Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,63

laugh! But this woman, with her sparkling eyes and her insulting drink had broken through his grief, touching him with her humor.

The other man stared at him, then at the drink on the table, not sure what was going on.

When Gaelen got his amusement back under control, he looked at the woman who had a self-satisfied grin on her pretty features. He looked at her carefully, his lips still curled and his heart lightened. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

She’d been standing with her tray tucked under her arm as she’d listened to his laughter, but with his words, those sparkling brown eyes widened. Softened. A pulse beat between them once. Then twice. The music faded. The crowd of strangers disappeared. In that moment, it was just this woman and a momentary relief from the grief that had been a constant companion for the past several months. “Thank you,” he repeated.

Those long lashes fluttered, hiding her soft, brown eyes for a moment before she looked back up at him. “You’re welcome,” she whispered back. “Would you like a glass of scotch?”

His smile widened. “That would be perfect.”

After that, the moment was gone, the noise rushed back to his consciousness and his whiskey-haired woman turned to his companion. Gaelen had no idea what his companion ordered because he was too entranced by the waitress, admiring the glowing highlights of gold, light brown, and champagne colors in her tresses. She nodded, then turned away, but not before she gave him another glance, her lashes veiling her eyes.

Gaelen ignored the other man as he watched her disappear into the milling crowd, noticing that she took a different route, a longer one, to get to the bar. He scanned the previous route and spotted the man who had assaulted her earlier. Signaling to one of his guards, he whispered his instructions. The guard glanced over at the man in question and nodded before moving into position.

Only then did he turn back to the other man. “I apologize. A business issue.”

“Not a problem.” Scott shifted slightly on his chair. “You hired me to ease the negotiations with Padar and this weekend is the first meeting between you and Sheik Santo el Fazir,” he began. “I sent you my notes about the issues confronting your country and Padar. Also, which positions I think you and Padar should discuss first, and I’ve added my ideas on how to get around the sticking points that have hindered conversations in the past.”

Gaelen nodded, having read through the notes. They were thorough and well thought out. Scott continued, although he paused when the whiskey-haired waitress returned with two more drinks. While the other man acknowledged the waitress with a polite nod when she placed his drink in front of him, the waitress shyly kept her gaze away from Gaelen. Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same for himself.

Gaelen wasn’t as disciplined. He had never allowed distractions when it came to business issues. Especially not when the stakes were as high as tomorrow’s negotiations with Padar and that country’s bastard ruler, Santo. But there was something about this woman, something special. It wasn’t that she was more beautiful than the women he’d been with in the past, although she was quite stunning. No, there was something different, something more…present or mindful…in the way she moved. Or perhaps it was the look in her eyes, which whispered that she saw him, the man, instead of the title.

And there was desire! Damn, he thought, she was lovely, and the interest in her eyes, the curiosity when she glanced at him then quickly looked away, was enticing. It wasn’t the normal come-hither look that he’d enjoyed so often in the past. Women had been giving him those “come get me” looks for years. Some women were more direct and simply told him what they’d like. But Gaelen was a warrior at heart and preferred the hunt, the challenge. And he really liked this waitress’s pretty eyes as they moved over him every time she approached. The look was almost involuntary, as if she felt the pull of their attraction, but needed to pretend that it wasn’t there, throbbing in the air between them.

Was he going to do anything about it?

No. Unfortunately, this weekend was too important. Tensions between Padar and Izara had been simmering for decades and Gaelen needed to focus on hammering out some sort of agreement with the neighboring country. It was just the first step, but the hatred he felt for Sheik Santo was intense. They’d hated each other for so long, the animosity ran deep. If it was up to him, Gaelen would have told Santo to go to hell.

But logically, Gaelen knew that this move was the right thing for his people. It was what was best for the economy and the right move politically.

What Gaelen needed to accomplish was to ensure that the bastard Santo didn’t take advantage of his people anymore. The tariffs the ass had imposed on goods and services over the past few years had hurt the economies of several cities along the border with Padar. And he was sick of the pointless fighting, always instigated by the people of Padar who thought it was okay to….

Gaelen stopped the thought in it’s tracks, taking a deep breath to calm his sudden fury. Hell, he didn’t want to negotiate with Padar! He wanted to crush them. He wanted to look Santo in the eye and crush his bastard-soul into the dirt!

Scott was talking but Gaelen had tuned him out, needing to see his whiskey-haired waitress again. Looking around, he realized that the crowd had thinned. The post-work crowd had moved off, heading to their homes and their families. In about an hour, the dinner crush would begin and the bar would fill up with diners waiting for their table in the restaurant below. But right now, there was a lull and he spotted the pretty woman leaning against the bar, laughing with the bartender.

She must have sensed his gaze because her body stiffened and she glanced towards him. Once again, their gazes locked and he felt it. That zing. Like some sort of electric current. She felt it too, her mouth softening, her eyes lightening and, if he wasn’t mistaken, her whole body shifted, turning slightly towards him even as she continued to lean on the bar.

Someone walked between them and the connection was lost. Gaelen turned, struggling to pay attention to Scott. It was rude of him and he knew it, trying to push the woman out of his mind. He’d get to her later. Perhaps he’d dine with her. Yes, that could work, he thought. Dinner would allow him to get to know her better.

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