The Sheik's Virgin Lover (The Sisterhood) (2 page)

Her words didn’t have the effect she’d hoped to achieve since all five teenage boys continued to stand firm, lined up and ready to defend her honor. “Ms. Emma, you turned around and he stared at your butt,” Macky replied, backing up Jerome’s claim.

Father Michael started forward but Emma knew this wasn’t going to end easily unless she cleared it up.

“So what? Are you saying you’ve never stared at a girl’s butt?”

The boy’s face flushed slightly under his dark skin as she challenged his double standard. “You’re different, Ms. Emma.”

“To you, maybe. Because I’m older but there’s really no difference. This is exactly what Father Mike’s discussion last week was about, objectifying women and you guys do it all the time. So don’t be a hypocrite when someone else does it.” She turned to face the man who was too scary for words. “Apparently it’s a universal trait among all who have testosterone racing through their blood stream.” Turning back to the teens, she shook her head. “If I’m going to ignore it, then so are you.”

She didn’t wait for a response but turned back to the center’s building, intending to go inside and pray that they all followed. “Hit the showers,” she called back, not bothering to check. If they didn’t follow her instructions, there would be hell to pay.

As soon as she got to the door, she looked in the glass, checking the reflection. Thankfully, the boys were dispersing, but not happy about it. All were mumbling and shaking their heads. “Give it a rest, T-Jay. After the way Janey broke up with you last week, you have no room to give this man any grief.”

Instantly, she noticed the changed body language of T-Jay. His shoulders drooped and he looked at her instead of Prince Whatchamacallit. The rest of the boys followed suit, distracted by the mention of T-Jay’s breakup and they moved to the side, discussing the issue amongst themselves.

“Your Highness?” she prompted when the man continued to watch the scene play out, his attention moving from the teens to her and back again.

Father Mike moved over to the boys and Emma, disgusted with the whole situation, simply walked inside to her office, preferring to leave the kids to deal with it now that the threat of violence was gone.

In her office, she shuffled through her papers to find something to write on. Finding an old grocery list, she wrote the phone number across the center of the back as well as the address of the Recreation Center, along with her name underneath. By the time she had finished writing, she felt the heat in the already hot office go up by about fifty degrees as the man himself walked in.

Looking around, Dharran noted with fascinated interest the rusted desk covered with papers, the plastic covered chair and the book shelves being precariously balanced with chipped cinder block squares. His eyes noted with disgust that the other rooms in the building were in better shape than this tiny office and yet the woman with the fascinating cat eyes and scintillating body was actually proud of her surroundings. How could a slender, stunning young woman with a figure men would pay a ransom to hold in his arms, and yet she seemed extremely content, happy even, to be shooting hoops with a group of troubled teens and a Catholic minister.

“This is where you work?” he asked, his eyes taking in the striking beauty smiling at him. Her eyes were an odd color, almost the color of a dark topaz, with all of the facets of a well cut stone shimmering out her nervousness of his presence through their depths. Her long, dark hair curled around her face despite the band that was trying to control it on the base of her neck. She might possibly be described as an all American beauty, but there was something more to her than normal. Her smile was extraordinary, while still being warm and welcoming. And her figure beneath her sweaty clothes that were about two sizes too large for her petite frame, was something any man would dream about.

Emma barely had time to register his perusal before the veiled interest was securely locked behind those sharp, ice-blue eyes. She looked around at her office as if nothing were out of the ordinary and shrugged at his question. “Well, it’s where all the paperwork is kept. I’m not in it much.”

His hands slid into the immaculately tailored slacks, bringing Emma’s eyes to his trim waist, distracting her for a moment before she re-focused on his face once again. “Why is that?” he asked.

She blinked, trying to focus on the conversation and refusing to look at his broad, enticing shoulders. “Because of the heat. It’s a bit stifling, if you didn’t notice.” She wasn’t sure he did though. Even though it was the peak of summer with all the stifling, oppressive humidity that comes along with any summer in Washington, D.C., this man was the picture of cool and comfort. There was not a hair out of place on his perfectly cut head of hair and she didn’t detect even a hint of sweat anywhere on him. Meanwhile, she was becoming uncomfortably aware of her own odiferous presence after playing two hours of basketball in ninety degree heat with an equal dose of humidity. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Dharran looked down at the woman who was going to be his next mistress and smiled. “I would like that very much. But perhaps you would like to freshen up so you are more comfortable?” he asked, reaching out and tapping a curl at her temple. “You look very fetching when you are like this, although I would prefer that the perspiration be due to my ministrations versus an energetic game of ball.”

Emma’s eyes flickered in confusion, sure she’d misunderstood him. “Excuse me?” she asked.

Dharran shrugged. “Shower? And then perhaps you could also show me around the center? I was impressed with the way you handled those boys outside and I’d like to learn more about the things this center does.”

Emma was sure he was only humoring her, but considering that she probably owed him several thousands of dollars to fix the windshield of his car, perhaps a tour of the facility could ease that amount downward a bit. Any sort of outflow of cash that didn’t help the kids was to be avoided whenever possible. “Of course,” she responded with an enthusiastic smile.

She stepped around him, careful not to touch him in any way. Grabbing her gym bag, she turned back to him. “I’ll just be a few moments,” she said, then slipped gratefully out of her office, noting with frustration that the other men who apparently were his personal body guards had followed him and were currently stationed outside her office.

Of course, they hadn’t followed her, but had followed him since he was the one who needed protecting, but even still, it was weird having body guards in her center.

Rushing through her shower, she changed quickly into a cotton dress and, not bothering to dry it due to the heat, simply pulled her hair up off her shoulders, pinning it on top of her head and ignoring the curls that escaped out the sides. She had always wished she had smooth, straight hair that was more disciplined, or hair that curled softly at the ends and looked more elegant like her friend Darcy, but she couldn’t help what she had. Besides, she only had to impress the man with the center, she reminded herself, not with her appearance.

She stopped and applied a bit of lipstick and powder though. Not because she wanted to make an impact on him, she told herself as she added a touch of mascara, but only because she needed to look professional as she led him around the facility.

Stepping out of the shower area, she felt the cool air hit her and she was grateful. She needed more of this air conditioning to cool herself down. Her knees were already shaking in anticipation of seeing him once again and she felt a bit nauseous. Needing to get this over with, she dumped her bag in her office, then went in search of her missing prince.

She found him in the study hall area, looking around at the books on the shelves. She was proud of this area, with the relatively new computers and the multiple shelves books of all types lining the walls and tables. She’d been able to build up this library bigger than the city’s school library and many of the kids flocked to this area.

“We spend a great deal of our budget on books,” she said as she approached him.

Dharran swung around, eager to see what she looked like without the perspiration and grungy clothes. And he definitely wasn’t disappointed. As lovely and intriguing as she was after an energetic game, this woman was stunning in a simple dress and sandals, fresh and vibrantly alive with her hair curling around her forehead and delicate earlobes. His fingers itched to feel those curls, and slide down her smooth, white skin to see if she was as soft as she looked. Right now, she looked like a kitten. A soft, sexy kitten with topaz eyes that promised so much. He wanted to find out more about this woman, see what made her purr.

Patience, he told himself. He sensed a resistance about her that was unusual, but not insurmountable. He pictured her laying back against the silk sheets of his bed in the Paris apartment and his body hardened even more. He wanted her, no doubt about it.

“You have an impressive library here. How do you account for all the books?”
Emma smiled, proud of what she’d accomplished here along with the students and parents. “We have an honor system. The kids take the books and promise to bring them back.”

One eyebrow went up cynically. “And if they don’t?”

“They do.”

“But if they don’t?”

Emma shrugged. “So far, it hasn’t been an issue. These kids are so starved for knowledge and attention that taking a book and not returning it would be a huge violation of their code here on the streets of this neighborhood.” She touched the spine on a science book talking about chemistry. “I suppose if one became lost, we would work something out.”

“That’s an impressive statement”

She looked into his eyes, seeing the hardness, the skepticism. “The kids who come here have either been in a gang or experienced some other sort of violence their whole life. If they are here, it’s a given that they want to learn or they’d still be out on the street with their old friends. They have to earn the trust, it isn’t given freely. But once they earn it, it’s pretty precious to them and they aren’t willing to give it up easily.” She watched his eyes and a sadness filled her heart. “You don’t trust very easily, do you?”

Dharran watched her features soften, an almost melting quality appeared in their startling depths, and didn’t like it. The question was ridiculous anyway. Trust wasn’t something he ever gave out to anyone, man or woman. He’d learned growing up in the palace and through many political and military battles that trust was given only by a fool. “What else does this center provide for the neighborhood?” he asked instead of answering her question.

She hesitated before answering, looking deeply into his eyes as if she could see into his soul. She couldn’t, he knew. His soul was black and guarded and he’d never let anyone in, especially not a woman as beautiful as she was. Women were playthings but, just as a kitten is cute and sweet initially, the claws of even a small creature could draw blood.

Emma wondered what it must be like to be so hardened and distrustful. This man had been hurt by someone in the past and she wished she had the courage to reach out and try to heal his soul. But the man was hard, dangerous even, she suspected and so she kept her hands by her sides. Healing this man was for someone more courageous than she was.

Refocusing on his question, she looked away from those eyes that reminded her of a blue tinted iceberg. “We partner with several businesses in the city to provide a work study program for the kids who qualify. All the kids have to achieve a certain grade point average in school to participate in the center.”

“And if they don’t achieve that?”

“We don’t turn anyone away. If their grades don’t qualify initially, all they have to do is get help to raise their grade point average. It’s as simple as asking one of the members to tutor them until their grades have improved enough. And we try to entice the kids as early as possible so that they succumb to the allure of whatever activities we have going on.”

“How do they pay for the tutors?”

She looked back at him strangely, as if the question were completely bizarre. “They simply ask for help.”

“And the help is given freely?” he asked, one eyebrow raised as if the possibility was completely ridiculous.

“Of course.” She stopped and looked up at him. “This is a neighborhood center and each person who participates here is dedicated to the success of the center. So if someone needs help, they ask for it. If they’re given help in some way, then they try to give that back at some point. It’s a chain reaction that supports the ongoing efforts.”

“And all agree to this benevolence?”

“Of course. Any activity needs volunteers. Each of the major events is hosted by the participants.”

“And the food?”

“We have some funding from government and private agencies as well as some commercial businesses, but for the most part, everyone contributes what they can. There are some amazing cooks in this neighborhood. When we have our next bake sale, I’ll let you know so you can sample the offerings,” she replied with a bright smile.

He watched her lovely features light up with genuine excitement as she spoke and he was impressed that she had accomplished so much at such a young age. “How old are you?”

That question surprised her but it shouldn’t have. “I’m twenty five years old. Is that relevant?”