The Sheik's Unexpected Bride by Elizabeth Lennox (ebook reader for manga txt) 📕

“Are you…playing me?” she asked hesitantly.  “Are you trying to charm me into…well, I don’t know.  But over dinner, was that…?”

She stopped, staring into her bowl. Tasim had no idea what she was trying to ask.

He watched in amazement as she straightened her spine, then looked directly at him.  “Two days ago, we hated each other.  We took verbal jabs at each other and avoided each other whenever possible. Then, tonight, you were kind and charming.  You didn’t pile my plate with broccoli and…well, you were nice.”

Tasim blinked at her for a long moment, replaying her words in his mind.  “You think I’m being nice to you because…?”  He stopped, unable to finish the sentence because he couldn’t fathom what she was thinking.

She nodded curtly.  “Well, are you?”

He looked down, trying to hide his smile.  Once again, she’d surprised him.  Tasim never would have guessed that this beautiful, delicate woman could be so forthright.  She’d edged around delicate conversations with everyone attending this wedding, ensuring that each person’s opinions were validated.  And yet, here she was, worried that he was being nice to her for a nefarious reason.

“Am I being nice to you out of evil intent?” he clarified.

“Yes,” she replied, with a curt nod.  “Are you?”

He laughed.  He couldn’t help it.  With her lips pressed together like that and her expressive chocolate eyes wide, waiting for his answer, he couldn’t help it.  She was…refreshingly honest!

“No, Luna,” he replied softly, with all the sincerity he felt.  “Yes, I’m furious about this situation.  Intellectually, I know that a marriage and an alliance between our countries is a good thing.  Irrationally, the trouble between our countries runs deep.”  He reached out and took her hand, noting that her fingers were very small, the bones in her hand felt delicate in his.  She also had soft hands.  No rough calluses or scars, like he had all over his hands and arms.  And body.

Tasim had to stop thinking along those lines.  Imagining her body, scar free and naked so that he could examine the lack of scarring, was making his body throb with need.

Mentally pulling back, he inhaled deeply, mentally returning to the conversation.

“But things changed.”

“How?”

He stared at her, wondering yet again if she was kidding.  But the sincerity and anxiety in her eyes startled him.  “You really don’t know why my attitude changed?”

She shrugged and he had to fight to keep his eyes from her gently swaying breasts.  Eyes on her face, he reminded himself.

“Luna, you pushed my sister behind you today when that snake threatened you.”  He waited, watching carefully.  But when she still stared blankly back at him, he chuckled.  “You protected my sister, Luna.  You could have been hurt, and yet, you put yourself in between the danger and my sister.”  His voice was soft, admiring the delicate beauty.  “For that, I will forever be in your debt.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, and Tasim recognized the moment she accepted his word.

Releasing her hand, he leaned back in his chair and picked up his spoon.  “Eat your ice cream and tell me why you sneak in here so often.”

She laughed, shaking off the tension and picking up her own spoon.  “How do you know that I do this often?”

“Because I watched you come through the door, heading right for the freezer.  Since the other foods in that freezer aren’t edible until cooked, or at least, defrosted, then I must assume that you’re a nighttime dessert fiend, just like me.  So ‘fess up.  What makes you crave ice cream?”

She laughed and took a spoonful, closing her eyes to savor the cold treat, then smiled.  “When I was a kid, I loved talking to my father.”  Her eyes looked dreamy as she thought back to that time so long ago.  “He was a good leader.  Always so concerned about doing the right thing for as many people as possible.”

She sighed at that point, and his eyes automatically dropped to her breasts.  Thankfully, she was also looking down at her ice cream, so she didn’t see his glance.

“But being a good leader meant that he was a very busy man.  He rarely had time for me during the day.  I found him in here one night. I wanted a drink of water, and my nanny had forgotten to leave a glass in my bathroom.  So, I’d wandered into the kitchen and found him sitting right where you are, eating ice cream.”  She smiled.  “We had a long talk that night.  It became our special time, just the two of us.  My brother and mother never knew about our midnight ice cream chats.”  She sighed again.  “So, anytime I’m worried about something, coming in here and having a bowl of ice cream helps me work through the problem.”

“That’s a really nice memory,” he murmured.  “Thank you for sharing it with me.”  Tasim didn’t mention the lump in his throat at the thought of a tiny little Luna climbing out of bed at midnight, just so that she could talk to her father.  He vowed then and there that he’d never do that to his children.

Suddenly, the thought of Luna pregnant popped into his mind.  And that thought was almost more intensely erotic than the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra!

Luna laughed, feeling self-conscious.  “Well, it was silly of me.  I probably could have gone to my father’s office at any point during the day and he would have stopped what he was doing to help me.”

“But the nights here in the kitchen were special.  And quiet,” Tasim countered.  “If your father’s days were anything like mine, I’m interrupted about a hundred times every hour.  There’s never a calm moment.”  He nodded pointedly at the stack of reading.  “Hence, the file filled with