The Sheik's Dangerous Lover Page 0,3

could he blame her?

She decided to turn around and head back down the hallway. She didn’t really want to deal with her father’s wrath if he found out that she’d tried to sneak in and been ignominiously tossed out of the event. Turning around, she prayed that the guards would allow her to just slip back where she’d come from. Maybe they would think…

In that instant, she realized with a jolt that the man standing behind her was no mere palace security guard!

“Oh crap!” she snapped, then realized what she’d just said. “I didn’t just say crap!” she told the man, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared up into his amused, dark eyes. “You didn’t hear that, did you?” she asked, but the increasing laughter in those black eyes told her that he had definitely heard her.

She peered around the man’s extremely large body and looked down the hallway. “Are you following me?” she asked with accusation in her voice.

Malik couldn’t stop the laughter as she glared up at him. “Of course I followed you,” he said with a smooth, deep voice. “I thought you were an assassin trying to sneak into the ballroom.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes, then realized what she was doing and who she was talking to and gasped with horror at her monumental faux pas.

She rallied quickly, not liking the feeling of being wrong, and straightened her shoulders. Being on the offensive was a much better position for her anyway. “Why aren’t you in the ballroom anyway?” she asked desperately. “You’re supposed to be in there meeting and greeting,” she groaned, stomping her foot with increasing frustration and some other strange, almost queasy sensation in her stomach that she couldn’t quite define. “You’re not where you’re supposed to be!”

Malik chuckled again, pushing away from the wall. “I apologize for being out of place,” he said and reached down to take her hand. With old-world chivalry, he raised her hand and kissed her fingers but those dark eyes promised so much more.

Shanelle felt the shock when his fingers touched hers and she immediately wanted to pull her hand away. He anticipated her move and tightened his hand around her fingers, refusing to release her hand. Instead, he tucked it onto the curve of his elbow, pulling her close. She didn’t want the ‘more’ that appeared in those dark eyes of his. She wanted to flee, to run as fast as she could away from him.

Her other hand covered her stomach as the queasy feeling turned strange. Almost as if a whole bunch of butterflies were fitting around in her stomach. She looked up at the man, wondering what was going on.

“What do you want?” she asked warily, trying to keep her body away from his large form, but it was difficult with her arm in this position. “You’re making me very nervous.”

Shanelle couldn’t see his features very well in the dim hallway light, but she knew Sheik Rahal was considered a very attractive man. As she looked up at him, it occurred to her that he wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense. His features were too hard, too dark. The idea of a ‘hunter’ came to mind as she looked at him and the shivering started inside of her. Was she the prey? She didn’t want to even be close to him, much less get his attention. “I think my plan has completely backfired,” she said under her breath.

“What plan was that?” he asked as he moved into the ballroom.

Shanelle blinked as they stepped out into the bright, overhead lights. “To avoid you,” she whispered, her face turning pink as all eyes looked in their direction. “Damn it! Why couldn’t you be where you were supposed to be?” she demanded, but the force of her words was diminished by the trembling that was now all over her as he wrapped his arms around her and nodded to the small orchestra to start playing. “I don’t want to dance with you,” she snapped and tried to put a little space between their bodies.

Malik was having none of that. Now that this lush beauty was in his arms, the evening was suddenly much more interesting. “That is unfortunate,” he stated as his arm tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer so that her hips were touching his. He heard her gasp from the contact and waited for her to look up at him. The music began and he started dancing, initially pulling her along with him