Sheikh's Ex-Girlfriend (Khayyam Sheikh Series #1) by Sophia Lynn Page A

you cannot simply bulldoze my schedule, do you understand?”
    “Perfectly,” he responded. “So do you want to hear where I am taking you?”
    Ella thought for a moment, and then she surprised herself by shaking her head. “No, I don't. I trust you. I know that you wouldn't have planned anything without thinking about whether I liked it or not, and I trust your taste. So let's … let's just get in your car and go. There's nothing I want more than to be with you today, right this moment.”
    He kissed her again, but this time it was Nasim who broke the kiss. He rose to his feet, offering her a hand up.
    “You won't regret this,” he promised again.
    ***
    An hour later, they were in an ATV, making their way out of the city and into the deserts of Khayyam. Ella had always been a very urban creature, living her life under city lights. She was startled to see that less than an hour's drive could take her away from the sights and sounds that she knew and into a desert that seemed empty in all directions.
    “This is the real Khayyam, in some ways,” Nasim said as they drove. “The desert was here when my ancestors gave up their nomadic ways and started to carve a city out of the sands. When we give up and lie down forever, it will be the desert again.”
    Ella shivered, looking out over the vast sands. The sky above was a blinding blue, and once in a while, black birds would cross it, high overhead. She wondered if they ever landed in the sands or if the sands were just something to be crossed.
    “You don't think Dalal is the real Khayyam?”
    “There are many real Khayyams,” Nasim said easily. “The desert is real. The city is real. What I am about to show you is real.”
    They drove a little further, and out of the dunes in front of them, Ella could see a shape rising up. They drove a little farther, and she realized it was some kind of stone structure.
    When Nasim pulled the ATV to a halt, she could barely wait to get out of the vehicle.
    Nasim had brought them to what looked like a stone fortress that was sinking slowly into the sands. It was gently tilted, and she could hear a faint whistle as the winds rushed through the tall empty towers.
    “What is this place?” she whispered. There was something sacred about the fortress, a sense of time and history and lives long lost.
    “The researches learned that it was the fortress of an unnamed warlord who lived some eight hundred years ago, but it has had many inhabitants. We're currently trying to get it listed as a World Heritage Site, but that's fairly slow going. Most people cannot get out to it, and we've been keeping the location quiet due to fear of robbers, but we can go in if you’d like.”
    Ella turned to Nasim with wide eyes. “Are you serious? We can go in? It's safe?”
    He nodded, a slight smile on his lips. “We can. It is quite safe.”
    The moment she walked into the ruined courtyard, Ella felt a deep sense of wellness and belonging. She could see how thick the walls were, and she knew that they had protected the people within from the depredations of the bandits outside. Without thinking of it, she looped her hand through Nasim's arm, standing close to him.
    “It's beautiful,” she murmured, “but so sad.”
    “The scientists tell me that it was abandoned some two hundred years ago. Something drove the people away, and they never came back. Plague is the guess, though there are some writings that suggest that it was a voluntary abandonment.”
    “A voluntary abandonment?”
    “I can tell you more, but first come here. I want you to see something.”
    He led her through the courtyard and up a set of sunken stairs. The wooden gates had long since rotted away, and they could simply step into the main hall.
    “Oh my gosh …”
    Ella looked up and up towards the vaulting ceiling. In places, it was missing entirely, sending rays of strong light through the hall. It was enormous, cathedral-like in its grandeur. She could almost sense the