The Sheik's Unexpected Bride Read online

  “Good morning, Your Highness,” she said politely, standing stiffly in front of him. “I take it that you are joining us this morning?”

  “Of course. I heard that your brother’s stables have fantastic horses.” He inched closer, but not close enough that their interaction would draw notice. “You didn’t sleep well?”

  Luna cursed herself for the tell-tale dark circles under her eyes. She shrugged slightly, dismissing his concern. “I had a lot to deal with this morning, what with the wedding and more guests arriving this morning.” She faked a smile, unconcerned that it didn’t reach her eyes. “But nothing that a hard ride across the desert won’t fix,” she continued with fake gaiety, then turned and headed towards the stable master who was leading the ride. There were actually several stable hands that would accompany the riding party. Some would ride ahead and lead the way towards the site where she’d arranged a picnic lunch at a pretty spot down by the river. There would also be someone who lagged in the back and the slower stable hands would guide the riders who wanted to go at a slower pace.

  Luna decided that she wasn’t going to hang back, as she’d originally planned. She absolutely loved to ride. Plus, a faster pace would keep her from having to ride with a man who thought that kissing her was “stupid”. She could race ahead, telling the others that she wanted to check on the lunch preparations. It was a total lie. The event planner, Stephanie, was brilliant and wouldn’t leave anything to chance. She would have been out to the site since early this morning ensuring that everything from bug spray to chilled champagne was ready for the guests.

  Without a backwards glance to see how Tasim was taking her casual attitude, Luna stroked her horse’s nose. She reached for the reins and was just about to pull herself up when strong hands circled her waist. She practically flew into the saddle. She gasped, then grabbed onto the saddle horn to seat herself properly before glancing down at Tasim, who was adjusting her stirrups for her.

  “Thank you, Your Highness,” she said tartly, rubbing her horse’s neck to let him know that she wasn’t angry with the horse. Just the jerk that thought their interlude was “stupid”.

  “My pleasure,” Tasim replied with just as much formality, but he added a cheeky wink.

  Ignoring his teasing, she grabbed the reins. “Your horse is over there,” she said coolly, pointing with her chin.

  “I appreciate the direction,” he told her, then turned on his booted heel and walked over to the tall, powerfully built gelding. Effortlessly, he pulled himself up and settled into the saddle, looking as perfectly at ease on top of the horse as he did on the ground.

  Luna sighed with frustration and turned away when he glanced over at her. Unfortunately, she was too slow! He caught her watching him and…and the jerk grinned!

  Unfortunately, the stable master called the start of the ride and moved forward, just as Tasim urged his horse towards her.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked as he rode along beside her.

  She didn’t even glance in his direction. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because you’ve been avoiding eye contact with me all morning. And because you skipped breakfast this morning. Were you afraid you might have to talk to me?”

  She bristled at his implication that she was a coward. She was, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to point it out.

  “I’m not afraid of you, Your Highness,” she said with her nose a bit too high in the air. Because she felt silly, she pressed her knees together, silently asking her horse to speed up. She didn’t want to talk to Tasim. Not now when she still felt too…vulnerable. After last night’s kiss, she’d berated herself repeatedly over what she’d done, what she’d revealed about herself to this man, who she knew was her enemy. But…he hadn’t felt like the enemy last night! When they’d been talking, he’d felt like a friend. And when he’d kissed her…well, it was pointless to spend any more energy analyzing last night. They thought about that interlude differently and it was time to put that kiss in the past.

  Unfortunately, he sped up too. “I think you’re afraid of me.”

  “I’m not,” she asserted again.

  “Really? Then why are you trying to get away from me?”

  Darn it! She really hated this man! No, that wasn’t fair. She hated how she reacted to him. But she wasn’t going to tell him that! Not a chance!

  Luna took a moment to glare at him, but since he wasn’t looking at her, the effort was wasted. “Look, I heard this morning that the European Union is about to change the monetary findings on several issues. Since I also know that your country bases a lot of your economic regulatory efforts on European policies, that seems like a perfectly acceptable topic of conversation. So, how about if we avoid the personal stuff and dive into a heated political issues instead?” she asked, turning to glance at him with a challenging glare.

  But instead of waiting for an answer, she again pressed her knees together. Instantly, the horse put in a burst of speed, eager to let loose.

  Unfortunately, Tasim had been given one of the stronger horses in the stables and he was an excellent horseman. He sped up as well, keeping pace with her beautiful gelding.

  When they were once again neck and neck, he looked over at her. “Why would we argue?”

  Luna didn’t bother to look at him. She knew he was watching her. “Because that’s what we do, isn’t it?”

  “That’s not all we do,” he countered.

  She heard the amusement in his voice and gritted her teeth, furious with him for laughing at her! “Well, that’s what we’re doing today.”

  “And if I don’t want to argue?”

  She flipped her braid over her shoulder, irritated that he’d so easily kept up with her. “Then perhaps we should race to the picnic area? That way, we don’t have to talk at all!” And with that, she leaned over the neck of her beautiful horse and released the reins. A moment later, they were speeding across the desert, her braid flying out behind her as the hard ground became a blur. She laughed, delighted as always when she felt the power of his muscles underneath her, the strength of his stride that was always longest in the stables. Not compared to her brother’s horse though. And obviously, not the horse that Tasim was riding! He was right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, but she was still several paces ahead of him. Grinning, she urged her horse faster, leaning closer to his neck and whispering encouragement. His ears twitched and she laughed, delighted to be besting the man behind her.

  Or beside her. Darn it! He was good. He glanced over at her and she smiled, ready for the challenge.

  “Come on, Big Guy!” she whispered.

  Luna reached the picnic area a whole head ahead of Tasim and laughed, praising her horse who pranced around, knowing that he’d won and feeling proud of himself. “You’re wonderful!” she cooed to the gelding, walking him along the edge of the river to cool him down. “Yes, you’re the best horse in the whole world!”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tasim doing the same, making sure that his horse cooled down and, reluctantly, she had to respect the man for taking care of the animal. Most people just jumped down off of the horse and let it cool itself down. But Tasim took great care to let his horse wander slowly as he approached the river. Only then did he dismount.

  That’s when she knew she was in trouble. He let the horse drift over to the soft, spring grasses that grew along the riverbanks, and stormed over to Luna. Grabbing her upper arms, he spun her around. “Okay, what the hell is going on?”

  “I don’t know what you mean!” she snapped back, the word “stupid” flashing through her mind.

  “Last night, you were soft and sweet in my arms. You wanted me as much as I want you! But today, you’re acting as if I insulted you somehow. What the hell is wrong?”

  “Seriously?” she snapped, attempting to shrug out of his grip. “You tell me that we were about to do something ‘even more stupid’ and you don’t understand why I might not like that description? You can’t kiss me, then tell me I’m stupid, or what we’re doing is stupid! No one would like that!”

  He stared down at her, stunned by her words. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. She tried to pull away, but his fingers tightened, holding her still.

  “You thought I called our kiss last night stupid?” he asked, his voice softening slightly.

  Her eyes flashed up to his, but she didn’t see derision in his gaze. Just confusion. “Didn’t you?”

  “Hell no!” Tasim growled. “I was pulling back from the brink, Luna! I had no idea what I was saying at the moment. And I definitely don’t think our kiss was stupid!” he insisted. “I meant if we continued, I was going to do something stupid! Like toss you over my shoulder and haul you off to my bedroom!” He shook his head, then pulled her in and…!

  Kissed her! Right there in the open. He kissed her hard, his mouth pressing against her closed lips, his tongue teasing hers until she opened and reciprocated. And then he didn’t stop because it felt too good. In fact, he pressed her back against a nearby tree, freeing up his hands so that he could explore her body.

  “Damn you, Luna! You’re driving me insane!”

  Thundering hooves broke through their lust-induced haze, forcing them to stop.

  Luna jumped away, smoothing a hand over her hair and her mouth, hoping that she didn’t look as disheveled as she felt.

  “Who won?” Elon asked, eyeing the pair sharply as he brought his horse to a stop.

  Ignoring her brother’s curious gaze, Luna stepped over to her horse, patting his neck. “I did,” Luna announced coolly, moving several more steps away from Tasim. Her steps were jerky at first, but she eventually pulled herself together and walked over to Stephanie. The event coordinator must have seen them kissing, but had obviously looked away during their incendiary interlude, offering them a bit of privacy.

  Luna blushed as the woman smiled politely at her. Forcing Tasim out of her thoughts, she took a deep breath and smiled serenely, determined to resume her hostessing duties and to stay away from Tasim!

  “Is everything ready?” Luna asked Stephanie, licking her lips. Could she still taste Tasim on her mouth?

  “We’re all set up, Your Highness,” the event planner stated with confidence, leading Luna into the elegant, white tent where an elaborate buffet had been set up on long tables draped in flowing, white tablecloths so the guests could enjoy a leisurely lunch in the shade. “The chef did an excellent job of preparing today’s feast. “And…Your Highness,” Stephanie glanced around, watching the others as they slowly dismounted from their horses, “you might want to tuck in your shirt,” she whispered.

  Luna’s hand jerked, moving to her shirt. The front seemed fine as she looked down at herself, just in case.

  “In the back,” Stephanie whispered, pretending to straighten the cutlery in front of her.

  Luna reached to slide her hand along the back of her shirt and, sure enough, her riding shirt had been pulled out of her riding pants.

  Luna glanced over her shoulder to find Tasim watching, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Shooting him a good glare, she turned away from him and hurried over to the chef, even though Stephanie would have already ensured that the food tasted and looked beautiful.

  Tasim accepted a cold drink from a passing waiter, not really caring what it was. He was more concerned with Luna. What the hell was going on? After their conversation in the kitchen last night, he’d thought that they might have moved on from their anger towards each other. So, what had she said?

  Tasim was still fighting the urge to grab her and haul her off somewhere more private. Because when they were kissing, there wasn’t any anger. Passion, yes, and desire, absolutely…but not anger.

  Damn, he liked that!

  She fit against him perfectly, the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest and the way her butt felt in his hands! Yeah, he like that a great deal.

  What he didn’t like was not finding a satisfying conclusion to kissing her and holding her in his arms. Even now, he had to keep his body very still for fear that his thoughts would be too obvious.

  Alleana, she was beautiful.

  But what had she said just before he’d pulled her into his arms for a very nice kiss? No, nice wasn’t the right word. That very hot kiss! That steaming, heated kiss that had rocked his world. Last night’s kiss had been soft and gentle. But after the race, after she’d already fired up his blood by ignoring him…that kiss hadn’t been soft or gentle. That kiss had been…possessive!

  Which wasn’t a good thing. He couldn’t possess the lovely Luna. She was his future brother-in-law’s sister. She was completely, absolutely, and irrevocably off limits.

  So, why was his body throbbing with the need to pull her back into his arms and to hell with diplomacy?!

  Because Luna thought that he’d thought their kiss last night was stupid!

  “Ya aljahim!” he muttered, their angry conversation after the race washing over him. At the time, he’d been too consumed with lust while watching her cute butt bounce against her saddle. But now that she wasn’t in his arms…wasn’t even in sight…he could think a bit more clearly.

  Draining his glass, he looked around, berating himself for his choice of words last night, as well as today.

  He should have been more careful. He should have used delicate, flowery words to describe what he was feeling last night.

  But he’d been too consumed with lust. Lust and need were not conducive to treating a lady with the gentleness and romance she deserved.

  And yet, even as she returned to the tent, he still wanted to toss her over his shoulder and find a quiet, private place where they could explore…everything! This anger that tended to flare up between them no longer seemed to have anything to do with their countries’ animosity. Not anymore. It felt personal now.

  Very personal!

  Tasim grabbed another glass as one of the more annoying socialites meandered towards him. Tasim knew the woman, but couldn’t think of her name at the moment. She was in her early fifties and wore a great deal of jewelry. Her outfit wasn’t conducive to horseback riding, so she must have been one of the guests who had arrived via car.

  Her overly made-up lips curled upwards into an inquisitive smile. “Your Highness, you look tense. Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine,” he snapped, his gaze narrowing on Luna when she paused to talk to a handsome man. Whatever the guy said must have been hilariously funny because Luna threw back her head, laughing. She even touched his arm and leaned into him. Damn it, she never casually touched him! He loved it when he earned her laugh, but it was so rare that the thought of someone else making her laugh made his blood boil.

  Then the guy touched her. Hell, he even wrapped his arm around her waist. It was only for a brief moment, but it was long enough!

  “It seems that you and the lovely princess are at odds, Your Highness. Word in the news was that this wedding between your sister and Sheik Elon was going to ease the tensions between your countries. From the way you’re glaring at Princess Luna, the relationship seems to be having the opposite effect.”

  Tasim glanced down at the woman, having entirely forgotten her presence. Getting a grip on his temper –which was not jealousy because he didn’t do jealousy– he forced himself to smile. “I’m thrilled that Elon has found such joy with my sister, Countess,” he replied, remembering belatedly that she wrote a society blog page that was syndicated internationally. “This wedding will change the future for both of our countries and heal the wounds of the past.”

  Having said that, he pushed away from the tent pole he’d been leaning on and walked away, not interested in listening to the woman pry.

  But she brought up a good point. He and Luna had been bickering constantly, interspersed with moments of a different flavor of tension. Unfortunately, as the wedding date drew closer, more guests would arrive. That meant more eyes watching the interactions between Luna and himself. If any of those guests got the sense that there was animosity between them, the press would eventually find out about it. Then the story of this wedding would change from one of healing and cooperation to “What’s going on between the sheik and the princess?!” That wasn’t a news story that he wanted to deal with. His country, and Elon’s needed this cooling of hostilities. The countries needed this wedding! They needed the wounds to be healed so that the tensions eased and more economic and political ties could be built.

  He looked around and, sure enough, his assistant was waiting patiently off to one side. “I’m ready to leave,” he announced. “Make my excuses to the princess and Elon.” Then he moved off, stepping into the back seat of the SUV his guards held open for just this purpose.

  Luna watched with a sinking heart as Tasim stepped into the vehicle and drove off. She wanted to run to him and apologize for snapping at him. She wanted to promise she’d be nicer to him.

  But she knew that being polite wasn’t always possible. For some reason, he just pricked her temper. And her laughter. And her passion.

  Darn it, he seemed to be able to control her emotions effortlessly! Even now, the sparkle of the afternoon had vanished since his departure. Looking around, she mentally sighed, wishing that she could have left too. Maybe she also could have curled up on his lap and kissed him again.

  Darn it! She didn’t want to feel this way! Why couldn’t she just…keep her distance from him?

  Well, that was a no brainer, she thought as she smiled welcomingly at another guest who approached. She couldn’t keep her distance because he and his sister, the bride, were the guests of honor here at the palace. The other guests were important, but it was really Luna and Tasim that everyone needed to see getting along.

  For the next few hours, she smiled and laughed, pretended to be having a wonderful time. But deep down, she wanted to find Tasim and maybe pick another fight with him.

  Such a ridiculous thought. But not really, she realized. For a stunned moment, Luna realized something strange. Fighting with Tasim made her feel alive! More alive than she’d ever felt in her life! Good grief!