His Beloved Bride (Wedded to the Sheikh Book 3) Read online

  Alyssa’s jaw tightened. She loved Ali for a lot of reasons, but his hand-eye coordination wasn’t one of them. At this rate, it would be hours until he caught a fish, if he managed to catch one at all.

  But what else could they do but try?

  Abandoning the show, Alyssa walked down the beach a little bit. Maybe there was a rocky part of shore somewhere close by. Didn’t clams and mussels hang out in places like that?

  She didn’t see anything, though. Each part of the beach seemed the same as the last. Smooth sand. Calm water. All of it completely unbroken.

  Returning to their camp, she found Ali emerging from the water. He held the spear, but no fish.

  “No luck?” Alyssa asked.

  “I’ll try again later. Perhaps I’ll have more luck after the tide comes in.”

  Right on cue, Alyssa’s stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten since that morning—since she'd been on the other side of the world. With Rashid.

  Spinning on her heel, she went back to the shelter and dropped onto her knees. Her hands ran over their limited supplies and she mentally calculated how long the goods would last them for.

  “Four days,” Alyssa said. “That's what we have here in food.”

  “That's good." Ali sat down and wiped his sweaty face with his shirt. “I'll catch something by then.”

  Alyssa drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She wished they'd gone with Steven. Didn't they have a better chance of survival if they all stuck together? Wouldn't anyone who saw the jet logically assume people had crashed and needed help?

  “Hey.” Ali rubbed her back. “I know this is…unexpected, but think of it as the first part of our vacation.”

  Alyssa nearly choked on her breath. “Vacation?!”

  “We’re in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.”

  “Did you hit your head during the crash?” Alyssa hissed. “Ali, we are on a deserted island. We might die here."

  “We won’t die,” he said. His jaw ticked. Did he even believe what he’d said?

  “Oh my God.” Alyssa dropped her head into her hands. “Why are you suddenly so positive?”

  “Excuse me for attempting to keep up morale,” Ali grumbled.

  “Three days,” Alyssa whispered. “That's how long it will take for Steven to reach other people. At least. And assuming they're actually on this island. What if they’re not?”

  “People will be looking for us before then. If they aren’t already, on account of Steven’s radio communication going out. We’ll be okay, my love.”

  The words brought her a modicum of relief. “That's true. I guess there's one good thing to being a sheikh. People tend to notice when you aren't around.”

  “One good thing?” Ali asked after a pause.

  “That's not how I meant it,” Alyssa grumbled.

  “Is that true? Because you knew what you were getting into when you accepted my proposal. I’ve turned my back on whatever I could in order to have a normal life in New York, but there are some things that are simply out of my control.” Sadness entered his eyes. “I thought that you understood that.”

  The conversation with Lucy came to mind, and along with it, a wave of guilt.

  But, no. That wasn’t right. Alyssa was doing her best. Some things could be compromised on and others couldn’t be. A gigantic wedding with strangers would hurt Alyssa more than not having it would hurt Ali.

  “You know what I think?” she snapped. “I think you’ve exaggerated the importance of having a Baqari wedding. Yeah, I know your parents care, but do your business associates? Really?”

  Ali looked away, giving Alyssa his profile. The silence was all the confirmation she needed.

  “Who else do you care about?” Alyssa asked. “Who are you trying to impress? People who read the magazines? People you went to school with?”

  “You are being extraordinarily harsh right now,” he said lowly. “Perhaps you are dehydrated.”

  “Don’t patronize me, Ali.”

  His gaze snapped back to her. “You are making it hard not to. We are here on a deserted island, where we will be sleeping under palm leaves and eating dehydrated sweet potatoes, and yet you still manage to bring your personal issues along.”

  Alyssa’s jaw dropped. “My personal issues? Whatever issues I have, Ali, directly have to do with you. They're because of you.”

  His dark eyes flashed. “You really don’t want a Baqari wedding, do you?”

  “I never did!” Alyssa threw her arms up in the air. “You’ve known all along that that’s not what I want.”

  “And you have known all along that I can do it no other way.”

  “Really?” Alyssa narrowed her eyes. “Is this truly all about what your country expects, or is it about what you want? You didn’t answer my question before. Who are you trying to impress?”

  He scoffed. “If you’re trying to get a rise out of me, Alyssa, it will not work.”

  “I might never see my son again!” Alyssa screamed. Her hands curled into fists. “And all because you had to go see this stupid resort.”

  Ali stood and glared at her. “There is no connection between those two things. We fly all the time. The jet could have gone down traveling anywhere.”

  “And yet, it was this time,” Alyssa rasped. “Our first time away from Rashid. When I knew that I shouldn’t go. Everything in me was telling me not to go. You made me come.”

  “I didn’t make you do anything. I did not drag you onto that plane. Never, in our whole relationship, have I made you do anything you did not want to do. If you have compromised, that is your choice. Don’t try to blame that on me.”

  His words were a smack in the face—because they were right. Alyssa stood there, numb. Unable to think of anything else to say, she turned around and walked for the trees.

  “Alyssa!” Ali called after her.

  “I need to be alone,” Alyssa whispered. She didn’t know if he heard her, and it didn’t matter. She needed space. Some time to think. If she stayed with Ali any longer, her temper would continue to flare and she might say something truly regrettable.

  “Alyssa!” he called again.

  She didn’t turn around. Instead, she let the cool, moist air of the jungle draw her in.

  Chapter 9

  Alyssa

  A few yards into the trees, Alyssa found the first notch that Steven's knife had made. Touching it lightly, she looked over her shoulder. Thanks to all the overgrowth, she could see a bit of the beach, but no Ali.

  It looked like he wouldn't be coming after her.

  That realization made her even angrier, and she pushed through some bushes and looked for the second notch.

  “Mr. Freaking Positive,” she muttered. “Everything will be okay, my butt.”

  Ali was just as terrified as Alyssa. He had to be, and his refusal to admit it drove her crazy. What else did he hide from her?

  Was the guest list really capped at five hundred? Or did he want to invite even more people? Alyssa had trouble imagining there could be more people than that to invite, but if it was possible, leave it to Ali.

  “He probably wants to have photographers there,” she realized out loud. “Ones from a magazine.”

  Alyssa’s first pregnancy photos had been taken for a magazine, but that had been in order to mitigate rumors. She'd had fun at the shoot, but she had also been glad she would never have to repeat the experience again. Now, the fear of her personal life being completely public was weighing on her again.

  Alyssa swiped at hot tears, but more of them came. Taking a break, she sat down on a log and let herself cry.

  Giving herself some time to cry in private made her feel better. Now, she could walk to the creek and splash some water on her face. Maybe sit awhile and watch the waterfall. She still needed something to help calm her down.

  Standing, she stepped over the log and looked for the next notch. It wasn't on any of the trees directly around her. Stepping past thos
e, she inspected the next jagged line of trees. Still no notch.

  Frowning, Alyssa turned around. She must have stepped off-route when she’d sat down on the log. Crossing back over it, she looked for the last notch she had found.

  But, wait…

  Which direction had that been in?

  Alyssa’s heart hammered against her ribs. She hadn't noticed before how alike nearly every square yard of the jungle looked. The only thing that occasionally marked a spot as different was a decaying log or a tree with more than the average number of vines.

  “Okay, Alyssa, breathe. Just chill out for a second.”

  She closed her eyes. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

  You're wasting time! her mind screamed at her. The sun will set soon and you'll die out here!

  Alyssa gasped in fear, her eyes popping open. She spun around, looking for something familiar. Something that set one part of the jungle apart from the rest.

  This wasn't like getting lost in a state park back home. There, rangers would come out looking for you. Here, there was no rescue party. It was only Alyssa and Ali—and if she couldn't find her way back, there wasn’t a chance he would find his way to her.

  More tears came, but Alyssa forced them back. She’d cried enough on this stupid island already. If she was going to die, it wouldn't be as a blubbering mess.

  “Okay,” she said to herself. “Just start walking. If I see something I recognize, I'll keep going. If not…”

  If not, she would have to turn around. At least she had the log as a marker. If only she had a pocket knife like Steven's, then this would be so much easier.

  But she didn't. She only had her wits and the rapidly setting sun.

  Alyssa counted her steps as she walked. “One, two, three…”

  She meant to go in a straight line, but the hectic topography of the jungle made this impossible. Here and there, she had to step around a tree. Each time, she did her best to get right back on that straight path, but she had an awful feeling that she wasn't doing as well as she thought.

  At twenty-five steps, Alyssa stopped. She looked around herself. No notches. Nothing notable about this part of the jungle at all.

  Gulping, Alyssa turned back around and headed in the direction she had come from. One…two…three…

  At twenty-five, once again, she stopped. She looked. And, no, she was not at the log.

  If Alyssa had been lost before, she was now officially, royally lost and screwed.

  Her breathing quickened, and sweat that had nothing to do with the humidity collected on her palms. Where was Ali? Was he looking for her? If not, how long until he decided he should?

  “Ali.” She had meant it to come out as a yell, but the word was weak and shaky. Alyssa cupped her mouth and tried again.

  “Ali!” she yelled.

  Alyssa held her breath to listen. A bird trilled right above her head. Somewhere in the woods, a branch creaked. A shiver rolled through Alyssa. What kinds of animals had Steven said might be on this island?

  There couldn't be tigers, right? Or anything else that might see a human as a tasty treat? Venomous snakes? Deadly spiders?

  Alyssa bit her lip hard. A few times, she had wondered how she might die. Funnily enough, of all the possible options out there, she had never considered being eaten by a tiger or bitten by a snake on a remote island off the coast of Thailand to be one of them.

  There were no more sticks snapping or leaves crunching. Alyssa was alone.

  For the time being.

  “Ali!” she screamed, using every ounce of her strength to project the sound.

  The call went out into the jungle, and her voice echoed back to her. “Ali,” it whispered pitifully.

  A moan crept up Alyssa’s throat. She had thought being stranded on an island’s beach was bad. If only she'd known what was to come next, she would have kissed that beach until sand filled her mouth.

  Chapter 10

  Ali

  Rope in hand, Ali made a precarious leap from the raft onto the plane. He landed on the craft and immediately tied the rope to the emergency door’s handle.

  For some reason, he was surprised to find everything as they had left it. The door to the cockpit was open, and in the seating area, Ali’s notepad still rested on a cushion.

  Ali licked his lips, his nervousness growing. It had been risky to come out to the plane, considering how concerned Steven had seemed about it, but it was the best plan he had. The spearing thing had not turned out so well, and Ali did not have much faith that he would be able to catch a fish, even if more did appear.

  So that left salvaging whatever he could from the downed jet. Walking down the aisle, he squatted in front of the mini fridge. It had been ridiculous to leave the plane without taking the fridge’s contents with, but they hadn’t exactly been thinking straight in that moment. Fear had driven them then. Now, it was a longer-term need for survival that propelled Ali forward.

  That, and the need to prove Alyssa wrong.

  Taking a trash bag from the hatch compartment above the fridge, Ali filled it with everything from the mini fridge. Hummus. Carrot sticks. A couple pre-made sandwiches. A bottle of pomegranate juice. Four apples.

  That was it. They hadn’t exactly packed to go down.

  With the bag in tow, Ali precariously made his way back onto the raft.

  Immediately after Alyssa’s storming off, he had paced around on the sand, waiting for her to return. When she hadn’t, he’d grown tired of standing there doing nothing, and had climbed into the raft.

  Alyssa’s assertion that he cared about his reputation more than her had been a stab to the heart. How could she think so little of him?

  Certainly, he had been giving more attention to work over the last year. That was because of Alyssa, though. Before her, he had felt like nothing he did mattered. Even though he craved to make a difference in the world, he did not know how to. It took a while for him to understand that the change he wanted could be in what he already did.

  Because of the effort Ali had put into guiding the family’s New York restaurants and bars over the last year, each establishment had improved for the better. They had all become greener, and all of them now provided benefits for their employees. Each day, Ali went to work feeling satisfied knowing he helped to make others’ lives a bit better.

  The thing was, Ali’s work was not exclusive from his role as Baqari royalty. Everything he did in one arena affected the other. Investors wanted to help out businesses that not only held promise, but that also had leaders with good reputations.

  After years of running around chasing fleeting pleasures, he wanted to be more conscientious and invested in his future. If anything, Alyssa should be proud of him.

  But it seemed she was not. She did not believe anything he said, it seemed. She was convinced that he loved his image more than her.

  Which was half of the reason he had gone to fetch supplies from the ship. If Alyssa thought he couldn’t take care of her on this island, this would show her how capable he was.

  Ali paddled for shore, scanning the beach as he did so. There was no sign of Alyssa.

  He frowned and paddled faster. This wasn’t right. It had been at least forty-five minutes since she’d walked off. Steven had cautioned them not to go into the jungle, which was why Ali had assumed Alyssa had only walked to the creek that she and Steven had discovered.

  But now, the sun was dangerously close to setting, and it appeared that she had still not returned.

  Pulling the raft to shore, Ali deposited the bag of food on the sand. “Alyssa?” he called.

  He walked for the jungle. “Alyssa?” he yelled, much louder this time.

  Ali glanced over his shoulder. The horizon glowed orange, and the jungle was darker than it had been even thirty minutes before.

  Raking his hands through his hair, Ali cursed under his breath. Then, he remembered the notches. Steven had carved them into trees to lead the way to the creek.

  Making h
aste, Ali set off. He walked as fast as he could, following the notches and calling for Alyssa. If they were caught in the jungle after nightfall, that would be bad news. There would be no way to tell which way to go, and they would have to stay where they were and wait until morning.

  “Alyssa!” he called yet again. He had been walking for at least a few minutes, and no one but the birds had called back.

  Ali nearly smelled the creek before he saw it; that was how fresh the water was. He stopped at the edge of it and gazed at the waterfall.

  “Alyssa?”

  An iron fist squeezed Ali’s stomach. She was not at the creek, nor was she within calling distance. This was truly bad.

  “Alyssa?” Ali waded through the creek.

  The shadows were thicker than the foliage, clumping together and creating a darkness to precede nightfall. Ali squinted, scanning every object in the area.

  Something that sounded like a monkey called out, and another of its kind answered. If only it were that easy with Ali and Alyssa. If only he could sing out into the night and have her answer.

  “Alyssa!”

  Ali shouted until his throat became hoarse. Still, he kept shouting. He went straight from the creek, but there was no way of telling that was the direction she had gone in. It only seemed the best option, for if she were along the creek, she would have walked back by now. Even in her shocked state, Alyssa would understand the jungle was not a place to be at night.

  Ali’s foot hit a rock, and he stumbled a bit, catching himself right before going down. There was still some light left, but it had become hard to see the ground under his feet.

  With each faltering step, he heard Alyssa’s voice on the beach, and all of the hurt and anger that had been in it.

  She really did blame all of this on him. Not just the plane crash. All of it. The wedding problems. His greater immersion with work and his public image.

  Growing up, he had been groomed to always be conscious of other people's opinions. That was why he had pushed against such a lifestyle upon entering adulthood. For a good number of years, he had done what he wanted, not caring about what magazines, tabloids, his parents, or his parents’ friends said.