Sheikh's Command Read Online Free PDF Page B

broken when we inevitably moved or had to leave. They broke my heart, but he still brought them to me …”
    Makeen nodded, his face softening slightly. “Then your brother did he what he could to preserve your spirit, and that was well done of him.”
    “It was, or at least I thought so. It turned me into someone who likes pretty food at least.”
    “Pretty as it is, you should still eat it,” he said, and for some reason, it made Olivia feel slightly defiant.
    “Or what?” she asked daringly, and from the slight smile that curled his lips, she could tell he understood her.
    “Or I will feed it to you.”
    She wasn't sure what made her lean forward, her hands crossed primly in front of her and an expectant look on her face. For a moment, Makeen only stared at her, and then he laughed.
    “All right. I can see that whatever kind of bird you are, you are a stubborn one.”
    She watched, more fascinated than she thought she would be. His fingers were lean and graceful as he scooped a small amount of shiny black caviar onto a rye cracker and held it up to her lips. When he did that, she leaned forward, taking the morsel from his hand gracefully. She felt the momentary warmth of his fingertips as they brushed her lower lip, and then it was gone as she chewed the morsel with relish.
    “Oh my gosh, that's so good,” she sighed happily. “More?”
    Makeen laughed again, shaking his head. “Whatever else your parents did, they did not stop short of giving you nerve,” he said with admiration, and picked up another bite of food for her.
    “Not like they could stop me,” she said, slightly smug.
    “I think very little could,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
    In surprisingly short order, she finished the meal that the attendant had brought to her, and she sat back in her seat, smiling with contentment. Throughout her entire strange meal, he had looked curious and fascinated with her, as if she were some kind of strange animal that he had tamed. In some ways, she supposed that he was.
    “Do you do this often?” she asked, her voice soft. She knew that she might be buying trouble by asking her brother's benefactor something like that, but she had to know.
    He settled back into his own chair, templing his fingers in front of him thoughtfully. When Makeen looked at her, it was with a shuttered glance that she couldn't read at all.
    “Do you think I do?” he asked.
    Olivia took the question seriously, examining it from every angle. Finally, when she thought she had her answer, she shook her head.
    “No, not really. I think that you are a kind man, but I also think that you were surprised. You didn't expect me.”
    That startled a laugh out of Makeen. “Honestly, I don't know if anyone would expect you, little songbird. And you are right. No, I have never done this before. However, it might be a habit that I have to take up if I start pulling in girls as pretty as you.”
    Olivia narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure why the idea of Makeen finding another woman the way he had found her was distasteful, but she couldn't help but feel a stab of anger. She pushed it away, because it wasn't a useful feeling as well.
    “What do you expect from me?” she asked instead.
    He raised an eyebrow. “What can I expect from you?” he responded, and she bit her lip.
    “You can expect me to be myself,” Olivia said finally. “You can expect me to be grateful. You can expect me … to do what you want.”
    He nodded, and if there was something sad or distressed about his expression, he hid it quickly. “This isn't something we can truly answer for each other right now,” he said firmly. “Later. We can speak about it later.”
    They lapsed into a silence that was strangely companionable despite the strange road that had brought them there, and as she drowsed to the sound of the plane's engines, she watched him through the thick tangle of her eyelashes.
    I don't know what I am doing, she thought, but I am not unhappy to be