The Sheikh's Pretend Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 2) (11 page)

"You're a rich oil sheikh," Ella said. She glanced around the room. "This is like something out of a dream." She smiled at him, suddenly determined to rebuild the distance between them both, regain the polite formality. "The handsome prince always has a bevy of beautiful women at his beck and call. Isn't that right?" she said.

Ella saw Raz's brows furrow, and there was a sudden darkness in his gaze. "That's quite an assumption you're making there."

"What? That you have an endless supply of beautiful women available to you?"

Raz shook his head and leaned closer to her. He was so close that she caught the aroma of his exotic, intoxicating scent, a primal mixture that almost made her gasp.

"What makes you think I need a beautiful woman?" he murmured.

Ella's throat tightened slightly. She felt a heat rise to her cheeks. "Isn't that what sheikhs want? A beautiful trophy on their arm?" she said.

Raz's arm slid closer to Ella, almost touching her shoulder. "And you're not a beautiful trophy, Ella?" he asked.
 

Ella frowned. "Me? A trophy? That's the last thing I'd want to be."

"Not even if the man on whose arm you leaned thought you were the most amazing woman he'd ever met?"

Ella drew in a sharp, involuntary breath. Had he just said that? Was he referring to her?

Ella took a rapid sip of her drink and wrenched her gaze away from Raz. The room seemed suddenly quieter. In the distance, she could hear the rhythmic pulse of the waves against the rocks. Or was that the pounding of her heart, she asked herself? Did he have any clue about the effect of his words on her?
 

Ella glanced back and saw the curl of his lips, the firm set of his gaze, the slight flaring of his nostrils. Of course he knew how his words had affected her, she thought. This was a man who was used to having his way in all things. No-one ever refused him anything. Ella was sure of that. He was a decisive male accustomed to satisfaction.

She felt a sudden shifting, as if her internal sense of balance had shifted. It wasn't strong enough to make her giddy, but she definitely didn't feel right. Perhaps there had been something wrong with the food she had eaten.

Raz frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Ella placed her glass down on the small, low table in front of the sofa. "I'm fine. Just felt a little woozy for a moment," she explained.

Raz straightened in the sofa and leaned toward Ella. "Maybe the meal was too much for you so soon after the crash," he suggested.

Ella shook her head. "It wasn't a crash," she said firmly. "I just lost control. That's all."

"I saw it all happen. You were run off the road, that's what."

"He was just overtaking me," Ella said defensively. "He got too close. It could have happened to anyone." She really didn't want this conversation now. Not here, and certainly not with Raz.

"You're not just anyone," Raz said softly. Ella gazed into his eyes, seeing the sincerity there again, that now familiar desire to be believed.

"Look, Raz. I appreciate what you've done for me. But, maybe it's time that I left."

Raz's brows furrowed. "Left? And go where? Back to the hotel? North to the border? Seems to me you're not going to be safe in either place. Not until we get things sorted out," he said.

"What do you mean, sorted out?" she asked.

Raz sighed. "I took on board what you said about the situation at the border."

Ella saw Raz glance at her as if gauging her reaction.

"Really?" she asked.

Raz nodded. "I have some people looking into things," he said.

"Who?"

"I can't go into it, right now. Just take it from me that I'm going to find out what's causing the pollution, and put it right. Even if it's my problem. I can't allow a situation like that to persist. The uncertainty is a taint on my family's reputation."

Ella felt herself bristle with sudden indignation. "It's not about your family's reputation. It's about the safety of those poor people up there."

Raz's jaw tightened, and he nodded. "Those are my people you are talking about, Ella."

"Oh, I forgot. You're the wise sheikh, caring for his subjects. That's all a bit old-fashioned, don't you think, Raz?" she said.

Ella saw a sudden flash of irritation on Raz's face. He leaned closer to her. "You think I'm a relic of the distant past, don't you," he snapped. His eyes had darkened, and she knew she had touched a raw nerve.

Ella hesitated. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" he demanded. "That you're from a more enlightened place with your Western ways?"

"I'd never suggest such a thing," she said quickly.

"I seem to recall you suggesting something like that when you visited me in my office. Looked to me like you had made your mind up about me even before we met," Raz said.

Ella rolled her eyes and then shook her head firmly. "That's not true, at all. I had no idea what you were like. Now that we know each other better, I realize my preconceptions were mistaken."

"Preconceptions. Sounds like a fancy word for prejudices," Raz stated.

"That's not fair, Raz," Ella said. "I admit we got off on the wrong foot. But, that's changed. Hasn't it?" she said meeting his fierce gaze.

Ella could see the barely contained outrage in his eyes. He was struggling to keep control of himself. After a few moments during which Ella simply waited patiently, he finally replied. "It has changed. You're right."

Raz eased closer to Ella. She could feel his heat against her hip. His arm slid down off the back of the sofa. She felt his hand slide onto her left shoulder, his arm tightening around her back. Ella heard his breath, coarse and heavy. All his hard-won self-control seemed to have been abandoned as he leaned closer to Ella.

Ella felt a galvanic sensation course through her body. His touch was an electric impulse that jolted her into sudden and surprising pleasure. Ella saw his eyes darken appreciatively. He looked suddenly hungry, even ravenous.

Ella gasped, and her eyelids closed slowly almost against her will. She became unnaturally aware of every nerve in her body; the world seemed to have shifted beneath her; the blood was pulsing faster along her veins.
 

Ella opened her eyes, hoping that he wouldn't pursue this course of action. Surely it was all happening too fast. Hadn't she been convalescing only a short while ago? Didn't he understand that, or was his pleasure the only thing he could think of at this moment? What about the promises he'd made to keep her safe? Because, right at this moment that last thing she felt was safe with Sheikh Raz Al Kharif.

Raz's hand drifted up, and he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. The touch of the back of his hand against her head sent a rush of sensation down to her middle.

Ella peered into Raz's eyes and smiled hesitantly. His gaze softened, reassured by the look she had given him.

Ella knew this had to stop; knew that it couldn't go any further.

She stiffened, and Raz reacted immediately, his brows furrowing, concern filling his eyes.

Ella shrugged her shoulders, and Raz removed his hand, almost as if he'd received an electric shock. His mouth opened, and he straightened, moving slightly away from Ella.

She rubbed a hand against her forehead. "It's warm in here," she said flatly.

Looking suddenly awkward, Raz nodded. "Perhaps I can open the french doors," he said standing up.

Ella stood and faced him. "No. It's alright. I'm tired after the meal. Perhaps I need to lie down again."

"Of course. You must still be exhausted. Perhaps the meal was too large. I'll mention it to the chef. Tomorrow we can have something lighter. Until you get your strength back fully."

"I think I'm strong enough to leave, Raz," Ella said. "Maybe I should get back to the city."

Raz cocked his head to one side. "You do?"

Ella nodded wordlessly.

Raz's eyes flickered from side to side, and then he spoke. "I can't allow that," he said evenly.

Ella glared at Raz. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You can't allow that? What on earth do you mean?"

"Just what I say. You have to stay here," Raz replied peering straight at Ella. His shoulders stiffened almost as if he was readying himself for her reaction.

"You can't do that," she declared.

Raz shook his head. "I have to insist. You're a guest in my kingdom, and I believe you are at risk while you remain in my country. It's my duty to keep you safe until you are strong enough to leave."

"This is outrageous. You are going to keep me prisoner in your palace because you think I'm in danger?""

Raz nodded, his eyes filled with certainty and conviction. There was a look on his face that announced there was little or no room for manoeuvre. She'd soon see about that.

"Where's the proof I'm in danger?" she demanded.

"I can't tell you that," he replied.

"There's no proof, is there? You've just made this up so you can keep me here like one of your throwaway girlfriends."

Ella saw Raz's features tighten with indignation, but he didn't react. Not right away.

There was a long silence during which Ella faced Raz defiantly, glaring at him, waiting for some kind of explanation in which she could have faith. The distant sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks were like the pulsing tension between them both.

Finally Raz spoke. His voice was soft but filled with conviction. "You are not like those women, Ella. Nothing like them." Raz took one step closer to Ella. "Do you really want to know what I feel about you?" he asked in a low growl. His dark eyes narrowed, and she was sure she saw his face flush slightly.

Ella's breath caught in her throat, and she felt a sudden raw, elemental panic.

No.

She didn't want to know. Ella knew she couldn't hear the words he so obviously wanted to say to her.
 

Not here. Not now.

And with that last rush of panic coursing through her body, Ella turned and raced out of the room. From somewhere deep inside, even in a weakened state, Ella found the strength to force her heavy legs to dash up the stairs toward the safety of her room.

CHAPTER TEN

Ella tried to sleep, but found that, no matter how hard she tried, the blessing of unconsciousness eluded her throughout the night. Every time she closed her eyes and started to feel herself drift off, images of Raz appeared in her mind, burning their way into her aching heart. It only took the briefest dream-like hallucination of the sheikh to thrust her back into wakefulness.

Ella knew he was probably sleeping in one of the nearby rooms. She tried to avoid the torment of imagining how he would look lying in his bed. No doubt there would be a smug, satisfied smile on his face at the prospect of keeping Ella in his palace.

Ella had been overcome with emotion at his declaration down in the sitting room. Surely he hadn't been serious when announcing that she was essentially his prisoner. She felt as if she had been transported to an earlier time, a more primitive age when, no doubt, such things happened all too often.
 

Ella had repeatedly shaken her head in disbelief. Raz's justification for keeping her captive might have seemed credible, given the fact that one of Karim's men had forced Ella's car off the road near the palace. Maybe Raz was right. Perhaps Ella's life would be in danger if she left the apparent safety of the palace.

But that was the real question that bothered Ella.

Was she, in fact, safe at all in the presence of such a dangerously attractive man as Raz? This was his domain. He had complete control over her while she remained here.
 

Why had that one thought caused a strange sensation to tumble wildly in Ella's core?
 

In his complete control. Once again, there seemed something archaic and primal about that. How had she allowed herself to fall into his clutches? Because that was what had happened. Wasn't it?
 

Ella sat up in bed and switched on the bedside lamp. Glancing at the bedside clock, she saw that it was three o'clock in the morning. The balcony doors were open, and she could see the inky blackness outside.
 

She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Examining her features in the mirror, she was shocked to see how pale and drawn her face had become. Had that change just been caused by the incident with the car? Or, had Raz caused that change in her by pulling her into his sphere of influence.
 

Ella slammed her clenched fists down onto the marble surface of the sink. She gritted her teeth and stared at herself as if the person in the mirror was a stranger. How could she have allowed herself to be derailed like this? She had come to Qazhar with one express purpose; to help bring the plight of an endangered tribe to the world's attention. But since she had arrived here, she had done almost nothing except resist the obvious charms of one of the men she had held accountable for the disgraceful conditions in the border country.

It was time to do something about this, she chided herself.

Ella shook her head and went back into the bedroom. She opened her suitcase and started to pull out the clothes that had been thrown in the case. Within a few minutes, she was dressed in a pair of jeans, casual shirt and flat shoes. She threw a few extra small items inside a shoulder bag and opened the door to the bedroom. She closed the door quietly behind her and peered down the corridor.

She paused and listened for a moment. There were no distant sounds from downstairs. Just as well. It would do no good to have a face to face confrontation with Raz.
 

When she came to the stairs, she paused once more. Nothing. The house was deadly quiet. As she stretched out her foot to take the first step, the bag which hung over her right shoulder scraped noisily against the wooden banister. The sound of the bag's metal clasp against the varnished wood seemed unnaturally loud in such a silence. Ella froze for a moment, aware that her breathing sounded harsh and fast.