Sheikh's Ex-Girlfriend (Khayyam Sheikh Series #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Sheikh of Dalal, and of course that meant that there were plenty of people for him to talk to.
    Before she could quite understand what had happened, they had finished five courses, and it was almost ten in the evening.
    “I would love to keep talking with you, but I need to get up early in the morning,” she said reluctantly.
    “I have duties as well,” he replied. “But at least I may show you to the door?”
    Walking through the ancient halls on his arm, she felt a deep spring of well-being flow inside of her. There was nothing terrible here, no heartbreak, no fear. Instead there was only a man that she both knew very well and was just meeting for the first time tonight. It felt good, and better yet, she had not found herself mooning after him like a love-struck girl.
    They were nearly to the door when her foot found the edge of one of the rugs. She sought to correct herself, but instead, in the middle of the word she was trying to say, she went sprawling.
    She knew that she was going to hit the ground, and she was braced for it, but instead, suddenly there were powerful arms around her, halting her fall as if she had pitched purposefully into his arms. Suddenly, she was pulled up on her feet again, as safe as if she had never fallen. She looked up into his eyes, surprise on her lips. They were standing so close, her breasts pressed against his chest, his arms still holding her tightly.
    She opened her mouth to speak, and then Nasim was bending over her, bringing his mouth down to hers, and all she could do was hold on to him. She had remembered him as a passionate man, but this took everything she had known and tore it to bits.
    Ella drew in her breath at the first touch of his lips to hers, but after that, she couldn't bear to resist him. She opened her mouth to draw his tongue in, and when he brushed his lips against hers, she squirmed with the power of what they were to each other.
    She felt his hand stroking through her hair, sending frissons of pleasure running down her scalp to her shoulders and back. She felt as if she were spinning, so she clung to the only thing in the universe that seemed stable. She could feel how powerful his frame was, she could feel the want tremble throughout his body.
      Whatever he wants, I want to give it to him …
    The thought was true, but the intensity of it shocked her. It made her pull back, and the moment she did, he released her. For a moment, looking at the glassy look in his eyes and the way his mouth was red from kissing her, she wanted to simply return to what felt right. Then she reminded herself that she wasn't the same raw girl she had been five years ago, and he definitely wasn't the same man. That was enough to make her push back.
    “I … I can't do this,” she whispered.
    For a moment, it looked like Nasim was going to argue with her, but instead, he nodded, pulling back.
    “Did I hurt you?” he asked, making her choke back a laugh.
    “Not at all,” she whispered. “I just can't … It's been too long, we're so different.”
    At her words, there was a brief glint in his eyes, and for some reason, that glint warmed her from the belly out. Instead of saying anything, however, he merely nodded.
    “Thank you again for a wonderful evening,” he said gravely. “Will you allow me to call upon you again?”
    There it was, Ella thought. The words were kind, but there was a disinterested tone that told her she might never see him again. It both brought a stab of pain to her heart and a feeling of disappointment, but that was not important.
    “Whenever you like,” she said. “But now I really need to go.”
    She wasn't sure how she made it down to the waiting car. When the door closed behind her, she breathed a silent sigh of relief. Then, something told her to look back, and when she did, she saw that Nasim was still on the step, watching as she disappeared into the darkness.

Chapter 4
    “I do not think that you have your mind on the Asian embargoes, my