“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

She glared at the sheikh. “Like that.” And she knew he was just playing dumb. He was gazing at her with that gleam in his eyes again, the look that told her he knew her every secret – and he wouldn’t hesitate using it to toy with her.

Damn sheikh…and damn her for letting Khalil have his way.

As she had shuddered in the aftermath of her first orgasm, Harper had only been able to watch with dazed eyes when the sheikh bent down to pick up her ripped panties and shove it inside his pocket. After, he had swung her up in his arms and stepped out of the dining room, and the moment she saw the stoic-looking guards stationed at the hallway she had squeaked in embarrassment, closed her eyes, and curled against his chest in a futile attempt to hide herself.

If she didn’t see anything, well, she could pretend that she had seen nothing – and that no one had seen her in return…right?

She had foolishly assumed that the sheikh would carry her back to her suite and that would be the end to their one-night stand (or was it a one-quickie-stand), but when she had heard the doors shut behind them and she had opened her eyes, it was only then Harper had realized the sheikh had taken her to his suite instead.

She had sputtered in shock. What? Why? But the sheikh had ignored this and instead went on carrying her all the way to his en-suite bathroom, which of course was a thousand times more tastefully opulent than she could ever imagine. This time, there wasn’t a hint of the usual white marble seen all over the palace, but instead it was mostly black granite and gold fixtures.

Kingly and masculine, she had thought, momentarily distracted.

But then he had let her slide to her feet and started disrobing her, and Harper had immediately crashed back to earth. “No! Wait! Stop!” She had tried to struggle, she really had, but when he had started kissing her and his fingers started stroking her pussy –

And that, Harper thought glumly, was how she ended up here, naked and sharing a Jacuzzi with His Majesty, while his gaze feasted on her like he owned her body and soul---

Unable to help it, she growled again, “I said, stop looking at me like that!”

The sheikh’s breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “I can’t.”

Ah! The sensual slide of air against her sensitive earlobe took her completely by surprise, causing Harper to shiver in acute awareness.

“I love looking my fill of you, saghira.”

Harper grimaced. Saghira meant little kitten. Was he saying that he only had to touch her and she would mewl---

At the same time, she felt his fingers trail her spine, and her body stretched and arched. His fingers went up, threading through her hair, and her head fell back, her lips parting as she mew---

Her eyes flew open!

No! Hell no! she was not going to be his saghira, dammit!

And so she yanked away from him, water splashing about their bodies as she crossed her arms over her breasts and whirled around to face him, growling, “Stop touching me like that, too.”

But Khalil only gave her a lazy, predatory smile. “Enjoying it too much?”

“Ye – I mean, no!” Shit. That smile was too sexy, and it was confusing the heck out of her.

He raised a brow. “Is it a yes or a no?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she snapped, “because I’m out of here.” She tried to rise out of the water after that, hoping for a quick escape, but of course Khalil proved too fast, and she had only risen an inch before he had hauled her back to the water, causing Harper to tumble down, her breasts flat against his chest.

Oh!

“How stubborn you are, qalifa,” the sheikh sighed. “Did I not warn you earlier about leaving without my permission?”

“Permission?” she choked out. “I don’t need your damn permission---”

At the same time, Khalil murmured, “I must claim another part of your body as punishment.”

Punishment? She gaped at him. Was he mad? People didn’t punish other people just because they had left without saying goodbye. Didn’t he freaking know that? She opened her mouth to argue –

But it was too late.

The sheikh had already bent his head, cupped her breasts, and took one nipple in.

Oh. My. God.

She tried her best to resist the sweet pleasure of his suckling mouth, but it was impossible. It felt too, too good. Oh, so, so good. And before she knew it, her fingers were the ones threading through his silky hair this time, gripping his head hard as she pushed her nipple deeper into his mouth.

A moan of protest escaped her when he lifted his head, but it turned into a whimper of desire when he moved to suckle her other breast.

Oh, this felt heaven – and maybe it would be heaven, if only a devil like him wasn’t the one laying a claim to her body.

By the time the sheikh carried Harper to his bed, she couldn’t keep her eyes open, couldn’t even think of protesting against the liberties he was taking. Three orgasms in a row, she thought dizzily. Was that normal for a man? For a woman?

When he joined her in bed and hauled her close, she told herself that she could justify letting it happen because she was bone-deep exhausted. She could get mad at the sheikh later, when she wasn’t so sleepy.

As the sheikh pulled the covers over them, a thought nagged at her about the setup. There was something she was missing. Something important –

But the thought eluded her.

Tomorrow, she could – would – think about it.

But not now.

Now, she just wanted to burrow in the sheikh’s arms and forget about the world.

* * *

Harper dreamed about the first time she and her father had flown back to America after his hero’s welcome in Ramil. She had never been the popular type, but when she had shown up in school the following Monday, Harper had been shocked at the way everyone was suddenly too nice to her. The boys kept telling her she was cute, and even the popular girls were saying she should hang out with them one time.

And fool her, she had believed it was like her Cinderella story had unfolded in real life. She had thought that the kids at school had probably seen the press photos from Ramil, and since she had worn her nice dress and some makeup that time, they had finally realized she wasn’t that ordinary after all.

She really had believed this until the cliché happened.

Harper was in one of the cubicles when she overheard Talia and her squad entering the restroom in a flurry of giggles. She had been about to step out and say hi when she heard Talia gasp, ‘Oh my God, I still can’t get over the look on her face when we told her we should go hang sometime. Like, for real? She really thinks we want to hang out for her?’

More giggles had followed.

‘Be ready to keep faking it for the rest of the year. Just keep thinking about all those hot sheikhs we can date if she takes us with her.’

Harper had considered confronting the girls afterwards, but in the end she had let it go. In the end, she had simply allowed herself to change into a grouch, a shrew – someone who said hurtful things first…so that they’d know she was tough, and they couldn’t hurt her.

Even though it always did hurt.

* * *

Khalil spent the entire morning the next day locked up in his office and doing his best to get as much work done. One taste of Harper’s sweet body was more than enough to cement his plans for her. She would be his queen, and he would let nothing stand in his way.

Or so he had thought.

It was a few minutes past noon when the sheikh received a call from Altair, and he answered it right away. “This is unusual.”

“It is,” the other sheikh drawled.

Khalil frowned, thinking that it was unlike Altair to be anything other than direct and concise when calling him during official hours. Finally, he asked, “I hope it isn’t bad news?”

“That depends. What do you think of Ms. Harper Griffiths requesting for permission to leave the palace and fly back to America?”

Khalil stiffened. “Deny the request.” The sheikh’s tone was steely.

Altair smiled. So Tarif had been telling the truth. Their Emir Sheikh was feeling something rather special for the American, regardless of whether he knew it or not. “I’m afraid it’s too late, brother. The security chief had already approved the request when I was informed---”

He heard a click on the other end of the line.

Khalil had hung up on him.

Altair put the phone down and, swinging his chair around to face his waiting aide, he murmured, “Keep stalling her.”

“We could perhaps escort her back to Emir Sheikh’s office---” The younger man’s voice trailed off when the sheikh shook his head.

“No need to make it easy for Khalil. It’s good for him to have a challenge once in a while.” And for both their sakes, Altair hoped that Harper would challenge the sheikh every step of the way. Few people could bear to accept this, but things that came too easy were never meant to last.