Page 28 of The Sheik's Kiss

But there was something nefarious going on, and Mandy needed to warn Zahir as soon as possible.

She only hesitated for a moment when the memories of last night’s…adventures…came back to her. Everything she’d done with him, all of those gasping whispers and pleas for “more”! And she hadn’t even understood what “more” meant until he’d given her more.

Shaking her head, Mandy pushed those thoughts aside. She was here to help him find the embezzler and a wife. That’s it. She had a one night stand with him. Other women did that all the time. There was nothing wrong with what she’d done with him either. It had been…wonderful. Amazing!

But right now, she had a job to do.

Raven watched her new friend, wondering what had suddenly occurred that would shift Mandy’s usually sunny personality so dramatically. She’d been quiet and tense all day, working as if she had a death threat hanging over her head.

Which was possible, since Raven knew that Mandy wasn’t investigating the list of female candidates any longer. She didn’t know what Mandy was working on now, nor would Raven try to find out. Whatever project her new friend was working on at the moment was a secret, and she would respect that.

Still, she was worried about the tension. And where was Sheik Aristi today?

There was an odd tension everywhere in the palace. Even the cafeteria staff had been acting weird when she’d gone down for a quick lunch.

Yes, something very odd had happened recently. Initially, Raven had wondered if something had finally happened between Mandy and their mutual client. But if that were the case, why was Mandy so tense?

Sighing, she turned back to her computer. More candidates would arrive tomorrow for another social event. Raven wasn’t looking forward to another round of beautiful women and their superficial conversations. Especially since Raven knew that the perfect mate for His Highness was already right in front of him.

Mandy hugged the new data printouts close to her chest like a shield as she hurried towards Zahir’s office. She noticed she was thinking of him as “Zahir” now, instead of “His Highness”.

Still, she wasn’t sure how to speak to him today. After last night, everything had changed.

“Is he available?” she asked as soon as she stepped into his assistant’s office. “I have some information that he needs to hear immediately.”

The man looked up, startled by the unexpected presence. His lips compressed in obvious dislike and the man shook his head. “His Highness is in–”

“His Highness wants Ms. Sullivan to join him in the presentation room,” a guard interrupted.

Both Mandy and Zahir’s assistant swung around towards the large, terrifying man standing in the doorway. Mandy was so startled, she took a quick step back, unaware of her mouth falling open.

She rallied quickly, shaking her head. “No, I don’t want to interrupt him. This can wait,” she replied and started to turn away, feeling an intense rush of relief that she didn’t need to face Zahir quite yet.

Her reprieve was short lived, unfortunately.

“His Highness asked that you join him,” the guard repeated, more firmly this time.

“Oh!” Mandy replied. She felt a dual spark of both happiness and panic. She was going to see Zahir again! This was both very good and…terrifying! “Right. Well…” she glanced at the assistant, then looked quickly away from his obvious disapproval. What had she done to make the man dislike her? She’d only met him a few times, and hadn’t had any other interaction with him, other than when she needed to speak with Zahir.

Then she remembered last night. A blush stole over her cheeks as she thought about everything she’d done with Zahir last night. The begging! The desperate need to feel his hands touching her and…and dear heaven…the pleasure! She’d never known that such intense pleasure could exist!

But surely this disapproving jerk couldn’t know what she’d done in the privacy of Zahir’s suite, could he?

Surely not! With a humph of irritation, she turned to face the guard. “It would be my pleasure to speak with His Highness in the presentation room,” she replied with as professional a tone as possible.

With a fake bravado, she followed the guard, not sure where they were going. As long as they were walking away from the disapproving assistant, Mandy didn’t care.

However, when the guard gestured to an open set of double doors, she was startled to find the room packed with people. And at the other end of the room, sitting on a dais and…was that a throne? A literal throne? Good grief!

Yep, Zahir, the man she’d held in her arms last night as he’d done the most wicked things to her body, was sitting on a freaking throne!

Okay, she knew that he was the ruler of Sidrina, but in her mind, Zahir was still a man. He was still approachable.

Now, seeing him on his throne and looking magnificent, she had a different view of him.

As soon as she stepped into the room, Mandy was captured by his gaze. He didn’t just stare at her. Zahir was watching her as if he wanted to…she blushed, immediately thinking about all of the things that she wanted him to do to her.

Darn it! After rushing out of his room this morning, Mandy had vowed to put last night out of her mind. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about the man, and all of their naughty activities from last night?

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