“I’m bad at handling pain,” Aurora admitted with a grimace. “This tiny prick alone makes me want to cry.”
The innocent words conjured images that were anything but, and Mik’hail had to look away before she could read his face.
He managed a brief smile and nod as Aurora waved to him before leaving, but as soon as she was gone, the sheikh didn’t waste time sending another text to Aretha.
Mik’hail: If you still want the right to wear the crown of Layla, I want you back in the kingdom tomorrow. We will set a date then.
But tomorrow came and went, and Aretha didn’t return. The car that bore the future queen and her parents had met an accident, falling over treacherous cliffs before crashing into the sea.
Aretha’s body was never found.
Chapter One
“BRIAR.”The glitter in the sheikh’s eyes was unmistakable, and my throat dried at the sight of it.
He wanted me.
The knowledge had me trembling, and I could only stare at him, trembling but unmoving, as Mik’hail slowly reached for me. He ran his knuckles ever so carefully down my cheek, and I had to suck my breath in an effort not to cry out. It wasn’t even the way a man would caress his lover, with his touch more tender than erotic. But because I was so starved for his touch, even the most fleeting contact from the sheikh was enough to have me burn.
He had always been kind and affectionate to me, his gaze ever gentle every time he looked at me. But now, it was different.
The way he was staring at me made me feel bare despite the scrap of silk that covered my body, and when his hand began moving down, I felt even more exposed and vulnerable.
His fingers drifted down my neck, leaving in its wake a blazing trail of heat that had me biting my lip hard.
He was so good at this.
I felt his fingers change direction, and I couldn’t help but glance down, helplessly mesmerized at the way his lean, brown fingers traced the bare slope of my shoulder. His touch came to a brief halt when it encountered the flimsiest of obstacles: a string-thin strap of my nightgown.
My gaze flew to him.
Would he or wouldn’t—
Oh.
He would.
