The Sheikh's Christmas Present (Shadid Sheikhs 2)

“Maybe you could give me a chance to prove that I’m not like them?” He reached up and softly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

More than anything, she wanted to touch him. Instead, she took a step back. She may not know Jarik enough to judge him, but she could judge her reaction to him, and it spelled danger. The faster she could quit being in intimate situations with him, the better. “Dinner,” she blurted out again. “We were talking about dinner.”

A slow smile passed over his face. “You really are hungry, huh? Let’s order room service.”

“Room service?” That sounded like a very bad idea. “Or we could go. Some place public. Crowded. Maybe a dive bar with greasy food and awful lighting.”

“That sounds terrible. Why would we want to go there?”

Because it was unromantic and borderline gross. That seemed safe. That was also something that she couldn’t really explain. “Um…because I have a craving?”

“We’re going to have room service,” he said firmly. “Take a look at the menu and let me know what you want. I’m sure you’ll find something that’s even better than your craving.”

Maria felt her cheeks heat when he smiled smugly at her. It was almost as if he knew that what she craved was right there in the room.

It was going to be a very long night.

Jarik watched her in amusement as she concentrated on the menu. There weren’t too many options, but he knew that she felt a little out of place in the hotel room, and he wanted to give her a chance to get more comfortable with it before it was time to sleep.

Not to mention that he wanted more of a chance to have her all to himself. Although they’d been glued to the hip for the past couple of days, it seemed like it was always one thing after another. Here, in the room, they had privacy. For a few minutes, he wanted to forget about his father and brothers, forget about the trial. He wanted her to forget all about her problems.

He wanted to feel her against his body again. Feel the silkiness of her skin on his. Feel her silky strands of hair wrapped around his fists. Feel her soft lips on his.

His cock stirred just thinking about it.

“I don’t think I could eat anything too heavy this late at night,” she muttered as she put the menu down. “Just a chicken salad will be fine.”

“Wine?” He didn’t mean to, but his voice was husky, and her eyes immediately widened.

“Water,” she said immediately. “I’m dehydrated from the flight. Water will be fine.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Water it is. Do you want to take a shower while you wait for the food, or would you rather take one in the morning?”

“I’ll go ahead and take one now.” She glanced at him uncertainly, as if she expected him to follow her into the bathroom with her.

He was almost tempted. Instead, he nodded and waited as she dug through her bag, grabbed some clothes, and scampered into the bathroom.

The many layers of Maria Walken. He’d reach the center soon. After placing the order, he picked up his phone and checked back in with his security.

“There seems to be a problem with Samir,” Halil said darkly. “Apparently Melka doesn’t trust the maid where they’re located. He doesn’t seem to have a very good reason except that Samir seems taken with her.”

“Samir taken with a woman?” Jarik chuckled. “That shouldn’t surprise Melka at all. And Kashif? How is he?”

“Still working on that.”

There was a beat of silence, and Jarik narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you’re still working on it? Where is my brother?”

“He appears to have left the country, but that’s my concern. Not yours.”

Jarik felt the air leave his lungs. “Not my concern? How the hell is that not my concern?”

“Because there’s nothing that you can do. You know that your brother isn’t great at following protocol. Like you, more than likely, your brother saw an opportunity and decided to take off on his own.”

Halil was right. Kashif had a tendency to ignore his security. There was probably nothing for him to worry about. “We had to take a detour. We’re currently in Riyadh. We should be leaving for Syria tomorrow.”

“And then? Will you stay in Syria?”

“You know that I can’t.” Jarik clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. “I have an obligation.”