Slave to the Sheikh: by Nadia Aidan Page A

until later that evening, long after she’d fallen asleep, and he’d sat there holding her in his arms while she’d slumbered in his bed, that the enormity of her actions had finally dawned upon him.
    Daniella was in love with him too.
    He doubted she even realized it; even now he was certain if he confronted her with his conclusions she would deny it, not because it wasn’t true but because she had yet to acknowledge it even to herself.
    No matter whether she knew or not, accepted it or not, Amir knew it was true.  Her body had given her away.  It wasn’t just what she’d done with him, but also the level of trust and faith she’d placed in him every time they made love. Every time she submitted to him, she trusted him not to hurt her, to degrade her, and to always bring her pleasure, despite the pain or his roughness.  There was only one explanation as to why Daniella would so freely give herself over to him, and the knowledge that she reciprocated his feelings was what drove him to abruptly cancel business trips and reschedule meetings so that he could be with her.  He just needed more time with her to convince her to finally admit the truth, first to herself, and then to him. 
    As if on cue, the car came to a stop in his driveway, and he quickly eased himself out of the backseat.  Daniella was working from home, his home today, and he was eager to see her, but as soon as he saw who was waiting for him on the curb and the anxious expression on the man’s face, he knew the happy reunion he’d been eagerly anticipating was not going to turn out quite as he’d hoped.
    *****
    My fingers pecked across the computer’s keyboard with as much finesse as a kindergartener learning how to type for the first time.  With a heavy sigh, I decided to just pack it in.  Besides, who was I kidding?  With Amir gone, I just couldn’t concentrate. It was pathetic, really.  It seemed as if every single second, the man dominated my thoughts, and being in his home didn’t help, but it wasn’t as if I’d managed to concentrate any better at my own villa or my office.
    I closed the draft of the article I was working on and shut down the computer.  I really needed to have this paper ready in a month so that I could present it at the annual Near East Antiquities and Archaeology Conference.  It was shameful to admit it, given that I was a smart, logical scientist, and I prided myself on rational thought.   I was also very independent, but there was no use denying it anymore—I wouldn’t be able to get much work done, not until Amir returned. 
    I reasoned it was because our affair was new, and still in the honeymoon phase, so everything was still exciting, or at least that’s what I kept telling myself, because the truth was humbling and scary, no, it was downright terrifying.
    I was falling in love with Amir.  
    That knowledge alone caused a hard lump to stick in my throat, but if I was correct, and my calculations were accurate, I had a bigger issue to deal with than my growing feelings for the Sheikh, and truthfully, it was that looming matter which had captured most of my focus and concentration lately, more so than anything else. 
    The faint sound of someone clearing their throat drew my attention, and I glanced up to meet the sheepish gaze of Amir’s guard and personal assistant, Talib. His expression alone told me he’d been standing there for some time trying to get my attention.  I liked Talib.  He was a man of few words, but aged wisdom and a quiet dignity clung to him so strongly, that upon initially meeting him I’d found him somewhat intimidating.  Very quickly, I’d realized he was by nature a serious man, but his spirit was gentle, as such he’d always been especially kind to me, so much so that Amir would sometimes tease me that I had a not so secret admirer.
    “Dr. Hamilton,” he greeted with a polite nod.  “Amir has not yet returned, but I wanted to inform you, his mother and god-sister