The Sheikh's Bartered Bride. Lucy Monroe

      “I wanted to be able to focus my attention on you. There is a privacy window. We will be as secluded as we desire.”

      The way he said it made totally inappropriate images swirl through her head and her nipples tightened almost painfully. It was such an unexpected sensation, she gasped.

      “Are you well?”

      “F-fine,” she stuttered before practically diving into the backseat of the limousine.

      As a tactic to hide her discomposure from him, it was no doubt a dismal failure. Most of his escorts probably waited for him to help them into the car. Of course, these same escorts most likely had a love life outside of their fantasies and could handle the close proximity of such a sexy man with equanimity.

      Not so her.

      She was in over her head and the man had never even kissed her. When he took the seat opposite her, her breasts swelled at his nearness.

      And his smile was positively lethal to her self-control.

      “Would you like some refreshments?” He flipped open a small door in the side console of the car to reveal a fully stocked fridge.

      “Some juice would be nice.” She was really proud of herself when her voice came out fairly normal.

      He poured her a glass of cranberry juice and handed it to her. “So, are antique telescopes your only hobby?”

      “Oh, no. I’m an avid reader. I guess that makes sense, me working in a library.”

      “I think I expected that, yes.”

      She returned the droll smile. “Right, but I also love hiking nature trails.”

      His brows rose at that and she couldn’t help a rueful shrug of acknowledgment to his surprise.

      “Maybe I should have said ambling through the woods.”

      “Ah.” He sipped at his mineral water. “And do you daydream as you walk, I wonder.”

      She could not hide her own surprise that he had guessed something so private about her quite accurately. “Yes. Being outside and away from people is sort of magical.”

      “I too like the outdoors, but prefer the desert to the woods.”

      “Please tell me about it.”

      And he did, but he deftly directed the conversation back to her on several occasions and they spent the long drive talking about subjects she rarely discussed with anyone but her sister. Hakim seemed to understand her shyness and was not bothered by it, which made it easier for her to be open with him.

      He also never dismissed her views as her father was so adept at doing. Hakim listened and as he listened, Catherine found herself falling under the spell of his personality.

      He took her to lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the Willamette River. The food was superb, the view of the river amazing and his company overwhelming to her heart and her senses. She was very much afraid that she was falling deeply and irrevocably in love with a man that was far out of her league.

      When they’d settled into their seats at the theater, Hakim slipped his arm over Catherine’s shoulders, smiling to himself when she stiffened, but did not pull away. She was not used to a man’s touch, but her body gave all the signals of being ready for a sexual awakening. The latent and untapped passion he sensed in her would play to his advantage, making it easy for him to seduce her into marriage and fulfill his duty.

      His specialized training had made it possible to save himself from the recent assassination attempt, but his parents had not been so lucky. He had been unable to save them and the knowledge still haunted him.

      The fact that he had been ten years old at the time did nothing to assuage his need to protect his family now, whatever the cost.

      He could still remember the sound of his mother’s scream as she watched her husband shot before her eyes, a scream cut short by another gunshot. His little sister had whimpered beside him and he’d taken her hand, leading her out of the palace via the secret passage known only to members of the royal family and their most trusted servants.

      Days of grueling heat in the desert sun had followed as Hakim had used the knowledge taught him by his Bedouin grandfather to seek shelter in the wild for him and his small sister. He had eventually found his grandfather’s tribe. He and his sister had survived, but Hakim would never forget the cost.

      A small sound from Catherine brought him back to the present. He realized he had been caressing her neck with his thumb. Her eyes were fixed on the huge screen, but her body was wholly attuned to him and hummed with sexual excitement.

      A month of seducing her toward marriage might very well be overkill.

      Catherine reveled in the feel of Hakim’s arms around her and pretended it meant more than it did. It was only natural that he ask her to dance with him. After all, he was her escort for the evening and everyone else was dancing.

      The black-tie charity ball was to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. She’d invited Hakim to be her escort, half expecting him to say no, but he hadn’t. He’d agreed to bring her and even to have dinner with her family beforehand.

      Her mother and sister were completely charmed by his exotic charisma and enigmatic presence. Even in a business suit and tie, the man exuded sheikhness.

      “Your sister is very kind.”

      She let her body move infinitesimally closer to his and fought the urge to lay her head on his shoulder and just breathe in his essence. “Yes. She and I are very close.”

      “This is good.”

      “I think so.” She smiled up at him.

      His expression remained serious. “Family is very important.”

      “Yes, it is.”

      She wasn’t sure where this was headed.

      “Having children, passing one’s heritage from one generation to the next is also important.”

      “I agree. I can’t imagine a married couple not wanting children.”

      Finally he smiled. “Perhaps there are those that have their reasons, but you would never be one of them.”

      She thought longingly of marriage and family, specifically with this man and it was all she could do to keep her smile pasted in place. “No, I’d never be one of them.”

      She was unlikely ever to be married at all, but why bring up that depressing thought?

      His thumb started a caressing rotation in the small of her back and her thoughts scattered, even the depressing ones.

      Closing her eyes, she gave into the urge to let her cheek rest against his chest. He’d probably never ask her to dance again, but she just couldn’t help herself.

      Instead of acting offended by her forwardness, Hakim settled her more fully against him and danced with her until the music changed to a faster beat.

      He didn’t ask her to dance again that evening, but he didn’t neglect her, either. Using his easy sophistication to deflect the interest of other women who approached them with the intention of flirting with him, he kept his interest fixed firmly on her and her heart gave up the battle.

      She was in love.

      Hopelessly.

      Helplessly.

      Completely.

      Catherine opened the card attached to the flowers. It read, “For a woman whose inner beauty blooms with more loveliness than a rose.”

      Tears filled her eyes and it was all she could do not to cry. She and Hakim had spent the night before at a benefit concert. Catherine had gotten up and spoken on behalf of the children and their hopes and dreams. She’d been shaking with nerves, but