The Sheik's Unexpected Bride

Luna looked up, startled by the general’s words. “I’m sorry?”

“He’s charmed you, my dear,” he repeated with a soft chuckle. “It’s one of his strengths. He is very good at turning a woman’s anger into something more…palatable.”

Tasim? Surely the general wasn’t talking about Sheik Tasim! “That’s…”

“It’s true,” the general replied, shrugging his shoulders in a French manner, as if her succumbing to Tasim’s charm was simply a matter of time.

For some reason, Luna felt dirty. Had Tasim charmed her for a specific reason? His comments from last night came back to her. Was Tasim charming her to get revenge on her brother for taking his sister away?

But that didn’t make sense. Tasim had to know that Ella would eventually fall in love with someone. It was the reality of life. People met, fell in love, got married, had children…sometimes they fell out of love and sometimes, they lived happily ever after. Why would he become angry because…!

Because Tasim and Elon had been lifelong enemies? Because they’d hated each other for various reasons. But…was there something personal in their hatred? Or was it only political?

“My leader is impressive,” the general laughed as he moved stealthily around the dance floor. “He uses his charm like other leaders use missiles. With precision and extreme accuracy.”

That analogy didn’t help. “Yes, I’m sure that he’s developed a veritable arsenal of ways to deal with his enemies,” Luna replied. Pulling back, she smiled politely up at him. “General, if you will excuse me, I need to check on an urgent matter. I don’t mean to be rude, but could we cut this dance short?”

He gave Luna a chivalrous bow, taking her hand to lead h

er off the dance floor. “Of course, my dear. And thank you for taking pity on an old man and humoring him with your lovely company and lively conversation.” He winked down at her. “Have you heard the joke about the man who walked into a bar with a pair of jumper cables?” he asked, the now-familiar sparkle in his eyes.

Luna laughed, patting his hand. “Yes, general. You told me last night and I thought the ending was delightful! Thank you for sharing!”

He winked at her and Luna caught a glimpse of the charming rake that he must have been in his youth. He leaned forward, patting her hand as if she were a child. “Yes my dear. Go ahead. Attend to your duties and I will speak to you in the morning.”

Luna beamed her gratitude up at the elderly man and walked away, moving in the opposite direction in which Tasim had departed earlier in the evening. She didn’t want to risk running into him again. Right now, she needed a minute alone. Time to think about what the general had said. Could Tasim be trying to manipulate her for a political reason? But that didn’t make any sense. Luna didn’t have any political power. She generally worked in the background.

Sighing, she knew that she didn’t have the stomach to deal with more guests. She couldn’t keep smiling and nodding politely while this ache gnawed at her.

Had Tasim charmed her? That was ridiculous. She wasn’t attracted to the man! Okay, that was a lie. She suddenly realized that she was intensely attracted to him. Which was silly. She shouldn’t think of Tasim in that way. In a few days, Tasim would become her brother-in-law. Okay, not really. But close enough. . He was a powerful leader of a large country. Her brother was the same. Their paths would rarely cross after this weekend. It wasn’t like Tasim would be traveling here to this country for the holidays. Or the reverse.

She got ready for bed, thinking about the whole situation. She wished life was simpler. Why did everything have to be so complicated? How had a wonderful dinner conversation morphed into a diabolical scheme of revenge?!

She tried reading, wanting to calm her ragged nerves. Unfortunately, her book wasn’t interesting enough to hold her attention. That, or she’d revealed too much about her love of reading to Tasim and she needed to change. Sighing with frustration, she shoved the book back into her bedside drawer and turned off the light. Maybe she needed to find new hobbies, ones Tasim didn’t know about.

Chapter 5

Two hours later, Luna flipped on the light and pushed the blankets away. “This is stupid!” It was nearing midnight and she still didn’t feel even the slightest bit tired.

She couldn’t stop worrying about Tasim. She didn’t want him to see her vulnerably. She didn’t want to be another in a long line of women who had fallen under his spell.

“Ice cream,” she whispered into the silent room.

Pulling on a pair of leggings and a huge sweatshirt over her cami top, not bothering with a bra, she slipped silently down the hallway. She smiled as she passed by the guards, nodding politely until she reached the kitchen.

“That’s weird,” she whispered, seeing a light on in the kitchen. Usually, the kitchen staff turned off all of the lights.

“What are you doing in here?” Luna demanded, glaring at Tasim who sat at the counter, reading through a document while eating ice cream. He hadn’t bothered with a bowl. Instead, he was eating right out of the massive container.

He glanced up at her from across the kitchen. “Reading a report on farm subsidies,” he replied. His eyes moved over her figure and Luna wondered if he could tell that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Probably not since the sweatshirt was big enough to reach her knees.

“And stealing my ice cream,” she added, a bit more tartly than she’d intended.

He grabbed two bowls and another spoon from a shelf behind him. He scooped out large portions for each of them, and slid a bowl across the metal counter so that it stopped right in front of her, nodding towards it with a challenge glowing in his eyes. “There’s plenty.” Then he put the container back into the freezer.

When he sat down again, she knew that he expected her to leave. So instead, she defiantly sat down on the stool and grabbed the spoon. “Why are you still up so late?”

He lifted the report. “Because my assistant sent me about two hundred pages of information that I need to read through and make decisions about by morning,” he replied with a bit of a sigh. “Why are you awake?”