The Sheikh’s Pretend Fiancée

by Leslie North

  Liyah laughed and felt herself relax even more. There seemed to be two sides to Asad, and she enjoyed the side that showed when he was at ease and joking.

  When the meal was over, the servant cleared the table, exited the suite, and left the two of them alone.

  Tired, Liyah planned to return to her room and read until she fell asleep, but Asad placed a hand on her arm. “You’re welcome to join me for another bottle of wine,” he said invitingly as he swept the pads of his fingers over her knuckles.

  Was this another test to see if she was comfortable in his arms? She would love to stay out here under the beautiful night sky in the arms of this gorgeous man, but in the end, it wouldn’t be real. “I should get some sleep,” she replied, pulling away. “Goodnight, Asad.”

  She knew that sleep wouldn’t come easily.

  It would be the first night that he’d invade her dreams. Her body came alive as her dream lover wrapped his body around hers and drove her higher than she’d ever been before, and when she woke up, she couldn’t help but smile.

  The fantasy was amazing, and she embraced it because she knew that the reality would pale in comparison. Relationships were sexy, but her fake engagement, littered with erotic dreams, worked just fine for her.

  6

  He should never have chosen Liyah. Asad thought his initial attraction to the woman was simply a reaction to her incessant ramblings and flushed cheeks. It was rare when the woman he was with was neither seductive nor confident. He figured the attraction should have worn off quickly, but the truth was that he felt like he hadn’t slept in a week. The moment he closed his eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder what she would feel like if he slipped his fingers inside her. Was she as wet as he was hard? Did she come quietly, or would she moan or scream?

  He was starting to obsess over the idea of hearing his name on her lips.

  No, Asad should not have picked her. He certainly shouldn’t have invited her for another bottle of wine the other night. That rash invitation had nothing to do with preparing her and everything to do with wanting her to stay a little longer. Maybe . . . stand a little closer. Maybe let him finally taste that sensuous mouth.

  It was a good thing that she’d said no, but it frustrated him. Was she fighting her own desires? Did she go to bed wishing that he was under the sheets with her, his lips gliding over her skin?

  Through the large crowd in the reception room, he caught sight of her. She wore a simple black dress—that looked anything but simple on her. From behind, her strawberry-blonde hair fell in shiny curls down her back, and he could see the curvy outline of her hips through the clingy fabric, but when she turned around, he almost broke the glass in his hand. The neckline dipped low to show just a hint of cleavage, but it was more than enough to see what she’d been hiding beneath her shapeless t-shirts.

  Then he caught sight of the man whose arm was casually draped around her waist.

  “Would you relax?” Amira hissed as she drifted by him with a champagne flute in her hand. “You’re supposed to be eager to show off your bride-to-be, and instead, you look like you want to kill someone. Where is your darling fiancée, anyway?”

  “In the arms of Rashid,” Asad growled. Leaving the flute on the table, he stalked toward them, jaw set. Rashid didn’t bother moving his arm when he saw his older brother, but Liyah smiled warmly at him, and Asad felt some of his anger dissipate.

  “There you are,” she said in a breathy tone as she walked toward him. “I was just telling your brother how easy it is to get lost in here!”

  “I was just showing her off,” Rashid said with an easy grin. “And trying to figure out what she got me for my birthday. I’d love to unwrap it now.”

  Liyah didn’t seem to catch the innuendo, but Asad glared at him. “You have guests to entertain,” he growled. “And I have a fiancée to introduce. Or have you forgotten?”

  “I haven’t forgotten anything,” Rashid murmured. “And I look forward to getting to know your . . . fiancée . . . a bit better.”

  It wasn’t the first time that Rashid had coveted something that belonged to his older brother. Most women preferred Rashid’s easygoing nature, but Asad would one day be head of the family. He couldn’t help but wonder if some of his lovers would rather be with Rashid.

  And his brother knew it.

  “You need to stay with me,” Asad hissed in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “I will not have people thinking that my lover is spending time with my brother.”

  “What?” she blinked innocent eyes at him. “What are you talking about? He was just helping me to find you.”

  So naive and innocent. Sighing, Asad shook his head. “Come along, my ‘love.’ Let’s make the rounds. People are already staring at us.”

  He kept his eye on Bashar, the one man he knew for a fact was holding out—and one of the bigger influences of the investors. As he threaded their way through the crowd, he introduced Liyah to many of the family’s friends. To his astonishment, more people showed interest in her than he’d first anticipated. There were a few surprising comments about him giving up his bachelorhood. Others surmised that the woman on his arm was the reason that he’d shunned other women for so long.

  It wasn’t until they stopped in front of the model for Rashid’s new stadium-arena and conference center that he realized she was pale and shaky.

  “Take a breath. You’re doing well,” he murmured in her ear, putting a warm hand on her lower back. He’d only meant to comfort her, but her body shuddered beneath his touch, and desire surged through him.

  “I’m fine,” she said with a shaky breath. “I’m just not used to being in crowds. What am I looking at here?”

  “This is Rashid’s proposed project for the North Bank.” He wanted to usher her on past the mini-prototype, but he could see that she admired it. It was hard not to. As much as he hated to admit it, his brother was a talented designer.

  “Is there a prototype for your condos?”

  “There is. They usually sit right next to each other, to remind us that we’re in competition with each other, but he had it moved to the lower palace for the party.” Asad hadn’t mean to admit to the competition, and she gazed up at him curiously.

  “You’re in competition with each other?”

  “Pretty much since we were children,” he admitted. “We’re trying to build up the Sharif name, so the competition is good for us.”

  Just then, his sister walked into view, a smirk on her face. “Admitting that you two keep trying to top one another?” she asked and rolled her eyes. “Next, Rashid will show up with a fiancée on his arm, as well. He’d never allow Asad to reach a milestone without him hot on his heels, even if it is all make-believe.”

  “Amira,” Asad hissed as he glanced around. Luckily, no one was watching. “What is the matter with you?”

  She shrugged. “Bored, I suppose. I remember when my brother actually hosted fun parties. Now, it’s all about business. Liyah, darling, you look like you could use a drink. Come with me.”

  Asad was about to insist that she stay with him, citing business rather than pleasure, but he knew it was a lie and that Liyah probably did need a drink. He thrived in a group of people, but it was obvious that her energy was draining.

  “I’ll find you in a bit,” he promised and kissed the top of her head. “Stay away from Rashid while we’re here. There’s no telling what the fool will do.”

  As she and Amira walked away, he turned and found another pair of eyes studying him. “Bashar,” Asad greeted with a reverent bow of his head. “I’m so glad that you could make it.”

  Bashar pulled out two cigars and beckoned Asad into the card room. “I went to greet your brother and wish him well, but there seems to be other news more pertinent than Rashid’s birthday. I hear you’re to be married. I take it the lovely creature walking away with Amira is the lucky lady?”

  “Yes. Her name is Liyah.”

  “An American. And you’ve hidden her
away for quite some time. Why is that, Asad?”

  He tried not to look uncomfortable as he accepted the cigar and lit it. Lying to those closest to him was never easy. “I wanted to keep her away from the press. We have enough presence where she’s from, and I did not want her hounded day and night.”

  “Protective. I can respect that. Clearly your sister has taken to her. What about the rest of your family?”

  He remembered his mother’s outraged gasp when he’d told her his plan. It was because of the lie that his parents had refused to come back early for the party. “My brothers like her well enough, but you know my mother. No one is ever good enough.”

  Bashar rumbled with deep laughter. “So true. I would like to meet this lovely lady of yours, but I am afraid that I must leave the party early. Business calls.”

  Business? Asad withdrew the cigar from his mouth and narrowed his eyes. “Is everything all right?”

  His father’s old friend waved a hand in the air. “Everything is fine. Do not concern yourself with it. I must bid my leave with your brother. He is becoming a fine young man.”

  And me? Asad wanted to ask. Bashar seemed to read his thoughts as he slowly dragged his eyes up and down the younger man. “And it seems that you have, as well. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Asad. It seems that you’re not the boy I once knew.”

  A feeling of victory settled in Asad’s chest as Bashar walked away, but there was no one to celebrate with. More than anything, he wanted to tell Liyah that her part in the plan was working, but the wallflower was difficult to find for the rest of the party.

  He couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

  7

  Liyah knew that she should have found Asad again during the party, but her emotions were making it difficult to fake the loving relationship. Instead, she stuck close to Amira and Khalid, the one brother who wasn’t vying for her attention.

  It was nice watching the two youngest siblings squabble lovingly with each other, but she couldn’t forget the heated anger in Asad’s eyes when he saw her with Rashid. She hadn’t realized how much tension was between the two men, and faking it was difficult, especially with her growing desire for Asad.

  Asad later asked where she went, and she admitted that the party was a bit over-the-top for her. He seemed to see right through the half-truth, but he didn’t ask her to elaborate.

  He also didn’t disappear again.

  Although he spent the next few days working on his project, he always came home in time for dinner. She was expected to dine with him, even though she didn’t know why. They always ate in relative silence. He might answer a few questions now and then, but mostly he brushed her off. If it hadn’t been for the lingering looks or the casual touches, she would have thought she was invisible to him.

  The cold Asad was back, and he seemed to be here to stay.

  One day, as she lounged on the couch with a book, he stopped beside her and narrowed his eyes. “Why do you wear such baggy clothes?” he demanded.

  To hide from you. “What does it matter what I wear?” she asked without looking up. “No one is here but you.”

  “You don’t wish to please me?”

  Please him? A jolt of indignation ran through her, and she lay the book across her abdomen. “I don’t believe there was a dress code involved when I agreed to this. In public, I’ll wear whatever you want, but here, in this suite, I’ll dress as I like. Besides, it’s not like you’re ever really here to see me, anyway.”

  “Do you miss me, Liyah?” His voice was now silky smooth, and just like that, the atmosphere changed between them.

  She despised his hot-and-cold nature, but he was hot, and it was enough to set her body on fire.

  “I think, perhaps, you and I need to come to some sort of understanding,” he murmured seductively. “I grow weary of silent dinners with you. Tell me, do you wish it was Rashid at the table, instead of me?”

  “Rashid? What are you talking about? The only reason our dinners are silent is because you won’t talk to me!” She sat up just as he seated himself on the cushion next to her, and his face was inches from hers. She couldn’t back down without looking weak, but she also couldn’t help the dull flush that started on her chest and slowly crept up her neck.

  “Isn’t that where you were for the rest of his party? I could not find either of you.” His accusation was as cold as his eyes, and she stiffened.

  “I agreed to come and pretend to be your betrothed, but I will not be a pawn between the two of you,” she hissed. “No, I was not with Rashid. I did not see him until I finally retired. I spent the rest of the evening with Amira and Khalid because—unlike you and your brother—they actually seem to enjoy my company because of who I am, not whose I might be.”

  She tried to move her legs around him and stand, but he rested his arm on her, trapping her on the couch. “Do you think that I do not enjoy your company?” he whispered as he bent his head toward her face. “You have no idea the thoughts, the fantasies, running through my head. I stay away from you because it is safer that way.”

  Asad wasn’t staying away now, and she felt a strange sense of defiance and courage as she stared at him. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “You should be.”

  She turned her head and closed her eyes as he skimmed his lips lightly along her neck. It wasn’t a kiss so much as it was a promise of just what he could do to her body. The briefest contact, and she was already wet and aching for him.

  “You’ll join me for dinner tonight, and we’ll set a few things straight.”

  She was just about to ask what that meant, but he was gone, striding out of the apartment, and he didn’t look back.

  She didn’t dress for dinner. In an act of rebellion, she wore her oldest pair of jeans and the baggiest t-shirt she could find. She knew it drove him to distraction, especially considering that he’d ordered her not to bring her clothes, but in the privacy of his suite, she wasn’t engaged to a sheikh.

  She was still just plain old Liyah, book lover and introvert.

  Though the food was hot, the atmosphere at dinner was just as cold as before, and she felt a weak thrill of triumph. Her ploy had apparently dampened his desire for her.

  She also felt a little disappointed. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit that she was looking forward to some fireworks.

  After dinner had been served, he dismissed the servants.

  She rose to return to her room.

  “Stay.” A single word, but it was filled with all the heat that had been missing from dinner.

  Confused, she looked over her shoulder and saw fire in his eyes. Now that they were alone, it would seem that Asad had come out to play.

  She was still pissed that he would think she’d entice his brother, and she wasn’t ready to surrender. Folding her arms over her chest, she glared at him. “What? Was the dinner not hot enough for you?”

  A slow smile spread across his face, and he stood and crooked his finger. He obviously expected her to follow him, and she wanted desperately to deny him, but her body was responding almost too eagerly as she followed him to the parlor. It was a gorgeous room with a large, golden-framed window that showed a gorgeous view of the city—but she’d never felt comfortable here. The obvious display of luxury always served to remind her that none of this was real, and she didn’t belong.

  Nestled on the table were three glittery boxes ornately dressed with satin bows. He sat on the couch, leaned back and spread his legs, and watched her.

  “Open them,” he said, a glint in his eyes.

  She wanted to deny the demand, but her curiosity got the best of her. She tried to ignore the amused smile on his face as he sat back and watched her.

  Opening the lavish boxes, she found three of the most gorgeous dresses she’d ever seen. Bold colors that she’d never felt confident enough to wear, shimmery fabrics that should glide over her skin, and a scandalous cut that dipped daringly low and teased mercilessly high.

 
; They must have cost him a fortune.

  “Try them on.”

  There was something almost feral in his gaze, and she swallowed hard. She couldn’t possibly undress in front of him—and yet, the temptation was too great for her to ignore. Slowly, she grasped the hem of her t-shirt and lifted it high above her head. An embarrassed flush was already creeping up her body, and rather than shucking her pants, she reached for the dress first.

  He chuckled but didn’t stop her.

  The green dress slithered across her skin. Safely covered, she reached back and unsnapped her bra. Her nipples were already erect, and it had nothing to do with the temperature. They puckered as the material rubbed across them.

  Asad was incredibly still as she turned her back and reached under her dress to unsnap her jeans. Bending, she pulled them down her legs.

  Moisture pooled between her legs, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She was scared to turn around, to see what she already knew would be written all over his face.

  Pure, unadulterated lust.

  Was she really going to go through with this? Was she going to risk discovering that the real man was not nearly as good as the man who touched her every night in her dreams?

  “Turn around.”

  His command broke through her fear, and she slowly turned. His eyes appraised her, slowly lingering as they moved up her legs and across her curves until his gaze met hers. “Another.”

  He expected her to slip the dress off and stand nearly naked before him, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

  Instead, she turned her back again and quickly changed dresses. She expected to hear his amusement, but he was deathly silent as she turned again, this time in the blue dress. His eyes were darker, and his knuckles were whitening as they gripped the arm of the chair. There wasn’t a trace of calm in him.

  The air grew thick around them, and she wondered how she had any breath left at all.

  There was no demand this time. He simply pointed to the final box.

  Once again, she turned and slipped out of the dress, but when she tried on the new one, she realized that it wasn’t a dress at all. The hem was far too high, stopping just below her panties, and the fabric in the front was nothing but see-through lace.