Never Seduce a Sheikh(15)

“I can and I have.”

The anger spilled out, burning away her careful control. “Why?” She came close to him, confronting him. “Because you think I’m afraid of you? Why should that even matter?”

A raw blue flame leapt in his eyes. “Khalid shattered this country. Make no mistake, he nearly broke Dahar completely. People remember that. They remember him. And they remember that I am his son.” His gaze burned into her. “So what do you think they see when you recoil from me after a simple touch? They see fear. Fear of me.”

Lily took a breath. It seemed her lapse back there in the ballroom had been unforgivable in more ways than one. “But it should be obvious that you’re not your father.”

“Not to them. The memories are too recent. Too raw. I cannot afford for them to doubt me. Not even a shadow.”

She swallowed back her anger. Swallowed back her fear. “It won’t happen again. I give you my word.”

“Your word is not enough. The desert tribes were treated especially harshly by Khalid and so I must be even more sensitive to their needs. If you were to react to me out in the desert the way you reacted to me tonight . . . ” He stopped but she didn’t need him to finish. She knew exactly what he meant.

“I won’t,” she said, putting all her determination, all her certainty into the word. “I promise you that will not happen again.”

“You promise? That will not be—”

“You need me, Sheikh,” she interrupted in a soft, fierce voice. “You need Harkness and you know it. None of those other companies can give your people what we can. None of those companies can give your people what they need. You want to heal your country? Then Harkness can help you do that.”

He wouldn’t say no. She wouldn’t let him. She wouldn’t let a man take another victory from her. Ruin it, like Dan had ruined her gold medal win.

For a long second Isma’il stared down at her, the expression on his face completely impenetrable. Then he said, “We leave at nine tomorrow morning. Be ready.”





Chapter Four





As the four wheel drive bounced over the hard packed surface of the rough and rocky desert road, Isma’il turned his head to check on the woman sitting beside him. Even with the air-conditioning on full bore, Lily had a flush to her cheeks, tendrils of blonde hair sticking out from under the blue headscarf she wore plastered to her damp forehead.

Yet even in the heat of the desert, she’d lost nothing of her poise.

Unlike the night before, when she’d faced him down about his decision not to take her to meet with the tribes. Oh no, last night she’d been furious with him, her anger hot and dark in her brown eyes. Before morphing into fierce determination, as she tried to change his mind.

And change it, she had. Because, as much as he didn’t particularly want to admit it, he couldn’t ignore the benefits that Harkness offered his people. Benefits that were about more than handfuls of cash or mentions of ‘trickle-down.’

You want to heal your country. Harkness can help . . .

She understood in a way the other companies hadn’t and that tipped the balance. Made her important to Dahar. No, not important. Vital. And no matter how much she pushed him or tested him personally, it was Dahar he had to think of. Dahar’s needs he had to put first.

Beside him, Lily pushed back her headscarf and shook out the blonde ponytail she’d put her hair into, mopping her forehead with the scarf.

“Do you need anything?” he asked. “You must make sure to stay hydrated.”

She gave him an impatient look. “Believe it or not, I have actually been in the desert before. I know the drill.”

“Have you indeed?”

“Yes, we have a few in Australia.” Her tone was dry. “You may have heard of them.”

Amusement slid through him. “Careful, Ms. Harkness. You should know better than to tease royalty.”

“I never tease, Sheikh. It’s a rule.” She glanced out the window. “I have to say, this is a beautiful place. Do you come out here often?”

Actually he hadn’t been in the desert since he’d returned to Dahar. And before that . . . No. He would not think of that. There were too many memories. Bad memories. “Not as often as I should.”

“Should?”

“A prince must keep in touch with all his people and that includes the desert tribes. Sheikh Khalid did not treat them with respect and so I have to make sure I do not do the same.”

A small silence fell and he became aware of her dark, level gaze on him. Studying him. He turned to meet it. “See something that interests you?”