The Sheikh's Arranged Marriage: The only thing worse than falling in love with the man she'd married was knowing he would never feel the same... Read Online Free PDF

do that.”
    “I just did. A nd you’re damned lucky that’s all I did. Get out of my sight, now. Leave the palace. You are no longer welcome here.” Implacable, strong, royal. Sexy.
    Faisal seemed to think about pleading his cause but one look at Tariq’s face quelled that idea. He left without a backwards glance.
    As soon as his cousin had pulled the door shut, Tariq spun around to face Rebecca. Her pale face was frozen, her teeth were pressed into her lower lip, and her eyes were clouded with angst.
    His irrational annoyance with her evaporated in a cloud of smoke. “You’re shaking,” he frowned, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug. Moulded to his body, he felt a surprising surge of protective instinct.
    He was a modern man. He knew women could defend themselves. He’d heard Rebecca doing a goo d job of keeping her cool in what must have been a terrifying situation. So why did she inspire such a He-Man instinct in him? The unusual lack of control over his own emotions angered him further.
    “I... thank you.” She whispered against the wall of his chest. He drifted his gaze down to her face. Her eyes were shut. Long, fair lashes breathed against her cheek. Out of nowhere, he wanted to rain kisses on the papery eyelids.
    He frowned. “Faisal’s behaviour was unforgivable. But you must take care, Rebecca, not to encourage men like him.”
    She stilled in his arms. “Encourage him?” She breathed quietly. “Do you truly think I encouraged him in any way?”
    He shrugged. “Legally, I could have him imprisoned for a decade for what he just did. It seems unlikely he’d take the risk of approaching you if he didn’t believe he had a chance of success.”
    She pulled out of his arms and stepped back. “You’re unbelievable!” She fumed. “If he thought that, then that’s his problem. I did not encourage him.”
    A muscle ticked in his jaw as he tried to reign in his fury. In truth, he didn’t for a second believe she’d led Faisal on. But the sight of another man pawing his wife had been unexpectedly confronting. It had nothing to do with the archaic concept of ownership, and everything to do with the woman who had married him a week before. He didn’t want other men to look at her. He had never been jealous nor possessive, but he recognised those emotions now.
    “I feel sorry for you, Tariq.” She said, her voice back to that steady, imperious tone she was so good at.
    “Why is that, Rebecca?”
    “You married a woman you can’t stand.” She held a finger in the air to enumerate a list. “First, I’m a plain Jane, too ordinary looking for you. Second, I’m a gold digger. Third, a prostitute. And now, fourth, apparently I’m the kind of woman who encourages random men to hit on her. How can you bear to be my husband?”
    He closed his eyes against the harsh truth of her words. He had been mani festly unfair to her since the first moment of their marriage. So what if she had wed him for money? Was there any woman alive who wouldn’t have been slightly wowed by the extent of his wealth?
    When he opened his eyes a moment later, Rebecca was almost at the door, and he realised she intended to leave. He burst across the room and snapped it shut.
    “You do not walk out on me,” he stated firmly.
    She glared up at him, raising her chin defiantly. “ You do not tell me what to do.”
    “ Rebecca,” he growled, and balled his fists by his side to resist the temptation to pull her into his embrace. “You are, without a doubt, the most frustrating woman I have ever known.”
    “Good night, Your Highness,” She said bravely, and slipped out of the heavy entranceway in a rustle of skirts and sequins. He watched her go, a frown on his face.
    Hours later, Tariq was still unable to find the blissful oblivion of sleep. He had been unjust. Again. Why did his wife spur him to the edge of civility every time he saw her?
    He pushed his bedcovers back brusquely and slipped on