The Sheik's Dangerous Lover Page 0,8
I want in my bed.”
She gasped. Never had a man been so blatant. “That’s not true! I just represent a challenge!” She bit her lip and thought frantically as he pulled her deeper into the darkness. “If I throw myself at you will you be turned off?” she asked, knowing immediately how ridiculous that statement sounded.
He laughed again and looked down at her. “Why don’t you try it and I’ll let you know?”
She scowled into the darkness. “Oh, shut up. I knew how stupid that came out even before the statement ended.” She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, ignoring his laughter.
He’d led her out into a lovely courtyard filled with fragrant flowers and lush greenery. She didn’t want to be in this romantic spot and longed for the business of the palace once again. “So what do you want to talk about? Let’s get this conversation over with so you can talk to some other women. We’re becoming a spectacle,” she stated firmly. She could see people watching the two of them even out here in the garden. But why wouldn’t they? Rumors were flying that this man was looking for a wife and just about every single woman in the kingdom, in the world really, and probably some of the married ones, would sell their souls to the devil to be the woman he chose.
He led her over to a terrace that offered them much more privacy. “Tell me more about yourself.”
She became stubborn as she saw several other women glaring at her from a distance. She recognized several of them from the ball last night and started to feel a sense of relief. It was only a small sense, but any sort of reprieve helped her mentally to get through this. The presence of the other women must mean that he wasn’t focused exclusively on her. Maybe those other women were in contention for his hand as well. “No. I don’t want to know anything about you and I don’t want you to know anything about me.”
He stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the other women. “Ah, so you want to remain the mysterious stranger that continues to haunt my dreams, eh?”
“Absolutely not!” she snapped and put a hand to the middle of his chest. Her intent was to push him away but her hand snapped back away from that touch and her worried eyes shot up to his.
She couldn’t see his reaction in the dark, but she felt it. She might not be touching him any longer, but she still could feel the increased heat. His hands, which had been in his pockets for the last few moments, came out and slowly, as if in slow motion, took her hand and placed it back on his chest.
Shanelle’s eyes weren’t looking at his any longer, but they were still wide with shock. And no matter how many times she tried to pull her hand away, it slid down his chest, exploring those muscles underneath. When they flinched under her fingertips and palm, she looked back up at him. “Yes, you do this to me,” he explained with a gravelly voice. “No woman has ever made me feel like this before,” he said. “So now you understand why I am focused on you as opposed to the other women in the room and why I’m not going to allow you ignore this thing between us. It is rare for two people to be this attracted to each other and we’re going to explore it together.”
She heard his words and wondered about them. “It can’t last,” she whispered, still shifting her hand along his muscular chest, unable to pull herself away from him.
He sucked in his breath when her fingers accidentally moved over his flat, male nipple. “Shut up, Shanelle,” he groaned and moved closer. When his mouth covered hers, the flame of desire that she’d been ignoring flared up to life. It wasn’t a contained fire that could be examined and enjoyed. No, this was one of those wild fires that consumed everything, flaming into life in every part of her body. It destroyed her resistance, burned out her brain cells and heated up her entire body until she felt like she was going to explode into a cloud of ash.
She had no understanding of anything outside of his lips, his hands touching her waist and her back, pulling her closer. And then his leg slipped between hers, pressing against her core while his