The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,38
my stuff is still sitting. She’s going to be coming home any day now to no car and an empty apartment, and I haven’t even found myself a job!”
She frowned, feeling miserable. Atnan’s supportive hand landed on her elbow, and she looked up at him.
“Hey, come on now. There is nothing to worry about. I will take care of everything.”
She continued to stare up at him, unconvinced. He grinned.
“I do still have connections in this town, you know. Can you trust me on this? I know exactly what to do.”
She nodded, running her hand along his arm until she was holding his hand.
“You can stay here with me as long as you need, and I can help you find a job, too. I’m sure it won’t take long now that you have the right visa.”
“I’m going to pay you back for that,” she insisted, and he shook his head.
“Nonsense. Consider it my gift to you for forcing me back into the world. Without you, we wouldn’t be here right now. Who knows how long we would have been holed up in that palace? I owe a lot more to you than you know.”
Lily watched him as he spoke, loving him more with every passing second.
“You saved me too, you know. Maybe I was a little bit of a damsel a couple of times,” she said, grinning as she looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes.
He smiled down at her.
“I’m glad we were able to rescue each other.”
Before Lily could respond, there was a swooshing sound from near the door.
“Ah, that would be the morning paper. Shall we see what the headlines are today?”
Lily followed him to the door, where he picked up the newspaper and turned it over to read the front. There, in big bold letters, was the most beautiful headline Lily had ever seen.
Sheikh Atnan Cleared of All Charges!
They read the article, which detailed how Atnan had been wrongly convicted and how all charges had been dropped. When they finished reading it, they grinned at one another.
“You’re free, Atnan,” Lily breathed.
He beamed down at her, laughing with joy and wrapping her in his arms to spin her around until she was giggling and dizzy. When he stopped, he laced his fingers at the base of her back and kissed her senseless. Only the sound of their breakfast sizzling broke the spell.
Atnan dashed back to the stove just in time to save their eggs, which they enjoyed together, side-by-side at the counter. Afterwards, as Lily washed the dishes, Atnan walked into his bedroom, where he made a couple of calls, one of which resulted in the doorbell ringing. A fresh set of clothing had been delivered for Lily.
“What are we up to today?” she asked after kissing him again as she held her dress against her in anticipation.
“It sounds like we need to go and pick up your things. After that, the world is our oyster.”
Lily was nearly dancing as she headed toward the bathroom to change. He had picked out a creamy orange-colored dress, and she slid into the cotton fabric, delighting in the sensation of it. He had also sent for a pair of colorful sandals, and for the first time days, Lily slid on a pair of shoes.
She sat in the living room, enjoying the view as Atnan washed up. When she heard the shower turn on, she considered jumping in with him and then decided against it. She found herself constantly wanting to be near him, close to him, making love to him at all hours of the night and day. Her thoughts drifted back to Marissa, and she remembered they had things to accomplish that day.
When Atnan stepped back out, he was clean-shaven and smelled of soap and his musky cologne, dressed in slacks and a button-down.
“One of these days, I’m going to get you into a nice pair of jeans,” Lily said, crossing her arms at him.
Atnan laughed.
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Maybe someday I’ll bring you back to Wyoming and we can go to a rodeo.”
“I thought you said the cows didn’t like that very much?”
Lily shrugged.
“Whatever it takes to see you in jeans,” she said, and he chuckled.
She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a deep kiss.
“Missed me that much, huh?”
“Always,” she said into his shirt.
Together, they made their way down the elevator and into the garage. Lily glanced around them at the plethora of vehicles.
“Do these belong to residents of the building?” Lily asked.
Atnan nodded.
“In a way. They