Page 19 of The Sheikh's Temporary Girlfriend

“It would complicate things a little,” she agreed.

His hand moved from her spine to her upper arm. “You’re still a little tense. You should be sleeping like a baby right now.”

“Except I’m not a baby.”

“Don’t I know it,” he muttered, even as she lay back down with him, doing her best not to notice his…maleness as her head rested on his shoulder like a pillow.

Despite their chemistry, she trusted him, trusted his vow not to have sex with her unless she wanted it. That shedidwant it wasn’t something he needed to know, especially when, oddly enough, she began to relax.

“So tell me about your family,” she said drowsily.

“There’s not much to tell,” he said huskily. “Like you, I lost my parents too young. They died within months of each other, my mother from cancer and my dad from a broken heart, although I was told it was ultimately from a stroke. Unlike you though, I’m an only child.”

“I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been going through your grief all alone.”

He swiped a hand over his bristles. “I wasn’t totally alone. Amal became something of a mentor for me while I mourned for my parents while learning how to run my country. The fact I listened to him above my own advisors spoke volumes. I trusted in him completely.”

“What changed?”

He blew out a slow, thoughtful breath. “I think he assumed it was a natural progression to go from being his mentor to having him as a father-in-law, and since his daughter is considered beautiful by many, I guess he never vouched for any objections from me at the idea.”

“Does he not realize her beauty is only skin-deep?”

Basam laughed. “She could look like a goat and I’m sure he’d adore her, as any father should. As for her personality, he sees only the best in her.”

“What about you?”

“I worked her out a long time ago.”

“Were you ever…intimate with her?”

His shoulder flexed a little under her head when he asked, “Would it bother you if I had been?”

Would it bother him if itdidbother her? She lifted her chin. “Of course not. You’re paying me to do a job, it matters little to me if you’ve screwed her or half your kingdom, for that matter.”

“Liar,” he said huskily.

She frowned, her face heating. “Why do you say that?”

“If it didn’t bother you there would be no tension returning to your body and your voice wouldn’t rise an octave.”

“What are you, a psychologist now?”

“I know how to read body language,” he murmured. “It’s a trait I’ve not only been trained to uncover, but learned over the years with my many negotiations and meetings.”

She turned to him them, her body thrumming with arousal as his unique scent of spiced amber filled her senses. “What’s my body language telling you now?”

His eyes flashed, then narrowed. “It’s telling me you want me to roll you underneath me and kiss you and make out, then take charge of your body by claiming you completely, filling you with—“

“I think I get it,” she cut in hoarsely.

“All you have to do is say the word,” he said evenly.

It took everything she had to shake her head. “No. I don’t want to develop feelings for you.” Ones that would never be returned. She rolled away from him to her side of the bed and shut her eyes, but not before hearing his heavy, regretful sigh.

Chapter Nine

The aroma of coffee woke Amber from a sleep muddled with dreams about her parents. She sighed heavily. Sometimes those dreams when she remembered the days when her mom and dad had been fun and caring hurt more than the horrid nightmares about them.

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