The Sheikh's Offer (6 page)

“I feel like you’re scheming something.”

He chuckled and slipped into bed with her. “Only how I’m going to ravish you next.”

***

Chapter Five

Kelly blinked awake with what felt like a wild animal trying to claw its way out of her head. Her mouth was dry and tasted like the floor of a taxicab. The light streaming through the window just made her headache worse. Rolling over onto her side, she grabbed a pillow and thought of suffocating herself with it. At least it would work faster than Excedrin.

“Ugh, I drank way too much last night,” she groaned, confused when her voice echoed throughout the room.

That was odd.

She had a comfortable apartment, a place she loved, actually, but it wasn’t large enough to breed echoes. Confused, she sat up quickly in bed and groaned when the whiplash involved worsened her already raging migraine. The room before her was large, luxurious, and decorated with the finest marble and other embellishments. Wait. Was she in the
Bellagio
?

Snaking her head around, she noticed the kitchen table before her and the arrangement of fruits, deli meats, and even omelets and pastries. It was a smorgasbord fit for a king…or a sheikh.

Oh God, I thought that was a dream last night. Did I really get drunk with Asam?

She looked down at herself and realized she was completely naked under the sheets. Parts of last night came back, although not everything, just flashes—the drinking at Miss Carol’s, the chair dance, and even the amazing feel of his tongue on her most hidden regions. There were other things on her mind too, and she felt like they’d eventually gotten dressed and gone back out after some fun, but that part was fuzzier.

Sighing, she climbed out of bed and started looking for her clothes. The first thing she saw was a slinky gold sequined dress on the floor. There was no way her night had gotten
extra
wild, but then she dismissed that most outlandish of thoughts when she looked at the tag and realized it was in her size.

The hell? When did I get dressed up and why?

Then she looked down at her left hand and froze in disbelief. There was a massive gold wedding ring with an even bigger, more impressive diamond engagement ring.
Eat your heart out, J. Lo.

“What the hell did I do?”

“We both had quite the time,” Asam said, stepping back into the room. “I’m sorry. I left breakfast for you, but I just got back from running an errand.”

“What kind? What the fuck is going on?” she demanded, rounding on him and trying to ignore the momentary flash of hurt in his hazel eyes. “Did you do something to me?”

Asam held up his own left hand on which a man’s wedding ring gleamed. “We did this to each other. Miss Carol’s mixed drinks and the best shots that the Blue Suede Casino had to offer early this morning helped with that.”

“With what?”

He shrugged and handed her a stack of papers. “We got married last night. So congratulations to you, Sheikha Hassem.”

She slapped him across the cheek, and he recoiled with the motion. It was a terrible idea on her part. Before she could move again, he grabbed both her wrists tightly in his hands.

Asam glared down at her, his nostrils flaring wide. “If I were you, I would not strike me again,
mon amie
. Some actions are foolish even for newly minted royalty.”

Her heart raced, thudding hard before his strong gaze. Most of her trusted Asam. He could be a conceited ass and a womanizer, but he lacked the bitter and dangerous edge of his elderly father. There was no reason to think he would strike her, despite the ancient customs of Al-Marasae.

The Hassem brothers had worked to modernize so much, and yet he was restraining her. She wasn’t sure if he could keep a clamp tightly enough on his emotions not to go further. It was intoxicating in a weird way, even in her panic. It was like having a tiger by the tail, some beautiful, powerful being who was all hers…if she wanted him.

That time had already passed. Now he’d gotten her drunk and married her.

She was furious over this. No matter how much the tingle between her legs and the heat flaring through her stomach told her otherwise. “Did you do this on purpose?”

“No more than you did. I guess I don’t handle my sixth shot of tequila while gambling as well as I thought. I am asking for the security feeds soon because it’s all fuzzy. Of course, it can be annulled.”

“Well then, let’s get over to whatever court we need to and do that. We can Britney Spears this and be unmarried in less than twelve hours.”

Asam dropped her wrists, and she tried not to mourn the loss of contact.

Come on, Kelly, focus. Don’t let him give you the puppy dog eyes!

Even if seeing Asam offended did wound her, it wasn’t a reason to stay married. Sure, he’d been able to lead her to an orgasm that had blown her mind, but that didn’t make up for his untrustworthy nature or the way he’d torn into her before. Besides, she had to save her job at Paradiso.
The last thing she had time for was trying to make the best of a crazy Vegas wedding.

“We don’t have to fix this.”

“I think we do. This isn’t at all what either of us wants. After all, isn’t there a supermodel or a fire-eater or some dancer you should be dating?”

His nostrils flared again and he shook his head. “I am sorry for what happened at Dharr’s engagement party, but maybe this is another chance. We had fun last night, at least what I can remember. You can’t deny that.”

She shuddered and took in a deep breath. It was getting even harder to speak, to think. A huge part of her had obsessed and longed for Asam for almost two years. Every time she’d visited Alana in Al-Marasae, it had bitten into her, not just petty jealousy of her best friend’s happiness and stability but having to be near Asam and his whole family. Every time she’d catch him in the palace halls, every fight they’d had at the few holidays she’d been there, every single time had twisted her heart more and fanned the flames of her desire.

“There is something,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper. “I can’t deny that. I do feel it, but I have to be in New York and you’ve hurt me before and—” She let out a sharp breath when he stroked her cheek. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he said, gesturing to the rings as if she’d been confused on that point.

“But now that is has, we have to be responsible, get this over with, and move on with our lives!”

“Why?”

She frowned and backed away from him. “Are you serious? I have a plane to catch tonight to NYC to talk with my culinary friends. If that wasn’t enough, I have less than two weeks to please my boss. I have to make sure I have something left to my name, and if learning about vegan food is what I have to do, then that’s it. I don’t have time to be married, and I’m sure you have a lot of prep with the Oasis project. I’ve heard enough from Alana to know it must be massive.”

“You don’t want to cook vegan food, and I just went over specs with Dharr two days ago. We’re running well on schedule. What you want is to cook for yourself. You said as much before, and even if I hadn’t tasted the dishes you’ve made for the family before...well,
Alana
rambles on about how amazing you are. You’d hate being a vegan chef and you know it.”

“But my paycheck comes from Paradiso, so whatever Monique Dawson wants, she’ll get. After all, I don’t have any guarantees. If I leave her, I could be done. She can more than work to blacklist me in the middle of a hissy fit. It’s not as if I haven’t seen her do it to other staff, even the damn lounge acts and dancers. I
need
this job.”

“Then start a restaurant of your own,
mon amie
,” he said, grinning back at her. Some of the frustration seemed to drain from the depth of his hazel eyes.

“Yes, of course, I’ll just start a New York eatery with no capital. Why didn’t I think of that?” she huffed.

“I have money.”

She frowned back at him. “If you think you can buy me like some who…”

“No,” he said calmly, holding up his hands before her. “Just an experiment. You try being married to me for a week. I’ll take you to a great vacation, and let you know how great being a sheikha can be. If you still hate it, fine. You walk, and I’ll give you ten million for your trouble.”

Her eyes were wide. That made no sense. Had he started speaking in another language? Had she blacked out? Hell, was this all a dream spurred on from too much drinking over her crappy boss? Maybe she wasn’t even here. Why would he want to impress her so much? He’d already run out on her before.

How could anyone think she was ten million dollars for a week?

She’d never felt like that before. While she’d dated before and had a few close boyfriends over the years, she’d been so career focused that it was what she’d clung to more. Besides, even with the flirting and fun, she was never the woman a man kept around. She was curvy and far plainer than Alana, who everyone had always adored with her turquoise eyes and flowing brown hair. How could he feel this way?

But hadn’t she told Alana to enjoy the fun and give Dharr a chance before? Look at how happy that made her friend. Maybe she could take her own advice. At least for a week, if she could bury the resentment in her heart, then she could have fun and with a gorgeous guy to boot.

“So if I take off with you for a week, you’ll give me ten million to start my own restaurant? No strings attached?”

“It’s not quite like that.”

“Oh.”

“No,” he continued, starting to pace. “If you don’t want to stay, then take the money. At least it’ll make you happy, and we’ll annul everything. I’ll call our best lawyer on it. But you have to be honest. If you want to stay, don’t just run. Don’t be as dumb as I was.”

“I…”

“Give it a week, search your heart, and we’ll go from there. Can you agree to that? Wouldn’t a week with me in an exotic locale being a sheikha be better than a New York trip? Even if you leave and want it all over with, you will still have a week to do your research. So, what do you say,
mon amie
, won’t it be worth it?”

But you might hurt me more. It’s not like we’ve had such great encounters before.

She didn’t say that aloud. She didn’t know how. It felt that if she voiced those words, she’d collapse on the floor before him and maybe shatter like china. The best thing she could do was never admit to weaknesses, and one of her biggest was one Sheikh Asam Hassem.

“You have a deal...so what’s next?”

***

“Wait?” she said, as he poured her a glass of Perrier and handed her another aspirin. She wasn’t going to drink again for a long time. She just felt too shaky and off-kilter to eat or drink anything that wasn’t a nice glass of water. She needed her wits about her. Asam knocked her off balance enough to begin with. “So I’m confused. Where are we going again?”

“Abu Dhabi. It’s the capital of the United Arab Emirates and one of the great jewels of the Middle East. I know you’re already familiar with the palace and Marasimaq, but I thought something completely new would be better,” he added, stroking his beard and picking up a bottle for himself.

“So you think if you wine and dine me, my
husband
,” she said, stretching out the word playfully. “You think then I’ll stay.”

He shook his head and set the bottle down. “No, I think you’re one hell of a woman who deserves to be treated like the royalty you are. I messed up big-time, and I have one shot to make it up to you. I am more than eager to do so.”

That was a sweet thought if maybe a little too late. Kelly wasn’t even sure what could truly make the hurt better. To be fair, she’d added salt to her own wounds and his over the years, sniping back and forth with him, but this was just so much.

“I’m hardly Cinderella,” she said, deciding to keep her tone playful.

All she had to do was treat this like any other date. Since humor was her chief defense mechanism, the joke just rolled off her tongue.

He reached out and brushed her hair back from her face. “I’d call you Rapunzel before I called you anything else,” he conceded. “Besides, I don’t want you to be a Disney princess.”

“Oh, so you had something else in mind?” she asked, quirking her lips at him.

There was something so devilish in Asam’s smile that she couldn’t help but stare more closely. He emphasized his point by licking his lips, and it made her think of what his mouth had done to her last night, feeling of that skillful tongue as he drove his fingers deep inside her and the sweet tickling of his neatly trimmed beard. He was a breathtaking man, built like a lean runner or soccer player. But that hint of gold in his eyes, the mischievous promise of pleasure and so much more made her want to do whatever he was offering, or at least try.

At worst, she’d have ten million dollars and a whopping story for the rest of her life.

If her heart broke during the shenanigans, then at least she’d have enough money to cobble it back together.

“Well,” he said, standing up and slipping off his blazer. “I was thinking of starting with a bit of fun. Have you ever had the pleasure of joining the Mile High Club?”

She blushed and bit her lower lip, channeling her inner coquette. “Everyone’s heard of it, but I never had an offer. Besides, trying to jam myself into some gross and tiny bathroom on an American Airlines jet would be the absolute worst thing in the world.”

“Then you’re fortunate we have a jet. The pilots have a soundproof cabin.”

“I assume a necessity for any sheikh on the go.”

“Or any other billionaire playboy I assure you,” Asam said, beginning to unbutton his shirt.

She grinned and stood, deciding if she had promised to try her hardest for a week and be as open as possible, then she needed to follow through. Reaching down, she slipped off her shirt and fumbled with the buttons of her jeans. “I’ll only go so far. I don’t…”Kelly said, trailing off, blushing. “Let’s see how the week goes. But what did you have in mind?”

“I want to feel you again, but I’ll do whatever you want,
mon amie
.”