The Sheikh's Christmas Baby (Shadid Sheikhs 3)

Surprisingly, she didn’t even argue. That’s how he knew that she must have been tired. Lifting the lid on the pot of spaghetti, he served himself a healthy portion and grabbed a few slices of bread before sitting down. “You look tired,” he said softly.

Stabbing at the pasta with her fork, she halfheartedly twirled it before lifting the long strands to her mouth. Before it even got halfway, it easily slid off her fork and plopped back down on the plate. “Not tired. Fine,” she mumbled.

“I haven’t seen you all day.”

“There’s a lot to be done around here. Mondays are always busy for me. I have two horseback riding classes plus a dog training class. I tried to move the dog training class to Wednesday a few months ago, but I didn’t have much of a response for the sign-ups, so I had to move it back. And my riders have been riding on Monday for years, so I’m kind of stuck with it.”

“Well, since Arella is spending the night with your aunt, I think maybe you should relax.”

“I’d love that, but there are still a few things I need to do after dinner. The weathering strip is coming off the door in the back, and too much cold air is seeping in, plus the sink in the barn is clogged, and there’s a loose board on the back porch. Arella likes to play out there, and I don’t want her to trip on it.”

Kashif cocked his head. “I think I can take care of those things for you.”

She snorted. “No offense, but I can’t imagine you actually doing anything handy. I imagine you have more than enough servants to take care of those things for you.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not capable. Why don’t you draw yourself a nice hot bubble bath, and I’ll see what I can do. If I can’t fix it, we’ll hire someone tomorrow to do it for you, and you can add it to my tab.”

Kristy pursed her lips as she contemplated his offer. Finally, she nodded her head. “Okay. I think I’m just tired enough to agree to that.”

“Good.”

They chatted quietly about his dog run, but he kept a lot of stuff to himself. He didn’t want to worry her with Arella’s dream to be an ice skater, and he didn’t want to question her on why she’d given up her love of working with the dogs. Henry was great, but he couldn’t stand the idea of her giving up something that had brought her so much joy.

If she would let him help her financially, he could do so much for her. She could train the dogs and leave everything else to her employees.

Except that he wouldn’t be here all that much. He could give her all the money that she’d need, but his time was limited here. Soon, the race would be over, and he’d have to go back home.

Would she come with him?

The thought came out of nowhere, and

he swallowed hard. Kashif had every intention of rekindling their romance, but he hadn’t thought of the future. What did he expect to happen when he left? Was he really going to walk away from her again?

What choice did he have when she’d made it clear that she wasn’t looking for anything long-term?

The notion bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

13

Kristy relaxed in the tub and tried not to think about what was going on downstairs. The warm water soaked through her aching muscles and soon her thoughts about Kashif were less about the mess he was making and more about the way he made her feel last night.

Never in her life had she tried to seduce a man before, and she’d been pleased to discover that it wasn’t all that hard. Kashif had easily seen through her charade, and maybe it was because she couldn’t get the memory of the hot springs out of her head, but the moment he’d touched her, she’d nearly exploded.

She’d seen Arella’s interruption as a sign, but her body throbbed all night long, and she didn’t get much sleep. It had taken all her control not to go to him and ask him to finish the job, but more importantly, she’d been upset when he didn’t come to her.

“Kashif.” She closed her eyes and sank deeper in the water as her hands trailed down her body. “Why did you have to come back?”

Moaning softly, she stroked her clit and thought about the way his cock had felt in her hands. There was so much power there. The power to control him. The power of ecstasy. God, she needed him inside her.

“Now, there’s a sight to see,” Kashif said softly.

With a yelp. Kristy opened her eyes and immediately covered her breasts with her hands. She’d been so lost in her own daydream that she hadn’t even heard him. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

“I finished up what I could, and I thought I’d come check on you. Apparently I’m missing out on all the fun.” His eyes roamed over the water, and she flushed. There was no way he didn’t know that she’d been touching herself. “Do you want me to go?”

This was it. Her chance to be risky again. There would be no interruptions, and maybe, just maybe, if she could feel Kashif inside her again, the madness would go away. She’d be able to focus on her own life again.

“No,” she whispered. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself up and stood naked in front of him as the water ran down her body. “Would you hand me a towel?”