Page 6 of The Sheikh's Defiant Girlfriend

Well, shit. Now what?

She looked down at her outfit—perfect for a night out, but she couldn’t afford any of the best clubs in town. And who wanted to go out alone anyway? She sighed. It had been so long since she’d had time to have fun or even hang out with friends that she didn’t even know who to call. She had classmates and coworkers, but she didn’t want to spend an evening out with them.

There was one person…

After all her protesting, though, she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to call Amir. He would gloat. He would crow. Of course, he would take her someplace extraordinary.

So she could go change clothes and spend the night moping at home or studying, or she could stay dressed up and spend the night out with Amir. She longed to blow off some steam and get out of her limited world of home, school, work. She wanted to do somethingdifferentfor once. And Amir could make that happen for her.

She reached for her phone and made the call.

True to his word, Amir picked her up twenty minutes later. He was dressed in casual slacks and a tangerine-colored button-down shirt that was open at the collar. The color looked good on him, warming his already-warm skin tone and making his brown eyes almost golden in the evening light.

He grinned at her from her front porch. “Your toy is here. Are you ready to play?”

Soraya couldn’t stop the little thrill that ran through her at the sight of him. She used to have a crush on her brother’s best friend when she was a preteen, and he’d seemed so cool and sophisticated. But as they’d both grown older and his playboy ways had become obvious, that schoolgirl crush had died a quick death.

She realized now that it had apparently only been hibernating, because having his undivided attention, having him at her beck and call, roused those flutters from more than a decade ago in her belly. Could she really command this man? Did she really have this much power over him, that all it took was a phone call, and he would come running? She suspected it was temporary. How long until he took this one evening as permission to show up where he wasn’t wanted?

For tonight, she didn’t care. She wanted the fun he promised, and nothing more.

He stepped aside and gestured toward the street. “Your chariot awaits.”

A gorgeous blue Porsche stood at the curb, its roof open. This man knew how to make an impression.

She slid onto the leather seat and sighed. She wished she could find fault with the car, with the comfort, with the man who’d opened her door for her. She didn’t want to want more of this.

Amir pushed a button, and the car roared to life. They shot off through the city.

“Where are we going?” Soraya asked, having to raise her voice to be heard, thanks to the open roof.

“You called and said you wanted to do something fun. So we’re going someplace fun!” Amir answered. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

Again, he drove toward the outskirts of the city, but this time they drove in the opposite direction of the ranch where they’d had their horseback riding adventure. Traffic coming toward them seemed oddly heavy, and soon Soraya figured out why. She saw lights in the distance, and she realized they were heading for Aladdin’s Kingdom, the region’s preeminent amusement park. Many people must have spent all day there and were now heading home. She and Amir would be arriving just at sunset.

Soraya laughed in delight. She never would have expected him to choose anything so frivolous. A fancy meal, yes. An exclusive nightclub, yes. But an amusement park, not so much.

They parked right in a private, secure parking lot. Amir flashed his phone at the security guard at a small gate, and then they were in. The Ferris wheel towered over them, lights flashing in multicolored streams and patterns. Screams from the roller coasters drifted through the night air along with the scents of kebabs and deep-fried everything.

“Shall we eat first or ride first?” Amir asked.

“Ride. Then eat. Then ride more. Do you like roller coasters?”

“I love them. Do you have a favorite?”

“Desert Demon.” Soraya grinned at him. “We should get in line now if we want to be able to ride before the park closes.”

“Count on you to choose the tallest, fastest, twistiest coaster in the park,” Amir said, laughing. “But waiting in line won’t be an issue.”

They’d entered on the opposite side of the park from the Desert Demon coaster, so they decided to grab a snack on their way, choosing to share samosas and baklava as they walked. Even as the park emptied, the line for its world-famous coaster stretched all the way to the “You have a one-hour wait from this point” sign. But Amir strode past the line to the SwiftPass entrance, shortcutting all the way to the front. They were on the ride in less than ten minutes.

Soraya whooped all the way around the track. The first hill was over three-hundred feet high, and it dipped almost straight back down again before a seemingly endless succession of corkscrews and loops, climbs and drops. She hadn’t had that much fun in… Well, she couldn’t remember when she’d had this much fun. She couldn’t contain a laugh when she noticed Amir’s pale face and shaky breath as they climbed out of the car at the end of the ride.

“Want to go again?” she asked.

“Ah. How about the carousel?”

She laughed again and indulged him, riding separate horses on the tame ride. She loved it just as much as the coaster, if she were honest. They pretended to urge their horses faster, going around and around a pretend racetrack, and she cheered when hers slowed to a stop a nose ahead.

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