Page 29 of Desert Prince’s Defiant Bride

‘He’s so busy I have trouble keeping up with his timetable. But, Your Highness...’ Lily batted her eyelashes at him ‘...he’s your most loyal friend. I’m sure you’ll know where Nate is.’

All faces turned eagerly in Khaled’s direction.

The little madam. She’d pay for that.

‘He’ll be joining us soon,’ he said, propelling her forward in earnest now. Time to get her into the car before she did any more damage.

She was halfway in when some buffoon shouted, ‘Are you going to say yes, Lily?’

Her head popped up. Tempting as it was to manhandle her back in, he knew it would make too much of a scene. He was forced to grant her the last word.

‘I’m not sure. There’s wealth and status in his favour, but I’ve also been reliably informed that he’s a bit of a grumpy workaholic. So, you know, guys, it’s gonna be a tough decision...’

Hell.

To the sound of laughter and a barrage of new questions Khaled bundled her onto the back seat and climbed in after her. She scooted to the far side, folded her arms, then stuck her nose in the air, all puffed up like an indignant chicken. If he hadn’t been so angry he might have laughed.

‘Congratulations. Far from keeping Nate under the radar, you’ve now encouraged every reporter from here to Buenos Aires to hunt him down.’

‘Perhaps if you’d told me what to say before you walked me intothat—’ she flung a hand back in the direction of the dispersing journalists ‘—I might have reacted differently.’

‘All you had to do was walk beside me and pretend you’re in love. Why was that so difficult? I also said “dignified and restrained”. Are you forgetting our agreement already?’

‘Funny, that. You say agreement...I say blackmail. But what’s a small semantic difference between friends? Anyway, you told me to improvise, so I did. And while we’re on the subject of that little farce, don’t ever kiss me like that again.’

‘I was also improvising. I needed your compliance. It seemed the quickest way to get it,’ he said, settling back and stretching out his legs.

He saw her gaze flicker over them, lingering where his flexed thigh strained against the fabric of his trousers. He waited until her eyes lifted back to his. He raised a brow. She flushed at being caught ogling, but her nose went higher.

‘Well, don’t do it again. I didn’t like it.’

He did laugh at that bald lie. ‘Yes, you did. A man doesn’t...what was it?...break hearts all over the globe without knowing when he’s pleasing a woman.’

Awareness flared in her eyes, as if she were imagining how he might please her again, but her mouth compressed into an angry line.

‘I doubt you’d know how to please a woman if you were presented with detailed diagrams and precise written instructions.’

‘Really?’ he said, oddly insulted. ‘Care to test that theory?’

The instant she uttered that stupid remark Lily knew she’d made a mistake. Khaled loomed closer, grasping her chin, his stormy gaze fixed on her mouth.

She pushed at his chest. ‘I don’t think we—’

He kissed her.

Whatever words she’d been about to say, even the thought that had prompted them, disintegrated under the hot, hard press of his mouth. The entrancing gentleness was gone. Now there was just heat and anger.

She knew he was punishing her disobedience, but her traitorous body didn’t care. It craved more of him...his kisses, his touch. It wanted to bepleased.

A big hand spanned her ribcage, pulling her close. When his thumb brushed the sensitive underside of her breast Lily moaned and opened her mouth beneath his, inviting him to feast.

He accepted the offer.

With a growl, he hauled her onto his lap, his hands roaming free. One drifted down her thigh, over her knee, then retraced its path. The hem of her silk dress was riding up with the steady glide of his fingers. Then they disappeared beneath the fabric altogether and slid between her thighs.

His touch was incendiary. Building the heated throb of desire that had started the night he’d brought her here. She whimpered, restless and edgy, and shamelessly spread her legs wider for him.

When a finger slipped inside her knickers, to slide into the wet heat between her legs, he muffled her gasp with a kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth with the same stunning intimacy his fingers were employing elsewhere.

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