by Tee, Marian
When the sheikh took his seat, which faced the small, cultivated forest in the left, he realized with unease that the distance he had sought was nonexistent, with Aurora promptly plopping next to him on the couch.
She was closer than ever now, so damn close that when she kicked off her slippers and pulled her legs up, her bare toes grazed against the side of his thighs.
"If Mik'hail is to be what I call you when we're alone,” Aurora murmured, "what then shall you call me?"
This, he didn't have to think about.
"Brat," the sheikh said right away, and smirked at the way Aurora's jaw dropped open.
"I am not a brat!"
The sheikh laughed at the outright lie. “Yes, you are. And you know it.” Actually, they both knew it. Hell, even the entire palace knew it, but even so everyone loved her because she was, ultimately, a lovable brat. She was the kind of brat who badgered the cook until the old lady allowed her to help in the kitchen. She was the kind of brat who berated the butler for not sitting down when he was tired rather than stand on foot all day. She was a brat, but she meant well, and the feelings he strove to bury were harder to keep a secret because of it.
Aurora was laughing. “Fine. I can be a brat, but not all the time. You know it’s so.” Jumping to her feet, she gave the sheikh a wave. “I need to get back to my roses.”
"You mean my roses," he reminded her.
"We can share them then," she answered magnanimously as she slid her feet back into her slippers.
He watched her walk away and tried not to think too much of the seductive sway of her hips. She was halfway to the garden beds when she suddenly turned around, asking uncertainly, "Is it really okay...that I'm coming here? I don't want to intrude on your privacy—-"
The sheikh shook his head. "You are free to visit this place anytime."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The sheikh rolled his eyes at the way she took exaggerated care with her curtsy. "Go on, brat." As Aurora knelt down to resume work on the garden beds, Mik'hail took his phone out of his pocket and sent a message to his betrothed.
Mik'hail: Will you be back by tomorrow?
Aretha: We have been invited to stay over the weekend. I fear it would be offensive if we didn’t accept.
His lips twisted. As the future queen of Layla, she could do anything she wanted, and no one would dare disagree.
Mikhail: Come back tomorrow. It is time we set a date for our wedding.
Aretha: This again, Michael? What’s wrong with you?
A loaded question, considering they both knew the answer to it.
The sheikh was no fool. Neither of them had been virgins when they first slept together, and he knew that Aretha continued to play around even now. But Aretha also knew that once they spoke of vows, Mik'hail meant for both of them to honor it, and between the two of them, it appeared Aretha was less prepared to handle a monogamous future.
The sheikh was about to command Aretha to come back to the palace first thing tomorrow when he heard Aurora cry out.
“What is it?” Mik'hail was by her side in a second.
Aurora shook her head quickly when the sheikh started to kneel. “No, don’t, you’ll get yourself dirty—-”
A silly protest, which the sheikh naturally ignored as he crouched down and gently reached for her hand. "What happened?"
"It's my fault," she confessed sheepishly, "for being an idiot. I thought I had cut off all the thorns when I pulled the rose out.” She pointed to her index finger, which had a speck of blood in it.
He loathed the sight – there was something about knowing she was hurt that did not sit well with the sheikh at all. Without thinking, he reached for her finger and brought it to his lips. He licked the blood away—-
Aurora said faintly, “Your Highness?”
Fuck.
What the fuck was he doing, with another girl’s finger in his mouth – a girl who also happened to be his intended’s younger sister?
He released her hand right away and bit out an apology.
"It's fine." Aurora's tone was a little too cheerful, her cheeks a flaming shade of red. "You thought to kiss it better because you still think of me as a child." She made a face. "But just to be clear, akh: I'm not a child."
No, she damn well wasn't, and that was the fucking problem. She was eighteen, an adult in the eyes of law, and that meant she was old enough to have consensual sex if she wanted to.
And goddammit, he wanted that.
Aurora was staring at him oddly. "Why do you look so angry?"
Because I want to fuck you, and I can't.
But since he couldn't say that, he racked his mind for a way to distract her. "Briar," Mik'hail heard himself say finally.
She blinked up at him in bemusement. “Briar?”
“You remind me of the fairy tale,” the sheikh heard himself say, “the girl who pricked her finger with a needle. That Briar.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Sleeping Beauty.”
He watched her lick her wounded finger absently as she spoke, and the sight had him thinking of what else she could lick. Fuck. She was so damn close, so goddamn close that he had to tightly clench his fists against the urge to yank her down so he could feed her mouth with his cock.
"I like it," Aurora said after a moment.
When she made a move to stand, the sheikh swiftly rose to her feet and offered his hand to help her up. "You are done for the day then?" Mik'hail asked.
"If you don't mind me leaving first?"
"Of course."
"I'm bad at handling pain," Aurora admitted with a grimace. "This tiny prick alone makes me want to cry."
If that were the case, then she might end up fainting once his cock claimed her virginal cunt.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He managed a brief smile and nod as Aurora waved to him before leaving, but as soon as she was gone, the sheikh didn't waste time sending another text to Aretha.
Mik'hail: If you still want the right to wear the crown of Layla, I want you back in the kingdom tomorrow. We will set a date then.
But tomorrow came and went, and Aretha didn't return. The car that bore the future queen and her parents had met an accident, falling over treacherous cliffs before crashing into the sea.
Aretha's body was never found.
I hope you enjoyed this book! I’m keeping my Author’s Note short for now since I’m already working on another sheikh book. It’s part of a series, and if you haven’t read it yet then you might want to check out My Arabian Billionaire.
In the meantime, flip to the next page for excerpts of other books I have available in Kindle Unlimited.
Thank you again, and please don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you haven’t yet.
I Didn’t Know
He Was My Boss
VIVIAN LIKES A GUY from work. She thinks he might like her back...until she finds out he's her billionaire boss with a beautiful ex-wife to boot.
Their after-office-hours fairytale should have ended there, but it doesn't. The billionaire surprises Vivian with a proposition she can't say no. He wants her to be a loving mother to his daughter, and in return he will be the perfect husband.
Can she say yes...even knowing the billionaire will never fall in love with someone ordinary like her?
This book was previously published as a duology (Devoured and Secrets). It has since been edited to remove all references to the Kindle World it was originally a part of.
Note: This is a steamy Cinderella-like romance with a cynical hero for her prince. Expect to laugh and cry and fall in love on your way to an angsty happy ever after. If you are a huge fan of authors such as Lynne Graham, Miranda Lee, and Sarah Morgan, then you might want to give this a try.
LUCA VALENCIA was jealous.
Before she could answer him, she felt his hands moving between their bodies, one arm going around her waist to tighten while another scooped between the gaps of her uniform to cup her breast.
A
gasp tore out of her and she instinctively tried to move away, but his hold on her tightened, one hand pushing her even closer towards him, and the large, hot hand on her cotton-covered breast palming her flesh before squeezing.
This time, she whimpered against his lips.
Luca stilled, surprised at how such a simple sound could be so erotic, to the point of making his entire body harden in desire.
Apparently, he and Vivi had amazing sexual chemistry between them.
Unexpected, Luca thought, but it was certainly not unwelcome.
“Did he touch you like this, Vivi?” He squeezed her breast harder. “Did he?” He lifted his head so he could gaze into her eyes as he waited for her answer.
Slowly, her head moved. No.
And in those pure green eyes, Luca could see that she was telling the truth.
Even so, it wasn’t enough.
With his gaze locked to hers, he released her breast. He watched her sigh in relief only to hold her breath again when she realized that he had done so to unbutton her blouse.
“What are you doing?”
“Claiming what is mine...” Her blouse fell open, and with his gaze still holding hers captive, he tugged her bra down.
When she felt her breast spring free, Vivian didn’t know where to look or what to do first. She couldn’t believe what Luca had just done – and worse, that she had let him!
“From the very start, Vivi...”
Oh God, she should stop looking at him.
She should start running away.
But she couldn’t.
Not when he was looking at her so hungrily, like he wanted to devour her.
Not when she was feeling so helpless with need, like...she wanted just as much to be devoured.
His head lowered.
Run now, Vivian.
His hand cupped her breast.
Oh.
His head lowered.
Ooooh.
And then before she knew it, he was cupping her breast, plumping it until he could slowly draw her nipple into his mouth. The impact was astounding, the heat even more scorching than what she had experienced with his kiss, and her knees knocked against each other as she actually started to lose her balance. She might have fallen back, it was entirely possible, if not for his arm encircled around her waist tightening, and then he was sucking even harder on her nipple.
A whimper escaped her.
“Please—-” She didn’t know what she was pleading him for, but it seemed like he did, and Luca moved to her other breast, paying it the same lavish attention as he tongued her nipple before starting to suck.
Her hands clenched and unclenched, and then she somehow found herself moving her hands up, running them over the muscles of his arms, his shoulders, and finally she was gripping his hair.
Her fingers tightened.
He bit her nipple.
She moaned, and even as tiny bursts of fireworks exploded behind her eyelids, she also started to panic as the enormity of what she was doing – of what she was letting him do – hit her.
Somehow, Vivian found the strength to push him away. “S-stop!”
To his credit, he didn’t use his strength against her, immediately releasing her nipple from his mouth. She stumbled back as he straightened, her hands clumsily righting her clothing, pushing her bra up to its proper position and then pulling the sides of her blouse together in an effort to cover her chest.
“I know what you want,” she stammered, “but I’m sorry. I just—-” Her gaze fell to the receipt lying discarded on the carpeted floor. “I just can’t do it, even though you’re holding that against me.” She waited with bated breath for him to speak, her gaze searching, but every inch of Luca’s gorgeous face remained unreadable.
Crossing his arms against his chest, he asked in a neutral voice, “What do I want then?”
“To make me your sex slave.”
His eyebrows arched. “My...sex...slave.”
She could feel herself reddening. “Don’t tell me you don’t.”
“I don’t,” he said promptly.
And strangely enough, she believed him – which also meant she was wrong, and she had just made a fool out of herself, again.
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My Billionaire Captor
This book was previously published as Savage, Broken, Beautiful. It's a steamy, modern-day retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a good dose of snarky humor, angst, and a guaranteed happy-ever-after. This is the perfect fairytale read for adults looking for a quick escape from reality.
“NEVER KISS ME.”
Her eyes widened.
“Never even touch me without my permission.”
The breath whooshed out of her, and she realized that all these rules must have to do with his scars.
“And you must never ever try to see me in the light.”
When Arabella didn’t speak, the beast said quietly, “Those are my rules, ma belle. Promise to obey them and—-”
Her breath caught.
“I will pleasure you beyond your wildest dreams.”
Her body jerked at the words, and she choked out, “Yes.” Because there was nothing else to say. “I promise—-” And a gasp escaped her. Somehow, Aurélien had managed to douse the fire crackling in the fireplace, and in another moment, all the blinds on the windows had been drawn, with not even an inch of moonlight able to slip into the room.
It was pure darkness, and her heart started to hammer, but it was not out of fear. Oh, far from it—-
And when she finally felt his touch—-
Her eyes closed.
She knew she had done the right thing.
Aurélien’s lips moved over her body, raining kisses all over her skin, and she could have cried then and there. The way his lips moved seemed as if he was worshipping her body with his mouth, and it was too much.
“Oh, Aurélien.”
When he started to trace her lips with his tongue, she had to clutch the sheets tightly, not wanting to accidentally touch him and have him leave her.
“Comment faites vous pour être si belle?”
Oh God. Arabella writhed under him as his words, whatever they meant, caressed her skin, and she muttered, “Stop being so sexy.” She heard him chuckle, and she snarled, “I don’t even know what that means—-”
“How are you so beautiful?”
Her cheeks reddened. “Stop it.”
Another chuckle.
“It’s not like you can really see me in the dark—-”
“Trust me, ma belle. I can, and you are like a goddess.”
She wished she could say something snarky in response, but at that moment all she could do was moan, with Aurélien somehow managing to rip her dress away from her body.
Another moment passed, and her bra soon followed, and she gasped again.
Her panties were the last, and this time she couldn’t help whimpering.
She was naked.
Really naked.
And then she felt his tongue laving her nipple—-
Oh God.
When he started to suck, she could only moan and tighten her grip on the sheets. It was too beautiful, and it was too much. By the time he moved on to her other breast, she was already panting.
Oh, she never wanted this to end!
Please let this never end!
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