The Sheik's Dangerous Lover Page 0,4

but she rallied quickly. The feel of her in his arms was even better than he’d imagined. She was soft in all the right places with a sparkle in her eyes and a spunky personality. Even her frustration at being in his arms was alluring since it was so unusual for a woman to resist him. And she could dance! The delightful woman was light on her feet, never tripping and accepting his lead.

He couldn’t say that he’d become bored with the women in his life. He’d been more than pleasured by his various mistresses over the years. But as he pulled this beauty along in his arms, he realized that he wanted so much more in a woman that someone who simply complied with his commands. He wanted someone with a mind of her own, someone who would challenge him.

Looking down into her dark and furious, yet scared eyes, Malik instinctively knew that this woman would challenge him in ways he couldn’t even anticipate. And her allure ratcheted up several notches. He almost laughed when his body responded. He knew the instant that she felt it as well and her wary eyes looked up at him. But he could also see that she was just as affected. The pulse at the base of her neck was going at a rapid pace. Her pupils were dilated and her entire body trembled in his arms.

He didn’t want her nervous. He wanted her willing and eager. She was a complete novelty and he eagerly anticipated discovering all of her secrets.

Shanelle wanted to pull out of his arms and run down the hallway, to hide in some dark place where he could never find her. She hated feeling this way, preferred tackling life head on, but there was something about this man that just struck her as innately terrifying.

She didn’t want to feel this way. She didn’t want to be affected by his touch, or shivering in anticipation. She didn’t want her mind to even consider what it would be like to be kissed by those firm lips or wonder what his callused fingers would feel like on her skin. But the more he held her, the more she knew that her body was betraying her mind’s requests. She couldn’t seem to put enough space between their bodies to avoid feeling the hardness that was actually increasing as they danced.

“You’re scaring me,” she whispered, looking directly at the middle of his chest.

“Look at me when you talk to me,” he ordered softly but with absolute command.

Shanelle hated being told what to do but in this case, she tilted her head back and glared at him. “Don’t order me!” she snapped right back at him. “I don’t take well to commands!”

Malik looked down into his spitfire’s eyes and wanted to laugh with delight. “I think there may be a few commands you won’t mind following. Once I get you into the right frame of mind.”

She immediately shook her head. “I haven’t ever done well with someone telling me what to do. Don’t bother. It generally backfires on my father.”

One dark eyebrow went up in inquiry. “I imagine that the things I would order you to do would be significantly different than the commands from your father.” He chuckled when his words caused her blush to deepen and her trembling increased. “But I also suspect that you won’t mind my commands. Eventually.”

She took a deep breath and tried to regain some measure of control. “Why are you dancing with me? Why don’t you dance with someone who is interested?”

He smiled at her blatant challenge. “Are you trying to convince me that you don’t feel the attraction between us? Or are you trying to convince yourself?”

She was so shocked by his comment that she wasn’t sure how to respond. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?” she groaned.

“When it is something I want? No.”

“You don’t really want me,” she countered with increasing panic and looked around. “There are so many women here, why don’t you shine your illustrious presence on someone who would appreciate it?” She spotted a woman on the sidelines glaring at them. “For instance, Isla Domani over there in the pink dress. She is beautiful and poised. She’s also very smart, working with an accounting firm right now.” She looked down slightly, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Or at least I think she’s still working.” Shanelle bit her lip, trying to remember other things that had come up about Isla recently.

“And what