The Sheikh's Christmas Conquest. Sharon Kendrick

it was the custom to marry young. He thought of Alya and a spear of pain lanced through his heart. He remembered dreams crushed and the heavy sense of blame, and he cursed the nature of his thoughts and pushed them away as he looked into Olivia Miller’s stubborn face.

      ‘You might not have a magic wand, but I would like you to try. What is it that you say? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I think you will discover that the financial rewards I’m offering will be beyond your wildest dreams.’ He tilted the corners of his mouth in a brief smile. ‘And surely you don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth?’

      She didn’t respond to his attempt at humour, she just continued to stare at him, only now there was a distinct flicker of annoyance in her amber eyes. Saladin felt another rush of sexual attraction, because women didn’t often glare at him like that and he was finding her truculence a surprising turn-on. Because no woman had ever refused him anything.

      ‘How many ways do I have to say no before you’ll believe I mean it?’ she said.

      ‘And how long will it take you to realise that I am a very persistent man who is used to getting what I want?’

      ‘Persist away—you won’t change my mind.’

      And suddenly Saladin did what he’d told himself he was only going to do as a last resort, which he seemed now to have reached. He leaned back, his eyes not leaving her face. ‘So is this how you are intending to spend the rest of your life, Livvy?’ he questioned softly. ‘Hiding yourself away in the middle of nowhere and neglecting a talent that few possess—and all because some man once left you standing at the altar?’

CHAPTER TWO

      AT FIRST LIVVY didn’t react to Saladin’s cruel taunt because not reacting was something she was good at. One of the things she’d taught herself to do when the man she’d been due to marry had decided not to bother turning up. She’d learned not to show what she was feeling. Not to give the watching world any idea what was going on inside her head, or her heart. But the sheikh’s words hurt. Even now, they hurt. Even though it was a long time since anybody had been crass enough to remind her that she had once been jilted. That she had stood at the altar wearing a stupid white dress and an eager smile, which had faded as the minutes had ticked by and the silence had grown into hushed and increasingly urgent whispers as it had dawned on the waiting congregation that the groom wasn’t going to show.

      She looked at the man sitting there with firelight illuminating his hawklike face and in that moment she actually hated him. How dare he bring up something so painful just so he could get what he wanted? Didn’t he care about hurting people’s feelings and trampling all over them—or was he simply a master of manipulation? Didn’t he realise that such a public humiliation had dealt her self-confidence a blow from which it had taken a long time to recover? And maybe it had never completely recovered. It had still been powerful enough to make her want to leave her old life behind and start a new one. To leave the horses she’d once adored and to view all subsequent advances from men with suspicion.

      She would like to take a run at him and shake him. To batter her fists against that hard, broad chest and tell him that he was an uncaring beast. But she suspected her rage would be wasted on such a powerful man, and mightn’t he regard such a strong response as some petty kind of victory?

      ‘My abandoned marriage has nothing to do with my reasons for not wanting to work for you,’ she said, with a coolness she’d cultivated to cope with all the questions she’d had to deal with afterwards. And she’d needed it. She remembered the badly disguised glee in the voices of the women—those wafer-thin blondes who couldn’t understand why Rupert de Vries had proposed to someone as unremarkable as her in the first place. He didn’t say why? You mean you honestly had no idea? No. She’d honestly had no idea. What woman would ever subject herself to that kind of public ridicule if she’d had any inkling the groom was going to do a runner?

      She glared into Saladin’s glittering dark eyes. ‘Though the fact that you even asked the question is another mark against you.’

      His dark brows knitted together. ‘What are you talking about?’

      ‘I’m talking about the fact that you’ve obviously been delving into my private life, which isn’t making me feel very favourable towards you. No person likes to feel they’re being spied on, and you’re not doing a very good job of selling yourself as a prospective employer.’

      ‘I don’t usually have to sell myself,’ he replied, with a coolness that matched hers. ‘And surely you can understand why I always investigate people I’m planning to employ.’

      ‘When are you going to accept that you won’t be employing me?’

      He opened his mouth and then shut it, turning to look around the room, his gaze coming to rest on the faded velvet curtains, as if he’d only just noticed that the sun had bleached them and that moths had been attacking some of the lining.

      Had he noticed?

      ‘So is your bed and breakfast business thriving?’ he questioned casually.

      It was quite clear what he was getting at and suddenly Livvy wanted to prove him wrong. So just show him, she thought—though it didn’t occur to her until afterwards that she wasn’t obliged to show him anything. She wondered if it was pride that made her want to elevate her image from jilted bride to that of budding entrepreneur, even though it wasn’t exactly true.

      ‘Indeed it is. It’s been a very popular destination,’ she said. ‘Historic houses like this have a wide appeal to the general public and people can’t get enough of them. Speaking of which...’ Pointedly, she looked at her watch. ‘Your half hour is almost up.’

      ‘But it must be hard work?’ he persisted.

      She met the mocking question in his black eyes. ‘Of course it is. Cooking up to eight different breakfasts to order and making up beds with clean linen most days is not for the faint-hearted. But I’ve never been afraid of hard work. You don’t get anything for nothing in this life.’ She paused, her smile growing tight. ‘Although I suppose someone like you might be the exception to the rule.’

      Not showing any sign of moving, he surveyed her steadily. ‘And why might that be?’

      ‘Well, you’re a sheikh, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘You’re one of the richest men in the world. You own a string of prizewinning racehorses and a palace—for all I know, you might own hundreds of palaces. You have your own plane, I imagine.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘And you’ve probably never had to lift a finger to acquire the kind of wealth you take for granted. You’ve probably had everything handed to you on a plate.’

      There was silence as Saladin felt a flicker of exasperation. It was an accusation levelled at most people born to royal status, but never usually voiced in his presence because usually people didn’t dare. Yes, he was unimaginably rich—but did she think that he had grown up in a bubble? That he’d never had to fight for his country and his people? That he’d never known heartbreak, or stared into the dark abyss of real loss? Once again, Alya’s beautiful and perfect face swam into his memory, but he pushed it aside as he met the Englishwoman’s quizzical gaze.

      ‘Materially I do not deny that I have plenty,’ he said. ‘But what about you? You’re not exactly on the breadline, are you, Livvy? This place is hardly your average house. You, too, have known privilege.’

      Livvy wished he would move away from her, because his presence was making her feel distinctly uncomfortable. As if her plaid shirt had suddenly become too small and her breasts were straining against the tightening buttons. As if those watchful eyes could somehow see through her clothes to the plain and functional underwear that lay beneath.

      ‘It’s a rare Georgian house,’ she agreed, her fingers playing with the top button of her shirt. ‘And I’m lucky to live