Page 31 of Her Irresistible Sheik
He cleared his throat.“They’re both married.One lives in Al-Rashid, the other in Amarra.Between them, I have four nieces and two nephews.”
She clicked the shutter again, angling slightly to the right.“And their names?”
He rattled them off, slowly, but his shoulders started to relax.The corners of his mouth twitched.“Samira’s daughter calls me ‘Uncle Grump.’Apparently, I’m not ‘fun’ enough.”
Nahla laughed.“Did you ever prank your sisters when you were younger?”
“Why would I?”Mikail asked, frowning slightly.His confusion was genuine.
At her surprised expression, he sighed.“I was already in boarding school when my first sister was born.And I was in college by the time the youngest came into the world.I wasn’t there for the pranks and sibling chaos.”
Nahla lowered the camera for a moment, chewing on her lip.“Zayn was really good at pranks.”She adjusted a light, then lifted the camera again.“When we were younger, he got this horrifyingly realistic tarantula toy.I mean, full-on hairy legs, glassy eyes, the works.”
Mikail’s interest sharpened.“Go on.”
Nahla smiled, capturing the slight lift of his right eyebrow.“One night, he tucked it under my blanket.I found it just as I was crawling into bed.I screamed so loud, I think I cracked a window.”
His hands twitched at his sides.“How old were you?”
“Seven.”She didn’t pause her picture taking, but the memory lit up her face.“The guards stormed in, weapons drawn, thinking we were under siege.Meanwhile, Zayn was doubled over laughing in the hallway, completely useless from how hard he was laughing.”
“You’rekidding,” Mikail growled, his protectiveness flaring irrationally.The image of a little Nahla terrified in her princess bed made his jaw tighten.“I should have words with your brother.”
“Too late.I got him back.”She gestured to a chair.“Have a seat.This part’s more symmetrical.”
He obeyed, unable to resist her command—or her smile.“How’d you get your revenge?”
“I didn’t tell our parents, so Zayn thought he’d won.But I snuck into his room and shoved the spider into his bed the next night.”She snapped a shot and grinned.“He screamed so loud, his voice cracked.”
Mikail laughed, leaning slightly into the light.
“But it didn’t stop there.The spider eventually turned up in my closet, half hidden in the shadows.He got me again with that one, and I wassomad.So I shoved it into his sock drawer.He retaliated by planting it in my overnight bag.I returned the favor by burying it in his sweater stack.”
“Sounds like psychological warfare.”
“Exactly.”She stepped to the side and took another picture.“So I escalated.”
His brows lifted.“Oh?”
“I sewed it into the inside of his favorite pair of jeans.”
There was a pause.Then Mikail burst out laughing, deep and genuine.“Yousewedit in?!”
“I did.Took me forty-five minutes and three band-aids because I kept stabbing my finger with the needle.”She lowered the camera and shrugged.“And lack of sewing experience.”Her grin widened.“But totally worth it.He pulled on those jeans and nearly passed out from terror when his leg brushed something hairy.”
“That’s diabolical,” Mikail said, his voice thick with amusement.“I’m impressed.”
She stopped taking pictures and looked down slightly, shaking her head in mock regret.“I had to retire from the spider wars after that.No topping it.”
They both laughed for a moment.Nahla’s fingers adjusted the lens one last time, took a few more, then she lowered the camera.“I think I’ve got what I need.”
Mikail stood, still smiling.“That was… surprisingly enjoyable.”
“Thank you for sharing your awkward modeling debut,” she teased, offering him a very professional bow.
He stepped closer, his presence suddenly heavier.“And thank you for sharing the spider saga with me.I needed that laugh.”
The mood in the room shifted.The playfulness simmered into something quieter.Deeper.
