The Sheik's Dangerous Lover Page 0,15
gain Sheik Rahal’s notice?” she asked.
Shanelle really had no idea what had happened that first night and sighed with resignation. “I was just walking down the hallway,” she explained.
Thankfully, they came to the dining room at that moment. It was lovely with elaborate place settings and a delicious smelling buffet set out with steaming dishes and gorgeous fruit. But the only thing that caught her attention was the man standing by the window.
Her breath caught in her throat and her body seemed to suddenly come alive as Malik approached them, his dark eyes never leaving hers, entrapping her with their intensity.
He greeted Shanelle’s mother first and it gave Shanelle a moment to brace herself. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared her for the shock of his touch, the heat that shot through her body and pooled deep in her belly.
“Did you sleep well?”
Her breath shuddered as she tried to regain control, but with him touching her, it wasn’t going to happen. She even tried to pull her hand out of his larger one, but he wasn’t allowing her that reprieve.
“Not very well,” she finally answered. “There were a great many disturbances throughout the night.” She looked up at him, daring him to reply.
He laughed softly and led her over to the buffet, handing her a plate. “I anticipate that your nights are going to be disturbed in the same manner again very soon,” he said with a knowing look.
Shanelle should have known not to challenge the man. He was more experienced at this game. She took the plate and looked downwards, putting fruit and toast in the center before moving to the table. She took a seat next to her mother who was already seated and talking with the others that had been invited.
There were five other women, all of them beautiful and every one of them preening in an attempt to gain Malik’s attention. Shanelle looked down at her food and focused only on eating. She allowed the conversation to flow around her, not bothering to participate in any way. She heard Malik make several pointed comments in her direction, but she refused to rise to the intentional jibes this time.
When she was finished, she stood up and curtsied in his direction. “If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I know you have important business here,” she said and left the room without waiting for any response from him, not even giving him time to reply. She was too embarrassed over everything they’d done the previous night to even look him in the eye.
The next week was a blur to Shanelle. She couldn’t seem to get away from Malik, although she gave it her best effort. When she snuck into the vast library, intending to lose herself in the books, Malik found her and they had a rousing argument about the classics, including who they thought should be in Dante’s Inferno. She was laughing at some of his ideas (which included anyone driving slowly in the fast lane of the highway). She thought it was amusing that the supreme commander of the country would want others to violate traffic limits.
When she tried to sneak into the kitchens, wanting to escape mentally by baking cookies, he turned up and sat across the wooden work table from her, sneaking tastes of whatever she was stirring up. No matter how many times she smacked his hand away, he still managed to grab one more taste.
Then there was the time she wanted to hide out in the gardens despite the afternoon heat. That was the most disastrous attempt because he pulled her into the shade and kissed her. She’d tried very hard to resist him. And for perhaps two seconds, her hands pressed against his chest and she refused to kiss him back. His response was to simply sneak his hands underneath her silk blouse and all thought of resisting him went away like the breeze.
Every day, they dined as a group. The other women vying for his attention and Shanelle sneaking out of the dining room before everyone else. Every day, she tried to find a different hiding place, some place she wouldn’t be discovered and Malik wouldn’t pull her into his arms and kiss her until she was crazy with need. But no matter where she ended up, he was also there. He was charming and interesting, driving her crazy when he challenged her ideas on various subjects. He even helped her study for her law exams, which she thought was the ultimate