The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress Page 0,14

her answer, he grinned at her wolfishly. “Will you always be so amenable to my preferences?” he teased.

Electra stared at him, not sure what happened but he was suddenly the same man he"d been when she"d walked through the door. What happened to the man who had almost stomped away from her only moments ago? Shaking her head slightly, she eased into one of the tall chairs and leaned onto the bar. “Depends on what you"re suggesting,” she replied. They were getting into dangerous territorybut she didn"t want to back down, her heart rate speeding up and her breath coming in quick, short gasps. She was afraid she might be promising him something unknowinglybut felt sure he"d never pressure her into anything she felt uncomfortable with.

“Ah, a woman with conditions,” he said, shaking his head as he poured several liquids into a shaker, then tossed ice cubes in. “All my hopes are dashed.”

Electra laughed. “You seem like the kind of man who needs to be disappointed every once in a while,” she countered. “I suspect you get your way too often.”

One eyebrow raised teasingly he said, “Are you going to be the one to take me down a peg?” he suggested.

Her mouth dried up with his suggestion but she couldn"t even go on teasing any longer. “No. I"m afraid I"m not going to be that woman,” she said.

His eyes caught hers and held her with their intensity. “Good,” he finally said. He then broke the connection and handed her a martini. Raising his glass to hers, he said, “To a lack of disappointment,” he said and touched her glass gently.

After taking a sip of the dry martini, he said, “So what did you do today besides try and fix your missed appointment?” Instead of standing behind the bar as she"d expected, he came around to the front of the bar and sat down beside her.

Electra hid her disappointment when he didn"t immediately take her into his arms and carry her off to his bed. Good grief, she"d be happy if he"d take her right here on the soft grass beneath the chair, she thought, shivering in anticipation at the thought.

Trying to think of what she"d done, she shook her head when she came up blank. “I shopped for this dress,” she said and held out her arms to show him the dress.

His eyes flared instantly as he looked down at her voluptuous breasts contained in the glittering green material. “Very nice,” he said. “And what else?” he asked.

Electra shook her head and laughed. “I"m not sure you understand how difficult it is to find a dress for an evening with a man like you. Shopping took up all my afternoon, except for the portion in which I was getting into the dress,” she explained, her eyes twinkling at his curious expression.

He smiled back at her. “That is an occupation I hope to encourage,” he said and took a sip of his own martini. “Were you able to fix your meeting?” he asked.

“No. The odious man wouldn"t even return my phone calls. One of his aides was screening all his callsalthough I"m pretty sure I have the man"s personal cell phone.” “Perhaps I could help with your mission if you"d care to explain it to me. I have many connections. Maybe I could reach this person for you.”

Electra shook her head sadly. “Thank you ve ry much for the offer but this is something I have to do on my own,” she said, not willing to go into the reasons for that. “What did you do this afternoon?”

“Met with boring, pompous men who tried to sell me things,” he replied.

“What kinds of things?” she asked.

“Buildings,” he answered.

Electra almost chocked on her martini. She had to cough and take a deep breath before she could reply. “Did you say building?” she asked.

He pulled his hand away that had been patting her back and smiled down into her stunned face. He wasn"t bragging but this was a normal part of his life and hadn"t thought anything of it before he"d opened up about his afternoon meetings. He hesitated for only a second with the realization that he"d never discussed his life with any other woman before. In his mind, women were a pleasant diversion but nothing more and certainly not part of his business world. Why had he said something like that to this one? And why was he going to continue to give her insight into his world? “Plural actually. A conglomerate