Page 16 of The Sheikh’s Christmas Present

8

Jarik watched her in amusement as she concentrated on the menu. There weren’t too many options, but he knew that she felt out of place in the hotel room, and he wanted to give her a chance to get more comfortable with it before it was time to sleep.

Not to mention that he wanted more of a chance to have her all to himself. Although they’d been glued together at the hip for the past couple of days, it seemed like it was always one thing after another keeping them from really getting to focus on each other. Here, in the room, they had privacy. For a few minutes, he wanted to forget about his father and brothers, forget about the trial. He wanted her to forget all about her problems.

He wanted to feel her against his body again. Feel the silkiness of her skin on his. Feel her silky strands of hair wrapped around his fists. Feel her soft lips on his.

His cock stirred just thinking about it.

“I don’t think I could eat anything too heavy this late at night,” she muttered as she put the menu down. “Just a chicken salad will be fine.”

“Wine?” He didn’t mean to, but his voice was husky, and her eyes immediately widened.

“Water,” she said immediately. “I’m dehydrated from the flight. Water will be fine.”

Chuckling, he nodded. “Water it is. Do you want to take a shower while you wait for the food, or would you rather take one in the morning?”

“I’ll go ahead and take one now.” She glanced at him uncertainly, as if she expected him to follow her into the bathroom.

He was almost tempted. Instead, he nodded and waited as she dug through her bag, grabbed some clothes, and scampered into the bathroom.

The many layers of Maria Walken. He’d reach the center soon. After placing the order, he picked up his phone and checked back in with his security.

“There seems to be a problem with Samir,” Halil said darkly. “Apparently Melka doesn’t trust the maid where they’re located. He doesn’t seem to have a very good reason except that Samir seems taken with her.”

“Samir taken with a woman?” Jarik chuckled. “That shouldn’t surprise Melka at all. And Kashif? How is he?”

“Still working on that.”

There was a beat of silence, and Jarik narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you’re still ‘working on that’? Where is my brother?”

“He’s supposed to be in Alaska, but I can’t reach him, and he’s missed his check-in. Don’t worry. That’s my concern. Not yours.”

Jarik felt the air leave his lungs. “Not my concern? How the hell is that not my concern?”

“Because there’s nothing that you can do. You know that your brother isn’t great at following protocol.”

Halil was right. Kashif had a tendency to ignore his security. There was probably nothing for him to worry about. “We had to take a detour. We’re currently in Riyadh. We should be leaving for Syria tomorrow.”

“And then? Will you stay in Syria?”

“You know that I can’t.” Jarik clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. “I have an obligation.”

“Your obligation puts you out in the open, Jarik. It puts you in danger. At the very least, you should let me meet you there.”

“Maybe,” Jarik said vaguely. “I ordered a security detail for the plane while we’re here, so at the very least, it should be safe until tomorrow.”

“Fine. Get in touch with me before you leave tomorrow, and call me as soon as you touch down.”

“So, you are the one in charge now. Good to know,” Jarik said sarcastically. He knew he was hard on the man, but right now, he wanted to get away from his problems.

“You do know that you can call your brothers directly, right?” Halil said softly. “You don’t need to get all your information through me.”

“Let it go,” Jarik said with a sigh. Hanging up on his bodyguard, he shook his head. He and Kashif had a neutral relationship. They saw each other occasionally, when they both happened to be at the royal palace together, but Jarik also spent a lot of time traveling, and neither made an effort to keep in touch.

He and Samir were a completely different story. They butted heads so often that it was actually easier when they weren’t speaking to each other.

So, Samir had found himself another woman. Maybe Kashif had found himself one as well. God knows his older brother needed to have a little fun.

---