Sheikh's Unlikely Desire Read Online Free PDF Page B

different story.”
    Zayn laughed ruefully. “He's a devil still. He's happy to take the food we give him, and of course he likes all the cool water he could dream of. I am the only one who can ride him however, and when we breed him, we must be very careful to choose the right mate.”
    “A mare that is very even tempered, I suppose?”
    Zayn shrugged, and for some reason, in that moment, he locked eyes with her. That green was a color she could drown in, and when she saw them, she thought of lands she had never been to, far across the sea.
    “That would be one way to do it, I suppose,” he said. “We don't breed for docility in Almira, though. When I think of a match for a stallion as wild and as used to his freedom as Bayzid, I think of a mare who will stand her ground and fight. A mare that might serve, but will never be a slave.”
    For a breathless moment, Leah didn't know what was going to happen. It was a strange place to be, where almost anything seemed possible. Then, to her surprise, Zayn broke it. He looked down, and the moment was over.
    “You let me talk about my horses too much,” he said easily. “Look, here we are.”
    Leah was startled to see that instead of being at one of LA's famously busy and star-studded night clubs or restaurants, they had pulled up to a small shopfront around the back of a rather older building. The driver looked supremely confident, however, and Zayn ushered her in, his honor guard a menacing but subtle presence around them.
    The place was quiet, but more than once Leah saw discreet stars and their families around the restaurant. LA was full of well-kept secrets, and this seemed to be one of them. The Shiroyan turned out to be a traditional Japanese restaurant, or at least that was the way it looked until she saw the menu.
    Side by side with mouthwatering orders of sashimi and beautifully cooked bowls of beef in broth, there were rolls that she had never heard of before. Some of them featured foods from other places in Asia, while some rolled up traditional Japanese cuisine with things like steak tartare and rabbit.
    Leah was intrigued, and when Zayn gave her leave to order, she chose items that she had never heard of before.
    “You've been here before?” he asked her after the waitress had taken their order.
    “Oh god no,” she replied, “but if I'm here now, I'm going to do my best to see what it's got.”
    The food was incredible, and the whole time, she was aware of Zayn's large body next to hers. His men were scattered around, and though she knew that they were alone, this felt very much like they were simply a couple on a date together.
    Yeah, right, if the impossibly wealthy and handsome sheik of Almira was going to go on a date with a lawyer from LA.
    The fact that it was so preposterous to think about made her bold. She was confident and brash in a way that she seldom was when she was actually on a date, and more than once she made Zayn stop and stare at her with that combination of humor and interest that she was beginning to love.
    “All right,” she said when they were almost done. “I'm your knight, and you're the lord who is going into battle. What do we have to do to seal the deal? Do we drink? Do we do something with blood and spit?”
    Zayn laughed. “No, and before I leave, I will want to know exactly what you think we do with blood and spit. No, all we do is eat out of each other's hands. It shows trust in both directions. After that, you are my knight, and I will trust you in all ways.”
    “Sounds good to me,” she said. “Me first?”
    “Of course. You are a lady, after all.”
    Leah scooped up one of her last steak tartare with balsamic reduction rolls. It was an impossibly delicious morsel, but for some reason, she didn't mind the idea of sharing it with Zayn.
    “All right. After you eat this… this delicious thing, I am your knight, and I will fight your battles, protect you in all ways, and … and... comfort you in the night.”
    She