The Sheikh's Last Mistress. Rachael Thomas

looked at the handsome man who seemed somehow unsuited to the jeans which hugged his long legs and the light blue shirt, open at the neck, giving her a tantalising view of dark hair against olive skin. She already knew him to be a man of the desert and, despite his casual clothes, she could just imagine him in white robes. He had a raw essence of power about him and was handsome enough to melt her vulnerable heart. But from the upright stance of his body and the regal tilt of his chin, she knew he was also very much used to giving orders—and having them obeyed.

      Well, she wasn’t about to be ordered around by anyone. She’d had enough of being the one who always had to give in to the demands of others. Her stepmother had gone too far this time, accepting the job before she’d even spoken to her. Everything was about money for her, never the person and least of all the horse involved.

      Her stepmother was as cold as her father and equally controlling, which only reinforced Destiny’s need to escape them. She couldn’t stay here any longer. The stables might be entwined with precious childhood memories of her mother and the few short years of happiness before her death, but she had to leave. Just as her younger sister, Milly, had done. And she had to do it before her stepmother completely obliterated those happy memories.

      ‘I’m very sorry about the situation the Sheikh is in, but I cannot help.’ She kept her gaze locked with his, trying to meet his aura of power with determination, wanting to convey the message that she would not be controlled—not any more.

      His eyes, as black as onyx, narrowed with irritation and his jaw clenched beneath the dark trimmed beard, so precise it was barely more than stubble. ‘That is not the arrangement I have come to with Mrs Richards. She assured me you would be available to travel to Kezoban immediately.’

      The words fired out at her but she stood her ground, adamant she would not to be ordered around be either this superior man or her stepmother.

      ‘Firstly, I am her stepdaughter and, secondly, she had no right to make any such arrangement without consulting me. Not even with a wealthy Sheikh. So I suggest you look elsewhere for the help you require.’

      She moved towards him, intending to walk past him and away, wanting only to turn her back on this man who exuded a potent mix of masculinity and sexuality which terrified yet enthralled her. His eyes, full of fiery intensity, met hers as she came level with him, but it was the enticing aura of this powerful man as she came close—too close—that made her step falter. It became impossible to do anything other than stand and look directly into his handsome face.

      Her stomach somersaulted and, like a teenager in the throes of a first love, her heart skipped a beat. Not that she knew anything about first love, having shied away from all that, using horses as her shield. She was angry with her stepmother and not at all affected by this exotic man. She reminded herself of that fact, but struggled as his gaze continued to hold hers.

      ‘The deal is agreed, Miss Richards. You will travel to Kezoban in two days.’ The control in his voice, the hardened words and the command he exuded made anything other than looking up at him impossible, even though she wanted to get as far away from the effect he was having on her as possible. The anger glittering in the blackness of his eyes reminded her of the night sky, full of stars.

      For the last sixteen years, since her stepmother had become a permanent feature in her and her younger sister’s lives, she’d done her stepmother’s and father’s bidding, putting aside all of her dreams and aspirations. She’d wanted to be there for Milly as she grew up but more recently it had become all about helping Milly set herself up in London and escape their father’s oppressive control. Now that Milly was settled and happy it was time she did the same.

      Milly had left home earlier in the year and there was no one to protect now, no one to look out for but herself. She was free to do what she wanted. Now this man, with his high-handed attitude, thought he could waltz in and more or less demand she go to a desert country because it was what his Sheikh wanted. Surely the Sheikh had enough money to hire the top professionals in the field.

      Could this man, this bizarre offer to travel to a desert kingdom she knew nothing about, be her opportunity of escape?

      Her love of horses had been all-consuming as she’d grown up, leaving no room for any other kind of love and giving her the perfect excuse to escape from reality. Could she use her ability to connect with horses as her means of escape?

      ‘I don’t care what deal you have made. I will not go.’ The words flew from her lips as the oppression of living under her father’s strict rule surfaced. Going to an unknown country at the request of another equally controlling man was not something she’d planned for herself. All she wanted was to get away and as tempting as this offer was, it wasn’t what she needed. She would find another way to gain her financial independence and ultimately her freedom.

      ‘Majeed is a majestic creature. He wants only to please.’ His words cut through her thoughts, tugging at those emotional heartstrings she always had for an animal. ‘It is as if he knows the woman who rode him into the desert and fell from his back was the Sheikh’s sister, as if he blames himself.’

      Destiny looked up at him, her interest captured as she imagined the horse, but she couldn’t be drawn into this man’s problems. She had her own to solve.

      ‘She died.’ The words were hard and short, the pain within them tugging at her sentimental heart. He must genuinely love the horse and want to serve his master.

      ‘I’m sorry for the Sheikh’s loss, but really I cannot help.’ Still she clung firmly to her refusal.

      ‘The horse is living in torment. He is unapproachable, almost impossible to handle and a danger to himself and others. It has been a year since the accident. Many have tried to calm his troubled spirit. You are the Sheikh’s last hope and if you cannot help Majeed there is only one other option.’

      She drew in a sharp breath as the implications of his words hit her. He could stand there all day and argue about the deal he’d made with her stepmother and she wouldn’t care, wouldn’t back down. But as soon as he’d talked of the stallion, the compassion in his voice showing he at least cared about the horse and its fate, she knew she would go. But she wasn’t about to let this man know that yet, not when she had her own deal to strike, one that would finally set her free from a life she would never have chosen for herself.

      ‘What are the terms of the agreement you have made?’ She continued to stand glaring up him, the injustice of her situation filling her with the kind of courage which had evaded her for many years.

      ‘The arrangement is that you will travel to Kezoban for a minimum of two months, to work with the stallion. A substantial amount of money has already been agreed.’ His tone remained as commanding as ever, but something in his expression softened slightly. Was it possible a hard man such as this could soften? No, she must be mistaken. He was as dominating and controlling as her father. She might be about to use him as a chance to escape her father’s iron rule, but she was under no illusions: this man was the epitome of supremacy. Her terms needed to be laid firmly down.

      ‘This substantial amount of money has been agreed with my stepmother, no doubt.’ Destiny tried to keep the icy coldness from her voice as she thought of the woman who had replaced her mother. She knew now that her father had never been happy and loving, as she’d thought when she was a young child. That had all been pretence. The day her mother had died, everything changed. He’d stopped pretending. He’d become cold and mercenary, finally meeting his match in his new wife. Now he was allowing her stepmother to use his daughter’s gift to extract money from the Sheikh of a far-off desert kingdom.

      ‘It has, yes. To cover your absence here. You are a valued member of her team.’ The man’s words remained gentle and coaxing, maybe because he sensed her impending agreement. But his chosen words made her want to laugh out loud. Her stepmother did not value her, always reminding her she was nothing, just a stable girl. It was the money such a deal would generate she valued.

      But Destiny couldn’t let him know that his Sheikh’s offer was going to be her way out, her chance to finally to do what she wanted in life and travel.