Never Seduce a Sheikh(8)

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Lily frowned at the unsettled feeling that lingered in her gut. The way he’d looked at her just before, as he’d stood close. Intent. Like a hunting tiger focussed on his prey. It had been oddly exhilarating. She’d felt . . .

Lily closed off the thought. No. She’d felt nothing.

“The personal touch?” she asked.

He still leaned against the edge of the desk, a gold pen held loosely in his long, elegant fingers. “Yes. Many of my ministers will be at the welcome cocktail function I have scheduled for you this evening. They’re all very interested to meet you. I want to see that you can get them on side as it were. Show them you know how business is done in Dahar. Prove to them Harkness’s reputation.” A smile curved his mouth. A smile full of cool amusement. “It will not be easy. They were most displeased to hear of your father’s retirement. But then, you do not strike me as a woman who is afraid of a little hard work.”

“I’m sure I can manage.” She hadn’t had to deal with heads of state yet as CEO, but she was confident she’d make an impression. Though if they were all as difficult as this sheikh, then she might have her work cut out for her.

“Oh, I’m sure you can.” With precise care, he put the pen down on the desk. “They like a pretty woman.” His voice was soft, deep, with a roughness to it and an accent with echoes of British public school, underlain with something more exotic. She tried not to fixate on the sound as he went on, “Female beauty in all its forms is much appreciated here in Dahar. They also like to be flattered. To be charmed.”

An odd little sensation skittered down her spine as he spoke. It wasn’t fear. Couldn’t be fear.

You’re beautiful, Lily. So damn beautiful. But you wouldn’t be wearing a dress like that if that if you didn’t want men to touch you.

A memory, twelve years old, escaped from the locked iron box she kept it in. Of her, in the gown she’d worn at her medal celebrations, and Dan’s drunken slurred voice . . .

No. God, what was he doing in her head? She didn’t think of him. She never thought of him. Lily pushed the past firmly out of her mind and made sure it stayed out.

Wanting to test herself a little, she came towards the sheikh and he watched her approach, armsfolded, that amused smile hovering around his mouth. Sitting as he was on the edge of the desk, she could look straight into his eyes without having to tilt her head back. Which should have made her feel confident and sure of herself. But it didn’t. Because, she realized, far too late, that being close to him made her aware of him in a way she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. A very physical awareness. Of his scent, sandalwood and spices, exotic, sensual. Different. So different from the expensive, leathery aftershaves of the men she sat around boardroom tables with. Of the color of his eyes, brilliant beneath indecently long, black lashes. The smooth bronze of his skin, a perfect contrast to the white of his shirt.

Why did his proximity affect her so much? And why did she feel so breathless? She’d never felt this way before with any other man.

“You have something to say to me?” he asked.

And she realized she’d been staring at him. Been standing there staring with not a thought in her head.

A small kernel of fear knotted deep inside her. She fought it. “I have dealt with heads of state before I was CEO, your Highness. With governments. I know what I’m doing.”

“I should hope so, Ms. Harkness. Your success depends on it.”

But of course, she wasn’t the only one who needed this to work and it wouldn’t hurt to remind him of that. “As does yours.”

“Perhaps,” he said, maddeningly cool. “But the other companies in contention for this contract have found a certain amount of favor with my people already. I have alternatives, in other words.”

It was a gauntlet thrown down. A gauntlet Lily picked it up without hesitation. “Those alternatives won’t offer you what Harkness can.” She didn’t look away from him. Even though he was close. Even though that strange awareness of him only seemed to intensify the nearer she got to him.

He lifted one dark brow. “And what is it that Harkness can offer me that no one else can?”

Determination settled in her. Her reputation and that of Harkness depended on the success of this contract. Her father had trusted in her ability enough to appoint her as his successor. She would not let him down. If the sheikh wanted to play hardball, she was more than happy to oblige.

“You want to be a different ruler, your Highness? Not a tyrant like your father?”

The air around him changed. He sat there relaxed, but his stillness was that of a predator sensing a threat. Ready to pounce. “Careful, Ms. Harkness. Be very careful what you say.”