The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,9

all the fear and uncertainty crashing over her. She felt like throwing herself onto the plush-looking bed and crying herself to sleep if only to forget her current predicament for a little while.

Atnan placed a sturdy hand on her arm, recapturing her gaze.

“You are going to be just fine—uh…” He stammered and suddenly appeared quite embarrassed. “I feel I have completely lost my manners in our escapade and have forgotten to ask the name of my damsel.”

Lily stepped back, crossing her arms again, though she couldn’t quite hide the gentle tug of a smile at her lips.

“I’m no damsel,” she reminded him.

He nodded.

“Of course. What I mean to say is, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss…?”

Lily stared at him, letting him sweat it out for a moment. She had wondered when he would bother to ask her name.

“Hawthorne,” she said finally. “Lily Hawthorne.”

He stuck out his hand for her to shake, and she stared at it for a moment, wondering how it would feel to touch him. As an awkward silence encroached, she reached her hand out and placed it in his, her stomach erupting in butterflies as their palms touched. His handshake was gentle, yet firm, and he kept his eyes on hers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lily. I hope we will become good friends. Until then, please take some time to recover from the day’s events. I will return to check in on you in a couple of hours.”

“Uh…” Lily managed, ever eloquent.

He released her hand and nodded before walking out the door and closing it behind him without looking back. Silence echoed across the enormous space, and as Lily gazed around, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

She was safe! At least at present. The police would have found them by now if they had been chased.

She walked over to the bed, which was draped in a fluffy comforter, and sat down, still gazing around her.

The truth of it was that she had forgone one prison for another. While Atnan had apologized for his comments about turning her in, she didn’t fully believe he wouldn’t use that against her. She had gone from facing a dark prison cell to being in a gilded one with no way to get home. Her warden had changed from the chief of police to the Sheikh, leaving her with the same number of options she had started with.

Zero.

Chapter Four

Lily took her time exploring her sprawling, apartment-like room. The bathroom was equally spacious, with a large whirlpool bathtub and a towering shower. After a brief search through the cabinets, she found soap wrapped in expensive cloth and shampoo and conditioner poured into delicate glass bottles. She pulled a stopper from one of the bottles and breathed in the scent, relishing the smell of a flower that reminded her of lilacs but a little sweeter.

There was a small sitting room with a stout bookcase that was loaded with books. Lily pulled a few out, blowing dust off their jackets as she admired the tomes, which were written in a plethora of languages and scripts. There were books in Arabic, Chinese, and even Sanskrit—if she remembered her ancient text class correctly. She pulled out a weathered book that was written in English and found it to be an original copy of one of Darwin’s studies.

She quickly replaced the volume, scared to cause any damage. The reading room had a plush cream sofa with a cozy blanket draped over it, as though the owner had left just the day before and not decades earlier.

Based on the rest of the palace, Lily wondered if the place had been abandoned for centuries before the Sheikh had decided to make it his home. He had clearly chosen his hideaway well; no one had touched the place in years, and it seemed no desire to do so would arise in the near future.

Moving on, Lily pushed aside a pair of curtains to reveal a private veranda. Opening the door, she stepped outside and took a deep breath of dry, desert air. As the afternoon had waned, the sun had escaped behind the palace, leaving the side her veranda was facing much cooler, especially with the shade provided by a curling overhang. A frayed cushion sat on a wicker seat, and Lily plopped onto it, gazing out at the shifting sands of the desert.

She had begun the morning in the tropical city, surrounded by humidity and lush trees. How had a few hours’ drive