The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,19

if he had kissed her the night before? What if he had come inside with his chest bare like that and pressed it up against her…

Nope. Not helpful.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Atnan said, rising.

And in that moment, Lily realized that she had to get her feelings under control. Fast.

Chapter Nine

Back in her room, Lily made quick work of finding suitable clothing for exploring—comfortable cotton pants and a light pink top—and redid her braid before catching her reflection in a mirror.

Her blue eyes were wide with excitement, and she had to admit that she was looking forward to a day of exploring the ruins of a palace. A few weeks ago, she would have spent her day tutoring high school students, as she had been doing for so long, hoping desperately for any kind of change. While it hadn’t happened quite like she’d imagined it would, she decided to make the best of the situation and enjoy herself.

She stepped back out into the hallway, looking in either direction for Atnan. When she didn’t see him, she ventured toward the main entry, figuring he would find her there eventually. There weren’t many places she had been to at that point.

Hearing footsteps approaching from another hall, she glanced up to see him walking in, now fully clothed. A tinge of disappointment tweaked her heart, and she felt annoyed at the feeling.

“Why are you frowning?” Atnan asked, his eyebrows knit in concern.

Not wanting to admit her reasons, Lily smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

“Lots going on in my head, I guess. It will be good to be distracted.”

Jumping off the covered sofa she had been sitting on, Lily clapped her hands together. The sound echoed across the ceiling before dissolving back into silence.

“Well, what do we get to explore first? This place is huge! I can’t imagine how much we’ll be able to cover in a day.”

Atnan’s frown deepened ever so slightly.

“A good section of the palace is uninhabitable, which limits us quite a bit. I do have some places in mind to show you, though. We’ll stick to the east wing today.”

His tone brooked no argument, and Lily was left wondering just what might have been so uninhabitable about the rest of the palace. Was there something hiding there, something he didn’t want her to see?

She was suspicious, and she chastised herself for it. Atnan deserved her trust, at least a little bit. While he clearly had his own secrets, he had shown her nothing but kindness, respect, and hospitality. She could grant him some leeway as far as unspoken truths went. After all, didn’t she have her own mess to unravel as it was?

Atnan led the way down another hallway. This one was much like the others, laden with family portraits and fraying carpets.

“You must have quite the family, to be able to fill up every hall with so many images,” Lily said.

Atnan glanced at the walls, not really seeing them.

“I suppose. My family can be traced back hundreds of years. My ancestors had quite the opinion of themselves, as you can see.”

“You don’t sound impressed,” Lily remarked, and Atnan lifted his shoulders slightly.

“We are a powerful and strong dynasty, yes, but Al Yibri is a tiny country, hardly a world player, and we generally just look out for ourselves. We are a friendly people, but I don’t think my family deserves as much credit as they give themselves.”

Lily was surprised by this admission. Since meeting the Sheikh, she had had him pegged as proud and noble, with his devilishly good looks and his stern warnings at the beginning. And yet, each layer she peeled back seemed to reveal a dynamic and interesting man, someone she could really get along with, were the circumstances different.

He reached the end of the hallway, where a pair of wooden doors were firmly closed. The wood had been carved in decorative patterns, with twists and turns that gave it a whimsical feel.

“Are we entering Narnia?” Lily joked, and Atnan turned.

“Narnia?”

“It’s a fictional world from a children’s book series. You’ve seriously never read it?”

Atnan shook his head.

“I suppose I had other books to read. I never read fiction growing up.”

Lily froze, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Not even fairy tales?”

He turned to look at her, then, surprised by the shock in her voice.

“The children of Al Yibri read nonfiction. Our aim is to learn and grow, not live in a fantasy world.”

He said it as though it had been recited to him many, many times. Lily felt