The Sheik and the Virgin Princess by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-05-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

When Prince Sadik appeared at her side for his dance, Zara nearly wept in relief. She’d just spent a horrible ninety minutes dancing with men she didn’t know—mostly Jean-Paul and Byron. Not only were they treating her like a prize desired by a rival, but rather than talking to her while they danced, they spent their time glaring at each other. Maybe they should simply tango together and leave her out of it.

“How are you enjoying yourself?” Prince Sadik asked as he led her around the dance floor.

“It’s been lovely,” she lied through slightly clenched teeth.

The prince smiled. “Your sister has said you have some reservations about being a part of the family.”

Zara sighed. “Don’t worry. After I strangle her, she won’t be talking at all.”

“The information was hardly a revelation,” her half brother told her. “This would be a change from almost any life. Of course you are not sure. Our ways are different, our country is strange to you.”

Zara stared up into his dark eyes. “Does everyone hate me? I mean I simply showed up out of nowhere, and Hassan is convinced that I’m, well—” she shrugged “—you know.”

“The child of his beloved Fiona. Yes, I know.” Sadik shook his head. “Do not worry yourself on that account. No one resents your arrival.”

He was being polite, she thought. Or maybe he didn’t know about Sabrina’s unhappy relationship with her father. Men weren’t always very observant about that sort of thing.

The dance ended and Sadik excused himself to go find Cleo. Zara watched him hurry away. At least one of them was having fun. She turned and spied Jean-Paul heading in her direction. That meant Byron couldn’t be too far away. She ducked around several couples and headed for the stairs on the opposite side of the room. From there she might be able to spot Rafe. For all his claims to want to keep his eye on her, he’d been surprisingly absent since dinner.

She’d just reached the stairs when she felt a hand on her arm. Fearing the worst, she glanced over her shoulder, then sagged in relief when she saw Rafe.

“You abandoned me,” she accused.

“I was letting you have a good time.”

She exhaled loudly. “A lot you know about women if you think what I’ve been doing is fun.”

“Don’t you like dancing?”

“Not with two men acting more like terriers than humans. Plus, aren’t they a little old to be sulking?”

Rafe grinned. She liked the lines that formed beside the corners of his eyes and the way his tanned skin contrasted with his short blond hair.

“I saw you dancing with Sadik. That should have been all right.”

“It was. He mostly tried to reassure me about my acceptance in the family. I’m not sure I believe him.”

“You should.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t look now, but there are terriers approaching right behind you.”

Zara winced. “Rafe, at the risk of sounding too forward, are you allowed to dance with me?”

“Sure.”

“Then maybe you should ask.”

He did that one better. He swept her up in his arms and moved her into the swirling crowd.

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.