Wrapped In Pleasure - Brenda Jackson [70]
Rasheed would decide on how to deal with Johari once he found her. But first, he had to find her and he knew who could discreetly accomplish that task. He punched into his cell phone the number he knew from memory. Earlier that day, he had parted ways with Alex Maxwell after they had both attended the wedding of Luke Madaris and Mackenzie Stand-field.
The phone was picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Alex, this is Sheikh Rasheed Valdemon. There is someone I want you to find for me.”
Rasheed fixed a smile to his lips, satisfied because he knew that Alex was the one person capable of tracking and finding his runaway fiancée.
Chapter 1
“How do I look?” Her nerves energized with excitement, Johari Yasir turned from the full-length mirror to face Celine Humphrey. The two had met during Johari’s first year at Harvard and had been best friends since.
Cel, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed while flipping through a magazine, glanced at Johari and breathed deeply in frustration. “It’s too nice a dress for you to wear the day that you take your last breath, which is precisely what’s going to happen when your family finds you. I can’t believe I let you talk me into helping you get away from Saud.”
Johari couldn’t help but grin at the thought of how she had pulled a fast one over on the man who had been her bodyguard since her eighteenth birthday. “I’ve spoken to my mother to let her know I’m fine. And I’ve spoken to Arielle, as well,” she said of her older sister. “I would call Delaney if I thought Jamal wouldn’t try to have the call traced.” Delaney was her brother’s wife, whom she had gotten very close to over the past eight years.
Johari turned back to the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her outfit, a tiered green lace minidress, was both stunning and flirtatious. It was just one of the many articles of clothing she had purchased earlier that day. It gave the appearance she wanted as an independent woman who was ready to go out on the night and have plenty of adventure.
“I can imagine what your mother said, but tell me anyway,” Cel said.
Johari turned back around to Cel and released a long sigh. “Of course Mom wanted me to come home. She thought she would make me feel better by reminding me that there is a twenty-four-year age difference between her and my father, and that they didn’t meet until the day of the wedding either, yet they get along beautifully and love each other madly.”
Johari paused for a second and then added, “Mom tried her best to assure me that I have nothing to fear in marrying Sheikh Rasheed Amin Hashim Valdemon just because he’s fifteen years older. She is confident I will eventually have the same type of marriage she and my father share.”
“But you don’t think so?”
“No. My father does not have any mistresses. The same thing can’t be said of the man I’m to marry. It is rumored that he has several and has been quoted in the press that he intends to keep them even after he’s married. That’s something I can’t accept.”
“What about your sister? Didn’t you say that she had an arranged marriage, too?”
“Yes, but Karim gave up his mistress before he married Arielle without her having to ask him to do so.”
“Have you asked to at least meet with your fiancé before the wedding to discuss your concerns?”
“What good would it do since it won’t change anything? Regardless of my feelings, the ceremony will go on so I’ve decided if I’m going to be stuck in a marriage with a man who I’ll be sharing with others, then I want to enjoy some of what life has to offer now.”
“What will happen when he discovers you’re still in the United States running around and partying and not back in Tahran planning your wedding like you’re supposed to be doing?”
Johari shrugged. “There’s no reason for him to know. I told Mom I was merely extending my time in this country for another two weeks. The sheikh does not have to know I’m doing so without my bodyguard. At the end of the two weeks