Page 45 of Hiding in the Sheik's Arms

Nathan touched his tie again. “Regardless, I was hoping to bring Tasha home. I have everything ready for our wedding. She’d been planning our wedding ceremony since before the…uh…incident that put her in the hospital. I hope that I’ve got everything exactly the way she wanted it to be for her big day.”

“I doubt that.”

Nathan blinked at the man, startled. Then he chuckled. “You’re right, of course. Women can be so finicky. If they don’t do it themselves, then it won’t be exactly the way they’d hoped it would be. However, I still think that Tasha will be pleased. I was eager to marry her before she went to a quiet place to recover. Now, I’m even more excited to make her my wife.”

“That’s going to be a problem, Senator.”

Nathan was starting to feel awkward standing here like this. Why the hell didn’t the bastard suggest that they sit down? What the hell was wrong with the chairs? The chairs wouldmake a perfect publicity photo and he was eager to send pictures off to his contingent of reporters. They would splash the photo all over the news, making him look more important. The polls had dipped by a couple of points yesterday. Nathan still held a healthy margin in the polls, but a photo with Sheik Al-Sintra would explode all over the media.

“A problem?” he quipped, adding a chuckle in an effort to ease the tension creeping into his shoulders. “Why is that a problem? I have a plane waiting, ready to bring Tasha back home.” Then he realized. “She’s a beautiful woman, isn’t she? But she chose me first.”

“Did she?” Khal asked blandly.

There was a noise outside the double doors that startled Nathan and he glanced towards it just in time to see Tasha step into the room.

She looked…stunning! Wearing a pale blue sheath dress and matching heels, her glorious hair piled on top of her head, she looked…regal. That’s when Nathan knew that Tasha had charmed Sheik Al-Sintra. Was she sleeping with the guy?

“Tasha!” Nathan called out, eager to claim ownership. “You look fully recovered. I’m so glad.”

Tasha stepped back and several guards moved forward, each wearing a menacing glare. Nathan jerked backwards, his palms stretched out to ward off the attack. “Sorry!” he said with a laugh. “Just eager to greet my fiancée properly.”

The guard stilled, one of them looking to Khal for guidance.

That’s when Nathan saw her reach out. Nathan was about to take her hand when another, larger hand clasped her fingers. Nathan watched with increasing dread as Tasha sidledup to Sheik Al-Sintra. The man even put his arm around her waist. What the hell was going on?

“Tasha?What…why?”

“Stop it, Nathan,” Tasha snapped. “Do you honestly think that, after you beat me within an inch of my life, that I wouldwillinglygo back with you?” She snorted and shook her head, the lights glinting off her hair. “Please, Nathan, I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t willingly put myself in jeopardy again.”

“I didn’t…!”

“Don’t!” she interrupted, her eyes narrowing on him. “Don’t you dare try and gaslight me by pretending you didn’t beat me. Your fists were bloodied the following day. I have no idea what excuse you used to explain your mauled hands to the press, but it won’t work on me. You beat me because you found out that I have evidence of your crimes.”

His eyes narrowed. Nathan felt a rush of fury unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. “So you become some man’s slut? That’s not going to save you! I will–”

A sharp pain shooting through his jaw stopped him cold. He stumbled backwards, cupping his cheek and looking around to figure out what just happened. He saw Sheik Al-Sintra glaring at him, his hand still curled into a fist.

“Don’t youeverinsult my wife again!” he snarled.

Nathan immediately realized how badly he’d miscalculated. Now the whole scene started to make sense.

That’s when Tasha approached him. She looked calm and serene, so Nathan didn’t anticipate the abrupt knee to his groin.

“That’s for beating me!” she hissed and stepped back.

Nathan stood there for a long moment, the pain so intense, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. Then he crumpled to the floor, holding his balls in both hands. For a long moment, he didn’t move.

That’s how the press found him and Nathan couldn’t even stand up. All he could hear was the clicking of cameras and the questions being yelled at him. But the questions didn’t make sense. His focus was entirely on the pain radiating through his body.

When he finally blinked and looked around, it was to see that he was in the room with only the press. Sheik Al-Sintra, Tasha, and even the guards were gone. To the reporters in the room snapping thousands of images of him writhing on the floor, it probably looked as if he’d done this to himself.

Nathan closed his eyes and willed the pain to go away. After several minutes, he stood up, trying hard not to clutch at his aching testicles.

Damn that bitch! She’d set this all up to make him look like a fool! Well, he’d get back at her. As soon as he flew back home, he would destroy her! He’d tell so many lies about her that she wouldn’t know what hit her! He’d make up so many stories that she’d never be able to work again.

That’s when the other man’s words finally got through his rage. Tasha was…married? To Sheik Al-Sintra? Holy hell! That would mean…!

She wouldn’t, he thought as he waddled out of the room, walking stiffly past the reporters and the guards. He ignored them, his gut warning him that he was in more trouble than he’d realized.

---