Page 6 of The Forbidden Sheik
Trying to focus on the conversation and not the tempting woman beside him, he looked straight ahead. A moment later, his gaze clashed with Khal’s narrowed, angry look. For a moment, Amit nearly burst out laughing. Yes, his “friend” knew exactly what was going through Amit’s mind. Khal wasn’t an idiot. And he was male. Plus, the man had to know that his sister was a desirable woman.
Perhaps not, Amit corrected. No brother or father, or mother or sister for that matter, wanted to think of a sibling or child in that way. He thought about how he would feel if he had a daughter, one that looked like Marianna with her dark hair and soft, brown eyes…? No, he would be furious, livid, at the idea of anyone even thinking about touching his daughter with salacious intent.
So, instead of laughing, which might rub salt into the wound, Amit lowered his head slightly, acknowledging the other man’s anger.
Thankfully, the silent message was received. Amit felt an almost instant lightening of the tension. Both men turned to listen to the conversation happening between Tasha and Marianna. What the hell were they talking about? Something about…babies?
Damn it! In an instant, his thoughts turned to all the ways he could practice getting Marianna pregnant. With a mental sigh, he shuffled his feet, wanting to wrap a protective arm around Marianna’s waist. But he fought the urge. He didn’t have the right to touch her. Not yet. He would speak to Khal after dinner about formally courting Marianna.
Then he realized that his request might come off as an attempted political connection. Mentally, he muttered several curses, trying to figure out how to start the conversation without implications of political motivation. He wanted Marianna for herself. He admired her brains and her ambitions. He loved the fact that she was producing a political blog that challenged corporate and world leaders without using her title or her familial connection to her powerful brother. She’d created a blog site that influenced people on every level of society.
Granted, she had the financial stability of her role as a sister to a very wealthy family. That gave her the freedom and time to do whatever she wanted. There were others in the world that would love to have her freedom, but they trudged to work every day, needing to earn a living.
Amit knew that his desire for Marianna had nothing to do with any sort of politics. He didn’t give a damn about a personal connection with Khal. His desire for Marianna had everything to do with her. With her slender body and her lightning fast intelligence, her grace and the way she moved. Every part of her was…stunning, he thought as he again resisted the urge to touch her.
“I believe dinner is ready,” Tasha announced, gesturing towards the doorway to the dining room.
Startled back to the present, again, he turned to look over his shoulder. Candles lit the small, family dining room, highlighting the creamy white roses in the center of the round table. The chairs had been covered to match the roses and the whole scene looked romantic. Amit nearly groaned out loud at the thought of sitting next to Marianna in such a setting and not touching her. He could imagine taking her hand while they talked…argued…and he would look into her eyes, watch them sparkle with irritation when he took the opposite opinion just to see her bristle.
Damn, she was a lovely hedgehog!
But he also realized that he needed to get to know the woman behind the political opinions. He needed to understand who Marianna was as a person. With that goal in mind, he followed the ladies into the dining room.
A punch to his shoulder had him spinning around, ready to take on whoever had assaulted him. Damn it, he’d been so wrapped up in thinking about Marianna that he hadn’t realized there was a threat. He found Khal glaring at him.
“Did you just hit me?”
Khal snorted. “Stop thinking about my sister!” he growled quietly enough that the ladies couldn’t hear.
Amit nearly laughed out loud. So, this was what it was like to have siblings, he thought, relaxing his muscles.
“Right. I’ll work on that immediately,” he replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Ignoring the man, Amit turned and hurried after the ladies, quickly moving to hold Marianna’s chair, then sliding it forward. If he happened to notice how her blue dress smoothed over her pert derriere in the process, well, that wasn’t a crime. He was merely being a gentleman!
Khal didn’t seem to think so, Amit realized when he looked up to find the other man glaring across the table at him.
The men moved to their chairs, sitting down as Khal continued to glare dire warnings in his direction. Amit fought back a chuckle, keeping his amusement suppressed. Thankfully, the waiters moved in, quickly serving wine and the soup course.
“Your Highness,” Marianna interrupted the glaring session, pulling Amit’s gaze towards her, “I read that your parliament was proposing an expansion of the tax credit for new businesses.”
“That’s the plan,” he replied, trying to remember the details of that proposed legislation. It was difficult since she was smiling so prettily at him. And the neckline of her dress showed just a tiny hint of her cleavage, taunting him. Had she worn that dress on purpose? Was she trying to drive him wild?
Chapter 6
Marianna felt the usual exhilaration that washed over her when she debated political issues, but arguing with Amit had a particularly delicious edge that she didn’t fully understand. But she loved it. She had to admit that she felt more alive when she was debating with him than with anyone else. It was thrilling! She had to keep up with his arguments and he was fast to slide in a point she hadn’t considered.
Goodness, she loved this! Taking a sip of her wine, she suddenly realized that she and Amit had been arguing so single mindedly that they’d completely dominated the conversation.
“I’m so sorry!” she gasped to her brother and Tasha, setting down her wine glass. How many glasses had she consumed? Perhaps what she was feeling wasn’t exhilaration so much as being tipsy! “We’ve been very rude.”
Tasha laughed, touching Marianna’s forearm gently. “It’s been a delight to listen in on the debate,” she countered, leaning back slightly as a waiter set a beautiful dessert made of chocolate and a creamy sauce with a perfect strawberry on top. “I think we’ll have our dessert in our private suite.”
Tasha stood up, shooting her husband a stern look.
Marianna was startled to see her brother rise as well, although he appeared reluctant to leave. Tasha ignored his hesitation and laced her fingers through his, then started walking towards the door. “Your Highness, it was a delight as always,” she said to Amit, then pulled her husband out of the dining room.
An awkward silence followed their departure.
