Sharif lifted the baby against his shoulder.
Bens little head came up, and two shiny eyes peered into his.
Love flooded through Sharif, so powerful that the breath caught in his throat. He could not deny the power that his child held over him. He had thought he could produce a son and then simply entrust him to the women in his family. The child had been intended as a gift to his homeland. Now he knew he would protect the child at any cost.
The bathroom door opened. The fragrance of Hollys hair and the brightness of her spirit filled the room.
She tossed her borrowed shirt onto the bed. I can wash that by hand.
We have a more important matter to He stopped, on catching sight of her changed appearance.
Well? she asked. Is it that bad?
Bad enough that he wanted to resume where they had left off, with a kiss that deepened into something that no man should contemplate with another mans bride.
Dear Intrigue Reader,
A brand-new year, the launch of a new millennium, a new cover lookand another exciting lineup of pulse-pounding romance and exhilarating suspense from Harlequin Intrigue!
This month, Amanda Stevens gives new meaning to the phrase men in uniform with her new trilogy, GALLAGHER JUSTICE, about a family of Chicago cops. Theyre tough, tender and totally to die for. Detective John Gallagher draws first blood in The Littlest Witness (#549).
If youve never been Captured by a Sheikh (#550), you dont know what youre missing! Veteran romance novelist Jacqueline Diamond takes you on a magic carpet ride youll never forget, when a sheikh comes to claim his son, a baby hes never even seen.
Wouldnt you just love to wake up and have the sexiest man youve ever seen take you and your unborn child into his protection? Well, Harlequin Intrigue author Dani Sinclair does just that when she revisits FOOLS POINT. My Baby, My Love (#551) is the second story set in the Maryland town Dani created in her Harlequin Intrigue book For His Daughter (#539).
Susan Kearney rounds out the month with a trip to the wildest American frontierAlaska. A Night Without End (#552) is another installment in the Harlequin Intrigue bestselling amnesia promotion A MEMORY AWAY. This time a woman wakes to find herself in a remote land in the arms of a sexy stranger who claims to be her husband.
And this is just the beginning! We at Harlequin Intrigue are committed to keeping you on the edge of your seat. Thank you for your enthusiastic support.
Sincerely,
Denise OSullivan
Associate Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue
Captured by a Sheikh
Jacqueline Diamond
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former news reporter, Jacqueline Diamond has covered the police beat in several cities of Orange County, California, where this book is set. The author of more than twenty-five Harlequin romances, shes married and has two sons.
Books by Jacqueline Diamond
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
435AND THE BRIDE VANISHES
512HIS SECRET SON
550CAPTURED BY A SHEIKH
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
79THE DREAM NEVER DIES
196AN UNEXPECTED MAN
218UNLIKELY PARTNERS
239THE CINDERELLA DARE
270CAPERS AND RAINBOWS
279GHOST OF A CHANCE
315FLIGHT OF MAGIC
351BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS
406OLD DREAMS, NEW DREAMS
446THE TROUBLE WITH TERRY
491A
face, hardened by warfare, was softened only slightly by a short beard and mustache, and by the white, banded headcloth that fell across the shoulders of his business suit.
Nine years ago, while Sharif was away fighting to free their country from a dictator, his wife, Yona, had died in childbirth. He would not risk the life of another woman he loved, but he had done his best to produce an heir.
Beyond the window sprawled Bahrim City, the second largest community in the Arabian nation of Alqedar. Its people depended on him. And he, apparently, had depended on the wrong woman. She has sold herself already. Perhaps she now intends to raise the price.
If we must bribe the girl, so be it, Zahad said. Let us hope it is only money she wants, and not custody.
Sharif swung back to face his cousin. Although he had read of custody battles when he was a college student in New York, this personal betrayal outraged him. She signed a contract and accepted one hundred and fifty thousand dollars!
Of which the clinic has received only half pending the childs birth, Zahad reminded him. In any case, my friend, we cannot ride in like warriors and take what is ours. Please allow me to handle this matter in your stead.
Reluctantly, Sharif yielded. Very well, he said. You will advise me the moment you learn of her whereabouts. Ill join you there if this matter cannot be quickly resolved.
Zahad bowed, although no such formalities were necessary between the two men. Of course, he said, and retreated.
Sharif reminded himself that his cousin was a capable man. It was, after all, Zahad who had found the Crestline View Clinic in the first place.
Southern California was one of the worlds few locations that offered high-quality medical facilities, lax laws regarding surrogate parenting, and a population of liberated young women. Even so, it had taken Mrs. Wheaton many tries to find a surrogate who met the sheikhs high standards.