The Desert Sheikh's Defiant Queen: The Sheikh's Chosen Queen / The Desert King's Pregnant Bride

Now she reached up to try to remove one of the necklaces, but before she could unfasten a clasp Sharif gently batted her fingers away and, taking the diamond, sapphire and pearl strand from his butler, he told her to lift her hair.

She shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“But you still have one more.”

“No. I don’t want it, I don’t want any of these.”

“But you like jewelry. You love fine jewelry. And best of all, you look stunning in exquisite jewels like these. Now lift your hair because dinner is being served and we don’t want it cold.”

She looked up at him, bemused. She’d never owned fine jewelry, only trinkets and hand-me-down bracelets and necklaces and rings from her mother. An antique cameo. A silver Art Deco brooch. Wooden bangles. A jade pendant.

“I don’t feel comfortable, Sharif.”

“But you look beautiful. You’re absolutely gorgeous. Like a living treasure.”

He was paying her compliments and yet there was an edge to his voice, an unspoken anger.

“Maybe we should just eat,” she whispered.

“One last gift,” he said. “Please move your hair.”

Eyes burning, she gathered her heavy hair into her hands and lifted it high to give him access to the back of her neck. His fingers brushed her skin, his fingertips so light, so teasing she arched helplessly at his touch.

She didn’t want him.

But she did want him.

She didn’t love him anymore.

But she loved the way his skin felt on hers, loved the heat and how he made her feel so hot, so electric.

She wanted more heat, more hot, more electric. Closing her eyes she could imagine his hands on her hips, his hard body against the back of her thighs, his palms sliding up her ribs to cup her breasts.

Then suddenly his lips were there at the back of her neck, planting a fleeting kiss where his fingers had been.

“There,” he said, his voice deep, warm reminding her of honey and sun. “Perfection.”

Turning her around, he extended her a hand. “Dinner, laeela.”

They were eating outside at the opposite end of the courtyard, dinner served in a beautiful pale-ivory tent lit by a delicate crystal chandelier hanging above the linen-covered table. Three more white candles flickered on the table, making the porcelain china shimmer. Tuberoses and white lilies floated in water, their fragrance so sweet it nearly made her dizzy.