The Sheik's Gentle Triumph Read online

  Betty obviously knew where she was heading and raced ahead of Danielle, turning to stare lovingly up at Danielle from the doorway. Danielle grabbed the bucket that Oz had placed by the doorway, selecting several ragged tennis balls, then pushed through the doors leading out to the back patio. The two of them skipped down the stairs together and, at the bottom, Danielle threw the ball into the woods. Betty raced through the dry leaves and sticks, leaping over logs to retrieve her precious tennis ball. A few minutes later, Betty pranced back along the pathway with the neon yellow ball in her mouth. Carefully, she set the ball on the ground by Danielle’s feet.

  Danielle reached down, praising the fluffy dog and then threw it again. She repeated this process over and over again until Betty showed signs of slowing down. Luckily, that was when the doors to the lower level of the building swung open.

  When her eyes lifted from Betty to the opening door, Danielle’s breath caught in her throat as Mika stepped out into the chilly morning.

  Mika looked around, irritated that Danielle hadn’t been in her office. He’d come here today to go through the obstacle course with Jayce, needing to blow off some of the tension that had built up inside of him this morning when he’d discovered that Danielle had already left. That had angered him so much, he’d nearly gone in search of her then. But since he’d realized that it was Monday morning and knew that she’d need to get back to work, he’d accepted that he’d just have to see her in her office.

  As soon as the cold air hit him, he wanted to start on the course. But something stopped him and he looked around. There! Sitting at the bottom step of the stairs and looking like a modern day Gainesboro portrait with one of the fluffiest dogs he’d ever seen, was Danielle. With the morning sunshine hitting her hair, it sparkled! He remembered her hair splayed over the pillow the previous night. And over his chest as she kissed her way down his stomach and….

  Without another word, he walked over to her. Taking her hand, he roughly pulled her into his arms, kissing her with all of the pent up frustration that had built up over the past several hours. It took him several minutes to realize that she wasn’t pulling away from him. In fact, she was kissing him back, just as hungry for him as he was for her. So he deepened the kiss, swinging her around to press her back against the wall of the building, aligning their bodies more perfectly.

  Unfortunately, he was also aware that this was her place of work and her boss was about to exit the building.

  With painful movements, he pulled back, setting her on her feet as they both remembered how to breathe.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, running a hand over her hair and sweater, smoothing both down so that she didn’t look as if he’d just ravished her.

  “You weren’t with me when I woke up this morning,” he grumbled, his voice rough and uneven as he pulled back, putting several feet of space between them.

  The blush that stole up her cheeks charmed him and it took enormous effort to keep himself from pulling her back into his arms.

  “Yes, well, I had to get to work.”

  “I suspected as much, but then you weren’t in your office when I came by a few moments ago.”

  She looked up at him, those green eyes excited. He’d done that to her, he realized. He’d put that light in her beautiful eyes!

  “I came in early to get some reports completed for Oz. What are you doing here?” she asked again.

  “I called Jayce and asked if he wanted to run the course while Ryker drills my security team.”

  She nodded, looking out at the course. “That’s a pretty rough course. I watched you doing it the other day.” She looked back up at him. “You’re good.”

  He laughed. “I enjoy the challenge.”

  Jayce stepped outside.

  “What’s going on?” Jayce demanded.

  Mika laughed, shaking his head. “Your protector emerges,” he teased. Thinking of that, and his assurance just a few moments ago when he’d told Jayce that he had honorable intentions towards their “adopted” sister, he pulled back slightly. At that same moment, he glanced down, chuckling when he saw the cheap ring on her finger. “I like your new accessory.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, well, someone has a fabulous sense of humor.”

  Jayce groaned. “When you two are finished flirting, maybe we could exert some energy?” he taunted.

  Mika winked at Danielle, reached down to fluff Betty’s ears, then turned to Jayce. “Okay, old man. Let’s see how quickly we can demolish this course.” He pulled on a pair of gloves. With a glance at Jayce, Mika sprinted towards the beginning of the obstacle course.

  Jayce laughed, thrilled at the challenge, then sprinted after Mika towards the beginning of the course.

  Danielle watched them go, focusing more on Mika, stunned by how fast and strong he was. Jayce was a huge man, about an inch taller than Mika! And his military training in the special forces was tough. The two men were equally matched. As soon as one of them gained an advantage, the other would move faster. Back and forth, Danielle watched until they were out of sight.

  With a sigh, she reached down to fluff Betty’s hair again. The dog was worn out, but happy, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she stared adoringly up at Danielle.

  “Good girl,” Danielle praised. “Let’s go get a treat!”

  Immediately, Betty jumped to life, but she walked up the stairs this time, her tail wagging in anticipation.

  Danielle dropped Betty off in Oz’s office, smiling as the man ruffled the dog’s fur and told her that she was a ‘good girl’. Then she returned to her office, settling in for more work. It took a while to get back into a groove, because her body was still singing, desperate for more attention from Mika. But she eventually focused and worked through the issues that cropped up. It was after lunch when Mika stepped through her doorway, showered and looking strong and vital.

  “Tonight,” he said softly, leaning against her desk. “I will pick you up here.”

  Her heart pounded so hard, she wondered if he could hear it. “Actually,” she glanced behind him, hoping no one was out in the hallway and could overhear the conversation, “how about if you come to my place and I’ll cook dinner for us?” she offered, feeling her cheeks heat up again. She was trying to be sophisticated and casual about this affair, but she’d never had a man over to her place, although she’d made meals for her friends. None had ever meant as much to her as Mika did.

  “You can cook?” he asked, a teasing glint to his dark eyes.

  She pulled back with mock outrage. “Not if you’re going to act as if you’re surprised that I can cook! We’ll order pizza if…”

  “You can cook and you’re an amazing chef,” he teased right back and stood up. “I’ll be there at six.” And then he was gone, just a whiff of clean, male scent indicating that he’d even stopped by.

  She glanced down at her finger, laughing again at the tacky ring.

  Yeah, she loved him.

  Looking at her computer, sadness fell over her as reality hit. Yes, she loved him, but there was absolutely no future with Mika. He was the ruler of a powerful country. She was an accountant. Mika was here for a short period of time while his guards trained. She wasn’t sure of the exact amount of time, but she wanted to savor every moment with him. Hence, the spontaneous idea of cooking him dinner.

  Also, she felt as if she’d been slacking in the equality department. She couldn’t afford to take him out for dinner at any of the restaurants to which he treated her. But she was pretty good in the kitchen, as long as the food was relatively basic. Comfort food was on the menu for tonight. She and her mother used to love cooking macaroni and cheese for their weekend movie nights. Her mother added crushed up potato chips to make the food even less healthy. Danielle could get some really good cheese at the grocery store and make the meal even better, she thought. And for dessert, there were still a lot off chocolate chip cookies to be had. Maybe she could get some ice cream, heat up the cookies and make the
desert even better! Oh, yeah. And some hot fudge? That would be perfect! The evening was starting to look pretty good.

  The fun of cooking for Mika tonight would help her tomorrow night when she went to visit with her mother. Maybe she could get over there during the day. Lunches were a bit easier to handle because her mother was more aware of the world during the day.

  Danielle rubbed her forehead, guilt over her reluctance to visit her mother was hitting her hard. She loved her mother! She truly did! But seeing her mother like this, so unaware of life, sometimes not recognizing anything around her…was painful, even heartbreaking.

  Maybe tomorrow would be a good day, she thought wistfully. Her mother’s routines helped her cope and any change to the routine might throw her off, causing a bad day and additional confusion that caused her mother to panic. The assistants at the memory care center knew what her mother’s routines were and helped to maintain them. So perhaps lunch wasn’t a good idea. Yes, better to come at night when the assistants would have more time to prepare her mother.

  Sighing, she turned back to her computer. That was something she’d deal with tomorrow. And maybe, her mother would be having a good day. Regardless, there was no way Danielle would miss her visits. Even a bad day with her mother was better than a day without her mother. Yes, eventually the disease would diminish her mother’s capacity to breathe and her organs would start to shut down. But until that day arrived, Danielle was going to savor every moment. And not be upset that her mother didn’t recognize her! That was the goal at least.

  Pushing that aside, she finished up for the night, hurrying through the last few issues she needed to deal with before shutting down her computer. “Good night!” she called to Carly as she passed by her friend’s office.

  Carly looked up and smiled. “Hey! Deni called and needs lunch. Are you good for tomorrow?”

  Danielle nodded, thinking it was a good thing that she’d decided not to visit her mother during her lunch hour after all. “Absolutely! Count me in.” Danielle hurried out of the office. She wanted to hurry and grab some additional ingredients at the grocery store for her evening with Mika. She really should ask how much longer he would be in town. Surely, he’d need to get back home to his country. He had a lot of responsibility. He couldn’t stay here forever.

  She rushed out of the office, waving to Mike as she pushed through the doors to the lobby. Tonight, no one was going to slow her down. She had a hot date with a hot sheik!

  Chapter 15

  Mika tucked the small, paper box behind him as he waited for Danielle to answer the door. He heard the music, then the front door swung wide open.

  Every time he saw her, she took his breath away. Today, she wore leggings and a cute, pink sweater, her hair pulled up in a ponytail on top of her head. She looked young and fresh and alive with excitement.

  “Hi there!” she greeted him, her voice low and husky.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, stepping through the doorway and closing it behind him as he pulled her into his arms. Unable to stop himself, his hand wrapped around the silky tresses of her hair and tugged her head gently backwards so he could kiss her thoroughly. She tasted minty and sexy, he thought. And she was still wearing that silly ring.

  When he lifted his head, she beamed up at him, her hands pressed against his chest for balance…or maybe just because she wanted to touch him as much as he wanted to touch her. He liked that about her. She’d been so tentative about touching him last weekend, but he’d shown her that it was okay to reach out and touch him. She was an excellent learner!

  “Here,” he said, handing her the small box as he pulled off his coat. Tossing it over the chair, he watched with appreciation as she walked through the small family room to the kitchen.

  “You need to stop with the gifts,” she admonished.

  “Not going to happen,” he replied, following behind her. “What’s for dinner? I’m starving.” Not for food so much as for her. She looked amazing and all he wanted to do was peel those sexy leggings off her and find out what she was wearing underneath. As he watched, she bent over at the waist, peering into the oven. He supposed that there was something in that contraption that was worth the look, but he didn’t give a damn about food. Not when she bent over like that.

  As he watched, he realized he couldn’t see any panty lines. Damn, was Danielle not wearing underwear? He watched as she moved around the tiny kitchen, trying to see if perhaps she had on thong underwear. But when she reached up into a cabinet, he couldn’t discern any line around her waist either.

  His body hardened and the need to surge inside of her wet heat took control. Moving forward, he put his hands on her hips as she reached up to grab something on top of the fridge.

  “Stay just like this,” he warned, bending to nip at her neck, her earlobe.

  “Why?” she asked, then gasped as she felt his light nips.

  “Because you aren’t wearing any underwear.”

  She laughed, leaning her head back against his chest. “You noticed,” she sighed.

  “Oh, so you were trying to tempt me?”

  She nodded, but bit on her lower lip when his hands moved from her hips to her softly rounded stomach before slipping down beneath the elastic of her leggings. “I noticed. Did you think I would not?”

  She laughed. “I was hoping you would, but I thought that perhaps you would be too overcome with hunger to notice until after dinner.”

  “You are partly correct,” he commented. “I am overcome with hunger. But not for food.” His teeth nipped at her neck again. “You left too early this morning. Now I need you too much to wait until after dinner.”

  One of his hands moved higher, cupping her breast, then moved higher to pull the plump flesh out of her bra cup. At that point, his thumb and forefinger teased her nipple over and over again, rubbing the tip, pinching it and twisting ever so slightly until she cried out with the exquisite pain/pleasure. Meanwhile, his other hand moved lower, sliding between her legs. His experienced fingers teased the wet folds, moving over that swollen nub, doing the same thing down low as he did to her breast. The combined stimulation was too much. In barely any time at all, he felt her body climbing higher and higher until…!

  “Mika!” Danielle cried out, her hands coming off the countertop, one covering each of his hands as a beautiful, intense climax hit her. The pulsing waves shot through her over and over again as she ached with the pleasure of his ministrations. Giving herself over to the pleasure, she was almost giddy and leaned back against him, sure that he would hold her safely in his arms.

  When she opened her eyes again, she glanced over her shoulder, suddenly embarrassed that they were both fully clothed and she’d just…he’d done that to her so easily.

  “That was…!”

  “Not over,” he growled into her ear. With a hand to the small of her back, he pressed her hands against the counter again. “I want more,” he pulled her leggings down. “Step up,” he commanded, lifting her foot out of her leggings one at a time. When he stood up, he pulled her sweater off as well, tossing it onto the floor.

  “Mika?” she asked, shocked by the urgency in him. And completely aware that her body was just as ready as his was.

  “I’ll take care of you, love,” he said, kissing his way along her spine. When he reached her bottom, he moved back up, his hands caressing along every bare inch of her body.

  “What can I do?” she asked, trying to catch her breath. Mika stared at her lovely figure, needing to press into her wet heat. She was lovely like this, all breathless and wet and pink from desire. Grabbing a condom out of his pocket, he unzipped his slacks and rolled the protection down his throbbing erection, all the while, watching her body move back and forth, wiggling in anticipation of his invasion.

  Grabbing her hips, he blinked several times, trying to clear the lust, needing to be gentle. But she pushed back against him, her body inviting him and he stopped trying to hold back. As his fingers dug into the soft flesh of he
r hips, he pressed into her heat, closing his eyes against the wave of ecstasy as he did so. But Danielle did that wiggling thing again and he groaned, torn between wanting to take this slower, savoring every delicious inch as she took him into herself, and slamming into her, burying himself to the hilt.

  Danielle took the decision away from him when she inhaled sharply then pressed back against him, taking him all the way into her body in the most erotic way. He felt her inner muscles clenching around him as his fingers dug into her soft flesh. But he was too close, too ready to explode. Reaching around, he pressed his fingers against that nub, bringing her to the edge with him. Pinching, rubbing, and circling that spot, he heard her breath begin to hitch, her need increasing, and her hips slamming against him with every thrust of his hard shaft.

  When the explosion came, he wasn’t prepared. It was too much, too intense to pull back and he held onto her tightly, praying that he wasn’t hurting her as he groaned through the intense pleasure that her body pulled from him.

  Slowly, he came back to the present, feeling alive and powerful. Looking down, he realized that Danielle was still leaning against the counter, her forehead resting against her crossed arms.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, pulling out of her heat and tossing the condom into the garbage. Turning her around, he wrapped his arms around her. He held her as the trembling continued, but he struggled to stay upright. Finally, he carried her into the family room, sinking gratefully down onto the soft cushions of the sofa. For long moments, he held her, stroking her back comfortingly until the shivering slowed and she lifted her head to look up at him.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, kissing him gently.

  Her response surprised him for some reason. His hand moved to the back of her head, pulling her back in for a deeper kiss. “Thank you,” he replied. “After that kiss earlier today, I needed you like this.”