Please.
I wished I could beg him just like that, but the words were stuck in my throat, and my whole body tightened with longing when I heard the sheikh swallow audibly.
A moment later, the door slammed shut behind him, and my knees instantly gave out.
I sank to the floor, a trembling and aching mess, every part of me yearning for his forbidden touch.
Would the day ever come when the sheikh could forget he once belonged to my sister?
Chapter Two
IWAS HOME BY FIVE, excited to spend precious time alone with the sheikh.
Although we both lived in the palace, such times were a lot more rare than most people believed. Mik’hail was a very busy man, the kind of king who went above and beyond duty to answer his people’s needs. I loved that about him, and it was why I never complained about the long hours he spent working.
The sheikh came back to the palace at eight, and I was at the foyer to greet him with a curtsy. “Welcome back, Your Majesty.”
Mik’hail shot his long-time retainer a wry look. “Do you get the feeling this is Aurora’s way of saying I’m dreadfully late?”
“As Lady Aurora would not be so crass to do so—” Gordan’s conspiratorial wink had me quickly stifling a laugh. “Then it must be your conscience speaking to you, Your Majesty.”
“I should’ve known you’d take her side,” the sheikh said dryly.
The retainer, too wise to reply to this, simply bowed. “I bid you good night, Your Majesty.” He turned to my direction and bowed as well. “Good night, milady.”
“Good night, Gordan.” I added a silent thank you as well, and the older man’s gaze twinkled back at me. This might be wishful thinking on my part, but I always did feel Gordan wouldn’t mind so much if I ended up becoming the sheikh’s bride.
If only, I thought wistfully, I could say the same thing of the sheikh as well.
“Sorry for making you wait, brat.” The sheikh strode up to me as he spoke and ruffled my hair. “Let me take a shower, and then we can have dinner—”
“And movie afterwards,” I reminded him. “You promised.”
He laughed. “A movie, too,” he said obediently, “as promised.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he needed help with his bath, but I managed to keep the words down.
