Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Anisah was pale by the time the sheikh finished. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t—-”
“It wasn’t the last time I had to fuck for the kingdom.”
And now she felt sick.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds—-”
“La, alshaykh.” No, sheikh. Anisah’s voice shook. “I’m sure it’s much worse.”
“Worse, huh?” His lips twisted. “The worst part would be when I was seventeen. My mother told me I had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be of help to the kingdom. All I had to do was accept an open-ended apprenticeship under a sheikh who, at that time, had been one of the most powerful in our region.”
“Did s-she want you to learn how to kill under that sheikh?” It was the worst thing she could think of.
“Nothing so messy or complicated, anisdi. That was not Tamara’s style.” And seeing the confusion in her eyes, Tarif spelled out calmly, “She wanted me to do what I do best, but this time with a man. She wanted me to become the sheikh’s lover, and thus ensure the alliance between our kingdoms.”
Her heart splintered into pieces, and a soundless gasp escaped her parted lips.
“That was the last time we spoke. She died two months later.”
She tried to recall what she had read about the death of the sheikh’s mother. It had happened in another kingdom, then ruled by a sheikh who had been deposed a decade later because of a sex scandal.
Her eyes flew up to the sheikh in stunned horror.
“Nem, anisdi. He had her killed. He didn’t like how she had reneged on her promise.”
“Did your uncle – King Khalid – know?”
“He chose to let it go for diplomatic reasons.”
“And you?”
“He is no longer the ruler of his sheikhdom, is he?”
She blinked furiously to hold her tears back. “Oh, Tarif.”
Tarif’s fists clenched. “I thought I’d never hear you call me that again—-” Anisah threw herself in his arms before he had even finished speaking, and he breathed hard just before hauling her to him as closely as he could.
“The ring I gave you was from my grandmother.”
She started to cry.
“I knew I should have explained things clearly that night, but it had been years since I last let myself think of Tamara and even now...” He forced himself to pull back so he could look into her eyes. “Does it not sicken you—-”
“How can you even think that?” she choked out. “It’s only made me so much prouder.”
“Proud enough to forgive me?” His voice was taut, and his hands shook as he clasped her face between his hands. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you. I know it’s no fucking excuse, but something in me snapped when you compared me to my brothers—-”
“I’m the one who should be sorry,” she said tremulously. “I didn’t mean a word of it. Y-You know that, right?” Reaching for the pair of strong hands that were holding her face, she brought them down to press her lips to his knuckles, saying brokenly, “If I had known I’d hurt you that way, I would never have said that. Never.”
Violet eyes lifted to his. “Forgive me.”
Haunted dark eyes stared back at her. “Forgive me.”
And then the sheikh started to pull away.
Anisah bit her lip as he left her on the couch. She knew she was being foolish, but she couldn’t help feeling terrified as she watched the sheikh walk away. What now? Oh dear heavens, what would she do if this was how it ended? What if—-
A broken sob escaped her when the sheikh returned to her side, but instead of taking a seat, he bent down on one knee.
“A second chance, anisdi?” The sheikh opened the box. “But this time, I am asking you for real. Will you marry me?”
Chapter Eighteen
“This...is...not...right.”
“Of...course...it...is.”
Anisah wanted to argue, but she also knew that if she did, she might just run out of her breath with the way she was already panting. They were inside her classroom, for heaven’s sake, and with only fifteen minutes before the bell would ring and students would come rushing—-
“Aaaaah!”
The sheikh’s last thrust was so much deeper and harder, forcing her back up against board, and her eyes rolled back at the sheer pleasure of it. “T-Tarif—-” But the sheikh was already pulling out and slamming back into her the next moment, and she gave up all thoughts of protesting and simply clung to him.
Was it crazy that she enjoyed having him rough her up even though she was also seriously worried that he’d end up ripping her apart? He was just so massive, and so cursedly wild—-
The university’s warning bell rang shrilly throughout the building, the sound breaking through the sexual haze that had filled her mind, and an anxious little cry escaped her. “Tarif, we have to stop—-”
“Not until you come,” the sheikh rasped.
Her eyes flew wide open. “No! There’s no more——” Time. That was what her last word was supposed to be, but it died in her throat as the sheikh started shoving his thick manhood faster into her – so much faster, and oh, harder than ever. He pounded into her nonstop until she spiraled into a screaming, mindless orgasm, and the sheikh had to cover her mouth with his hand to keep her cries from spilling out.