In Love with the Wrong Man (Scandalous Sheiks Book 1)

  In Love

  with the

  Wrong Man

  By Elizabeth Lennox

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  Copyright 2021

  ISBN13: 9781950451494

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  “Relax!” Sandoor teased. “He’s going to love you!”

  Maya tried to smile, but her blue eyes were wide as Sandoor led her into the shockingly huge and elegant palace. “I just…he’s your older brother, so I want to make a good impression.” Maya nervously smoothed her hands over her yellow sundress, hoping it wasn’t too wrinkled from traveling. “It was a long flight and I’m sure I’m a complete mess. Maybe we should…?”

  Sandoor laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. “You look beautiful, as always,” he assured her. His dark, teasing eyes glanced down, his mouth pulling into a grimace. “Although, that stain on your dress might…”

  Maya gasped and jerked away as she peered down at her dress. “Oh no! Where? What did I…?”

  He chuckled again, pulling her back against his side, kissing her forehead. “Just kidding!”

  Maya groaned, and lightly elbowed him before they continued forward. “You’re horrible!” she grumbled.

  “I know,” he replied, not at all offended. “But you love me anyway.”

  Maya rolled her eyes. “Right now, I’m not so sure I do.”

  His grin was contagious, as always. “Hey, at least now you’re not terrified of meeting my brother!” he offered.

  Her eyes widened again at the reminder and she turned away from Sandoor, her anxiety ramping up as she searched the long hallway for the mysterious brother. “Thanks for reminding me.”

  Sandoor laughed and Maya ignored him. He was a horrible tease, but that was one of the many reasons she loved him so much. Sandoor was fun and outgoing, urging her to do things that she normally would shy away from. Like traveling halfway around the world to meet the incredibly intimidating Sheik Jahlil bin Asdoor, ruler of Celina.

  “Don’t worry so much,” Sandoor soothed, his voice turning serious. “Jahlil is going to love you, just as I do.”

  Maya wasn’t convinced, but she continued down the long, elaborately decorated hallway towards the administrative offices of the palace. She didn’t like being here, but since she was engaged to Sandoor, she needed to get over her fears. She toyed with the heavy diamond ring on her finger. It was too big and gaudy for her tastes, but she knew that Sandoor loved flashy things. Because she loved Sandoor, she would learn to love the ring. Eventually. She hoped.

  A moment later, she felt Sandoor squeeze her arm. “Want to take a detour and explore the stables first?”

  Maya shot him a glare. “I thought your brother was expecting us?”

  He shrugged which drew her admiring gaze to his broad shoulders. “He is. But I don’t want you to be nervous. This is supposed to be a fun visit!”

  Maya tamped down her irritation at his casual dismissal of this meeting with his older brother. Sandoor loved having fun and consistently avoided stressful situations, which annoyed Maya at times. But as soon as the thought popped into her head, she stopped it in its tracks. She loved Sandoor and needed to accept him the way he was. If he was wildly irresponsible at times, Maya had to accept that. She loved him no matter what. And besides, wasn’t his fun-loving nature part of the reason she’d accepted his proposal? Maya knew that she was too serious most of the time. Sandoor pulled her out of her shell, got her away from the library, and taught her how to live a little.

  “Sandoor!”

  Maya jumped, startled by the voice booming down the hallway. Turning, she looked around, then gasped involuntarily when she saw the man walking towards them. Sandoor was tall, but this guy…! He was a giant! He was a linebacker! But with more muscles and an expression that whispered that this man didn’t know the meaning of the word “fun”!

  Maya’s body went cold, then hot when she felt this man’s dark eyes focus on her. Something inside of her tightened as he walked towards them! She felt…a humming inside of her. No, that wasn’t right. It was more of a…? She couldn’t think. Maya had never experienced anything like this and her mind simply refused to define her reaction.

  Her eyes drank in every detail as he approached, and yet, her mind was still completely blank. The rest of the world faded away. She couldn’t see the servants rushing around. The elaborate tapestries and all of the beautiful mosaics faded away. It was just this man, his sharp nose and angular cheekbones, hard jawline and uncompromising mouth.

  She felt an odd tremor bolt through her. Every cell within her seemed to tremble with awareness. Those dark, impenetrable eyes should have been warm and comforting, but the sharp gaze seemed to move down her figure, slowly taking in every detail. Maya was vaguely aware of her breasts tingling with his intense perusal, but she couldn’t seem to move. She was like a rabbit caught by the lion’s gaze!

  “Jahlil!”

  Maya blinked and finally managed to turn to Sandoor, who was grinning happily as the enormous man approached. Then Sandoor rushed forward, leaving her standing awkwardly in the wide hallway! The giant wrapped massive arms around Sandoor’s more slender frame. Then Sandoor laughed? How was that possible? Of course, Sandoor laughed at everything! But Maya didn’t understand his amusement. It seemed wrong. Out of place.

  Sandoor stepped back, still beaming up at his brother, but his body turned. That’s when the lion’s eyes focused on Maya. Her heart tried to leap clear out of her chest, her skin felt cold and clammy, then a wave of heat rolled over her. His eyes…somehow both intimidating and inviting. How was that even possible?

  “Who is your friend?” he asked.

  Sandoor laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Jahlil, I’d like to introduce you to Maya Tisdale,” he said with a great deal of pride in his voice.

  There was a horrible moment when Maya thought to stop Sandoor from announcing their engagement. The spark of doubt hit her like a gut punch. She actually had to restrain herself from slapping a hand over Sandoor’s mouth. She struggled to remain calm, despite the sick sensation pooling in her stomach.

  But Sandoor continued, blithely unaware of her panic, “She has graciously agreed to be my wife!”

  Maya watched Jahlil, noticed his eyes narrow ever so slightly. Her heart thudded and for a moment, she felt shame! Then Sandoor’s sweet smile came into her view and she forced herself to relax.

  “I told you that he wasn’t an ogre!” Sandoor announced, still laughing. Because everything was a joke to Sandoor, Maya thought, suppressing the flash of irritation. Again.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you,” Maya said, extending her hand. Not because she wanted to. But because it was the polite thing to do. Fighting her instincts to run and hide, she nervously waited for the man’s reaction.

  “Ms. Tisdale,” the giant said, bowing slightly while, at the same time, enveloping her small hand in his giant paw. His fingers were hot as they surrounded hers and Maya wondered what it would be like to have this man’s arms around her. Would he be gentle? Or rough? A shiver went through her at the possibility of both options. She knew that he felt that shiver because his hand tightened around hers and his dark eyes sharpened ever so slightly.

  And then his warmth vanished. Maya blinked, surprised all over again as he pulled back. She wanted to scream at him to come back to her. But then Sandoor threw his arm over her shoulder. Once again, Sandoor was laughing at….whatever it was that he found hilarious. Maya peered up at Sandoor, trying to understand.

  “Isn’t she great?” he asked.

  The giant pulled his eyes away, looking at his brother. “You mentioned bringing home a special friend,” Jahlil said, his voice still deep and compelling. “I wasn’t expecting…” he stopped, his gaze once again moving over Maya. “I apologize,” he said, obviously changing his mind about explaining his expectations. Instead, the large man bowed slightly. “Welcome. I’ll have someone show you to your rooms.

  Maya frowned slightly. There were definitely some unspoken questions floating around right now. She glanced up at Sandoor and noticed the awkward expression, his clenched jaw. His arm suddenly tightened around her shoulders.

  Maya was also struck by the similarities between the pair. Both were tall, although Jahlil topped Sandoor by several inches. Both men had similar
coloring, although, on Sandoor, his dark hair and dark eyes looked cute and adorable. On the other man, those same features appeared…menacing.

  Maya felt the sudden stress and needed to ease the tension between the brothers. “Your Highness, I appreciate–”

  The man’s eyes sharpened again and he held up a hand. “You’re family now,” he said. “You must call me Jahlil.” There was a small pause and he glanced at Sandoor, then back at Maya. “Please, if you don’t mind, I need to have a private word with my brother.”

  Maya couldn’t decipher the strange undercurrents between the brothers. So instead, she nodded politely, trying to hide her relief at the opportunity to escape. “Of course. I’ll just…” she wasn’t sure what to do. The palace was enormous and she had no idea where to go in order to give these two men some privacy.

  Thankfully, another man stepped forward. He looked very official, but also kind and friendly. “If you would follow me, Ms. Tisdale, I’ll show you to your suite.”

  Maya released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thank you!” she almost gushed, eager to get away from the strange tension between the brothers.

  Jahlil watched as the beautiful woman followed Tinar down the hallway. She was lovely, with obvious intelligence in her eyes, which warned him she wouldn’t be easily fooled.

  Which was why, once she was safely out of earshot, he said, “I wasn’t expecting someone like her,” he began, choosing his words with care.

  Sandoor turned an interesting shade of pink. “She’s pretty wonderful. She graduated at the top of her class in computer science at MIT.”

  “Ah,” Jahlil nodded, waving his brother into his office. “So you met in Boston?”

  Sandoor laughed. “Yes! She was in a coffee shop, studying. I’d seen her several times over several weeks. But she was always studying. I’d never seen her just relaxing or enjoying herself.”

  Jahlil closed the door to his office while Sandoor walked over to fill two crystal glasses with scotch. “And you decided that she needed a break from the studying?” he offered, knowing his brother extremely well. There was a nervousness in his movements that whispered to Jahlil that something wasn’t right. Sandoor was an inherently honest and open person. So what was going on now? Why was Sandoor pouring scotch at nine o’clock in the morning?

  “Exactly,” Sandoor replied, still grinning a little too hard as he handed one of the glasses to Jahlil. “Maya is always so serious.” He sat down in one of the leather chairs. “I considered it my responsibility to get her to loosen up.”

  Jahlil stared at his brother, trying to hide from the fact that he was still reeling from his encounter with the most beautiful, compelling woman he’d ever met. In other circumstances, Jahlil might wonder if this feeling was jealousy. But he adored Sandoor. Jahlil absolutely refused to be jealous of his little brother.

  Still, Jahlil had thought…had always assumed that Sandoor…well, perhaps those assumptions were wrong. “I’m just…” he chose his words carefully, “surprised, actually.”

  Sandoor downed half of his scotch, balancing the glass on his knee. “Why would you be surprised?”

  “Ms. Tisdale is…not what I was expecting,” Jahlil replied. “She’s beautiful,” he said honestly. “But I just thought…” he sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Well, never mind what I thought.” He lifted his glass in salute. “To your engagement!”

  Sandoor laughed. Sandoor always laughed. To him, life was one continuous joke. He never took anything seriously. “So Ms. Tisdale is finished with her education?”

  Sandoor rolled his eyes. “Don’t start,” he groaned.

  “Don’t start what?” Jahlil prompted, setting his glass of scotch down on the table. It was too early to start drinking and the fact that Sandoor had poured two glasses, almost automatically, was a bit worrisome. Scotch in the morning wasn’t really his thing, but it seemed as if it was for his little brother. Jahlil watched as Sandoor downed the rest of his scotch, then stood up to pour himself more. A double this time.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Sandoor said, taking a long sip.

  At least it was a sip this time, Jahlil thought, eyeing his younger brother carefully.

  “I doubt it,” Jahlil replied. At least, he hoped that his little brother didn’t know what thoughts flitted through his mind.

  “You’re wondering when I’m going to buckle down and finish my degree,” Sandoor said, waving his glass of scotch in the air like a salute. “And you’re right. I need to buckle down and start studying. That’s one of the things that’s so great about Maya. She forces me to study.”

  Another point in her favor, Jahlil thought. “And when is the blessed event going to take place?” Jahlil asked, his tone more sarcastic than he’d intended. It was difficult though, listening to his little brother talk about school. He’d been attending classes at Harvard off and on for six years. The school had just sent a note explaining that Sandoor would be expelled if he didn’t raise his grades to a more acceptable level. But Jahlil doubted his younger brother was ready for the usual ‘get serious and get to work’ speech. Besides, it hadn’t changed Sandoor’s behavior in the past. Why would it make a difference now?

  “Maya said she won’t marry me until I finish my degree,” he laughed, slapping his knee as if that were the most hilarious thing in the world. “Isn’t that great?”

  Jahlil was silently impressed. The woman clearly wasn’t an idiot. “That’s wise.”

  Sandoor nodded, his features smoothing into a more serious expression. “She’s good for me, Jahlil. She forces me to study. She’s sweet, kind, and incredibly generous! She volunteers at the local homeless shelter, she crochets winter hats for people whenever she’s not studying and she’s so damn smart!” He leaned forward, looking into Jahlil’s eyes. “She makes me want to be a better person, Jahlil. She’s perfect for me!”

  Jahlil nodded his head in agreement. He liked the sound of Maya better and better. If there was another spark of something strange, he ignored it. “That’s good. So the wedding won’t be for a while then?”

  Sandoor sighed. “Exactly. I’ve changed majors so many times, I don’t have enough credits to go toward any specific degree.”

  That was basically what the school had hinted at in the letter, but since Sandoor was saying it, Jahlil didn’t bother mentioning the warning from Harvard. “Do you have a goal in mind now?”

  “Maya thinks I should study business or political science. She says those subjects will help me with my responsibilities here.” He looked a bit sheepish as he added, “Maya thinks I should figure out how I can best help you.”

  Jahlil’s eyebrows lifted. “And you want to come back? Be a part of the government?” That was definitely good news!

  “Well, at first, I didn’t want to,” Sandoor admitted. “I suggested that we could get a house in Los Angeles or maybe Manhattan.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I told her about all of the fun stuff we could do.” He leaned back in his chair. “I love the theater and I’ve dragged Maya to several performances. She enjoys it too, but not as much as I do.” He sighed, looking a bit more resigned now. “But Maya gets this look about her when she disapproves,” he explained, chuckling as he shook his head. “Anyway, she convinced me that I should face up to my responsibilities, or stop accepting money from you. She said that I shouldn’t have the wealth that my title provides me if I’m unwilling to do the work that my title requires.” He sighed, then finished off his second glass of scotch. “Which is why I’m here, Big Bro!” he exclaimed cheerfully. “I’m going to learn the family business!”

  Jahlil cringed inwardly. “That’s a very…” he paused, not sure what to say. “Well, that’s incredibly generous of you, Sandoor.” Jahlil mentally sifted through his list of projects currently under way within the government, wondering which would suit Sandoor’s personality. Jahlil adored his brother, but Sandoor was a bit…well, he wasn’t the most responsible member of the royal family.

  “I thought so too!” he replied, thinking that was hilariously funny. He leaned forward. “One thing though. I know that I brought Maya here to meet you, and I really hope that you two get to know each other. But the thing is,” he paused, standing up to pour himself a third scotch. He took a long swallow before he continued. “The thing is - Mike,” he stopped and took another sip. “You remember my friend, Mike? I’ve told you about him before.” He paused barely long enough for Jahlil to nod. “Well, Mike is getting a group of guys together for a climbing trip. I thought it would be a good last hurrah before I settle down and finish my degree. I figure it will take me another two years, give or take, before I’m able to finish my degree.”