Page 50 of My Arabian Billionaire

“Ha!”

He shook his head. “Do you truly believe I could be so easily embarrassed?”

Her mouth opened and closed.

“Would you like me to do something about your fears? Would you like me to slay dragons foryou?”

Harper didn’t know what to say. The simple, easy way out would have been to answer ‘yes’ – but did she really wantthat?

“Tell me, wife. What do you truly wish to achieve?”

“To make you proud.” A part of her had expected the sheikh to be pleased with her answer, with the way she was being more forthcoming than usual, but instead she was stunned to see disappointment flash in hiseyes.

“You already make me proud, qalifa.”

“It’s n-not enough.” Harper found herself stammering, and she hated herself for it because she didn’t even know why she was doing it. “I want you to be prouder, so you’ll see I’m a good queen---” But still the disappointment lingered in his gaze, and she bit herlip.

A moment later, the sheikh seemed to take her silence as the end of their conversation, and she didn’t protest when he made her turn around. He soaped her body and washed her hair, his touch painfully tender.

Before she knew it, the words were alreadyout---

“What exactly do you want fromme?”

Her voice shook in frustration. Was he really blind to all the things she did for him, to the way she bent backwards to be a proper queen? She had lost count of the times she had swallowed her pride for him, had bitten her tongue so many times that if it had literally happened, she would’ve already punched holes in it. For this damn sheikh, she had gone to bed, her jaw aching from too much smiling and faking, and all of this was for the sake of pleasinghim.

And it still wasn’t enough?

Tears began to prick her eyes as the silence continued between them, but when she made a move to stand up, the sheikh captured her wrist---

“Let me go,” Harper snarled under her breath even as she fought back tears. Damn sheikh.

And still he kept pulling back, closer and closer---

Until she felt his lips touch her bare shoulder.

“I trust you, malikta, to discover the answer on yourown.”

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