The Sheikh's Hesitant Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 7) (7 page)

She wondered what he was referring to with that cryptic comment. He'd said it with the same weary tone he'd used at times last night, especially when the conversation had drifted hesitantly toward personal matters. There was so much she still didn't know about him, so much he seemed determined to keep hidden from her. Rachel paused and then asked. "How long are you planning to be in London?"

Zarif peered at her, his brows furrowing. "Why do you ask?"

Rachel shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. "So that I can get a sense of how quickly you need to act."

Zarif looked at her, and she suddenly got the impression he might be thinking she was teasing him somehow. "What do you think?" he asked.

Rachel furrowed her brows. "About what?"

"How quickly I can get what I want?"

She felt her face color and saw the flicker of victory on his features. He'd embarrassed her, and he'd savored what he'd done, causing her to feel something, making his mark on her yet again.

"There are quite a few more properties you could consider," she said hurriedly.

Zarif nodded. "Then it looks like I'll be in London for at least a couple of weeks."

Rachel peered at him, trying desperately to mask her reaction. She tried to look disinterested, but knew deep down that she'd felt a surge of something completely unexpected.

Relief.

He wouldn't be racing back to Qazhar any time soon. She wondered why that suddenly mattered to her, why it now seemed surprisingly important that she would get a chance to spend more time in his company. Wasn't that what she had been so determined to avoid until a few short moments ago?

"I'm sure Abby will be pleased," Rachel said, trying to keep her voice even.

"She already knows," Zarif said.

Rachel's brows rose. "Really? I'm sure she's looking forward to more lunch dates with you."

Zarif's gaze locked on Rachel. "Who said I'll be spending any more time than I have to with your boss?" he asked sharply. His eyes narrowed, and she saw his jaw tighten.

"I only meant that..." she started to reply, but he cut her off, leaning closer.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" he asked.

Rachel drew in a sharp breath. "Nothing. Only that I suppose she'll be helping you decide on your investment. Reviewing what I'm going to be showing you."

Zarif's brows furrowed and he leaned forward. She caught his scent, saw his tongue trace a line along his lower lip, moistening the flesh there. "And what are you planning to show me, Rachel?" he murmured. His gaze had darkened, a feral hint appearing in the direct, penetrating pools that were searching Rachel, awaiting her answer.

For a moment she was lost for words, felt the breath ease out of her, sensed her pulse pounding in perfect sync with her racing heart. Why did he have to look at her like that? Didn't he know what kind of effect he was having on her?
 

She sighed. Of course, he knew just how that look affected her. It was designed to make her heart quicken, warm her middle, cause every nerve in her body to become inexplicably alive.

"Abby normally takes over with most of the clients."

Zarif shook his head. "Not in this case."

Rachel frowned. "What do you mean?"

Zarif lifted his chin and looked down at her. "There's only one person I want to work with while I'm here." Zarif's eyes widened. "You, Rachel."

"Me?"

Zarif nodded. "I'll insist that you take me around all the properties while I'm here."

"But..." Rachel started to say.

Zarif shook his head. "If that's not the case, if Abby doesn't agree to my terms, then I'll be heading back to Qazhar tomorrow. There's plenty for me to do back there."

Rachel squinted at Zarif. "Why do you need me to show you the properties?"

Zarif smiled easily. "Isn't that already obvious, Rachel?"

Rachel raised a hand involuntarily to her chest. Why did it feel suddenly so tight? For a long moment, all she could hear was the low sound of the limo's engine. The only thing she could feel was the insistent beating of her heart. Then she forced herself to gather her chaotic thoughts and tamp down the treacherous sensations."If you just leave like that, Abby will assume it was something I did. Something wrong."

Zarif shook his head. "She won't. Abby is too interested in other things to bother with that. She'll be too disappointed."

Rachel looked at him, and Zarif's eyes narrowed. "Other things?"

"Haven't you noticed?"

Rachel shook her head, although she knew what he was about to tell her.
 

"Your boss has designs on me," Zarif said in a flat voice that barely disguised his disapproval of the whole idea.

Rachel laughed. Zarif scowled at her. "What's so funny?"

She smiled at Zarif. "You and Abby? What gives you that idea?"

Zarif shook his head. "Let's say, I'm used to women throwing themselves at me."

Rachel gasped and then laughed even louder. Surely he wasn't being serious, but a closer look at him told her he was deadly earnest.

Zarif frowned at Rachel. "You find that idea amusing?"

Rachel shrugged, momentarily lost for words. Then she shook her head. "That's not what I was laughing at," she said.

Zarif leaned closer. "Then what was it that you found so amusing? That any woman would feel herself fortunate if I wanted her? That any woman I chose should feel honored that I claim her?"

Rachel leaned back against the seat. He was being serious. She could see it in his dark gaze, hear it in the vibrant growl of his voice.

What did he mean "claim"? That sounded like something out of a primitive world. It suggested something savage, something untamed.

Suddenly Zarif looked like a prowling animal, and she felt like prey caught in his transfixing gaze.

Yes. He was being utterly sincere, and now she felt like she was the entire focus of his attention. His eyes shimmered, but held their gaze firmly upon her. She felt the pulse at her neck throb, could feel the heat in her body. Was this what he was capable of doing to her with just a look? He was inches away from her. She glanced down at his hands, powerful fingers curling across his thighs and wondered if he was about to reach out and touch her, the way he'd done the previous night, an experience that now seemed to have taken place an eternity ago.

Rachel wrenched her gaze away from Zarif. Even while her head was turned away from him, she could still feel his gaze burning into her, waiting for some kind of response.

A sense of relief flooded through as she saw they were about to arrive at the apartment block. She started to gather her things together. Glancing back at him, she saw that he had settled back into the seat, one hand raised, holding onto the handle by the side of the door.
 

He looked pleased with himself, and that caused her to feel a stab of irritation. Was this what she had to look forward to over the next two weeks? Day after day of exquisite torture? Because that was what it already felt like.
 

She wondered if she could possibly keep up the charade of pretend disinterest in Sheikh Zarif. She was being tugged in different directions.
 

Rachel suspected he'd already seen through the act she'd been putting on since their first encounter. He was too experienced to be fooled by an innocent like her.

A part of her needed to keep him firmly at bay, as she'd been doing to every man she'd encountered in recent times.
 
Meanwhile, another part of her had let him in, allowed him to probe her heart and find something lurking there, something she'd convinced herself had been locked away for good.

But no.

It seemed as if nothing would stand in the way of this powerful sheikh driving his way into her life, seeking answers, drawing her inexorably toward him.

****

Zarif dropped Rachel off at her office and quickly made his excuses, eager not be drawn into going up to the office any sooner than he had to.

He knew he'd be seeing Abby later for lunch. No doubt she'd grill him about the property viewing, test him for any hint of interest. And not just in the property.

He knew what was happening.

Abby was trying find a way to attract Zarif, tempt him into perhaps some kind of liaison. He wasn't going to allow himself to be beguiled by the strong-minded, ambitious, slightly self-obsessed woman.

No.

Abby reminded Zarif too much of what he was leaving behind. She was too much like what he had turned his back on back in Qazhar.

Alana.

Zarif sighed and gazed out the window as the limo slid through the traffic in the late morning sunshine. His mind drifted to Rachel, and he instantly felt his spirits lift, sensed a warmth in his heart.
 

Now, there was a real woman, he told himself. Someone with obvious and very genuine heart, an authentic beauty possessed of a rare modesty and innocence. He drew in a deep breath and felt the familiar tightening in his body, the same sensation he'd felt the previous night when he'd kissed Rachel. He couldn't help but grin as he recalled the feeling of her body against his own, remembered the taste of her lips, the firmness of her flesh against his hands.

Something caught at him, and he swallowed. How could it be that someone so innocent, so authentic and almost naive, could affect him like this, he asked himself.

Zarif leaned back against the leather seats and closed his eyes, savoring the memories that flooded into his mind, into his senses. Rachel had taken him completely by surprise. That was the truth.
 

He'd come to London feeling jaded, his mind exhausted after the recent difficult times, dealing with his crumbling relationship with Alana.
 

Although it had been a welcome relief to escape the collateral damage of their breakup, he had still felt shaken and shattered by the emotional turmoil he'd endured with his former fiance.

Had Rachel sensed the extent of the darkness in his soul? He'd resisted her efforts to get him to reveal anything but the barest details of his past. She'd tried hard to press him, and he had to give her credit for her tenacity, as well as her sensitivity in pulling back from her probing once she'd sensed his reluctance.

If that had been Alana, nothing would have held her back from dragging the truth from Zarif. Alana took no prisoners when it came to getting what she needed from life.

That was why coming to London had felt like a retreat into a place where he could recover, a sanctuary where he could restart his life, now that he and Alana were no longer engaged.

The last thing he'd expected was for his attention to be seized by someone like Rachel, someone the polar opposite of the woman he had fought so hard with these past months.

Was it simply that Rachel was so very different from any woman he'd ever known? Or was it something more profound, something more dangerous?

Zarif frowned. He had two weeks to find out. After saying goodbye to Rachel the previous night, Zarif had stayed up into the late hours trying to understand his encounter with Rachel. He'd heard of men becoming involved with women on the rebound from a traumatic relationship. But, he'd always thought that was some kind of foolishness to be well avoided.
 

Was he falling into that trap? Was he simply deluding himself?

He'd soon find out. Rachel would be by his side over the coming days, giving Zarif ample opportunity to test himself and her. He needed to know if the devastating impression the beautiful woman had made on him was real, or just a temporary flash of emotional madness on his part.

Zarif had never believed in love at first sight. It had always seemed like something vaguely childish, something for other men, not him.

But Rachel had taken him by surprise.

It was time to uncover Rachel's secrets and find out if her apparent innocence was just an act.

In the course of finding out he'd have to tempt her, tease her, draw her out of the shell she had so obviously placed around herself. There was more to Rachel than she was willing to reveal, but Zarif knew he had it in himself to burrow deep into Rachel's heart and find out just why she was so determined to keep him at bay.

Zarif sighed and felt a tingle of anticipation.

It was going to be an interesting and enjoyable two weeks.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Rachel glanced at herself in the mirrored wall of the inside of the lift as it started to move up toward the top level of the apartment block. The soft, internal overhead lights brought out the best in the elegant little navy blue outfit with knee length hem. Her bare shoulders and cleavage revealed more than she thought she should, given that this was some kind of date. The first time she'd had dinner with Zarif since their date at the private club two weeks before.

Rachel fussed with her hair and nodded approvingly at her reflection.

It would have to do.

She felt the upward movement of the lift and leaned back against the wood-panelled wall. She lifted her gaze. Up there, Zarif would be waiting for her. He would have a dinner prepared and laid out on the table in his dining room.
 
No doubt he would be dressed elegantly. Rachel would expect nothing less than for him to look astonishingly handsome. Dangerously tempting.

As usual.

Rachel thought about the last two weeks and sighed. It had been a whirlwind in so many ways. A secret whirlwind at that. Rachel smiled as she thought about Abby's complete ignorance of the fact that Rachel and Zarif had been spending so much time together. Of course, Rachel had taken Zarif to a different property almost every day during the last fourteen days. Abby had known all about that.

 
But, on each of those days, Zarif had found some excuse to ensure that Rachel's return to the office was unavoidably delayed. Then, he had swept her away to some part of London. Always an exciting, different place on each occasion, where they had shared time together, an urgency added to the secret rendezvous, by the fact that Rachel had to be returned to the office sooner rather than later.