Beauty and the Sheikh (22 page)
Read Beauty and the Sheikh Online
Authors: Shelli Stevens
But he knew that was a lie by the way his stomach clenched. Shoving aside the possibility of anything more he might feel for her, he muttered, “Make a decision, Chloe. Will I carry you, or will you walk willingly?”
She pulled from his grasp, her mouth tight. “I’ll walk.”
He allowed her to step past him, her steps almost wooden as she climbed the stairs to enter the fuselage of the plane.
It was only when she was belted into the seat across from him and the plane taxied down the runway did she finally turn to look at him.
“Why are you doing this, Andrés? What do you want from me?”
The tension left his body now that she was safely on his plane and they were airborne. “I have already told you.”
“You can’t be serious about marrying me,” she cried with exasperation.
“I’m quite serious.” From the moment he’d seen her again, realized how much he wanted her still, he’d concluded marriage was the most sensible solution.
Twin flames of color flared in her cheek. “Well I won’t do it.”
“Fine. Then you will be my mistress,” he called her bluff and offered a casual shrug. “Either position will have you lying beneath me in my bed. It, of course, is your choice, Chloe, I simply thought you would prefer the idea of
marital bliss
.”
“Well, I choose neither, and if you think I would ever consider sleeping with you again, you’re completely delusional.”
Andrés gave a soft chuckle at the image she made. Her shoulders quaked and her eyes flashed fire, but even truly livid with anger, Chloe was difficult to take seriously. In her just-off- the-farm style dress and braided hair, she was simply a combination of sexy and adorable.
With the plane having leveled off he had the urge to pull her onto his lap and kiss away the rigid scowl that marred her face. The blood in his body moved south and his amusement vanished, his smile faded. Dammit. What was wrong with him? Would he ever stop wanting her with this mindless ferocity?
It didn’t matter. He would have her regardless. And the sooner she accepted it, the better.
“Let me be clear, Chloe. You will be with me so I can keep an eye on both you and my child that you carry.” He unfastened his belt and came to sit in the seat next to her. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek and slid his thumb into the crease of her lips. “And if you think that I will be content to spend my nights without you in my bed, then you,
cariño
, are the one who is delusional.”
Her head moved in denial, even as awareness flickered in her gaze and he felt her exhale a ragged hot breath on the pad of his thumb.
“I won’t,” she whispered.
He didn’t reply, just lowered his head to silence any more feeble protests. She struggled to break away from his kiss, but he followed her lips with his own, piercing his tongue into her mouth and claiming her.
She fought for only a moment, before letting out a groan of frustration and leaning into him, returning the kiss with a heat he recognized all too well. With a growl of triumph, he unfastened her seatbelt and pulled her onto his lap.
He’d meant to maintain control. To distance himself from a kiss that was simply to prove her how much she wanted him. How compatible they were on this level. But tasting her, feeling the press of Chloe’s curves against his hardness, put his control on a volatile foundation.
Available books by Shelli
Seattle Steam Series
Chances Are Series
Holding Out For A Hero Series
Savage Series
About the Author
Shelli is a New York Times Bestselling Author who read her first romance novel when she snatched it off her mother’s bookshelf at the age of eleven. One taste and she was forever hooked. It wasn’t until many years later that she decided to pursue writing stories of her own. By then she acknowledged the voices in her head didn’t make her crazy, they made her a writer.
Shelli currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her daughter where she writes various genres of romance. She’s a compulsive volunteer, and has been known to spontaneously burst into song.
Sign up for Shelli’s newsletter, and see what other books she has available at
www.shellistevens.com
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