Sarah And The Secret Sheikh. Michelle Douglas

lock of her hair. ‘There’s no maybe about it. I’d like it very much.’

      Ooh! Ooh! She found it impossible to form a coherent thought.

      He gestured towards the far end of the bar to the waiting customers. ‘Don’t go anywhere.’

      ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ She couldn’t believe how strongly her voice emerged when the rest of her felt as weak and shapeless as smoke. Well...it felt weak until his smile sent her floating up towards the ceiling.

      * * *

      Sarah stretched and encountered a warm male body.

      She opened one eye to find Majed sending her a low, sexy smile that warmed her blood. Her other eye flew open as the events of the previous night flooded her. Their love-making had... Wow! She gulped She hadn’t known it could be like that.

      ‘Good morning.’

      She couldn’t contain a grin. ‘From where I’m lying, it’s a very good morning.’

      She lifted a hand to trace the firm contours of his bare chest. Majed sucked in a breath. And then three loud knocks pounded on her front door. Her hand stilled. Majed raised an eyebrow.

      She lifted a finger to her lips. ‘If we’re quiet they might go away.’

      The knocking started up again.

      And again.

      Majed’s lips twitched. ‘They don’t seem to want to give up.’

      She bit back a sigh before pointing a finger at him. ‘Don’t go anywhere.’

      He brought her finger to his lips and kissed it. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

      She slipped on a robe and belted it at her waist. ‘I’ll be back. Very soon.’ She’d get rid of whoever it was in double-quick time.

      And then maybe they could resume last night’s...delights.

      Majed shucked up the bed, resting his hands behind his head. The sheet threatened to slip beyond his waist. All she had to do was grab the sheet in one hand, tug, and...

      If it were possible, Majed’s smile grew wider and sexier. ‘Answer the door, Sarah.’

      Oh, yes! The sooner she got rid of her unwelcome visitor the sooner she could get back to bed...and Majed.

      It was all she could do to contain a shimmy when she flung open the door.

      ‘What the hell took you so long?’ Sebastian barrelled into the room.

      Her jaw dropped and then she pointed back the way he’d come. ‘Leave, Sebastian. Right this moment. We’ve nothing to say. We’re done, so just please go.’

      ‘Hey, baby, don’t be so hasty.’

      He tried to take her in his arms, but she side-stepped him. Majed had been so right about Sebastian. Why hadn’t she realised that sooner?

      Because you wanted to annoy your mother.

      ‘Aw, Cuddles...’

      ‘Don’t call me baby and do not call me Cuddles!’ God, how she loathed that nickname. It made her sound like an over-fed cat. A neutered over-fed cat. ‘We have nothing—’

      ‘I’m sorry, baby. I know I was awful yesterday. I’d had a terrible day at work. I didn’t mean what I said, and I don’t want to break up with you.’

      Had she honestly fallen for this tripe in the past? ‘I don’t want you to want me back, Sebastian. What I want is for you to leave. Now.’

      He frowned evidently baffled. Shame, hot and queasy, made her stomach churn. When had she let herself become such a pushover? When had she decided to settle for so little?

      He straightened and moved towards her, determination glinting in the hard twist of his mouth. Good God, did he mean to kiss her into submission? If he tried it he’d find himself on the floor clutching his groin. Her mother had taught her about men like him.

      ‘If you touch the lady, I’ll be forced to take action.’

      Majed leaned against the doorway to the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of snug cotton trunks—royal blue—that did nothing to hide his...impressiveness. Her mouth dried at the sheer magnificence of six feet of honed muscle lounging in the doorway, waiting for her to come back to bed. A sigh of pure appreciation rose through her.

      Sebastian stared from Majed to Sarah and back again. It would’ve been almost comical if his surprise hadn’t been so darned offensive. Finally he swung around and called her a one-word name that made her flinch.

      With the casual elegance she envied, Majed strode across and landed a right hook to Sebastian’s jaw. Hauling him off the floor, he dragged him to the door and flung him out into the hallway before closing the door on him.

      He did it efficiently. Like a trained warrior. And Sarah had no hope of getting her pulse back under control. ‘Um...thank you.’

      ‘You’re welcome.’

      Her heart thundered in her ears. Would it be really poor form to push Majed back into the bedroom and have her wicked way with him? Or should she offer him coffee first? Actually, she had no intention of doing anything without his signal consent because...

      She swallowed. Because at the moment he looked seriously forbidding.

      She gripped her hands in front of her and prayed for her fantasy lover—the Majed of last night—to come back.

      ‘You lied to me.’

      She blinked. ‘When?’

      ‘You told me you’d dumped him.’

      She swallowed, her hands twisting together. ‘I told you I was a free woman.’

      ‘But you deliberately let me believe the break-up was at your instigation, yes?’

      Her heart sank. She had. He’d been so proud of her...and she’d wanted to revel in the sensation. She refused to compound the lie with another one. She couldn’t speak, so she nodded instead. She wished he’d smile. She tried for levity. ‘Are you going to punch me on the nose now?’

      He did smile, but it was the kind of smile that made her heart ache. ‘I would never do anything to hurt you, Sarah.’ He strode over and lifted her wrist to his lips. ‘I’ve had a wonderful night.’

      She did what she could to swallow the lump that tried to lodge in her throat. ‘So did I,’ she whispered. ‘But from the look on your face, I’m guessing this is goodbye.’

      ‘Yes.’

      He let go of her hand and it felt as if she’d been cast adrift on an endless grey sea. ‘Goodbye...for good?’

      He nodded.

      ‘Even though I didn’t instigate the break-up, I wanted it just as much as Sebastian did. I was relieved that it was over.’

      ‘So why do I now feel as if you were searching for a distraction last night to take your mind off your hurt?’

      That wasn’t true! But she could see he wouldn’t believe her. She’d ruined it—ruined the chance at something amazing—with one careless lie. She tamped down on the sob that rose in her chest. ‘I messed up.’ Again. ‘I’m sorry.’

      ‘Ah, Sarah.’ For a moment regret stretched through his eyes. ‘You’re on the rebound, and I’m in an impossible situation. There really wasn’t anything to mess up.’

      He kissed her cheek and then strode back into the bedroom to dress. Sarah stumbled into the kitchen to make coffee and try to formulate a plan to salvage something from the situation. The click of the front door told her not to bother.

      She walked back into the living room and stared at the closed door. With an effort, she straightened and pushed her shoulders back. Majed was right. Great sex