet

Shaheen did not slow Tarek’s stride. Hesitation with Nassar would only show weakness. And if the man found your weakness, he would do everything to exploit it. As the men drew near, he recognized Nassar leading the way. Like all Sheikhs, he led his men out to confront a potential enemy. To assume otherwise could be deadly. Just like that day in Sheikh Mahmoud’s camp. But then one would never expect treachery from a member of one’s family. He frowned. He and Nassar had more in common than he cared to admit. Wheeling Tarek to a halt just in front of the lead horse of Nassar’s group, he sat ramrod straight in his saddle.

“Ssalamū ‘Lekum, Newcastle.” Nassar touched his heart and then his forehead in the usual Berber greeting.

The subtle reference to his English heritage was not unexpected, and Shaheen forced himself to smile as he replied in kind. “Ssalamū ‘Lekum, Nassar.”

Immediately, the Sheikh’s smug expression changed to a bitter glare at the deliberate omission of his title. It was disrespectful not to use the man’s title of Sheikh, but Shaheen saw no reason to show respect when none was accorded to him.

“You look as though you’ve traveled far.” A smile barely curled Nassar’s thin mouth as he gestured toward the camp. “Come, let us put old differences aside. You will eat with me.”

“Thank you.” Shaheen nodded his head.

“It is the Amazigh way.” Nassar shrugged. “I cannot argue with the customs of our people.”

The man spoke as if he was untroubled by their surprise visit, but their arrival had clearly unsettled him. His rigid posture in the saddle and tight grip on the pommel displayed his tension. Glancing over his shoulder, the Sheikh’s eyes fell on Abyad. At the sudden gleam of interest in the man’s gaze, Shaheen looked away and focused his gaze on the camp. The stallion had caught the man’s attention, but now it was a question of how interested Nassar was in the animal. It was also possible the man didn’t even have Allegra. He dismissed the thought. Intuition told him differently. The man had her. Allegra would appeal to Nassar’s baser instincts. He knew how easily she could drive a man to distraction, and Nassar was no different than any other man in that regard. Hell, she’d managed to twist him into knots without any real effort at all.

Chaos of a nonthreatening nature erupted as they rode into Nassar’s camp. A young boy ran forward with feedbags for the horses, while another carried water for the animals. Dismounting, Shaheen instructed two of his men to stay and tend to the horses. With Nassar leading the way, Shaheen and the rest of his small entourage followed the Amazigh Sheikh through the camp until they reached a large tent with the sides rolled up to let the air flow through. One arm stretched out in a sweeping gesture, Nassar bowed in his direction.

“Ahlan Wa Sahlan, Shaheen of Mahmoud’s Tribe.”

“May God return your hospitality to you,” he replied as he entered the tent and sat at one of the pommel rests arranged in a semicircle inside the shelter.

A sheepskin covering softened the hard leather of the arm support as he watched Nassar ceremoniously usher in the rest of his guests. With a clap of his hands, the Sheikh called for the traditional coffee, which was brought almost immediately. His movements an exaggerated flourish, Nassar poured three cups from the pot. Dramatically, he made a display of tasting the first cup to show the beverage wasn’t poisoned. When he’d finished, he handed the second cup to Shaheen. Accepting the cup from the Sheikh, he took a sip of the strong, cardamom-spiced coffee before handing it back to Nassar to complete the tasting ritual. The coffee now deemed poison free, they repeated the ritual with the mensaf. Freshly made, the rice and meat dish was flavored with pine nuts. As they ate, Nassar arched an eyebrow at him.

“Tell me, how does your friend Khalid fare?” There was just enough mockery in his question to warn Shaheen to be on his guard. Revealing where Khalid was camped or that Hakim had taken Laila and Allegra’s maid to the Amazigh sovereign would be foolhardy. But mocking the man’s query could not go unremarked upon.

“He is well, as are Hakim and Laila. The boy will make his father proud.” He swiped a bite of food out of his bowl with the leavened bread he held, keeping his eyes downcast. “Laila is as beautiful as her mother was.”

The silence in the tent hung stiff and still over them as Shaheen continued to eat his meal as if nothing untoward had been said. He lifted his head and met Nassar’s unreadable gaze.

“You are a long way from Sheikh Mahmoud’s territory, Shaheen.” Nassar’s eyes narrowed with assessment as he abruptly changed the subject.

“And you’re far from home as well. Does Sheikh Cadi know you’re in his territory?”

“I do not ask any man’s permission as to where I travel.” Nassar shrugged with indifference. “But at least I am wise enough to protect myself when I do. You travel with such a small escort, Shaheen. Do you truly believe yourself that invincible?”

“Hardly, only great men are invincible, and I am not great, but you honor me by suggesting it is so.”

He bit back a smile at the sight of Nassar clenching his jaw. Having his insults turned into compliments clearly wasn’t an experience the Sheikh enjoyed. Equally unsettling for the man had been the reference to Laila and how she resembled her mother. It had raised the past and the question of vengeance. One day, Nassar would pay for his crimes, but for the moment he would bide his time until Khalid chose to make the man pay. Eventually, Nassar would die the traitor’s death he deserved. Setting his bowl aside, he dusted off his hands as if he were ready to leave. Immediately, the Sheikh leaned forward.

“Is your stallion for sale?”

“My stallion?” he asked as if puzzled. “Oh, you mean Abyad. No, I’m afraid not. He cost me a pretty penny, and I intend to find a broodmare that will please him.”

“And this is why you’re so far from my brother’s territory?” The man studied him carefully.

“We are headed to Hajra. I’ve heard there is a man there with broodmares that are considered to be the finest in Morocco.”

“Ah, you must be talking about Abdulla.” Nassar nodded his head. “I bought one of his prized mares just last month.”

“Then I count that as a recommendation given your expertise in horseflesh.”

The Sheikh beamed with pleasure, his expression suddenly open and pleasant. Shaheen marveled at how compliments fed the man’s sense of self-importance.

“What if I had a rare jewel to trade for the stallion? Would you consider an exchange?” Stroking his beard, Nassar studied him with just a hint of anticipation.

“It would have to be an exceptional jewel for me to part with Abyad.”

“I can assure you that this jewel is exceptional. She is a queen among women.”

“A woman?” Shaheen waved his hand in a dismissing gesture. “I have no need of a woman.”

“But this woman is a creature beyond all imagination.”

“She sounds like a story I might tell a child.”

“Trust me, she is quite real.” Nassar gestured to one of his men and quietly issued an order. As the servant left the tent, the Sheikh turned back to him. “The paramour of kings and the odalisque of many, and her abilities are exceptional.”

“Exceptional?” He eyed Nassar coldly. If the bastard had touched her, he didn’t think he’d be able to keep from killing the man.

“So I’ve heard,” Nassar shrugged. “I’ve not yet had time to indulge myself and experience her skills in the art of pleasure.”

“Then why part with her?” He took a sip of coffee. Nassar hadn’t touched her. The relief spreading through his body was sharp and fierce.

“I’ve searched for an animal like Abyad for years. A horse is worth its weight in gold. A woman? Bah!” The Sheikh shook his head with an expression of disgust. “Useless, fickle creatures.”

The muscles inside Shaheen’s stomach coiled tight with anger at the words. God, he was ready to slit the man’s throat right now. If the bastard—without lifting his head he knew she had entered the tent. His body responded to her presence with a primal edge of tension that he remembered from that night at the Sultan’s palace. The sensation gnawed at him with the fierce frenzy of a wild animal devouring a meal.

Seated beside him, Jamal revealed his consternation with a sharp hiss. Surprised by the sound, he glanced at his friend. The look of shocked horror on the Bedouin’s face compelled him to immediately jerk his head toward Allegra. Raw and merciless, the fury twisting his muscles into tight, sharp threads of tension blurred everything in his sight except for her.