The Sheikh's Christmas Present (Shadid Sheikhs 2)

Damn, he was sexy when he smiled like that. It was almost unfair that someone with that body could have that face. It was getting harder and ha

rder to resist him.

Of course, after the way she’d reacted to his kiss, there would probably be nothing to resist. He wouldn’t try again.

Her mood darkened, and she shouldered her bag and trudged behind him.

7

Unlike the last hotel, there were no barriers in this one. It was one large room with an impressive view over the city, a canopied king-sized bed, a large sectional couch, and a large bar in the corner.

Part of Maria wanted to ask why he didn’t get them a second room, but she also didn’t want to know what the price of a single room was.

She didn’t mind sleeping on the couch again. It would probably be more comfortable than the bed at any hotel she could afford. What she did mind was sleeping in the same room as Jarik.

Even though they wouldn’t be near each other, it would still be intimate. She’d be able to see him and hear him breathing and moving around in the bed.

He’d be able to see her.

Jarik already looked right at home as he stripped off his shirt. She took one look at the sinewy muscles of his back and immediately whirled around. “Dinner,” she blurted out. They needed to eat, right? Dinner. In a public place.

“Is that your way of telling me that you’re hungry?” he asked in an amused voice.

Maria cleared her throat. “Well, it’s not like we have a lot of things to do. Dinner would be good.”

“I can think of a few things that we can do.” His dark voice wrapped around her and made her shiver. “You can turn around now.”

Slowly turning her head, she couldn’t decide if she was relieved or disappointed that he’d changed his shirt so quickly. “I don’t suppose you have some ideas of where we could eat? We could probably ask the concierge, but I don’t think I have the type of clothes that would be required for the restaurants they’d recommend.”

He raised an eyebrow, and she flushed. Cocking his jaw, he studied her. “I can’t decide whether I want to ask about your hatred of the rich.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’d really like to know, but I feel like you don’t have very pleasant things to say.”

Shrugging, she trailed her hands on the smooth red couch. “I just don’t like how people like you throw your money around. You assume that you can make any situation go away if you throw enough money at it, whereas there are people struggling to survive on so little! Maybe you people should try throwing your money at them for once!”

The more she talked, the angrier she got. By the time she’d finished her tirade, she was practically spitting at him.

Jarik narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “I’ll have you know that my country can boast a less than one percent homeless population rate, and we’re working on eradicating even that. I head a foundation that sends fifty impoverished students to college a year.”

Maria stiffened and turned her head. “And yet you throw two-hundred-thousand dollars at a stranger just for a plane ride. That money could go to something good.”

“While yes, I did offer money for a ride, if you recall, I specifically offered to make a donation and you added the stipulation of helping to offload the crates. Neither of which is throwing money around, as you so vehemently described,” Jarik said softly. “And since you have no idea where I’m going, or why I’m going there, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your judgmental opinions to yourself.”

His words hit her hard, and she winced. He wasn’t wrong. “Jarik,” she said softly. “I don’t really know…”

“Save it,” he said gruffly. “I know plenty of rich bastards who are scum.”

He stared at her while she fidgeted. She knew that she owed him an apology, but she couldn’t get the words out. Instead, she gave him something even more. “My mother wasn’t exactly faithful. She did her best to keep it from my father, but I walked in on her one day. I was young enough to be horrified and old enough to know exactly what was going on. He tried to pay me to keep quiet.” She paused, chewing her bottom lip. “The man opened his wallet and pulled out five one-hundred-dollar bills and suggested I go buy something pretty. My mother didn’t even try to stop him.”

“What did you do?”

Rubbing her eyes, she squared her shoulders before looking at him, “I dropped them on the floor and walked out.”

“That’s only one person,” Jarik said softly. “You shouldn’t base everyone on the actions of one person.”

“He was the first person. I deal with rich people all the time, and sometimes it seems like they’re all the same. I’ve actually turned down donations because the donors put conditions on who could receive the gifts or what types of toys to buy. I won’t do that to children. Especially refugees. They don’t deserve that type of treatment. I’d rather not take the money.” Maria’s voice had dropped to a whisper, and he stepped closer to her.