Holly Remington can’t believe the burning chemistry she feels with Sheikh Malik Abdul-Rahman. It’s like getting knocked in the head with a baseball bat—except <i>far</i> more pleasant. Though she’s supposed to be all business while her company tries to win a lucrative development contract in the oil-rich country of Qadir, Holly simply can’t stop herself from happily succumbing to his charm. When she’s called back home after her father suffers a stroke, thoughts of her sheikh romance are never far away. It’s only when she’s ready to return to Qadir to continue her work that she discovers Malik gave her more than sexy memories. She’s pregnant—with twins. And when she sees him again, Malik makes it painfully clear he’s not only rejecting her development proposal, he’s not interested in any other formal proposal either. He wants all of her.
But Holly isn’t sure that’s available, or ever will be.
Sheikh Malik has never reacted to another woman like he does Holly. She’s all business—at least in the beginning—and he finds himself oddly compelled to get to know her other side. Intimately. When he finds out she’s pregnant with his children, he find himself wanting her more. But when Holly begins to talk about how she wants to develop his oasis herself—the one that her company had been desperate to buy and the very one his mother loved and hoped one day would belong to Malik’s future wife, he pulls the breaks on their whirlwind romance. How can he love a woman who seems so out of touch with everything he values?
And yet, how can he not love the only woman whose ever touched his soul?
Grab your copy of The Sheikh’s Surprise Twins (Qadir Sheikhs Book One) from
EXCERPT
Chapter One
“Stunning. Absolutely stunning.”
Malik looked out over the oasis and wracked his brain for the name of the man who stood next to him at the edge of a tent. Whoever he was, he was right—the oasis was perfection. Malik had always thought so, ever since he was a boy. He’d been visiting all his life and still considered it to be the most beautiful place in all Qadir.
That was true even in comparison to all the other properties that belonged to the royal family. Back in the old days—the truly old days—the ruling family had taken a trip around the country once per year, staying at many of their smaller palaces and estates. Some had since been turned into museums. Some were still private vacation getaways.
The oasis was none of those. The jewel in the center of the desert sprung up around a crystal pool fed by an underground reservoir deep beneath the surface. Date palms and green plants surrounded the pool, all of it looking so lush it could have been a mirage on the dunes.
Malik, standing at the edge of the enormous white tent perched on a dune overlooking the pool, had been thinking of his mother when the CEO from the French firm came to stand next to him. Name. What was his name?
“It is,” he agreed, and the name came to him in a flash. Enzo Raphael. One of France’s premier property developers, and one of ten the royal family had invited to this gathering near his late mother’s oasis.
“I could see using it as inspiration for another property,” commented Enzo, lifting his champagne flute to his lips. “There’s something raw about it. I could strip it down to its essentials and create something utterly modern. A new form.”
A new form—all right. A vision of some pointed spire with an unnatural bend to the building flashed into Malik’s mind, and he mentally crossed Enzo off the list of potential contractors.
“Interesting,” he told Enzo. “Keep us apprised of your thoughts, would you?”
“Of course.” Enzo inclined his head and stepped gracefully aside.
Whatever Malik thought of ultra-modern buildings and new forms, the man did have excellent manners.
Malik turned to face the inside of the tent, which buzzed with conversation. His brothers Baqir and Zaman sat at a table with two developers from Germany, plates heaping with the catered meal. It had been no small project, Malik knew, to bring all the food out to the oasis, but he’d wanted the developers to gather here first before they came to him with their proposals.
His father, King Hasim, had put him in charge of the first five development locations. This was only the beginning of his increased responsibilities as crown prince, and Malik knew it for what it was—a test.
His father would never abdicate if he thought Malik was unfit to lead Qadir. So everything he did from now on, including this event, had to go off without a hitch.
At any rate, the oasis was the perfect gathering point—neutral ground. Under no circumstances would he let any of them develop the property. It had come into the royal family through his father’s marriage to his mother, and Malik’s future wife would decide for herself what to do with it when the time came.
It was that mystery woman’s right. His mother had left it to him in her will, with conditions. Ultimately the oasis would belong to Malik’s bride, but he felt a sharp pang behind his breastbone and his throat went dry whenever he remembered that his mother would never see his theoretical wedding ceremony.
Maybe it hadn’t been an excellent idea to have everyone meet at the oasis.
Malik put that thought, and all the other melancholy ones, out of his mind. He’d met three of the developers so far, including Enzo. He knew Baqir and Zaman had talked to several as well. And the king? Malik scanned the tables, each covered in a pristine white cloth. His father had been out walking at the edge of the pool. Now he was tucked at one of the tables with Clifton Berber.
The two men were friends from their college days. Clifton’s invitation had been at the king’s express request, though Malik wasn’t sure an American developer would be able to do the properties in Qadir justice. The royal family had visited the States several times over the years, and nothing about the architecture had impressed Malik. Most of their portfolio was full of high rises, steel and glass towers that would look fine in New York City but tear at the beauty of the desert.
Keep an open mind. It wouldn’t do him any good to write anyone off now. He mentally returned Enzo to the list. He had to hold back, at least a little. As king, he would need to be able to weigh all the available options and leave his personal biases out of it.
He had seven more developers to meet with. It was time to wade back into the fray. Two of them stood near the catering table, plates in hand. He’d start there.
Malik took one step toward the table. His foot was still six inches from the temporary hardwood floor of the tent when he saw her.
His heart missed a step, tumbling into his rib cage and landing near the pit of his stomach.
Gorgeous. She was gorgeous. No—stunning. And something altogether different from any of the other women at the event. The four women in charge of development companies wore a uniform of sleeveless black dresses topped with gauzy coverups for their shoulders, and their assistants wore similar outfits.
Not this woman.
Her pantsuit was all sharp edges, whiter than the tablecloths. She’d swept her blonde hair back into an equally sharp bun.
Who was she here with?
Malik had made his entrance fifteen minutes after the developers, a move that was calculated to let them get comfortable in the space and mingle with one another before he arrived. His father had gone early with Clifton, his brothers stepping in shortly afterward. Why had he insisted on being the last to arrive if she was in here?