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Chapter 11 Bewildered
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DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 12 Angry And Confused
Kyra Suarez POVKyra was angry. Angrier than she'd expected. Years ago, she'd pushed away any feelings about Ali Ahmed, leaving her heart closed. She'd turned all her attention to Omer and to making a life for both of them. She'd turned down offers of dates, not wanting to open up her heart again when it could so easily get broken.But now, with Ali Ahmed here, all her feelings were rushing back. Earlier, at the reunion, she'd felt her memories of love resurfacing. At home, Ali Ahmed looked around her living room like it was a hovel, it was anger that was the stronger emotion. Kyra had been angry years ago when she'd found Ali Ahmed's note and understood that he'd left without saying goodbye. But she was even more angry now. Now she knew that Ali Ahmed was a sheikh. Surely, he had the resources to find her again. And now, when he found out about Omer, it seemed that all he could think about was how happy he was to be with Kyra again.Well, they could have had years together. He was th
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 13 Ali Ahmed's Love
Ali Ahmed POV Ali Ahmed stood outside the door to Kyra's apartment, feeling nerves sweep through him. Last night, he'd been filled with thoughts of seeing Kyra again. Today he was going to meet his son. That was even more stressful. What if Omer reacted badly? What if his son didn't like him?Ali Ahmed wasn't sure how one dressed to meet their long-lost child, so he'd settled on his usual semi-formal slacks and button-up shirt. The fact that he hadn't brought many clothes to the reunion, since he was only staying overnight, also made things difficult. He would have liked to dress a little more casually. That kind of thing appealed to children, right?After what seemed like hours, Ali Ahmed knocked and braced himself. He expected to see Kyra again, but instead, the door opened to reveal a little boy in a small pair of jeans and a green airplane T-shirt. His hair was messy and curly, just like Ali Ahmed's, and his brown eyes had the same gold flecks as Kyra's."Hello," Omer said, wavin
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 14 Father and Son
Kyra Suarez POVKyra held Omer's hand as they stepped from the airstrip through the large, ornate gates into the palace. Partially, she was keeping him from getting too excited and running away. Partially, she was trying to keep herself calm. She had known that Ali Ahmed was a Sheikh. She'd known that he was very wealthy. But seeing it all was something completely different. As someone who had struggled to save every possible penny her whole life, this felt like a different world.Kyra felt a little guilty to admit that she kind of liked it."Lady and gentleman," Ali Ahmed said, stepping in front of them and sweeping his hands to either side like a tour guide. "Welcome to Dubai. I'll take you on a quick tour of the palace while Mohammed brings your bags to your rooms. Then I'll let you both get settled in.""Sir," Mohammed said, trotting to keep up. Ali Ahmed waved him off."I'm home, Mohammed. You don't have to shadow me here."With a small sigh, Mohammed headed off towards the palac
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 15 Adjustments
Ali Ahmed POVAli Ahmed found it hard to focus all day. He went from meeting to meeting, talking about everything from fishing rights to taxes, but his mind was on Kyra. She'd looked so at home on the terrace and, for a moment, Ali Ahmed had almost forgotten that she hadn't always been there. He'd almost forgotten that they hadn't seen each other for six years. He'd almost reached out to pull her in for a kiss like he had when they were young.But he hadn't. Of course, he hadn't. Everything had changed since they were college students. He had become a Sheikh. She had spent years struggling on her own. And they had a son together.Ali Ahmed tapped his foot impatiently, glancing at the clock. In just half an hour, it would be time for them to eat dinner together. He couldn't wait. Ali Ahmed had asked his chefs to send a selection of Al Jumeirah delicacies, from their famous saffron rice to lamb kebabs and Kalish, a delicious dessert of pomegranate, pistachios, and flaky pastry, to Kyra
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 16 The Center Of Love
Kyra Suarez POVKyra could hardly believe that she and Omer had been in Al Jumeirah for over a week. How had the time gone by so quickly? Omer had been enjoying his classes, Kyra had been relishing her free time, and the days had simply flown by. Her life back in the Philippines was starting to seem more like a half-forgotten dream than her real life.Now it was Saturday and Omer was standing by the door in his swimming trunks and a T-shirt, holding a towel and bobbing along to the music that Kyra was playing. Every few minutes, he asked if it was time to go yet."No, sweetie," Kyra said, again, when he asked the twentieth time. "We're waiting for Ali Ahmed to come so that he can take us to the pool, remember?""I'm sure we could find it," Owen said, bobbing a little more."I know, but isn't it more fun to go together?"That was the other thing that had happened this week: the three of them had become a little unit. Sure, Ali Ahmed was busy with his royal duties, but they still ate di
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 17 The Bond
Ali Ahmed POVKyra found Ali Ahmed first. He was hiding in a linen closet, wedged between bed sheets and a stack of towels. She smiled then stepped into the closet, shutting the door quietly behind her.Ali Ahmed was very, very aware of how close together they were, how dark the closet was, and how the sound of their breath was the only thing he could hear. He was torn between wanting Omer to find them as soon as possible and wanting this moment with Kyra to never end. Kyra shifted and Ali Ahmed felt her bare arm slide against his, sending shivers through his whole body."There you are!" With a gleeful shout, Omer flung the door open and Kyra stepped out of the closet quickly, not looking back. Ali Ahmed followed."Congrats! Your turn to hide, right?""Wait," Ali Ahmed said, his heart suddenly skipping a beat. "What time is it?""Just a little before three," Kyra said, glancing at her phone. "Why? What's up?""I have a meeting," Ali Ahmed said, grabbing his bag and starting for the do
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 18 Bonding Time
Kyra Suarez POVKyra gave the pot a gentle shake, listening to the last few pops, before pouring the white, fluffy kernels into a large bowl. As she added salt and a drizzle of melted butter, she listened fondly to the sounds coming from the living room. Omer was telling Ali Ahmed about the movie they were about to watch: an animated film about fish that he'd seen about a hundred times. Ali Ahmed was patiently listening, even asking follow-up questions. It was the sound of family, a sound that Kyra loved.Grabbing the bowl, she headed back into the living room and settled on the couch. Omer had already claimed his spot in the middle, so Kyra found a place on the left side, making eye contact and sharing a smile with Ali Ahmed over Omer's head. As always, meeting Ali Ahmed's gaze made Kyra feel almost shivery."Are we ready?" Omer asked, wiggling with excitement. "This movie is so good.""Let's do it." Kyra grabbed the remote and pressed play. Right away, the opening notes of the movie
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 19 His Secret
Ali Ahmed POVIt was Ali Ahmed's favorite time of day. Omer was sleeping, watched over by Mohammed, and he and Kyra were outside in the gardens. The sun had just set, but the gardens were light with beautiful tiny fairy lights. All of Ali Ahmed's work for the day was done. Now he could just enjoy his time with the beautiful woman beside him. He felt happy and somehow braver than he had before."How was your day?" Kyra asked."Oh, you know, nothing too exciting," Ali Ahmed said. This wasn't strictly true: there'd been a big argument between two of his advisors about an issue involving camels, but Ali Ahmed didn't want to get into it now. He just wanted to enjoy the evening. "How was your day?""Good. Omer made paper airplanes in a combined art and physics lesson that Noora made up. All day he's been throwing the airplanes around the house, which he is loving so much."Ali Ahmed laughed a little at the thought of the little boy with a house full of paper airplanes. "That sounds like him
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DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 86 The Queen And Queen Of Sohar
Omar Farouq trailed kisses from her navel to one breast, then the other, anointing them both with his tongue. “I will make myself vulnerable. I will open myself to you, Aaliyah, and show you all these dark things in me. For you, and my son, I will give whatever you wish. Whatever is needed. Whatever makes us whole.”“And I will do the same,” she said, wiping at her face, though her smile was so wide he thought he could lose himself in it. “I promise you, I will not make up stories in my head and decide they’re real. Never again. I promise you that I will not treat our child the way my parents treated me, never good enough. Always on pins and needles, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I want him happy. So loved it never occurs to him to doubt it.”“How could he be anything else?” Omar Farouq asked.She moved against him, making him suck in a breath. “And I’d like him to be the first, Omar Farouq. Of many.”A family, Omar Farouq thought, letting the notion take hold of him. He had los
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 85 The King Needs A Queen
Aaliyah didn’t need to be urged out of the SUV when it drove her off the ferry that Angelique had commandeered, then brought her to that little parking area halfway up the lonely mountain. She thanked the driver, then charged up the narrow path cut into the side of the mountain as if she had something to prove.Because she did.And it was probably wiser to get as much of her jagged, furious energy out before she reached the Hermitage.Only because she didn’t think that it would serve anyone if she went in there after him, guns blazing.She already knew where that would lead. And she needed this to be different. She had to find some way to make this different from what had come before.Once she got to the Hermitage’s gates, she worried that it was entirely possible Omar Farouq might have locked her out. If he’d had the slightest suspicion that she would come up here after him.But when she reached the door, a simple push opened it up, and she found herself in that stone court once more
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 84 He Needed An Heir
AALIYAH has stayed on that beach for a long time.And when, at last, she turned and started back up the path, she hardly knew how she managed to put one foot in front of the other.She didn’t understand how she was here again. How had she given this same man her heart again only to have him smash it once more?She wandered without paying any attention to where she was going until it occurred to her that everything she’d said to Omar Farouq was true for her, too.Sohar seemed at times a fairy-tale kind of place, but it was all too real. Omar Farouq’s parents had been murdered, for God’s sake. It was just as dangerous for a future queen—or an ex-future queen, to be precise—to wander like this as it was for a king.Or anyway, it was putting an unnecessary target on her back.Aaliyah found it helpful to have something to concentrate on. To figure out where she was, which was easy enough in a place she hardly knew because all she needed to do was look up to see the palace standing there at
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 83 This Is About Justice
“I’m not suggesting otherwise.” She moved closer, there in his arms, to press her fingertips on his chest. “They sound like truly wonderful people. I’m sorrier than you know that I never got the chance to meet them. That Troy never will. But that’s not my point. I spent a lot of time these last year’s thinking about the many ways I could get revenge on my parents for turning their backs on me when I needed them the most. Sometimes it was all I thought about. And do you know what I finally understood tonight?”“I do not want—”“Revenge is a poison, Omar Farouq. It mires you in your worst moments while time marches on without you. It chains you to darkness. I know this. I lived this. And all the while I made up revenge scenarios in my head, my son—our son—was growing up. They tried to make me give him up. And I still spent far too much time in my head, which means I might as well have let them take him.” She let out a soft breath. “Tonight made it all too clear. They don’t have any powe
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 82 Hidden Feelings
Every night, they came together and followed the fire that had always been between them, wherever it led. In the aftermath, they would lie together, with their breath coming fast and hard. And it would nearly burst out of him, the need to confide in her.The way it always had.“You can tell me,” she said quietly, watching him far too closely. “Whatever it is.”And there was something in her voice then that made him pause. He barked out a laugh. “Do you think it’s a woman?”She didn’t reply to that, which was a reply in itself, and he raked his hands over his face. He could not quite bring himself to laugh again. “You credit me with far more stamina than any man could have. Or do you not imagine that the demands we make on each other are more than enough for one person in one day?”“I have always thought so,” she replied, and he could see her eyes flash, there in the dark. Omar Farouq did not miss the emphasis on the word always.“I was in my bedchamber when you returned that day,” he
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 81 Tonight Is Different
She hadn’t even bothered to change out of the gown she’d worn to the party tonight. Her hair was as he’d rendered it personally, after several hours of tearing each other apart. It hung down to her shoulders and looked as if there had been hands in it.There had been. His, and they ached to get back to it.All this while she stood there, fully exposed. Anyone who happened by could see her, the future Queen of Sohar, wandering around in the dark for no good reason.He made as if to go to her, then stopped before he could. Maybe he shouldn’t reveal himself. She clearly couldn’t see where he’d got to. She was scowling, her hands finding her hips the way they often did when she was out of patience. Then she turned in circles, completely heedless of the fact that she was standing beneath the lantern and therefore in full view of anyone who might care to glance out a window.She was not exactly stealthy.The fact that he should stay hidden and make sure she failed to locate him was clear to
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 80 Omar's Cousin Khalid
“We received the news from an emissary of your...of the King,” her father said after several moments inched by. He scowled at her. “He insisted that we come and support you.”“And, naturally, since a random king I doubt you’ve ever heard of insisted, you came at once.”“We heard of him when those rude journalists camped out on our doorstep,” her father barked at her. “The neighbors will never look at us the same way.”“The horror,” Aaliyah murmured, with a bit more sarcasm than befitted an almost-queen.“I see that the years haven’t softened you any, Aaliyah,” her mother said with a sigh that made it clear she considered herself the victim here. “That’s a shame.”Aaliyah let out a laugh. “I didn’t want to give Troy away. You wanted nothing to do with me unless I did. I’m not sure what softening would have done to make that scenario any better.”Her father made a low noise as if registering how concerning he found this conversation. But Aaliyah kept her focus on her mother.As ever, An
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 79 Roller Coaster of Emotions
Especially when she found her aunt sitting on a swing in the rose garden, watching Omar Farouq and Troy kick a soccer ball back and forth on the royal lawn.Her heart squeezed so tight she had to stop walking and fight to breathe. Aaliyah had to remind herself—sternly—of the six hard years she’d struggled through.Almost entirely alone.She found she had to do that a little too much as the days wore on.“Maybe it’s not all bad,” said Corrine on one of their walks through the extensive palace gardens.Back home in Tahoe: They had often tried to put in a bit of a summer garden in what summer there was so high up in the mountains. Unkillable geraniums seemed to be the height of their gardening prowess.It felt a bit like a metaphor that even the gardens here were unutterably lush.“There are worse things, of course,” Aaliyah allowed, trying not to sound disgruntled.When, in fact, she felt disgruntled. She’d woken from strange, dark dreams to find Omar Farouq in the shower. He had bid he
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 78 There Is Only Eternity
Molten gold, impossible flame, and that maddening, glorious, drugging heat that was only and ever Aaliyah.Each thrust was better than the one before. Each gasp, each touch, a revelation.There was the fury, the rage. There was the hurt, the need.But beneath it was a deep kind of recognition.A truth he was not sure he could name.They tumbled this way and that. She rolled on top and stayed there for a while, riding him with abandon. Then he could take it no longer and flipped her again, coming over her once more. He took her hands and hauled them up over her head so she arched against him, and both of them sighed out the sweetness of it.All of it was sublime. None of it was enough.Maybe he had known all along, back then and in all the years in between that it never could be. That it never would be.That there was only this woman for him.No matter how he’d tried to pretend otherwise.No matter how he’d failed to forget her.Omar Farouq levered himself down, getting his face as clo
