The Sheik's Unexpected Bride Read online

  She tried reading, wanting to calm her ragged nerves. Unfortunately, her book wasn’t interesting enough to hold her attention. That, or she’d revealed too much about her love of reading to Tasim and she needed to change. Sighing with frustration, she shoved the book back into her bedside drawer and turned off the light. Maybe she needed to find new hobbies, ones Tasim didn’t know about.

  Chapter 5

  Two hours later, Luna flipped on the light and pushed the blankets away. “This is stupid!” It was nearing midnight and she still didn’t feel even the slightest bit tired.

  She couldn’t stop worrying about Tasim. She didn’t want him to see her vulnerably. She didn’t want to be another in a long line of women who had fallen under his spell.

  “Ice cream,” she whispered into the silent room.

  Pulling on a pair of leggings and a huge sweatshirt over her cami top, not bothering with a bra, she slipped silently down the hallway. She smiled as she passed by the guards, nodding politely until she reached the kitchen.

  “That’s weird,” she whispered, seeing a light on in the kitchen. Usually, the kitchen staff turned off all of the lights.

  “What are you doing in here?” Luna demanded, glaring at Tasim who sat at the counter, reading through a document while eating ice cream. He hadn’t bothered with a bowl. Instead, he was eating right out of the massive container.

  He glanced up at her from across the kitchen. “Reading a report on farm subsidies,” he replied. His eyes moved over her figure and Luna wondered if he could tell that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Probably not since the sweatshirt was big enough to reach her knees.

  “And stealing my ice cream,” she added, a bit more tartly than she’d intended.

  He grabbed two bowls and another spoon from a shelf behind him. He scooped out large portions for each of them, and slid a bowl across the metal counter so that it stopped right in front of her, nodding towards it with a challenge glowing in his eyes. “There’s plenty.” Then he put the container back into the freezer.

  When he sat down again, she knew that he expected her to leave. So instead, she defiantly sat down on the stool and grabbed the spoon. “Why are you still up so late?”

  He lifted the report. “Because my assistant sent me about two hundred pages of information that I need to read through and make decisions about by morning,” he replied with a bit of a sigh. “Why are you awake?”

  Tasim watched, very aware of the lack of a bra underneath the sweatshirt. His body instantly and painfully reacted. Was she doing that on purpose?

  Looking into her eyes as she slid onto the stool, he dismissed that idea. He doubted that Luna was that calculating. In fact, he suspected that she had no idea that he could tell she was braless. And that assumption only made him more alert!

  “Did you…?” She stopped and he watched as she toyed with her ice cream.

  “Did I what?” he asked, pushing the file away. He didn’t want to be distracted by work issues just now. He wanted to sit here in the quiet kitchen, and eat ice cream with a woman that was…. Interesting, he finally finished.

  She lifted her eyes and he noticed she wasn’t wearing any makeup. For some reason, that seemed sexier than her normal look.

  Damn, he was in trouble.

  “What’s on your mind, Luna?” he asked, softening his tone to encourage her. He knew that he could be intimidating, but he didn’t want to do be so to her. Not to Luna.

  “Are you…playing me?” she asked hesitantly. “Are you trying to charm me into…well, I don’t know. But over dinner, was that…?”

  She stopped, staring into her bowl. Tasim had no idea what she was trying to ask.

  He watched in amazement as she straightened her spine, then looked directly at him. “Two days ago, we hated each other. We took verbal jabs at each other and avoided each other whenever possible. Then, tonight, you were kind and charming. You didn’t pile my plate with broccoli and…well, you were nice.”

  Tasim blinked at her for a long moment, replaying her words in his mind. “You think I’m being nice to you because…?” He stopped, unable to finish the sentence because he couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.

  She nodded curtly. “Well, are you?”

  He looked down, trying to hide his smile. Once again, she’d surprised him. Tasim never would have guessed that this beautiful, delicate woman could be so forthright. She’d edged around delicate conversations with everyone attending this wedding, ensuring that each person’s opinions were validated. And yet, here she was, worried that he was being nice to her for a nefarious reason.

  “Am I being nice to you out of evil intent?” he clarified.

  “Yes,” she replied, with a curt nod. “Are you?”

  He laughed. He couldn’t help it. With her lips pressed together like that and her expressive chocolate eyes wide, waiting for his answer, he couldn’t help it. She was…refreshingly honest!

  “No, Luna,” he replied softly, with all the sincerity he felt. “Yes, I’m furious about this situation. Intellectually, I know that a marriage and an alliance between our countries is a good thing. Irrationally, the trouble between our countries runs deep.” He reached out and took her hand, noting that her fingers were very small, the bones in her hand felt delicate in his. She also had soft hands. No rough calluses or scars, like he had all over his hands and arms. And body.

  Tasim had to stop thinking along those lines. Imagining her body, scar free and naked so that he could examine the lack of scarring, was making his body throb with need.

  Mentally pulling back, he inhaled deeply, mentally returning to the conversation.

  “But things changed.”

  “How?”

  He stared at her, wondering yet again if she was kidding. But the sincerity and anxiety in her eyes startled him. “You really don’t know why my attitude changed?”

  She shrugged and he had to fight to keep his eyes from her gently swaying breasts. Eyes on her face, he reminded himself.

  “Luna, you pushed my sister behind you today when that snake threatened you.” He waited, watching carefully. But when she still stared blankly back at him, he chuckled. “You protected my sister, Luna. You could have been hurt, and yet, you put yourself in between the danger and my sister.” His voice was soft, admiring the delicate beauty. “For that, I will forever be in your debt.”

  They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, and Tasim recognized the moment she accepted his word.

  Releasing her hand, he leaned back in his chair and picked up his spoon. “Eat your ice cream and tell me why you sneak in here so often.”

  She laughed, shaking off the tension and picking up her own spoon. “How do you know that I do this often?”

  “Because I watched you come through the door, heading right for the freezer. Since the other foods in that freezer aren’t edible until cooked, or at least, defrosted, then I must assume that you’re a nighttime dessert fiend, just like me. So ‘fess up. What makes you crave ice cream?”

  She laughed and took a spoonful, closing her eyes to savor the cold treat, then smiled. “When I was a kid, I loved talking to my father.” Her eyes looked dreamy as she thought back to that time so long ago. “He was a good leader. Always so concerned about doing the right thing for as many people as possible.”

  She sighed at that point, and his eyes automatically dropped to her breasts. Thankfully, she was also looking down at her ice cream, so she didn’t see his glance.

  “But being a good leader meant that he was a very busy man. He rarely had time for me during the day. I found him in here one night. I wanted a drink of water, and my nanny had forgotten to leave a glass in my bathroom. So, I’d wandered into the kitchen and found him sitting right where you are, eating ice cream.” She smiled. “We had a long talk that night. It became our special time, just the two of us. My brother and mother never knew about our midnight ice cream chats.” She sighed again. “So, anytime I’m worried about something, coming in here and having a bowl of ice cream helps me work through the problem.”

  “That’s a really nice memory,” he murmured. “Thank you for sharing it with me.” Tasim didn’t mention the lump in his throat at the thought of a tiny little Luna climbing out of bed at midnight, just so that she could talk to her father. He vowed then and there that he’d never do that to his children.

  Suddenly, the thought of Luna pregnant popped into his mind. And that thought was almost more intensely erotic than the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra!

  Luna laughed, feeling self-conscious. “Well, it was silly of me. I probably could have gone to my father’s office at any point during the day and he would have stopped what he was doing to help me.”

  “But the nights here in the kitchen were special. And quiet,” Tasim countered. “If your father’s days were anything like mine, I’m interrupted about a hundred times every hour. There’s never a calm moment.” He nodded pointedly at the stack of reading. “Hence, the file filled with reports that I can finally sit down to read and absorb.”

  Her smile disappeared. “Yes. I’m sure that you’re right. It must be a burden, being that busy and with so much responsibility on your shoulders all the time.”

  He shrugged. “I was raised to lead my people,” he explained. “When one doesn’t know any differently, then it doesn’t seem like a burden.”

  She’d just taken a bite, and her hand froze as her eyes widened. “You’ve always been this busy? Didn’t you have a childhood?”

  He chuckled and the sound appealed to Luna.

  “I can’t say that I had a carefree childhood. But I had moments of being a normal kid. Or at least, as normal as a kid can be.”

  She lifted her eyebrows, not sure she believed him. “I probably had a m
ore normal childhood. You seem like the kind who never broke the rules.”

  He laughed and Luna felt as if she’d accomplished something miraculous. This man didn’t laugh enough, she thought.

  “Oh, I got into trouble, just like other kids.”

  “How?” she demanded, wanting to know more about him. She couldn’t help but feel intrigued. After their moment during dinner, she could honestly say that she didn’t hate him anymore. But her feelings for the man were…well, that was another mystery. Furthermore, she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to delve into any of those confusing emotions-feelings-sensations just yet.

  He leaned back in his chair and Luna could tell that he was looking for something “normal” but was struggling.

  “There was a rabbit that used to come close to the palace each morning. It drove the gardener nuts. He was constantly shooing the rabbit away. What he didn’t know was that I was leaving carrots out for the rabbit, luring him in. Every morning, I’d watch the rabbit come closer and closer. Finally, I got the rabbit to eat the carrot out of my hand. After several more mornings, he finally let me pet him. So every morning, for about three weeks, that rabbit would appear outside my room and I’d feed him carrots and pet him.”

  Luna thought that was a very sweet story. “What happened?”

  He shrugged, then stood up to take their empty bowls to the sink. “The chef discovered that there was a carrot thief and was livid. He was trying to make something one night and needed carrots. But they were gone.” He turned back around, then leaned against the metal sink, an odd smile to his handsome features. She barely even noticed the scar any more. Especially not while he was telling her a story.

  “I had to admit that I was the one stealing the carrots. My father was livid and the chef ‘forgot’ to put salt into my food for the next several days. The gardener cut back all of the plants near my room, and even put up a net so that the rabbit couldn’t come anymore.”

  Luna hid the sudden stab of sadness she felt over the story, forcing her mouth to curl into a semblance of a smile, all the while, her heart ached. Tasim chuckled, shaking his head as if dismissing the story. But Luna understood. This wasn’t a story about a boy stealing carrots. It was a story about a boy trying to find a friend in a lonely world.

  Tasim pushed away from the sink. “To this day, I can’t eat anything that has rabbit in it.”

  “I can imagine,” she replied softly, feeling a surge of tenderness for the lonely little boy he had been.

  He eyed her curiously. “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to touch her cheek.

  His touch set her skin on fire! How could a simple touch do that? She wanted to pull away, but the look in his eyes told her that he felt it as well. She moved slightly and his fingers curled around her neck. The tension in the air increased, swirling around them like magic, luring them to risk more, to dare higher. Luna leaned in ever so slightly, lifting her head in a jerky manner, almost as if offering her lips for a kiss, but afraid to let him know that she wanted that kiss.

  His hand tightened on her neck. She stood up and he pulled her in closer. It was almost as if their bodies were moving of their own accord, drawn together like a set of magnets.

  The thought was so completely outrageous that it caused her to freeze her forward movement. “I should go,” she whispered. Her lips were so close. So incredibly close! He felt her breath wash over his face. She saw the heat echoed in his eyes. Should she…dare she? Luna felt as if the earth stopped moving, the world waiting, holding its breath to see what would happen next.

  “You probably should,” he replied gruffly, but his hand didn’t pull away. In fact, his fingers drifted down her shoulder to her waist, a silent message to not move. The heat from his fingers increased, transfixing her.

  Then, as if almost reluctantly, his lips brushed against hers. There was an electrified moment as they froze. Was the world going to explode? Wasn’t there some reference about not crossing the streams? No, that was “Ghostbusters”. But did that rule apply here? She and Tasim were enemies…

  Weren’t they?

  Luna leaned in, needing another touch more than her next breath. He paused, gazing down at her.

  He kissed her harder, his mouth covering hers in a voracious kiss that stole her breath away. There was no space between their bodies. It was just pleasure and his lips, his hands moving over her back, as she tried to get closer still, cursing her thick sweatshirt that didn’t allow her to feel him more easily.

  When his tongue moved into her mouth, she reciprocated, wild to taste him, wanting so much more. She felt his body harden and his arms tighten around her. Nor did she care. Her world was very self-centered at the moment. Luna just wanted…a kiss. Just one more kiss. She lifted her face and Tasim angled his head, deepening the kiss further. Over and over, he kissed her, until her head spun with desire.

  Finally, Tasim pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers as they stared into each other’s eyes, their breathing hard and labored as their bodies continued to press ever so slightly together.

  “We can’t do this, Luna,” he groaned. For a moment, his hands tightened, moving up and down her waist, coming dangerously close to her breasts. Luna held her breath, willing his hands to move higher, to go past that invisible barrier.

  For a long moment, she thought he’d do it. Luna couldn’t ask him, didn’t dare voice the hope of having his hands on her breasts, but she willed him to do it. To ignore the potential consequences and…touch her!

  Unfortunately, Tasim was more in control of the situation than she was and he blew out a breath. With a groan, he briefly pressed his forehead to hers, then pulled back. “Go. Now! Before we do something even more stupid than a kiss!”

  That word felt like a dash of ice water over her heated skin. Stupid? He thought their kiss was stupid? Oh, that hurt! She’d just experienced the most amazing kiss of her life, and he was warning her that they might do something stupid? Like what? Kiss again? She’d love that!

  But obviously, he didn’t think that the kiss had been amazing. And that hurt even more!

  Pulling away, she turned on her heel and, with as much dignity as she could muster, walked out of the kitchen, refusing to look back as she went. She waited until she’d pushed through the swinging doors, then burst into a run, her bare feet padding along the hard, marble floor. She didn’t look back, didn’t want to see him. Damn him! That interlude hadn’t been “stupid”! It had been beautiful! Kissing Tasim had been…wonderful!

  She slammed into her apartment, then pressed her back against the door and closed her eyes, trying to stave off the hurt from his words and his curt dismissal. Damn him! Damn her stupid, foolish heart as well, because even now, she wanted to run back and demand that he kiss her again!

  Talk about stupid!

  Chapter 6

  The horses stomped and snorted, eager for a hard ride.

  Luna tucked her riding crop under her arm and pulled on her soft, leather gloves.

  “Good morning, Princess,” a deep voice said close to her ear. Much too close!

  Luna swung around to find Tasim behind her, looking decadently magnificent in his own riding gear. Because of the heat today, everyone was wearing short sleeved shirts instead of the more traditional English riding uniform, which included a fitted jacket. There were only about twenty people that had signed up to ride this morning. Since Luna was the hostess for this morning’s festivities, she had to ride as well, but she’d desperately hoped that Tasim would stay behind. All morning, she’d been able to avoid him. After an almost sleepless night, she’d gone to breakfast early, greeting the newest wedding guests, and chatting with a few of the others, just to make an appearance. She’d even hidden in her office and pretended to be busy with paperwork. After last night’s “stupid” interlude, she would have preferred to avoid him for the rest of the week!

  That was impossible, of course. He was Elon’s best man and she was Ella’s maid of honor. And the wedding was still several days away. Which meant that there were several events in which she and Tasim would have to interact.

  Sometimes, being responsible sucked!