Bella and the Merciless Sheikh

‘Gone, thanks. Did you get any sleep on the floor? Must have been pretty uncomfortable.’

‘I slept,’ he lied, unwilling to admit even to himself that this woman would cause him a moment of unbroken sleep. ‘Are you ready for break fast?’

‘Definitely. I’m starving. Then I think I might go for a swim—naked, of course—and then a long ride in the desert—’

‘You are being intentionally provoking—’

‘No, I’m being me. And you don’t like me, so why don’t you just take me to the city? Then you can have a few days’ peace and quiet. I’m nothing but trouble.’

‘The ability to handle trouble is the true test of a man’s character,’ Zafiq purred, and watched with satisfaction as a flicker of surprise touched her beautiful face. ‘And I love being tested.’

He had no intention of revealing that he’d never been tested like this before.

Never before had he felt such a powerful urge to forget who he was and just lose himself with a beautiful woman.

Irritated by his own thoughts, Zafiq scanned her slender frame. ‘You don’t look like a woman who eats break fast.’

‘I burn off a lot of calories.’ She sounded defensive, as if he wasn’t the first person to say that to her. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me, OK? I don’t have an eating disorder and I’m not on any stupid diet—’

‘Is that what people say about you?’

‘No.’ Her denial was a little too fast. ‘Anyway, I don’t care what people say. I’m slender because I’m a very physical person.’

Zafiq closed his eyes briefly, trying to dispel the image her words created. everything about her was bold, physical and athletic, from the long limbs clearly displayed under the remodelled robe to the strength in her slender arms. She was vibrant, energetic and alive.

‘I’m hot after my ride. I’m going to bathe.’ His jaw clenched, Zafiq strode towards the tent and then paused and delivered a warning glare. ‘And I don’t want an audience.’

‘OK, Your Highness.’ The dimple was back. ‘I promise not to peep.’

Growling deep in his throat, Zafiq took refuge in the tent.

She was slowly driving him mad.

Reviewing the success of her plan with delight, Bella sat in the shade of a large date palm, fanning herself with a giant leaf. At this rate she’d be back in the city by lunch time.

Lying there in the oppressive heat, she realised that the knot of tension in her stomach had eased and that she actually felt rested for the first time in two weeks. Last night she’d slept. No bad dreams.

Brushing an insect off her arm, Bella wondered why. She was still in the desert. She still had all the problems that had been with her when she’d arrived two weeks earlier. What had changed?

Hearing a splash, she stopped fanning herself and watched as the Sheikh powered through the water with rhythmic strokes, the muscles across his shoulders rippling as he swam.

He was fit, she thought dreamily, in more ways than one.

And he was going to go mad when he saw her sitting here.

Whether he’d be angry enough to banish her somewhere civilised remained to be seen.

How long would it take her to get her own way? Hopefully after a morning in her company, he’d be calling the cavalry and expelling her to civilisation.

In the meantime, she was going to enjoy herself. How often did she get the chance to admire a physique like his?

He was, without doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever encountered.

Bella rested her chin on her hands, her eyes following every movement of his bronzed, hard body as he put himself through a punishing physical workout. He was the polar opposite of the pale, artistic society types she mixed with. Not just in looks, but in personality and behaviour.