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| The Sheiks Of Kumar - Part One The Crown Prince By CJ |
| Chapter 13 Nik, Rafee and the horses, thankfully, suffered no injuries. Tara had stood, paralyzed for what seemed a lifetime while Nik and his brother were in the barn, but in actuality, it was but a few minutes. The fire department arrived just as the men had escaped the barn with the horses and Shawna closed the paddock gate behind the last horse. Luckily, Jamaal had placed most of the horses in the pasture for the night, and only Raja, Mystic and two others were in the barn. The horses had obeyed, willingly for the most part, and that was unusual. Tara, however, didn’t want to have to worry about the actions of her horses, she was more concerned with Nik. As soon as he cleared the barn and led Raja to the paddock, Jenny yanked her arms away from Tara’s hold and sprinted to him. She nearly tackled him when she reached him and she clung to him while he coughed from the smoke he’d breathed. Tara looked for his brother and saw him talking with Shawna. He too seemed to only be suffering from the smoke in his lungs and Tara was certain the fire rescue would want to check the men out for smoke inhalation. Those thoughts done, Tara then settled her eyes back on Nik and he lifted his head, his face and T-shirt smudged with black soot, and locked his gaze on hers. At his look, she could no longer fight her feelings and she sprinted in the same path Jenny had followed and hugged both him and Jenny tightly. “Nik, are you hurt?” she inquired. “I am fine,” he said, his voice muffled as he buried his face in Tara’s hair. “Thank, god,” she said upon a loud sigh. “I don’t know what I would have done if you had been hurt.” Jenny pulled away from them then and asked poignantly, “Does this mean everything is cool between you guys now? Are you in love again?” Tara stepped back from Nik and laughed, wiping at the tears that had formed in her eyes. Nik looked at Tara again, then back to Jenny and said, “It means, Tara and I have a lot to talk about tonight.” ** Fire rescue checked both Nik and Rafee and were convinced the men were fine. Rachel Moore’s dad, Jeff, was the fire lieutenant, and he suggested to the men they not run into burning barns again, but Tara knew they would have done it all over again the same way. Lieutenant Moore had another piece of news that was alarming and that was about the fire. He said they would have to do a more thorough investigation in the morning, but from what he could determine, the fire had been electrical. “But our wiring is practically brand new,” Tara told him. “You inspected it last year when the contractor was putting in our new lighting system, remember?” Lieutenant Moore had nodded his agreement, then stated, “I think it was rigged to spark. I found some wires pulled from the wall in the end socket and they look like they had been tampered with.” Tara was literally stunned by the news that someone would actually try to burn down her barn and couldn’t think of a single person who would want to. Shawna and Rafee, however, looked very interested in this piece of news and Tara could see their minds working like detectives already. “Tara, I’m scared,” Jenny then said. “Is someone trying to hurt us?” “No, Jenny,” Nik assured her. “Come on, lets all go up to the main house and talk.” “That’s a good idea,” Shawna agreed, as she looped an arm around Jenny’s shoulders and led her up to the house. Once inside, Shawna suggested, “Why don’t Rafee and I put you to bed Jenny, and Tara and Nik can talk for a while in private.” Tara would have had no chance to argue even if she had wanted to, for Rafee, Shawna and Jenny were already up the stairs and turning left at the top hall for the opposite side of the house. Nik watched their departure along with Tara, then turned to her and said, “Lets go to my office and talk.” Tara nodded and followed along behind him and found herself standing in the middle of his study while Nik moved to the window and opened it further, taking a breath of the clean night air and coughing again. “Remind me to stay away from burning barns next time,” Nik drawled once his coughing finally ceased. “It was very brave what you and Rafee did,” Tara said. “Thank you so very much for saving the horses.” “That’s right, you have a particular attachment to them, do you not?” he asked, but there was no malice in his tone. “Why didn’t you ever tell me you once owned Villa Serena, Tara?” Without even hesitating, Tara answered, “Because at first, I wanted to hate you for buying Villa Serena. I was intimidated by your status and felt I had no right divulging that information. Then, once I got to know you, I realized you had too generous a nature and would feel badly for having purchased it.” Nik continued to stand by the window and breath the night air, then finally said, “I do feel badly that I now own it and not you. But I do feel lucky that my purchasing it brought you into my life.” Nik glanced at her and there was a heat in his soft brown eyes. Tara smiled at him and said, “That’s a sweet thing to say, considering what I said to you today.” “Its simply how I feel, Tara.” He crossed his arms over his soiled T-shirt and added, “And I have a feeling that what you said today in the barn was not what you feel.” Tara took a deep breath and sighed. “Nik, I don’t want to burden you with my troubles when I know you have something very important going on in Kumar. You have your own problems, you don’t need mine.” He stared at her with an incredulous expression and quipped, “Oh, so dumping me will make it easier for me? That won’t add to my troubles at all.” Tara shrugged, finding it difficult not to just tell him she had indeed fallen in love with him and had done nothing but lie this afternoon. Yet if she did that, how would their lives ever work together? He was a crown prince and she had nothing to her name to offer him in return. “It was going to happen sooner or later, Nik,” Tara reasoned. “I mean, I have nothing to offer you.” “Nothing?” he asked harshly, stepping away from the window and moving closer finally. “How can you say you have nothing to offer me? Your humor, your smile, your touch, your kiss…that’s worth more than this estate, Tara. And your sister…I love her like my own child. You have given me so much and I feel as if I have barely anything to offer you in return.” When Tara looked at him, disbelieving, Nik corrected, “Of course, I can offer all the material riches you want, but that doesn’t mean anything, Tara. So I suppose you would have to settle for my love and a promise of a happy and secure future. Because that’s all I have to offer you.” He was an irresistible man and even covered in the soot of the fire, Tara wanted to simply fall into his arms and let him solve all her problems. But that wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair to him if she did that. They would have to share the burden and after what he had just told her, she was certain he would. “Oh, Nik, that’s a lot more than I could ever want,” Tara revealed. “I don’t care about your money or the material things. But I do care about Villa Serena and the horses. This was my heritage, my future and it was taken away from me. And I don’t hate you for buying it. In fact, Villa Serena’s better off in your hands than in anyone else’s hands. And the reason I acted so obstinate this afternoon was because of Villa Serena.” When Nik furrowed his brow and looked confused, Tara moved closer, just a foot away from him and explained, “You see, I wasn’t supposed to lose this place. I discovered something while you were away, and that’s why I was seeing Gabe Bryant. I think he embezzled all of my father’s money.” “He what?” Nik shot out, his face shadowed with rage. “He took away yours and Jenny’s inheritance? He left you with nothing?” Tara nodded. “I’m not sure how he did it, but I do know my father had millions in overseas accounts just two months before his death. Shawna and I have double-checked all of those accounts and they’re empty. The money disappeared and I know Gabe Bryant took it, I just can’t prove it.” Looking serious, as though he was thinking about Tara’s predicament, Nik asked, “And is this why you have been seeing Mr. Bryant while I was gone?” “Yes, of course. I can’t stand to be near the man. It takes all my will power not to tell him to go to hell. But I hoped if I got close to him and strung him along for a while, he’d give me some clue as to how he took my father’s money. It was Shawna’s plan—she’s a private investigator. I had to convince Gabe that I was thinking about marrying him and that I had no more feelings for you. It was all a lie, Nik.” Nik fought his smile. He was relieved that Tara had no feelings for Gabe, yet he had more questions for her and wanted them answered before he broke down and smiled at her and kissed her and held her like he wanted to. “And you felt it better to hatch your own scheme and try to catch Mr. Bryant, instead of telling me what you were doing so I would be prepared and could possibly help?” he inquired. Tara sighed with regret. “I should have told you. You don’t know how hard it was for me to turn you away today, Nik. I’m really sorry about that. But like I said earlier, I knew you had your own crisis in Kumar. I didn’t want to burden you.” “That’s admirable, Tara,” Nik said, “but you should know by now that you can burden me with anything. And as for Kumar, I suppose I should have told you what was happening there as well.” “What is going on in Kumar, Nik?” Tara asked. He rubbed a hand across his handsome face and confessed, “Our family has received some odd threats and we have yet to discover their source. We do not take such things lightly in my country and it is very important we discover the source of the threats.” Tara gasped and placed a hand on Nik’s arm. “Honey, why didn’t you ever tell me?” Tara questioned. With a rueful smile that warmed his eyes, Nik answered, “I suppose because of the same reasons you didn’t tell me about your troubles. I had no desire to burden you.” Tara hugged him then and he easily returned the embrace. “Nik, I think we need to both stop being so considerate,” Tara jested then added more seriously, “And start telling each other a few more things.” “Yes,” Nik agreed, “because if we are ever going to be married, we need to be completely open and rely upon each other.” At the mention of marriage, Tara pulled away and gave a short laugh. “Nik, that can never happen.” Nik boldly stepped forward and took her golden pendant in his hand. “It can and it will happen, Tara. I never told you this, but there’s a tradition in our family that dates back centuries. When an Armanjani sheik wanted to claim something as his, he left his mark.” Nik flipped the charm over and showed the Armanjani family crest with the lion’s head. “This mark,” he added. “So you see, when you accepted this gift, you pledged yourself to me.” “That’s not fair,” Tara complained. “You never told me that’s what it meant when you gave this to me.” “What’s that saying? All’s fair in love and war.” He grinned at her wickedly and Tara shook her head. “But all myths and legends aside, my love,” Nik then added seriously, “I am going to marry you and I have loved you since the moment I saw you.” “Nik, I can’t marry you,” Tara insisted. “Why? Do you not love me?” Nik inquired, moving his hand to her cheek and caressing it gently. “That’s not it. I do love you,” Tara admitted. “It tore at my heart while you were away in Kumar. And if I hadn’t been so concerned for Jenny, I certainly would have joined you there for I can’t stand to be away from you.” “Then what is the problem, my dear?” Nik asked softly. “You’re the Crown Prince of Kumar, that’s the problem,” Tara told him. Looking at her amusingly, Nik asked, “You don’t like royalty?” “That’s not it. But I am sure your family would object. I’m a simple stable hand and you are a prince. That’s the problem.” “Tara, my love, it is no problem. I have already told my family all about you. Why do you think I ran back here in the middle of our family crisis? It was because my father insisted I go. He even sent Rafee because he had a feeling things were not right out here and he was correct. You will be welcomed into my family…I promise. And your station in life does not matter, for my father is a very modern man. He would never object to my happiness.” When Tara looked at him as though she were still hesitant, Nik said, “Did you know that my younger sister, Aria, fell in love with one of the palace security men when she was quite young. He was no one of importance as far as politics and royalty went, but he certainly did love my sister.” “And what happened?” Tara inquired. “He asked my father if he could marry her and even though she was but eighteen and he but twenty-one, my father gave his blessing. And to this day, they are still married and have two wonderful children. And Aasim is an important member of our family and no one even gives it a second thought that he isn’t a descendant of royalty.” “Nik, I just don’t know,” Tara said. He took her in his arms and held her tightly. “Tara, my darling, I would be lost without you. My future is here at Villa Serena with you and Jenny and our horses. I have the same dreams you do. I want to build a life here, build a grand Arabian horse farm and I want you at my side the entire time. It is not such a difficult decision to make, my love. All you have to do is say yes.” To punctuate his words, he found her lips and kissed her ardently. He drank from her mouth like he hadn’t been able to do in several weeks and tried to quench the horrible thirst that had been torturing him since their separation. And when she responded and molded to his body, moaning quietly from the kiss, he knew he had her convinced that their future was together as husband and wife. Pulling away and seeing a breathless look in her green eyes, Nik inquired, “Does this mean you will be my wife?” Tara nodded. “I’ll be your wife. I don’t know how I could live without you, Nik.” “Then we will wed as soon as possible,” he insisted. Tara shook her head. “Not that fast. I have to find out what happened to mine and Jenny’s heritage first.” “Tara, you don’t need your father’s money,” Nik said. “I have more than enough.” “Its not about money, Nik. It’s about what’s right. I have to catch Gabe Bryant. I have to prove what he did.” Nik saw how determined she was, then nodded in agreement. “All right. We’ll catch Gabe Bryant. I will have Rafee work with your friend Shawna and I am sure they can solve the crime that much faster.” Tara gave a small laugh, still holding Nik, and said, “I don’t know if that will work. I don’t think Shawna and Rafee like each other. In fact, I have a feeling they’ll spend more time arguing than they will solving any crime.” “My brother is a professional, Tara. I am positive he and Shawna can find a way to work together. And, as soon as your crime is solved, we will fly to Kumar and marry as soon as possible. I’ve been without you now for several weeks and I do not want to lose you again.” Kissing him sweetly on the mouth, Tara said, “You’ll never lose me Nik. But what of the threats to your family? Shouldn’t we wait until…” Nik silenced her words with a hard kiss that lasted until they were both out of breath. “We will wait for nothing, my love,” he insisted, nuzzling her ear and tickling the sensitive skin with his goatee. “And I have confidence that Rafee will not only be able to assist in solving your crime, but also solve my family’s crisis. He is a warrior and I am a diplomat. That is how it works in my family.” “Then we’ll get married as soon as things can be arranged,” Tara agreed. “Now, lets go tell Shawna and Rafee.” She began to walk towards the door when Nik pulled her back against him. “Let’s go take a shower…together…and clean up from the fire and make love,” he suggested instead. “It has been too long since I have made love to you and I cannot wait a moment longer.” Tara turned, smiled warmly at him and placed a hand on his cheek. “You have yourself a date, honey.” *Be sure to read Part II of “The Sheiks of Kumar—The Warrior” and find out how Rafee Armanjani solves the troubles at Villa Serena and in Kumar. The End…For Now |