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

Her world was very self-centered at the moment.  Luna just wanted…a kiss.  Just one more kiss.  She lifted her face and Tasim angled his head, deepening the kiss further.  Over and over, he kissed her, until her head spun with desire.

Finally, Tasim pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers as they stared into each other’s eyes, their breathing hard and labored as their bodies continued to press ever so slightly together.

“We can’t do this, Luna,” he groaned.  For a moment, his hands tightened, moving up and down her waist, coming dangerously close to her breasts.  Luna held her breath, willing his hands to move higher, to go past that invisible barrier.

For a long moment, she thought he’d do it.  Luna couldn’t ask him, didn’t dare voice the hope of having his hands on her breasts, but she willed him to do it.  To ignore the potential consequences and…touch her!

Unfortunately, Tasim was more in control of the situation than she was and he blew out a breath.  With a groan, he briefly pressed his forehead to hers, then pulled back.  “Go.  Now!  Before we do something even more stupid than a kiss!”

That word felt like a dash of ice water over her heated skin.  Stupid?  He thought their kiss was stupid?  Oh, that hurt!  She’d just experienced the most amazing kiss of her life, and he was warning her that they might do something stupid?  Like what?  Kiss again?  She’d love that!

But obviously, he didn’t think that the kiss had been amazing.  And that hurt even more!

Pulling away, she turned on her heel and, with as much dignity as she could muster, walked out of the kitchen, refusing to look back as she went. She waited until she’d pushed through the swinging doors, then burst into a run, her bare feet padding along the hard, marble floor.  She didn’t look back, didn’t want to see him.  Damn him!  That interlude hadn’t been “stupid”!  It had been beautiful!  Kissing Tasim had been…wonderful!

She slammed into her apartment, then pressed her back against the door and closed her eyes, trying to stave off the hurt from his words and his curt dismissal.  Damn him!  Damn her stupid, foolish heart as well, because even now, she wanted to run back and demand that he kiss her again!

Talk about stupid!

Chapter 6

The horses stomped and snorted, eager for a hard ride.

Luna tucked her riding crop under her arm and pulled on her soft, leather gloves.

“Good morning, Princess,” a deep voice said close to her ear.  Much too close!

Luna swung around to find Tasim behind her, looking decadently magnificent in his own riding gear.  Because of the heat today, everyone was wearing short sleeved shirts instead of the more traditional English riding uniform, which included a fitted jacket.  There were only about twenty people that had signed up to ride this morning.  Since Luna was the hostess for this morning’s festivities, she had to ride as well, but she’d desperately hoped that Tasim would stay behind.  All morning, she’d been able to avoid him.  After an almost sleepless night, she’d gone to breakfast early, greeting the newest wedding guests, and chatting with a few of the others, just to make an appearance.  She’d even hidden in her office and pretended to be busy with paperwork.  After last night’s “stupid” interlude, she would have preferred to avoid him for the rest of the week!

That was impossible, of course.  He was Elon’s best man and she was Ella’s maid of honor.  And the wedding was still several days away.  Which meant that there were several events in which she and Tasim would have to interact.

Sometimes, being responsible sucked!

“Good morning, Your Highness,” she said politely, standing stiffly in front of him.  “I take it that you are joining us this morning?”

“Of course.  I heard that your brother’s stables have fantastic horses.”  He inched closer, but not close enough that their interaction would draw notice.  “You didn’t sleep well?”

Luna cursed herself for the tell-tale dark circles under her eyes.  She shrugged slightly, dismissing his concern.  “I had a lot to deal with this morning, what with the wedding and more guests arriving this morning.”  She faked a smile, unconcerned that it didn’t reach her eyes.  “But nothing that a hard ride across the desert won’t fix,” she continued with fake gaiety, then turned and headed towards the stable master who was leading the ride.  There were actually several stable hands that would accompany the riding party.  Some would ride ahead and lead the way towards the site where she’d arranged a picnic lunch at a pretty spot down by the river.  There would also be someone who lagged in the back and the slower stable hands would guide the riders who wanted to go at a slower pace.

Luna decided that she wasn’t going to hang back, as she’d originally planned.  She absolutely loved to ride.  Plus, a faster pace would keep her from having to ride with a man who thought that kissing her was “stupid”.  She could race ahead, telling the others that she wanted to check on the lunch preparations.  It was a total lie.  The event planner, Stephanie, was brilliant and wouldn’t leave anything to chance. She would have been out to the site since early this morning ensuring that everything from bug spray to chilled champagne was ready for the guests.

Without a backwards glance to see how Tasim was taking her casual attitude, Luna stroked her horse’s nose.  She reached for the reins and was just about to pull herself up when strong hands circled her waist.  She practically flew into the saddle.  She gasped, then grabbed onto the saddle horn to seat herself properly before glancing down at Tasim, who was adjusting her stirrups for her.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” she said tartly, rubbing her horse’s neck to let him know that she wasn’t angry with