The Sheikh's Surprise Mistress (Jatar Sheikh 5)

“What about this?”

She wasn’t shocked at all, but she’s lived with me and knew I mostly prefer to be naked if possible. “Um, the bra looks like it needs to be a couple sizes bigger. You’re falling out of it in an unattractive way.”

Leave it to her to be brutally honest. I nodded and cupped both my breasts, jiggling them and then making a sound of agreement. “Yeah, let’s keep looking.” I held out the price tag and asked what that translates to in dollars.

“Four hundred,” Anna told me without blinking an eye.

“Oh. That’s only half of my rent for an entire month.”

Anna shrugged, “We are in one of the most exclusive boutiques on the planet. What did you expect?”

I gave her a glassy stare as I tried and think of a witty comeback. I finally settled on unbuckling the bra and freeing my breasts.

“I got nothing. It’s too uncomfortable, anyway—at least for that kind of money, one would think it would caress me and love me and make me feel like I should never take it off. Not this painful torture device.”

We kept shopping until we were both exhausted. When we got back to the penthouse, my room was full of bags and purchases. It was practically an entirely new wardrobe, and I wondered where I would put it all once I got back to my microscopic apartment. Anna knocked and joined me, and I thanked her profusely yet again.

“I might have to turn your room into a closet,” I announced.

“Oh my gawd, Jules—come see my closet!”

She dragged me up a long curving staircase and swings open a double-door entry to an enormous room. I said under my breath, “I’ve never…” Then she dragged me to another large double-doored room and presents it as if she were a spokesmodel showing off a brand new ship, or airplane, or—or—mansion!

“You’re kidding me. It’s bigger than our entire apartment.”

“I know, right? I’m still afraid of it,” she confided.

I sagged against the burnished wood doorjamb, “This isn’t you, Anna. How are you dealing with all this opulence? I’ve never even seen you wear a dress. Let alone all these fancy clothes.”

She sagged against the other side, “Yeah, I know. It’s what is expected of me though—of the queen to be. I have to present myself a certain way.”

“Doesn’t that bother you? I mean, being asked to be someone you aren’t?”

Anna bit her lip in thought, “No, not anymore. It’s a gift I can give Omar. Not like I can give him much of anything else. He has everything, and anything he wants is just a flick of his wrist away. So, I give him me, and I give him this.”

She waved her hand to indicate all the dresses and high heels and frills and bows.

“I dress for him. Besides, he appreciates me when I go to the effort, and then he rewards me.”

I shrugged. Seems my go-to reaction to all that I don’t understand—all that I might never understand. “I’ve never loved anyone enough to really understand what you’re talking about,” I confessed. “How does he reward you?”

Anna blushed crimson and draggedr her toe over the dense carpet. “By loving me, Jules.”

I offered her an Annacastic guffaw, “As if!”

She seemed offended, “No seriously, Jules! He’s an amazing lover. He makes me feel things I never imagined possible. I’m dead serous!”

My face fell, I felt it as I thought. “Really? That good?” She nodded eagerly and batted her lashes. “Oh. Sorry,” I said apologetica

lly, “I guess I’ve never really felt that before.”

“You’ve had a ton of sex,” she wailed and waved both her hands in the air between us. “You can’t tell me you’ve never had mind-blowing climaxes.” She paused at my expression, and then her face fell into a cute little pout.

“Never?” I shook my head and jutted out my lower lip. “Oh wow, I would have thought it was the norm for you—you know, given you’ve had so much.”

I shrugged, “Yeah, quantity over quality, I suppose. Plus, you have love, and Omar is a man. A real man! I’ve pretty much been with boys. At least, that’s what I’m figuring out.”

She came over and hugged me, “You will, girlfriend. It’s the love that makes it special. Someday Mr. Perfect will come along, and then you’ll totally understand what I’m talking about.”