Page 9 of Sheikh's Virgin Love-Slave

“True, but you said I could leave today.”

“I said if you really wanted to, then you were allowed to go home today, yes. I didn’t say what part of today I meant. My swan, I’m going to show you Dubai as few ever can see it. Allow me to do that one thing for you. Think of it as something for your troubles.”

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “For you kidnapping me.”

“An unfortunate glitch in my usual decorum and tact, I admit,” Ravi said, his smirk widening. God, did she want to lick at him and his delectable dimples. “Besides, you will have to learn sooner or later that no one argues with a sheikh. Kamala will be here shortly, so get dressed and don’t argue. The limo leaves in thirty minutes.”

He was gone before she could fully process everything.

Wait, limo?

***

Her imagination shouldn’t have been so narrow. Riding in a limo for her first time wasn’t anything compared to the form of transportation she was currently enjoying. And, yes, she was enjoying it, even though she never thought she could. It wasn’t like she’d ever been on a boat like this before. Her mom had taken her on a few Baltimore Inner Harbor rides, but that stopped over sixteen years ago with her mother’s death. Even though she grew up in one of the biggest boating capitals on the planet, she still saw it as a sport for the rich. Boats were beyond her. A luxury yacht with its own live-in crew and large enough to have its own zip code was a seemed like a possibility that was a galaxy away.

Yet here she was, sitting on the deck in a plush banquet and watching the cobalt blue waters of the Persian Gulf whip past her. It was like a dream.

She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t; that this should be a nightmare under any other circumstances. That this was something from Investigation Discovery. It merited its own cheesy headline, something salacious to move copies of The Sun, like “I was a Sheikh’s Love Slave.” Except Ravi had been a perfect gentleman for the last two hours. In fact, he mostly kept with the captain in the motor room. She hadn’t even seen him this past hour, and been left to have the morning to herself to watch the sun’s rays play against the ocean waters and to sip on her mimosa.

Maybe I need to stop thinking about how I got here and Dad’s hand in this and just enjoyed it.

Didn’t that make some sense? After all, she was still reeling from Kevin’s betrayal and floundering for some purpose in life. Who was to say that she couldn’t enjoy a few more days or weeks with Sheikh Ravi Shamon? It made almost as much sense as the idea that her destiny was to grab a mop whenever some kid at her pediatrician’s office vomited with the stomach flu. Actually, she thought, smiling as she watched the fin of a whale poke out from the waves, it was far better.

“You’re thinking,” Ravi said as he came out to see her finally. “That could be either a good thing or a bad thing.”

She grinned and slipped off her sunglasses. “How do you figure?”

“Well, that either means you’re meditating and have found some inner peace or that you’ve been brooding this whole time.”

“If I were brooding, I wouldn’t be scarfing this many mimosas.”

“How many have you had?” he asked, a genuine frown springing to his features as he reached into the cooler beside her. “It’s easy to become dehydrated at sea.”

“I’ve had maybe three? It’s hard to keep track,” she said, hiccuping a little despite herself. “They’re pretty awesome! Also, they have juice, so I’ll be fine!”

He pulled the drink from her hand and then set it on the table by the banquet. “Let’s start with some serious hydration. We’re pulling up to a small island one of The World private islands.”

She giggled again, finding that revelation completely like Ravi and just as ostentatious as everything else about him. “Do you have your own island?”

“I own controlling stock in the project, actually. Would you like to sunbathe with me? If I’m returning you back to a dreary Mid-Atlantic winter, the least I can do is get you a bit of sun first.” He hesitated after that for only an instant. “Of course, you can stay here with plenty of water if you prefer.”

She shook her head and regretted that immediately. Her vision spun and she fell back deeper into the cushions of her seat. “Whoa, okay bad idea.”

He reached up and swept her into his arms. He smelled of cinnamon, but also of the sweet scent of sun tan lotion, though with his complexion, Bridget had to assume he only applied the bare minimum. She was going to need buckets to keep her Irish skin from frying to a crisp, especially in the Arabian sun.

“My swan, let me get you to the beach and one of the servants will bring the water and towels. I think some sun and hydration, anything away from the drinks will do you a world of good.”

“Says you,” she said, giggling again, and leaning against him as he helped her to the edge of the boat. “You smell nice, like an Altoid.”

He laughed as he walked with her across the plank to the shore. “Well, Ms. Callahan, I can honestly say that that’s a compliment no one has ever given me before.”

“Someone should have. You smell amazing! Like cinnamon! It makes my nose tickle like crazy.” She quirked her head up at him as the most insane thoughts raced through her head. Maybe she shouldn’t have lost track of her mimosas after all. “Do you taste like cinnamon too?”

He paused in the sand as if she’d suggested something crazier, like if his erection also tasted like candy. Although maybe that wouldn’t be the worst question to ask next, come to think of it. “Are you serious?”

She hiccuped again. “I don’t know what I’m saying, but you smell so nice. You have so far. I think that’s sexy!”

He shook his head and handed her a bottle of water. “You’re going to need so much more of this, my swan.”

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