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Captured By A Sheikh
Jacqueline Diamond
HE'D COME TO CLAIM HIS CHILD…For Holly Rivers, giving her sister's baby a home and a father were her only priorities. So a marriage of convenience seemed the only solution–until a sensual stranger stole her and baby Ben and conquered her body and soul!The red-haired siren raising his son wasn't what Sheikh Sharif Al-Khalil had expected, nor was the white-hot passion that consumed them both. But love was a luxury he couldn't afford–Sharif's enemies had followed him from his homeland, threatening Holly and his child. Now Sharif was in a race against time–but could he save his son at the expense of Holly's life?
Sharif lifted the baby against his shoulder.
Ben’s 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 Holly’s 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 man’s bride….
Dear Intrigue Reader,
A brand-new year, the launch of a new millennium, a new cover look—and 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. They’re tough, tender and totally to die for. Detective John Gallagher draws first blood in The Littlest Witness (#549).
If you’ve never been Captured by a Sheikh (#550), you don’t know what you’re missing! Veteran romance novelist Jacqueline Diamond takes you on a magic carpet ride you’ll never forget, when a sheikh comes to claim his son, a baby he’s never even seen.
Wouldn’t you just love to wake up and have the sexiest man you’ve 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 frontier—Alaska. 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 O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue
Captured by a Sheikh
Jacqueline Diamond
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://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, she’s married and has two sons.
Books by Jacqueline Diamond
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
435—AND THE BRIDE VANISHES
512—HIS SECRET SON
550—CAPTURED BY A SHEIKH
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
79—THE DREAM NEVER DIES
196—AN UNEXPECTED MAN
218—UNLIKELY PARTNERS
239—THE CINDERELLA DARE
270—CAPERS AND RAINBOWS
279—GHOST OF A CHANCE
315—FLIGHT OF MAGIC
351—BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS
406—OLD DREAMS, NEW DREAMS
446—THE TROUBLE WITH TERRY
491—A DANGEROUS GUY
583—THE RUNAWAY BRIDE
615—YOURS, MINE AND OURS
631—THE COWBOY AND THE HEIRESS
642—ONE HUSBAND TOO MANY
645—DEAR LONELY IN LA…
674—MILLION-DOLLAR MOMMY
687—DADDY WARLOCK
716—A REAL-LIVE SHEIKH
734—THE COWBOY AND THE SHOTGUN BRIDE
763—LET’S MAKE A BABY!
791—ASSIGNMENT: GROOM!
804—MISTLETOE DADDY
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Holly Rivers— She’s a dead ringer for her missing sister. Blood may be thicker than water, and so may deception.
Sheikh Sharif Al-Khalil— He doesn’t hesitate to take what he believes he’s entitled to, by whatever means necessary.
Jasmine “Jazz” Rivers— She took the sheikh’s money to have his baby, then disappeared. Is she an extortionist, or a murder victim?
Zahad Adran— Dispossessed of his own inheritance, the sheikh’s trusted aide might be looking to replace it with someone else’s.
Tevor Samuelson— Attorney, old friend and would-be bridegroom, he invites trust. But does he merit it?
Noreen Wheaton— Director of a surrogacy clinic, she’s been known to tamper with client files.
Manuel Estrellas— He risked his job and his life to tell Holly the truth of baby Ben’s parentage. Does he have a hidden agenda?
Yusuf Gozen— He’s sworn revenge on Sharif for the slaying of his despotic brother. Do his targets include the sheikh’s son and the woman he loves?
Special thanks to Gary Bale and Kelly Millard
Contents
Prologue (#ub9e89b76-fe7a-58ef-8c56-1c55feed4ef9)
Chapter One (#uce3f2d1c-eb68-5c95-a232-6acd53866853)
Chapter Two (#u31666bb6-693f-59bc-a1aa-10957015c19e)
Chapter Three (#ufd9f9487-fa64-540e-9a95-ce00baa362ee)
Chapter Four (#u299fa2f2-af11-5016-acc9-cd2fbda25d33)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
October
Bahrim City, Alqedar, in southern Arabia
The surrogate mother was gone. And, with her, the baby due to be born in a few weeks.
Furious on hearing the news, Sheikh Sharif Al-Khalil clenched his fists. “The police in California—will they not help?”
Zahad Adran, the sheikh’s cousin, aide and chief of security at the palace, spread his hands in frustration. “They have found no signs of foul play, so there is no criminal investigation.”
The sheikh stared at his aide over the papers stacked on his broad desk, the contracts that would bring money for hospitals and schools. “I will fly to America at once. I must find my son!”
Beneath his red-and-white-checked kaffiyeh, the traditional headdress of his country, Zahad’s scarred face was wise beyond his years. “Cousin, let me deal with this situation. Our people need you, now more than ever.”
“The longer we wait, the harder it will be to find her!” Sharif could scarcely think beyond the need to retrieve the woman who would bear his child.
“If you approve, I will fly to California tomorrow and investigate,” Zahad said. “The director of the surrogacy clinic, Noreen Wheaton, has promised to cooperate. However, we must remember that the mother has many rights under American law.”
Angrily, the sheikh turned away. Mirrored in the glass of an arched window, his eyes glittered with rage. His sharp-featured 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 child’s 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. I’ll join you there if this matter cannot be quickly resolved.”
