Page 37 of Her Arabian King

The sheikh had captured her mouth in a deep, hard kiss, and when she got over her shock she eagerly kissed him back, her arms going around him just as he swept her up in his arms. She expected the sheikh to bring her to the couch, but instead she found herself being laid on his desk, her legs dangling on the edge.

Harper immediately sat up as the sheikh reached for the hem of her abaya. “What are you doing?” Her voice had turned into a squeak as the sheikh pushed her abaya, together with the dress underneath it, all the way up to her waist.

After, the sheikh glanced at her. “Your reward.”

“My what?”

A second later, the sheikh went down on her.

Oh. My. God.

She immediately fell back against the desk.

What. A. Reward.

She had no idea how he had known that this was what she wanted, but she wasn’t complaining. Harper felt his tongue stroke her against the wet cotton, and her entire body shuddered. Definitely not complaining.

Chapter Ten

The day of the wedding dawned bright and clear, just one day shy from Khalil’s one-hundredth day reign as king. Everyone who had been invited came to attend the event, with a record number of foreign leaders showing up, all of them curious to see firsthand what Ramil’s new queen was like.

Even the sheikh’s sort-of ex Sapphire had accepted the invitation and came with her rockstar husband and too-cute son in tow.

Normally, having to rub elbows with such figures would have worried her to death, but Harper had more pressing thoughts in mind. That would happen follow the reception, and when it was time to go, Harper was a quivering mass of nerves. Although her white sleeping robe covered her from head to toe, she still felt terribly exposed.

Some of her anxiety must have communicated itself to the sheikh as the moment she reached his side, pale-faced and trembling, the sheikh asked right away, “Are you certain of this?”

No. Of course not. How can one be certain of this?

But instead, she lifted her chin and forced herself to smile brightly. “A promise is a promise is a promise.”

His lips twitched. “Your love for redundancy is delightful as ever, qalifa, but...” He paused. “That doesn’t answer my question.” He took her hand, and his brows pleated. “Your hand is cold.”

“That’s n-normal.”

“Not when you live in a desert.”

Oh. Right.

“There is still time to change your mind,” the sheikh began.

Harper shook her head vehemently. “No. I promised, okay? And there’s no point to us marrying if we don’t do this so—-” She took a deep breath before saying in a rush, “Can we please just get it over with before I lose my guts and change my mind?”

There was a moment of silence – and then the sheikh tightened his grip on her hand, saying simply, “Thank you.”

They walked in silence from there, the sheikh leading her down a maze of hallways, and her heart swayed harder and harder with every step they took.

Oh my God, it was really happening.

She had never thought to ask where that would happen and so Harper was stunned to realize that their destination turned out to be a vast chamber in the palace’s secret cellar, with its walls consisting of viewing screens in which people outside could peer into the room but not the other way around.

Pausing before the doors, Khalil turned to Harper and his jaw clenched at how much paler she looked now. “I’m sorry you have to do this.” And as soon as the words were out, he realized that he didn’t like it. Anything that could make his normally brave Harper look frightened, he didn’t fucking like at all.

To hell with the consequences, the sheikh thought grimly.

“I’m sorry for going this far with you, qalifa.”

She quickly shook her head. “It’s not like you have a choice.”

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