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Chapter 35 Ali Ahmed Ibrahim's Half-Brother?
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 36 A Bond Between Them
Abdullah’s gaze had blazed anger but Amira saw something beneath the fury: grief. A grief she understood and felt herself. And, even though she didn’t want to, she felt a sympathy for Abdullah, a compassion and even an anger on his behalf. He’d been terribly wronged, just as Leila had said.She thought of him as a boy, being banished from his family and home. She imagined his confusion and fear, the utter heartbreak of losing everything he’d known and held dear.Just as she had.She’d been a bit older, but her family had been wrenched from her in a matter of moments, just as Abdullah’s had. She was fighting to keep her rightful title, just as Abdullah was.With a jolt she realized what this meant: she believed him. She believed he was the rightful heir. For a second everything in her rebelled. You believed before. You trusted before. And this man has kidnapped you—how can you be so stupid?Yet she’d heard the sincerity in Abdullah’s voice. She’d felt his pain. She knew him in a way sh
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 37 Change Of Heart
Her lips parted instinctively and her gaze rested on his mouth, making her realize yet again how sculpted and perfect his lips were. She wondered how they would feel. How they would taste. She’d never actually been kissed before, which suddenly seemed ridiculous at the age of twenty-three. But a convent-school education and becoming Queen at just nineteen had kept her from ever pursuing a romantic relationship. First, there hadn’t been any opportunity, and then she’d been so focused on protecting her crown and serving her country that there hadn’t been any time. Besides, suitable partners for a reigning queen were not exactly plentiful.Queen Amira knew she shouldn’t be thinking of kissing Abdullah now. With effort, she dragged her gaze up toward his eyes and saw they were molten gold. His fingers tightened on her cheek, his thumb grazing her jawbone, drawing her inexorably forward. And Amira went, her heart starting to hammer as she braced herself for that wonderful onslaught.Then A
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 38 Knowing Their Pasts
Amira felt the kind of thrill of exhilaration she hadn’t experienced since she’d been a child riding in Muscat as she followed Abdullah. It felt wonderful to be on a horse again, the desert flashing by in a blur of rocks and sand. She had had no time for such pursuits since she’d been queen. She hadn’t ridden like this in years.The only sound was her horse’s hooves galloping across the sand. She spurred the beast on, eager to catch up with Abdullah —or even pass him. Although he hadn’t said, she knew it had become a race.Glancing behind him, Abdullah pointed to a towering, needle-like boulder in the distance that Amira knew must be the finish line. She nodded back and crouched low over the horse as the wind whistled past. She was only a length behind him, and in the last dash to the finish line she made up half a length, but Abdullah’s horse still crossed a beat before hers.Laughing, she reined the animal in and patted his sweat-soaked neck. ‘That was close.’‘Very close,’ Abdullah
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 39 My Father Disown Me
‘That’s not an answer either, but yes, I have.’ He spoke evenly, but she still felt the ocean of pain underneath. ‘My father hurt me when he chose to disown and banish me.’‘Oh, Abdullah.’ She bit her lip, remorse rushing through her. ‘I’m sorry. That was a thoughtless question for me to ask.’‘Not at all. But I want you to answer my question. What were you talking about when you said friendship wasn’t worth the risk?’‘I had a friend once,’ Amira said slowly. ‘And he let me down rather badly. He—betrayed me.’ She shook her head. ‘That sounds melodramatic, but that’s what happened.’‘He,’ Abdullah said neutrally, and with a dart of surprise she wondered if he was actually jealous.‘Yes, he. But it wasn’t romantic, not remotely.’ She sighed. ‘It was stupid, really. I was stupid to trust him.’‘So this man is why you don’t trust people?’‘I’ve learned my lesson. But I trust you, Abdullah.’She heard his breath come out in a rush. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t.’‘Why do you say that?’‘Do I need
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 40 Laid Bare His Own Secrets.
Yet she said nothing, because it felt like it counted. It felt like the only thing that counted. Abdullah had given her something, or maybe he’d just showed her she already had it: a capacity to share, to trust, to love.She looked up at him, searching his face, wanting to know what he was feeling, if he felt the same pull of attraction and empathy that she did. But then she met his gaze and saw the fire burning there and her breath caught in her chest as desire, raw, fierce and overwhelming, crashed over her.His face was so close to hers she could feel his breath fanning against her cheek, see the dark glint of stubble on his chin. His lips were no more than a whisper away from hers and, as she stared up at him and heard his breath hitch, she knew without a doubt she wanted to close that small distance between their mouths.She wanted him to kiss her.His head dipped and her heart seemed to stop and then soar. His lips were so close now that if she moved at all they would be touchi
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 41 Pretend To Be Your Wife?
Several clucking women surrounded Amira and she was carried along with them to a tent, bemused by their interest, and more than a little hurt by the stony look she’d seen on Abdullah’s face as he’d turned away.So he regretted their kiss last night. Clearly, and she should regret it too; of course, she should. Kissing Abdullah was a terrible idea. Caring about him was even worse. The trouble was, she couldn’t regret it. She ached with longing for another kiss—and more. For him. She’d come to this desert tribe because she’d wanted to because she wanted to see the people who cared about Abdullah.As she cared about him. More, it seemed, than he wanted her to.Once in the tent, the women fluttered around her like colorful, chattering birds, touching her hair, her cheek, and the clothes she wore that were now grimed with dust and dirt. Amira didn’t understand anything they said, and it appeared none of them spoke either English or Greek, the two languages in which she was fluent. They all
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 42 One Incredible Night Only
And so Amira let herself be carried along once more by the women; she didn’t protest when they dressed her in a gown of silvery blue, lined her eyes with kohl, placed copper bangles on both arms and a veil of coins over her face. She understood they wanted to celebrate her recent marriage, just as the young bride was celebrating hers, and she didn’t resist.She wanted to celebrate it too.The sky was deep indigo and studded with millions of stars when the ceremony began. The entire tribe had assembled and Amira watched, enchanted, as the ceremony played out amidst a riot of color, music and dance. The women and men sat separately, and although she looked for him she could not find Abdullah amidst the men gathered under a tent. She wondered if he would even recognize her in the Bedouin dress, headscarf and veil, wondered what he would think of her like this.After the ceremony people circulated freely to enjoy food, music and dance. Several giggling women pushed Amira towards a group o
DUBAI THE CITY OF DREAMS Chapter 43 For Tonight Only
‘Not as many as you’re thinking, and none in the last year. I’ve been too busy with other things.’ And none like you. Untouched. Innocent. Amazing. He couldn’t believe he was seriously thinking about taking Amira up on her offer to make love to her.‘When I said it was dangerous, Amira, I didn’t mean an unplanned pregnancy. I was talking about the...the emotional risks.’She flinched and then recovered her composure. ‘I’m aware of the risk, Abdullah,’ she told him. ‘And I’m not under the illusion that this would be anything but one night. I’m not asking for more from you.’‘I know that.’‘Then what’s the problem?’ He just shook his head, both torn and tempted. Her smile turned flirtatious, even sultry. ‘I suppose I’ll just have to seduce you.’Surprise flared deep inside him, along with an almost unbearable arousal. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he managed. He knew she wouldn’t have to do much and he would cave completely. He would take her in his arms and lose himself in her k
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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
