The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,15
stood, leaving her alone in the garden as he headed back into the palace and out of sight. Lily blinked, wondering if she had upset him enough for him to storm out like a toddler. After a few minutes, she contemplated following to see where he went, but he reappeared in the doorway, his hands once again loaded with two small plates.
On each plate was a piece of dark chocolate cake, a delicate chocolate drizzle design beneath each slice. On top of each slice there was rich white cream and a strawberry.
Lily bit back a smile.
“You just happened to have chocolate cake prepared on the off-chance you’d get into a car accident with a stranger and bring them back to your palace to hide with you?”
Atnan set the plate in front of her after removing their dinner plates and setting them on a small side table.
“What can I say? I have a lot of free time around here, and I enjoy culinary pursuits. You just get to be lucky enough to try my gâteau au chocolat.”
“Oh, so it’s a French chocolate cake. Good to know.”
“Do you speak any?” he asked, handing her a silver dessert fork.
She took it, eager to try the delicious dessert.
“I do not, but I can recognize the accent, so that’s something. Now let’s see if you deserve an A for this final last-minute contribution.”
She dug her fork into the light, smooth cake and dipped it in the cream before tasting it. An explosion of flavor caressed her taste buds.
“Mmm,” she exhaled, trying to do as she had with the main course and savor it before moving to the next bite.
She found that much more difficult to do with the cake.
“I take it that’s a sound of approval?” Atnan asked, a hint of humor in his voice.
She looked up at him. A man who could make chocolate cake like that deserved her full attention, and in that moment, Lily realized that being holed up with the Sheikh could be one of the better things that had happened to her in quite some time.
“A+,” she affirmed, and he beamed.
“Well, that is certainly a jump. How I could have forgotten something as important as dessert is beyond me.”
She pointed her fork at him teasingly.
“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
He placed a hand on his heart.
“Oh, you can rest assured, it certainly will not.”
They ate the rest of the dessert, Lily fighting the urge to lift her plate to her face and lick all traces of chocolate from it. When they finished, they stared up at the night sky for a while longer.
“You said you like being outside,” Lily said, and Atnan nodded.
“When I was younger, my father would take me hunting, and we would spend nights camped out with a canopy of trees above us and the starlight peeking through. The world was quiet and dark, and you could really think outside the obligations of life back in the city. Whenever I feel trapped or confined, I find I often feel better when I can get back to nature.”
Lily thought of all the hikes she had taken through the mountains of Wyoming and completely understood what he was saying.
“You get a sense of that here, even though we have a bit of shelter,” she said with a soft smile.
Atnan smiled back. In the waning candlelight, his face looked more defined, more handsome. As if that were possible.
“A bit of shelter, yes. Though I suppose it is getting late, and you must be quite tired from the day’s events. May I escort you to your room?”
Lily swallowed, thinking about the Sheikh being inches from her room, where a large bed stood in wait. She tossed the thought aside, chalking it up to the wine and the romantic atmosphere. Something flew overhead, and she gasped and let out a small scream.
“What was that?” she squeaked, ducking as she bolted toward the door.
“A bat, I imagine,” he answered, unperturbed.
“You have bats here? Are they inside?”
He stood slowly, meeting her at the door.
“I suppose one or two might have gotten in. Why? Are you afraid?”
His gaze was warm as he looked down at her, and Lily realized they were far too close for comfort. She stepped inside.
“No, I’m not,” she said.
Chapter Seven
Atnan stepped back outside and grabbed a candlestick, lighting their way down the hall.
“We forgot to clean up the table,” Lily said, gazing up at the ceiling in search of bats as they walked. The shadows from the candle played tricks