The Sheikh's Stolen Bride: The only way to make her happy was to make her his... (The Sheikhs' Brides Book 2) by Clare Connelly

Author:Clare Connelly [Connelly, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clare Connelly
Published: 2017-03-23T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Charlotte slammed the ball hard.

It sailed over the net and punched the grass at the other end of the court, landing with enough force to displace a wave of sand.

She grunted and reached for another ball, relishing the sensation of heat and fire that spread over her skin. The sun was at its zenith and she didn’t care.

She tossed the ball over her head, bringing her racket onto it with precision and power. The ball followed the trajectory laid out by its mate, flying the distance and thudding to the ground.

Her fingers curved around the felted sphere of yet another ball. She squeezed it and bounced it a few times, before wiping her eyes and forehead with the cream sweat band she wore on her wrists.

Her eyes blinked afterwards, refocussing on her goal. And then careened off the court, into the shadows that lined it. It was surrounded by thick, ancient palm trees. The fronds gave shade to the periphery, and there were white bench seats spread haphazardly around the court, allowing spectators to watch.

And something dark had moved in the field of her vision.

She bounced the ball again, out of habit, her eyes continuing to scan the circumference until she saw the source of movement. Her mother, and Ashad.

Her heart began to pound, and not because she’d spent the better part of the last hour slamming balls from one end of the court to the other.

No, her heart was slamming against her ribs because of him.

She hadn’t seen him since the day before.

The boat.

The kiss.

The almost-sex.

Her cheeks flushed and she wished she had thought to wear her sunglasses.

With a small flash of annoyance, she saw her mother beckoning her off the court. Charlotte replaced the ball in the basket and walked deliberately slowly towards them. As she got closer, she banged her palm against the strings of the racket.

She hadn’t been sure she wanted to see Ashad again at all, let alone in the presence of her mother.

“Hello,” she said with cool dignity, before smiling at Eloise.

“Darling,” Eloise grimaced, her eyes skimming her daughter from head to toe. Charlotte was wearing designer sports gear, skin tight pants that were a black and grey snakeskin pattern with a black shirt. She had no make up on and her hair was pulling into a plait that fell over one shoulder. “I hadn’t realised you’d be …”

“Playing?” Charlotte couldn’t resist teasing. “Despite the fact you knew I was on the tennis courts?”

Eloise compressed her lips with muted disapproval.

Ashad’s eyes sparked between the two women. “Exercise is an excellent way of releasing pressure,” he murmured, and Charlotte shot him a warning look.

“Yes, and I’d like to get back to it. Was there something in particular you needed, mother?” She asked, blanking Ashad with enormous difficulty.

Charlotte glared at her daughter and then shook her head.

“Forgive the princess,” Eloise offered an apology to Ashad. “She is so impatient for the wedding she forgets her manners sometimes.”

Charlotte resisted the urge to point out that her mother’s assertion made no sense whatsoever.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.