Sold to the Sheikh (22 page)

“Do I have much choice?”

His lips curled up at the edges. “No, I suppose you don’t.”

He climbed up on the bed and grabbed hold of her ankles, easily maneuvering himself between her legs, and held her in place. “But just to make sure,” he said.

He certainly had her attention. She tried to ignore the swelling pulse between her legs and the aching awareness in her breasts, and glared at him. He suddenly looked very serious.

“Stella, I did not mean to leave you. I never, ever meant to leave you. It was a terrible mistake, one that I will…” He stopped himself, as though he was unsure of what he had almost said.

That’s not like him
, she thought.
That’s not like him at all.

“I was tricked,” he said, breathing out. “Do you remember Creighton?”

“How could I forget? You introduce me to such lovely people.”

Sheikh Bashir’s eyes flashed. If they were still lovers, if it had been only a few days before this, Stella was sure that that remark would have earned her some punishment. Part of her hoped it still would.

Get a grip, Stella! Think with your brain!

“Be that as it may,” he continued, “Creighton did not forget about his humiliation at my hand, and on your behalf. His family is very powerful, and very connected—especially locally. He used those connections to dupe an unsuspecting police captain into harassing me. The police arrived at the hotel and claimed to have a warrant for your arrest.”

Fear settled in Stella’s chest. It was a reflexive reaction. She’d always been on the honor roll; she’d always been the one to raise her hand for every question; she’d never even gotten a freaking parking ticket. A warrant? For her?

“It was a ruse, Stella,” Sheikh Bashir said, and brushed his hand against her cheek.

His touch was electrifying. She turned her face toward his hand without thinking, hungry for more, then blinked back frustrated tears.

“Damn you,” she whispered.

“They arrested me when I went downstairs to inform them of their error,” he said gently, but refused to take his hand away. Instead, he caressed her cheek. “I did not have any identification with me to prove my diplomatic immunity, and the deceived officers conveniently lost my paperwork several times. I was in jail until this morning.”

Stella’s anger and grief gave way, suddenly, to a torrent of worry. In jail? For three days? All alone, and with no one who knew he was there?

“Are you ok?” she asked. “Did anything…I mean, are you…?”

“I’m fine, Stella,” Sheikh Bashir said, his eyes soft. “Nothing like that could hurt me. It was nothing, compared to…”

He seemed to lose his words then, and a small vein in his throat began to throb. Sheikh Bashir cleared his throat.

“I thought only of you, Stella. I thought of the things I did not have a chance to say to you, and I thought of how I must have hurt you, and it was a pain unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, Stella, and I never want to experience it ever again. It was…”

He shook his head then, and she only wanted to help, to make him feel better. It wasn’t his fault.

“You don’t have to feel bad for me,” she said. “It was a misunderstanding.”

His jaw clenched. “Do not talk about yourself like that.”

“What?”

“You are not an object of pity. You are…” He gripped the back of her head and leaned forward suddenly, his face hovering right above hers. “You are beloved.”

He kissed her deeply, his whole body sinking into hers, his lips melting her mouth until she yearned for the rest of the barriers between them to simply disappear.

“How do you always know what I’m thinking?” she asked as he moved to her neck. He felt so, so good against her body, and she only wanted more of him, and yet certain thoughts were pressing insistently against her brain. “Wait, how did you know where I lived?”

He stopped and sighed.

“And why did you leave me that check?” she demanded, and the memory of it was enough to bring tears back to her eyes. She had to be careful with this man. He made her body lie to her.

Sheikh Bashir sat up, his full, broad torso blocking out what little light there was in the room. Even with all the unanswered questions, Stella missed the feeling of his weight on top of her. The movement of her hips betrayed her thoughts, and she hated herself a little bit for that. He put his hands on the sides of her hips, gripping them, and that…did not help.

“No, you are right,” he said. “A full explanation is warranted. Ms. Kincaid is fine. I used her abominably, as part of my own ruse to get you here, but I feel she would approve if I could make her understand. I knew where you lived because I commissioned a report on you from the security firm I keep on retainer. It is standard practice for a man in my position, though I understand if you feel violated. If it will help, I will commission a report on myself, for your eyes only.”

“Violated?” The word did not make her think of investigative reports. She was getting distracted again. She shook her head and said, “What about the check? Why—”

“That damned check,” he said vehemently. “I have never been that stupid in my entire life—you must believe me. I made it out at the beginning of the weekend, and simply forgot.”

“But why…in the first place…” she said quietly. She’d wondered the whole time why he would insist on paying anyone for what he had apparently wanted. It hadn’t made sense to her. He’d spent the whole weekend thinking about her pleasure, her well-being, her feelings, and then he had to distance himself from all of it with an absurd amount of money.

Now the Sheikh grabbed her by the chin and looked directly into her eyes. “Because I was a coward, too, Stella. I planned on a weekend I could walk away from without any attachments, because I was afraid of becoming attached.”

“Everyone’s afraid.” Stella said. She wished she could comfort him, but he shook his head bitterly.

“There is no excuse for it. You asked how I always seem to know what you are thinking? Because someone hurt me once by lying to me. A woman. She was…she was the reason I ended my friendship with Mark Kincaid, because he warned me and I chose this woman over a loyal friend. I swore that no one would ever deceive me again. I had studied the face-reading techniques of Paul Eckman and others, for professional and political reasons, given my family’s position, but after Vanessa deceived me with another man, I devoted myself to the practice utterly. It was—is—all about control. I was simply afraid, Stella,” he concluded. “And I was right to be. I think I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.”

It was like all the air left the room at once, and the vacuum it left behind pulled the words from her against her will.

“I love you, too,” she blurted out. Had she even admitted that to herself before now?

Did it matter?

Sheikh Bashir looked just as taken aback as Stella felt. “I will do everything in my power to make a life you want,” he said. “A charity, your own organization, for the abandoned elderly. Houses, as many as—”

“I want you,” she whispered.

The Sheikh inhaled deeply, his whole body seeming to expand. Then his hand snaked out and, in one motion, all the buttons of her blouse snapped open.

“I did not kidnap you for conversation,” he said, eyes glinting. He grabbed her breasts and raked his hands down the length of her body, unzipping her jeans and pulling them off in one impressive motion. He frowned at her panties, then ripped them off.

“Spread for me,” he said. “My love.”

Stella did.

The End…

Of
this
Volare story, for now. Check out a note from the author on the next page if you want to know about upcoming Club Volare books.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Hi! Thanks so much for taking a chance on this book! I hope you enjoyed the story of Sheikh Bashir and Stella as much as I did, and that it brought you a bit of happiness. If you want to know about the next release in the Club Volare Series,
Tied Up by the Tycoon,
as soon as it comes out in December 2012, you can sign up for my New Releases list

here.

I put out new books at a discount so fans can pick them up for less, and I
only
use that list for new release announcements, because spam is basically the worst.

Also! If you liked this book, feel free to lend it to a friend you think might like it too. I put my books out without DRM for just this reason, so g’head.

And if you liked
Sold to the Sheikh
, please consider leaving a review. It’s the easiest way to help match my books up with other readers who might like them, and it helps me out a bunch. If you do choose to leave a review, shoot me an email at
[email protected]
with a link and I’ll add you to my ARC list, so you’ll get a free advanced review copy of the next book before it’s even on sale.

‘Til the next book!

Chloe

Other Works by Chloe Cox

The Wolf’s Captive (BDSM Bacchanal)

The Lady Submits (BDSM Bacchanal)

Doctor’s Orders: the Complete Series

Bad Teacher (Erotic Lessons Collection)