Page 20 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

Chapter Seven

The moment she woke up, snuggled safe in Jahin's arms and blinking blearily at the pale morning light, Bedelia knew she had made a terrible mistake.

Oh my god, what have I done?

This was wrong. This was all wrong. This wasn't where she was supposed to be. This wasn't the place for her. She knew who she was, and she wasn't a person who threw everything over for a night of passion. This felt like a fairytale, and she knew that no matter how much she craved one, this wasn't where she would find it.

She glanced at Jahin's sleeping face, and she had to resist an urge to touch it.

No. I can't let this happen.

Keeping her panic in check, she slowly inched out from under his arm. At the last moment, he grumbled in his sleep, dragging her close to him again, and she had to start over. This time, it was even harder for Bedelia because she could feel how warm his bare flesh was against hers, and how his body was becoming aware of her naked presence, even if he was still asleep.

No, this man is more of a temptation than anyone has any right to be.

When she finally made it into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, Bedelia felt her mind clear, and she could think at least a little.

This is just going to get my heart broken, was her first thought. It seemed inevitable. She would never be more than a brief affair for Jahin, and that might break her in a way from which she would never recover. She knew herself too well, and she was far from worldly. There would never be a place where she could be happy with this.

I need to be smart and end this, she decided.

She had thought she would at least get some relief when she had made a decision, but apparently that was not meant to be. Instead, she felt worse. She shook her head. It was too much, and of course there was the fact that he was her first, and she hadn't even gotten around to freaking out about that yet.

She had always wanted her first time to be special, and when she thought about it, that had been fulfilled and then some. Having her first experience with the physical realities of love take place on a high terrace with a man like Jahin? That was the stuff dreams were made of. Apparently, she had just forgotten to specify that her first time should also be with a man who would stay. The thought of Jahin leaving created such a tearing sensation in her heart that she couldn't bear it. She had to do something else, and she made herself get in the shower.

The moment the hot water hit her, she felt a little better, a little less frozen, a little more as if she could think about what was happening to her.

She knew what she wanted. She wasn't going to get it.

So then, what did she need to do from here?

I don't want to be strung along and toyed with. I don't want to pretend that this is some kind of romantic thing when I know it's not. I can't be the untried and inexperienced girl that he holds in contempt.

That was a part of it, she had to admit. She could never stand for people to laugh at her. She had had too many people who pretended to be friends, only to reveal a little later on that they were nothing of the sort. She didn't want Jahin to pretend to be sweet and romantic with her when the truth was a much different thing. She couldn't bear it.

I want nothing but the truth, she decided. No matter what that looks like.

It might not have been an amazing solution, but it was the solution that she had. When she had so few bargaining chips, she had to be very clear about things...

Bedelia's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening. She jumped a little, but through the shower stall’s steam-fogged glass, she could recognize Jahin's shape. She caught her breath when she saw him strip out of his clothes, and by the time he reached the shower door, sliding it back just enough to ease in with her, she was achingly aware of his nudity.

"You're so beautiful," she blurted out, and he looked down at her, his copper eyes wide for a moment before he chuckled.

"I climbed in here to seduce you," he said with a smile. "I hadn't thought that you would be the one trying to seduce me."

Bedelia blushed, and it wasn't just because of the heat of the water streaming down over them.

"I'm afraid you are going to have to take what you can get," she said with dignity. "I do not have many skills when it comes to seduction, and this is the best I can do."

"Oh, I beg to differ," he said with a smirk. "I think your seduction skills are superb."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing at his patently ridiculous sentence.

"Do you really expect me to think that you are a man who is seduced by a line about how beautiful he is?" she mocked. "I know I'm just a little hick from Iowa, but come on!"

Those copper eyes darkened, and she shivered, because by now, she knew what that meant.

"No, it's true," he purred. "Our disagreement seems to come from the fact that you think that it is only words that seduce."

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