Never Resist a Sheikh (International Bad Boys) by Jackie Ashenden Page B
Authors: Jackie Ashenden
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couldn’t get help without an internet connection either.
There was another silence.
The sheikh stared at her, his gaze utterly opaque, and she had thefeeling he was trying to see right inside her, like an X-ray. It was vaguely uncomfortable and she wanted to look away, but she forced herself to hold it.
“Do you think me stupid, Miss Cartwright?” The words were soft, but there was a certain menace to them that made her heartbeat start to accelerate, reminding her that this wasn’t one of her soft-bodied, male colleagues. This was a king. Thiswas a warrior. A man infinitely more dangerous than any other man she’d ever met and underestimating him was a supremely stupid thing to do.
Helplessly, a strange fascination shifted inside her chest. She did love investigating a mystery or working out a complicated puzzle. And she’d bet everything that this man would be one hell of a puzzle. A potentially deadly one.
“N-no. Of course not.”
“Then why are you asking for something that will enable you to call for help?”
Okay, so yes, she’d been stupid to think he wouldn’t make that connection. Which annoyed her since she wasn’t accustomed to feeling stupid.
Be careful, Felicity. Be very careful how you answer.
She blinked. “How about…if I promise not to call for help?”
His features hardened. “This conversation is at an end.” Andhe turned in swirl of blue robes for the door.
You idiot. That’s really all you could think of?
“Wait.” The word burst from her, before she could stop it. “You can’t just leave me here.”
He paused and gave her a single, searing glance. “I do not appreciate being treated like a fool. My kingdom is ancient and my people hold to the old ways, but that does not mean we are idiots, Miss Cartwright.”
A wave of heat went through her, but this time it wasn’t embarrassment, it was shame. Because he wasn’t wrong. And she’d underestimated him.
“I’m sorry,” she said thickly. “I didn’t mean to.”
He said nothing, those black eyes of his settling on her, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
And somehow the words kept on coming. “It’s just…I’ve been kidnapped and drugged. I’m in a strange countryand I’m worried about my company. And I just need to make sure it’s all okay because we had this meeting and it’s important and I have people who depend on me…” She stopped, hating how pathetic she sounded.
There was a silence.
Then he said, “Tomorrow will we have breakfast together. You will tell me your needs and I will tell you mine. Perhaps we will come to some arrangement where we bothget what we want.”
Okay, so that was something, wasn’t it? “And what is it that you want?”
His black eyes gave her a slow, intense look, from the top of her head all the way down to the boots on her feet, sending a shiver right down her spine.
“I want your surrender, Miss Cartwright,” he said in that rough, harsh voice of his. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”
* * *
Zakir didn’t normally bother with a formal breakfast, preferring to eat something in his office directly after his morning training since he always had too much to do. But he was willing to alter his schedule for the day to fit in with Felicity’s, to give them a chance to talk in a more peaceful atmosphere.
He’d arranged for breakfast to be served in one of the Stone Palace’s opencourtyards, one that overhung the valley and gave a magnificent view from the cliffside down to Harjah, the capital city of Al-Shakhra. A fountain played and potted olive trees provided some greenery. It was a pleasant place, yet for him it wasn’t nature that gave him peace, but the cool space of the training room and the ritual of the blade. Or the martial arts forms he practiced, or the punchingbag he rained blows upon.
Physical exercise was a meditation and one he needed if he wanted to keep his baser desires in check. Which wasn’t usually a problem.
And
There was another silence.
The sheikh stared at her, his gaze utterly opaque, and she had thefeeling he was trying to see right inside her, like an X-ray. It was vaguely uncomfortable and she wanted to look away, but she forced herself to hold it.
“Do you think me stupid, Miss Cartwright?” The words were soft, but there was a certain menace to them that made her heartbeat start to accelerate, reminding her that this wasn’t one of her soft-bodied, male colleagues. This was a king. Thiswas a warrior. A man infinitely more dangerous than any other man she’d ever met and underestimating him was a supremely stupid thing to do.
Helplessly, a strange fascination shifted inside her chest. She did love investigating a mystery or working out a complicated puzzle. And she’d bet everything that this man would be one hell of a puzzle. A potentially deadly one.
“N-no. Of course not.”
“Then why are you asking for something that will enable you to call for help?”
Okay, so yes, she’d been stupid to think he wouldn’t make that connection. Which annoyed her since she wasn’t accustomed to feeling stupid.
Be careful, Felicity. Be very careful how you answer.
She blinked. “How about…if I promise not to call for help?”
His features hardened. “This conversation is at an end.” Andhe turned in swirl of blue robes for the door.
You idiot. That’s really all you could think of?
“Wait.” The word burst from her, before she could stop it. “You can’t just leave me here.”
He paused and gave her a single, searing glance. “I do not appreciate being treated like a fool. My kingdom is ancient and my people hold to the old ways, but that does not mean we are idiots, Miss Cartwright.”
A wave of heat went through her, but this time it wasn’t embarrassment, it was shame. Because he wasn’t wrong. And she’d underestimated him.
“I’m sorry,” she said thickly. “I didn’t mean to.”
He said nothing, those black eyes of his settling on her, and she had no idea what he was thinking.
And somehow the words kept on coming. “It’s just…I’ve been kidnapped and drugged. I’m in a strange countryand I’m worried about my company. And I just need to make sure it’s all okay because we had this meeting and it’s important and I have people who depend on me…” She stopped, hating how pathetic she sounded.
There was a silence.
Then he said, “Tomorrow will we have breakfast together. You will tell me your needs and I will tell you mine. Perhaps we will come to some arrangement where we bothget what we want.”
Okay, so that was something, wasn’t it? “And what is it that you want?”
His black eyes gave her a slow, intense look, from the top of her head all the way down to the boots on her feet, sending a shiver right down her spine.
“I want your surrender, Miss Cartwright,” he said in that rough, harsh voice of his. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”
* * *
Zakir didn’t normally bother with a formal breakfast, preferring to eat something in his office directly after his morning training since he always had too much to do. But he was willing to alter his schedule for the day to fit in with Felicity’s, to give them a chance to talk in a more peaceful atmosphere.
He’d arranged for breakfast to be served in one of the Stone Palace’s opencourtyards, one that overhung the valley and gave a magnificent view from the cliffside down to Harjah, the capital city of Al-Shakhra. A fountain played and potted olive trees provided some greenery. It was a pleasant place, yet for him it wasn’t nature that gave him peace, but the cool space of the training room and the ritual of the blade. Or the martial arts forms he practiced, or the punchingbag he rained blows upon.
Physical exercise was a meditation and one he needed if he wanted to keep his baser desires in check. Which wasn’t usually a problem.
And
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