Bound by the Sheik's Ring

by Elizabeth Lennox

  This was unintentional – but inspired by you – the reader. As of this moment, there is a survey going because so many people e-mailed me telling me that they didn’t like this title. So yes, the title may change. Check in with me for any changes.

  Here you go, (finally!) the excerpt for Claiming the Night

  A scowling hawk had just settled in among the fluttering butterflies.

  Selena faltered for only a moment before she pulled her eyes away from the man who had just folded his massive frame into one of the chairs at the back of the training room. “So be sure and tell your clients not to drink this! External use only,” she explained and waited until the laughter settled down again. “This is a serum for the skin and, trust me, after a week, everyone who buys and uses this product will notice a difference. It’s amazing! Softer skin is just a few drops away!” The ladies who worked the retail counters for Rembrandt Cosmetics were frantically scribbling down notes, all of them eager to hurry back to their makeup counters at the various upscale department stores so they could sell the new products.

  She moved on to the next product, explaining the value of it, application process and any tips to help sell the product. On and on, she moved from skin care to color palettes to body products. The entire time, she was painfully aware of the enormous, scary man sitting in the back of the classroom. It would be hard to miss him since the ladies were all wearing the bright lemon yellow “smocks” which were the uniforms for Rembrandt representatives. Even the training room was painted with the signature lemon color with the green lettering, the chairs were lemon yellow, the desks green, the curtains green, the walls yellow.

  So the man in the dark suit stood out like…well, like a dangerous, scowling, angry hawk. And yes, he looked more than ready to swoop down and grab one of the dainty ladies. What was worse, none of the women knew that the man was there. Thankfully, they were a good group of trainees and paid attention to her instruction. It helped that the man had stepped in silently and sat down, not saying a word.

  “Okay, ladies! That’s it for the day! If you have any questions, feel free to come up and ask. I’m more than happy to clarify anything you might not understand.”

  Twenty-two ladies all breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, they began gathering up their belongings, chatting amongst themselves. Selena heard the excited conversations and would have smiled with a triumphant feeling of a job well done, but the man in the back of the room was…intimidating although she was trying very hard not to show it.

  There were additional twitters of surprise when each of the ladies turned to find the dark clothed man standing in the back, but not a single woman asked him why he was there in their training room. Not with that dark, menacing scowl on his handsome features.

  Selena gathered up her training notes and packed them away, eyeing the man warily. She sensed that the man might be trying to appear laid back, but…no. The man wasn’t relaxed. Selena doubted that he even knew how to relax. There was an underlying steel in the man that refuted any possibility that he might relax. Looking at him, she doubted that the man even slept.

  Mentally, she chided herself for her ridiculous ruminations. Of course the man slept. Everyone slept! This man might just sleep…less.

  And now he was approaching her. Not good, she thought, but stiffened her wobbly self-confidence, refusing to be “that” woman. She’d forcefully banished “that” woman from her life a long time ago.

  “May I help you?” she asked, leaning her head back further when she realized how tall he was.

  The man extended his hand. “I’m Reid Jones. You’re a very good trainer.”

  Selena blinked when he mentioned his name, shocked and more than slightly awed. “You’re Mr. Jones? CEO of Rembrandt Cosmetics?” she asked a bit too breathlessly, then closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. “I’m sorry, silly question.” Opening her eyes again, she took a deep breath and pulled herself up straighter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said and stuck her hand into his enormous one.

  She was startled by the shock of his touch as his fingers closed over hers, but she tried to hide it. This wasn’t just a big cahoona in Rembrandt Cosmetics, the cosmetics company for which she worked. This was THE cahoona! Wait, there were two of them, she thought quickly, trying to place this particular one.

  “Call me Reid,” he soothed, instantly distracting her from trying to place him correctly in the corporate hierarchy.

  She might have relaxed or smiled at his offer, but his hand was still holding hers and Selena couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from his piercing dark gaze. The look in his eyes…she sensed a strange expression, a look that caused all of her feminine instincts to stand up and take notice…but she couldn’t quite define what it was.

  Was it attraction? Was this man…attracted to her?

  No! Impossible!

  Unfortunately, Selena wasn’t all that great in the men-relationships arena so she dismissed the idea, focusing on the fact that this was her boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. This was the man in charge, the creator, founder and director of Rembrandt Cosmetics.

  “Yes. Right.” Staring up into his eyes, she shivered slightly at the fascinating chocolate color. They were dark and sensuous…and promised untold delights.

  Pulling her eyes away, fearing he might think she was flirting.

  Not that she was! She wasn’t! And even if she wanted to flirt, she didn’t really know how. Her history…the whole learning-how-to-flirt period of her life…well, that didn’t happen. She’d never learned. So Selena accepted that flirting just wasn’t…well, she couldn’t do it. Not really. She looked like an idiot whenever she tried so she just…didn’t try.

  Sighing mentally, she focused back on the man, all the while trying not to focus too hard on him. He was big and tall and…well, wow!

  Glancing back up at him, she squared her shoulders and stopped the crazy thoughts running through her mind. This was business. This was the owner and founder of this company! His eyes seemed to promise something but she didn’t want to interpret that message, sure that she’d mess up the translation.

  “You are an excellent trainer, Ms. Bailey.”

  “Please, call me Selena,” she told him automatically. “And thank you. I truly enjoy my job.”

  He chuckled softly. “Exactly what any good employee would say when confronted by the boss.”

  She smiled as well, feeling his soft laughter all the way to her toes. Something curled inside of her when he looked at her like this and she…well, she should be flattered, but she’d learned the hard way not to interpret looks from men into something more than what they were.

  “You’re very kind,” she told him, then realized that he was still holding her hand and pulled away. “What brings you to Virginia?” she asked, trying to make conversation. She then stepped back, putting the podium and table between her and this incredible man that…well, he was hot! And gorgeous and sexy and just…gorgeous!

  Another shake of her head and she pulled her eyes away, looking down at the papers and items scattered over the table. With nervous fingers, she grabbed the cosmetics that she’d been training on today and started stuffing everything into her bag. Anything that might dissipate this oddly intense pull that she felt towards the man.

  He wasn’t her type, she mentally chided herself. Just keep your eyes off of him. Ignore his wickedly broad shoulders and the way his waist tapered in instead of out. Nice!

  “I heard about your marketing ideas,” he announced.

  That pulled her attention away from gathering up her training notes, her eyes flashing right back up to his dark ones. Her marketing ideas? The ones she’s submitted just last week? But…she’d sent them to her boss. How had…this man had read them? Woah!

  Her mouth opened and closed, shock making her mute for a long moment. Finally, she gathered her wits about herself and straightened her shoulders. “You did? You read the plan?”

  He smiled slightly. It wasn’t a full-o
ut smile. Nor could the flash of his expression be considered even a grin. But there was a curling of his lips and his white teeth showed for a brief moment.

  “Not only did I read through your plan, but a brilliant financial analyst has already done a work up of the cost to implement your ideas. It’s good, Selena. Really good!”

  The blush was fast and furious, but thankfully, dissipated before she looked too foolish. “Thank you,” she replied, hoping she sounded professional instead of silly and flustered.

  “I flew out here to discuss it with you. Do you have plans for dinner?”

  He wanted to discuss her ideas?! How crazy was that? “Dinner?”

  He laughed and once again, those thrilling shivers racing through her whole body. “Yes. Tonight if you don’t have any other plans.”

  Darn it, that blush hit her again. Looking down, she thought about the spin class that she’d planned to take tonight. She tried to think of the gym’s schedule but this big guy with his big shoulders and dark hair and dark eyes and…well, all the rest of him…he distracted her from thinking through all the details.

  One thing was certain; when the chief executive officer of one’s company asked to discuss your idea over dinner, one went to dinner with said CEO!

  Looking back up at him, she nodded in what she hoped was a professional manner and not a reflection of the silly, school-girl excitement that was currently sending crazy shivers throughout her whole body. “Yes. Dinner would be perfect.”

  “You had plans?”

  Boy, he was perceptive! Or maybe she just wasn’t very good at hiding her thoughts. She waved her hand in the air. “Nothing urgent.”

  “Excellent.” He pushed away from the desk he’d been leaning against and, once more, she realized how tall he was. “Are you ready now?”

  Now? As in…this moment? She looked down at her uniform and shook her head. “Yes! Of course.” She unbuttoned the lemon yellow smock with fumbling fingers while looking for her bag at the same time.

  “Looking for this?”

  She spun around and, sure enough, her pretty, leather tote was dangling from his strong fingers. Somehow, the bag actually looked delicately sexy in his fingers. He was all tough and strong and raw while her bag was about as feminine as it could be without being pink and flowered.

  “Yes,” she replied, clearing her throat slightly. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.” He gestured towards the doorway and she smiled nervously. With any other man, she would simply take the lead or follow. But in this case, she was painfully aware of him behind her. She’d worn a simple, black sheath dress for work today, but was also wearing her favorite yellow heels, the ones that matched the Rembrandt Cosmetic’s uniform perfectly. Thankfully, they gave her another three inches, additional height that she definitely needed when standing next to this man. But her shoes were a bit frivolous even though they perfectly matched the amazing necklace she’d found last week. Feeling the delicate flowers of her necklace, she wondered if she looked too frivolous.

  If Reid had imagined the person who had submitted the brilliant marketing strategy, he might have pictured a woman in her fifties with a sleek bun at the back of her neck and severe suits with bright, red lipstick and a sharp look that announced she was all business. So seeing this stunning woman with her soft, silky curls cascading over her shoulders, framing her delicate features and gorgeous blue eyes, he was enchanted. Surprised, amazed and enchanted.

  “You look beautiful,” he assured her when he noticed her nervously fingering the delicate yellow necklace. The movement brought his eyes to her throat and Reid wondered if she was sensitive there. Or maybe along her ear? He’d already noted that she wasn’t wearing a ring. Neither a wedding ring nor an engagement ring. In his mind, that meant she was free and clear.

  A good thing because he was more than interested. Hell, he even loved the sexy heels she wore even though she’d probably break her sexy ankle if she had to sprint anywhere.

  Startled, she looked over her shoulder at him.

  He put a hand to her elbow. “You were touching your necklace, feeling self-conscious. I like it. The necklace suits you.”

  Another blush. Damn, he liked it when she did that. He suddenly realized that the women he normally dated were tall and athletic. They wore heels, but not ones covered with flowers. It also occurred to him that they rarely wore jewelry except for perhaps sedate, gold earrings.

  This delicate butterfly was about as different as possible from the women he was normally drawn to, but he couldn’t deny the instant, clawing need to…get to know her better. In many ways, he told himself as he held the door open.

  The hot, painful sunshine combined with normally unbearable humidity that was somewhere in the seventy percent range, hit both of them like a wet blanket as soon as they stepped out of the controlled, air conditioned environment of the office building. Virginia in the summertime was miserable. But Northern Virginia, where most of the federal government workers lived, was especially bad because, on top of the heat and humidity, one had to deal with the traffic. In a recent report, the Washington, D.C. traffic was listed as the worst in the country, even worse than Los Angeles and New York City. Not a list one ever wanted to top, but the residents of this area earned it.

  From June through September, the sweltering, miserable heat was more pronounced because one had to sit in almost unmoving traffic at just about any time of the day or night. During the winters, God help the area if even a snowflake appeared out of the sky. The drivers in this metropolitan area didn’t get enough snow to learn how to drive in it. So even the smallest of snowfalls caused traffic to snarl and numerous accidents changed the highways into parking lots.

  Right now, the heat was in the nineties with no forecast of the heat easing up. Add in the seventy-plus percentage of humidity and the air felt like it was in the triple digits. Clothes stuck to one’s back after only a few steps outside, naturally curly hair curled into tight spirals and naturally straight hair lost any sort of bounce, laying limp against one’s head. It was miserable!

  “I don’t know how you deal with summers here,” he growled, taking off his jacket after only a few steps along the sidewalk.

  Selena laughed and he turned his head, wanting to see those blue eyes sparkle.

  “No one gets used to this kind of heat,” she assured him. He put a hand to the small of her back, not because she needed assistance, but merely because he wanted to touch her again.

  “So why don’t you move? Find some place where the summers aren’t a miserable marathon of humidity and dread?”

  Another laugh. Reid realized he could really get used to hearing her laughter.

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