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

  Ali hesitated. They were having such a nice moment, the kind they had not in a while. He didn’t want it to end.

  Alyssa took a few steps in the direction of the beach. “Coming?”

  Ali gave a nod. “Yes.”

  On the beach, everything was as they had left it. No rescue boats or planes anywhere. Putting their canteen in the hut’s shade, they sat in the sand and discussed how long the food supplies would last them.

  “Even when we run out, it won’t matter,” Ali said. “From what I can tell, the whole beach is full of coconuts.”

  “But we won’t be here that long,” Alyssa reminded him. She looked away with pursed lips.

  “Yes,” Ali said. “We will not be here for long.”

  Alyssa sighed. “Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to have, like, a slice of pizza? Or a bagel?”

  Ali laughed. “You have never sounded more like a New Yorker.” Standing, he wiped the sand off his pants and grabbed the spear he had made the day before.

  “You’re gonna try that again?” Alyssa asked skeptically. “It wasn’t exactly fruitful.”

  “I am not looking for fruit. I am looking for fish.”

  Alyssa rolled her eyes and laughed. “Wow.”

  Ali inspected the spear’s end. Still good and sharp. “All I need is some patience,” he said.

  “At least you don’t have anywhere else you need to be.”

  Ali winked at her over his shoulder. “Precisely.”

  He went straight out into the water, going to the spot where he had fished the day before. Shading his brow with one palm, he looked down into the water and waited. He could feel Alyssa watching him, but he kept his focus on the task at hand. If building a fire and picking coconuts had felt so fantastic, spearing a fish with a crude tool should be a grand rush.

  After only a couple minutes, a group of small, silvery fish swam up. Ali licked his lips, adrenaline rushing through him. He held the spear at the ready, waiting for the fish to come closer.

  And then, suddenly, they were gone.

  “How’s it going out there?” Alyssa called.

  Ali waved a hand at her without looking. “Just fine.”

  “Should I start getting one of these super delicious dehydrated packs ready for breakfast?”

  Ali turned away so she would not see his scowl. He would stay in the water all day long, if that was what it would take.

  Another school of small fish came in, these also silver. Close behind them, larger, yellow fish pursued. Ali watched with bated breath as two of the yellow fish snapped up little silvery ones. The smaller school spooked and darted left, heading right to Ali.

  There was no time to think, only to do. Ali jammed the spear into the water, going for the silver fish, but he put too much force into the effort, and ended up falling right over. A loud splash accompanied his tumble. He sat up, the water at his chest, and shook his head to get the water droplets from his face.

  Alyssa's laugh echoed across the beach. “Catch anything?” she called.

  “Any moment now,” Ali responded.

  More determined than ever to make this work, he took his spear and went a little deeper into the water. He could see some of the yellow fish, which he realized he needed to be his real targets. So, as before, he took up a spot and waited, still as a statue.

  The sun baked the back of Ali's neck. Fish came, and fish went. This time, he was more patient. He knew that if he were to make a move too soon, the fish would be scared away.

  More little fish swim by, and more larger ones chased, striped ones and bright blue ones as well. At the end of what appeared to be three schools of different kinds of fish clumped together, a fat orange one trailed the pack. Ali's stomach turned over in excitement. The fish was a slow one, taking his time and enjoying his lethargic swim near the shore.

  Ali's heart pounded, but his hand was steady. Down went the spear, straight through the center of the fish. He whipped the spear from the ocean, turning it upside down so his catch would not slide off and be carried away by the water.

  In the shade of the palm trees, Alyssa stood and shielded her eyes to look at him. Ali raised the spear into the air, his other fist rising triumphantly next to it.

  “Oh my gosh, you did it!” Alyssa shrieked. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down.

  Grinning ear to ear, Ali made his way to shore. The fish still flopped pathetically on the end of the spear, and Alyssa made a face and looked down.

  “I forgot about this part,” she said.

  Ali had never killed something before. Along with his thrill at being on the island, though, something primal had been awakened. Not only was he prepared to do whatever he needed, he also suddenly had no place in his heart for hesitation. Quickly, he found a rock and, with a strong, fluid move, put the fish out of its misery.

  Behind him, Alyssa sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

  Ali straightened up. “So…brunch?”

  Chapter 14

  Alyssa

  There were still some hot coals underneath the charred branches, so, taking a stick, Alyssa raked them out while Ali stood nearby and tried to figure out what to do with the fish.

  “I wish I had a knife,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Alyssa agreed, thinking wistfully of Steven’s pocket knife. Where was the pilot, now? Had he made it to the village he hoped was there?

  Alyssa hoped that, wherever he was, he’d stayed as safe as them.

  “I'll use the spear to clean it,” Ali decided. “It won’t be easy, or tidy, but…”

  “Shall I get a fire going?” Alyssa asked.

  Ali tossed her the lighter. “A small one, yes. We want it to burn down some. Then, we can put the fish on a stone and try cooking it that way. If not, we can always eat it raw.”

  “Sushi,” Alyssa said, trying to sound chipper. A shiver went through her, though. Without rice and soy sauce, she would much rather have it cooked.

  They worked separately, but not far off from each other. Alyssa gathered some kindling and started her little fire. Meanwhile, Ali worked on the fish. It was nice out. The morning’s humidity had begun to set in, but the temperature was nothing like it had been the afternoon before.

  “How’s the fire doing?” Ali asked.

  Alyssa stood back and surveyed her work with pride. It had been years since she’d made a fire, and she had forgotten how much she loved the smoky smell of it. There was something about doing it yourself that just felt so satisfying.

  “It's blazing,” she said. “I’ll let it die down, and in the meantime, I'll go look for a flat stone.”

  Alyssa went back to the edge of the jungle, but this time, she felt a little less terrified. After a day and a night of being on the island and not being eaten by a wild animal, it didn't make sense to be as fearful as she initially had been.

  There weren't many rocks near their camp, so she walked a line along the trees, looking for more. She finally found one that seemed suitable enough. Taking that and leaving it by the fire, she then went in search of two other rocks to prop the flat one up with.

  “I was thinking we could make a kind of skillet,” she explained to Ali with a shrug. “I'm not sure it will work, but let's try.”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Ali said. “This fish is ready to go.”

  With the flames growing smaller, they dropped the rocks into the fire and, not without some difficulty, maneuvered the flat one on top of the other two. This way, there were flames underneath the flat rock. On top of this, they laid the messy fish fillets.

  Alyssa and Ali stood back and looked down at what they had accomplished.

  “But will the rock get hot enough?” Alyssa asked.

  “I would think so, eventually. Anyway, we have time to wait. It is not as if we have anywhere to be.”

  “That's true,” Alyssa agreed.

  They settled down next to the fire and looked out at the ocean. Periodically, Ali stood to check the fish.

  “How’s it doing?�
� Alyssa asked when he went over the third time.

  Carefully, Ali used the stick to turn the fish over. The parts that had been resting against the stone were cooked a nice, crispy white. At the sight of it, Alyssa's stomach growled and her mouth watered.

  Ali sat back down with a grin. “I would say we’ve done a respectable job. Are you sure you do not want to fetch Rashid, bring him back here, and start our own utopia?”

  “I have to admit,” Alyssa said with a giggle, “that does sound tempting. But what would we live in? We can't sleep on the sand forever.”

  “I would build us huts.” Ali rubbed his jaw, where thick stubble had sprouted overnight.

  “I like you like that,” Alyssa said.

  He glanced over at her. “Building huts?”

  “No,” she laughed. “With your beard not shaved. It's sexy.”

  Ali chuckled. “What about in a few weeks? If I didn't shave for that long, would you still find it sexy?”

  “The jury’s out on that one,” Alyssa said. “What about if I didn't shave my legs for three weeks? Would you find that sexy?”

  Ali pulled her legs into his lap. “There is no way I will ever not find you sexy.”

  Alyssa giggled and pulled her legs back. “Are you watching the fish?”

  Ali went back to the fire. “These look close to done. How about we put them in those coconut shells?”

  “Good idea.” Hopping up, Alyssa grabbed the coconut shells and spared a little bit of fresh water to wash them out. Carefully, using two sticks as if they were giant chopsticks, Ali transferred the fish from the stone to the coconut shells.

  Alyssa settled down cross-legged and inhaled the deliciousness. “Oh, wow,” she exhaled. “I almost don't care there's no salt. This is gonna be amazing.”

  Pulling off a sliver of the meaty fish, Alyssa took her first bite. It was buttery, with a slight nuttiness.

  “Wow,” she said, catching eyes with Ali.

  “Delicious,” he agreed. “The freshest I’ve ever had.”

  “I suppose that's what makes it so good,” Alyssa said.

  They ate their fish, the fire crackling and the breeze caressing their faces. Alyssa's mind kept drifting to the future, worrying about what would happen if they were not rescued within the next few days. Each time her thoughts went there, though, she yanked them back to the present moment.

  She had already lost it once. Okay, scratch that. Two or three times. If she wanted to keep her sanity and be of any help when it came to keeping the two of them alive, Alyssa knew she needed to keep it together. She needed to focus on the positives.

  Rashid was safe. Even if there were no other people on this island, it was only a matter of time before a search party came looking for them. In the meantime, Ali and Alyssa had what they needed to live.

  They finished eating, and Alyssa let out a happy sigh.

  “Full?” Ali asked.

  “Full,” she said blissfully.

  “I can always get more coconuts.”

  “Considering how hot it was when you did that,” Alyssa said, “I might have to take you up on that offer.”

  Ali arched a brow, his eyes glinting. “Hotter than my stubble?”

  “It was probably the hottest thing I've ever seen in my life,” Alyssa admitted.

  “That's good,” Ali murmured. He gazed into the fire with a thoughtfulness that didn't quite match the conversation. Before Alyssa could ask what was going on, he spoke again. “I like impressing you,” he told her.

  Alyssa wasn't quite sure how to answer. “Oh,” she said, and then felt dumb for it.

  “I have been thinking some. Or, rather, I suppose, the revelation just came to me.” Ali looked down at the sand. “Out here with you, I’ve been happier that I’ve been in a long time, excluding when we are with our son.”

  Their gazes locked, and unexpected emotion swirled in Alyssa's chest.

  “I know you hate it here,” Ali said. “I know that you blame all of this on me—”

  “That was wrong of me.” Alyssa shook her head. “It's not your fault the plane went down. And I said that I would go and look at the resort.”

  “But still,” Ali pointed out. “You would rather not be on this island.”

  Alyssa pressed her thumb against her lips. “Well, yeah, I'd rather be home.”

  “You were right about my priorities,” Ali said. “They have been shifting. I hadn’t even noticed it.”

  “What…what made you notice it?” Alyssa asked.

  Ali grinned. “I meant what I said, Alyssa. I like impressing you. Fishing for you. Getting coconuts for you. Building fires.”

  Alyssa leaned forward. “You impressed me at home, too. I'm proud of the way you've been focusing on work lately. And even with that, you still always have time for our family. I’m sorry if I don’t tell you what a great job you’re doing. I’ve been dropping the ball on that.”

  “Thank you,” Ali said. “What I’m attempting to say is that you and Rashid are the two most important things in the world to me. And I know that you’re aware of that, and I am as well, but…just because we know one thing does not mean that we always act in favor of that knowledge.”

  “Yeah,” Alyssa agreed. “That's human nature.”

  “Exactly,” Ali said. “And so, though I know what is most important to me, sometimes, I get distracted. I let my desire to be favored by others guide me. You were right about the wedding. It is about more than Baqari propriety and my business. I used to not care what people said about me, but somehow, I became sucked into that game over the last year.”

  Alyssa's eyes filled with tears. She hadn’t even thought about the wedding this whole morning long; she'd been existing in a happy bubble where none of the problems of the outside world could touch her.

  “We don’t need a destination wedding,” Ali said. “And while I would like to keep some Baqari tradition, I will leave it up to you to plan most of the day.”

  Alyssa swiped at her tears. “It's not about me having control of the wedding, Ali.”

  He took her hand. “I know,” he said soothingly. “It’s about having an intimate wedding. You told me from the beginning that that is what is important to you.”

  “Yeah.” She nodded.

  “Then let us have that,” he said. “I was too busy worrying about impressing the world. I forgot that the one person I want to impress more than anyone else is my future wife. If we are happy together, Alyssa, that is all that matters.”

  “You're sure about this?” Alyssa asked.

  He squeezed her hand. “Absolutely. You want a rustic, farm wedding? We will have that. You are my princess, Alyssa. I want to give you whatever makes you happy. Except…”

  “Uh-huh?”

  “There is one thing I wish to draw the line at,” he said.

  “What's that?”

  “I do not want goat yoga.”

  Alyssa laughed. “I never said anything about goat yoga!”

  “I know you didn’t,” Ali said. “But it starts with a farm wedding. Mason jars. Wildflowers… And then comes the goat yoga.”

  “You've been spending too much time in Brooklyn,” Alyssa joked.

  Grinning, Ali pulled her to him.

  Like magnets, their lips instinctively found one another. Alyssa melted into his hold, all the worry, fear, and uncertainty dissipating. For too long, there had been a wall between them—ever since they had their first disagreement about the wedding. Now, with this kiss, the war had ended.

  Alyssa broke off the kiss and smiled up at him. “Okay, so, are we talking about the wedding now?”

  Ali’s gaze drifted to the side. “There is something else I can think of doing…”

  “Ali!” she cried. “We’re on the beach.”

  “With no one else around for miles,” he reminded her.

  Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Gosh, wouldn't that be a sight for the rescue plane or boat.”

  Ali chuckled. “Not to mention the sand. Let’s
take a rain check.”

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she snuggled closer into his chest. Nestled together, they watched the small fire. Soon, they would be off of this island. This whole crazy experience would be over. But right then, in that moment, Alyssa was surprised to discover that she was enjoying it.

  Chapter 15

  Alyssa

  Alyssa waded through the water, its coolness lapping at her ankles. With each step she took, she kicked up a little bit of sand. Tiny fish darted away, shooting in every direction.

  Looking up, Alyssa waved at Ali. From his spot on the rocks, he waved back. After the midday heat had passed, they’d adventured out of the palm trees’ shade. About half a mile down the beach, they’d found a tiny cove. Here, rocks provided shelter for numerous fish.

  Already, Ali had caught two fish for their supper. Each time, Alyssa had been impressed.

  “It seems like there are a hundred different kinds here,” Alyssa said.

  “I know,” Ali answered. “Let’s hope these ones are just as good as the last one.”

  “A fish is a fish, right?”

  Though it was late afternoon, the humidity was still intense. Ali had discarded his shirt somewhere hours ago, and Alyssa had tied her own into a kind of crop top. She wanted to just take it off, but the prospect of rescuers showing up at any time stopped her from doing that.

  Bending down, Alyssa scooped up some water and dumped it right on top of her head. She ran her wet palms down her closed eyes and let out a long sigh. Much better.

  Firm as a physical touch, Ali's gaze pressed into her back. Alyssa turned around and gave him a saucy look.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “I am merely enjoying the view.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Alyssa made a big show of bending down and scooping up more water. This time, she leaned her head back and let the water trickle down her neck and shirt.