Bartered to the Sheikh: Honour, duty, marriage ... and passionate desert nights by Clare Connelly

Author:Clare Connelly
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2015-09-25T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Khalid didn’t need to carry her, but he did. He held her against his chest as they moved through the sleeping palace. At the door to her room, he eased her to the floor, and stared at her as though he had never seen her before.

“Tomorrow,” he said from the depths of his soul.

She nodded. Her heart was pounding. Blood was rushing through her body. She linked her fingers with his, not wanting to let him go.

“It’s only a day away, but I don’t want you to leave.” She laughed to cover her embarrassment at the confession. It had just slipped out.

He understood how she felt, but they were beginning to move into dangerous territory. The evening had gone way past what he’d intended. A simple swim had turned into something else altogether. He needed to get his head back together, because one thing was certain: this woman was kryptonite to his usual super-hero self-control.

“But you, Emira, will need your beauty sleep. Tomorrow is your wedding, have you not heard?”

He was aiming for lightness, but he realised it had come close to rejection. He softened his words with a tight smile. Why was he analysing how she felt? Why was he spending so much of his energy trying to understand her? He had never cared what Hannah felt. Nor had he cared what Tashana had wanted.

And yet with Sally, he felt bound to her emotional state. Obliged to ensure her safety and happiness in a way that was way out of his realm of experience.

She stared up at him, her heart floating out of her body, as it had a habit of doing when he was around. Out of nowhere, she thought of Tashana. She hadn’t come to see her, though she’d missed her terribly. She hadn’t called her often enough, though she’d craved the sound of her voice.

She had been decorous and sensible. She had been boring and predictable. And she had lost her dear cousin not knowing anything about what was really going on in her life.

“Khalid,” she said, running her hands over his shirt. It was still a little damp from their swim. She smiled at the memories. Courage came to her despite her doubts as to the wisdom of what she was doing. “What would you say if I told you that I think I’m falling in love with you?”

His expression shuttered closed instantaneously, as though her words had flicked a switch. The soft smile that had been on his lips was instantly replaced by an implacable mask of … nothingness. He was empty of emotion; wiped clean of feeling altogether.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was so formal it was unfamiliar to her. “I would say you’re mistaking lust for love,” he intoned flatly.

Lust for love. His words zipped around her head, as if her skull was an echo chamber and he’d just shouted that statement into the nothingness.

Lust for Love.

A convenient replacement bride.

I have a healthy sexual appetite. I would prefer to marry someone who can match my needs.

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