Sheikh's Possession Read Online Free PDF

tracing the arch of its neck and the tack and bridle that adorned it.
    "Whoever the sculptor was, they would have been very skilled," he said finally, and that was something that Berry was definitely willing to agree to.
    "Very much so. You overpaid, but not by all that much."
    He shot her an inquisitive look. "And didn't I see that you were planning to give that woman just a few hundred dollars?"
    Berry shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. She had figured that the woman's sob story was nothing more than a story, but there was always the idea that it could have been real. If that was so, her hard haggling had taken away money that the woman had needed, only to put that money into the hands of Michael Farnsworth, who definitely did not need more of it.
    "It's the way we do business," she said haplessly, and Rasul's gaze grew a little sharper.
    "Really? It is your business to swindle the people who live in Alamun, who are actually heir to the history that you have just told me about so eagerly?"
    "It is not swindling," she said. "She would have received a fair price from me, one that she agreed to. It was entirely her business whether she would have accepted my offer or not. I would not have forced her."
    "But you would not have told her what this piece is worth, would you?"
    Berry could feel a hot blush come up on her cheeks. "Are you kidding me? Are you telling me that I need to blow every advantage I have in the souks and at the estate sales? Am I supposed to really just sit back and hope that people want me to take things off their hands even if they are worth far more than I can pay for them?"
    He ran all his fingers through his thick dark hair, and she could see in that single gesture that he truly was frustrated. This was more honest than anything she had seen out of him so far, though, and it was oddly refreshing.
    "There must be some sort of middle ground," he said. "Somewhere between preserving your business and not swindling the people who are selling to you."
    "Well the minute you find out what it is, why don't you tell me all about it?" she snapped.
    For a moment, it looked as if they were going to get into another fight, but then, they were interrupted by the chime of the doorbell.
    "That would be our food," Rasul said with a sigh. "Let's table this for now, yes?"
    Berry nodded warily as he went to answer the door. She wondered if there would ever be a point when they were calm with one another, where they were at peace rather than constantly at combat. If she was honest with herself, however, there was something terribly engaging about that combat. When she stopped to take stock of herself right now, she could feel that her cheeks were hot and that her heart was beating harder.
    She was no stranger to confrontation, but this was the first time she had ever felt so very excited for it. Berry wondered what this meant for the future, but she decided at the moment that she and Rasul should simply focus on not killing each other.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Forty minutes later, she pushed herself back from the remains of her dinner, groaning a bit as she did so. "I'll be perfectly honest, I did not expect to enjoy that as much I did," she said. "I was expecting that you were just going to order us up a plate of kebabs or something …"
    He smiled at her gamely. "Give me a little credit," he said. "I know that this is beyond your regular duties, and no matter what you might think of me, I really do want this to be pleasant for you."
    "Why?" Blushing a little, Berry wondered if the single glass of champagne that she had sipped with her meal had gone to her head. That was hardly a question that you asked of a man whose good side you decidedly wanted to be on.
    To her surprise, he answered her seriously. "Because, if I am perfectly honest, I have not been able to get you out of my mind ever since we met. I see you when I look at art, and when I am in crowds, I think I see you all the time."
    She blinked, because if she was honest, that