The Sheikh's Stolen Bride-To-Be(30)

Maybe I was the luckiest nurse in the whole darn world.





SIX





I meant to leave after having one drink with Jalaal. I was on a girls'  weekend, after all. Not to mention the fact that there was only so long I  could suppress San Diego Skyler before she started wondering if her son  had gotten to sleep okay and if he missed her as much as she missed  him. Honestly, I was surprised I'd managed to keep her at bay so long,  and I felt a little guilty about it.         

     



 



Nobody-and I mean nobody-had ever been able to distract me from thinking  about my son for so long. It wasn't just because Jalaal was a sheikh,  either. The pope wouldn't have been able to hold my attention so well.  Jalaal was just so charming and sweet, but he had a real roguish sense  of humor that led me to wonder whether he had a little bit of a dark  side.



And I hadn't wondered that about anyone in a long time. Such a long  time, in fact, that the thought kind of blindsided me around the same  time Jalaal asked me to stay for another drink. It must have frazzled my  circuits, because I found myself agreeing.



San Diego Skyler resurfaced and asked Las Vegas Skyler what the hell she  was thinking. Where did I think this was going to go? What, were we  going to have a few drinks and then decide to go steady? Did I think I'd  be introducing him to Sam as his new daddy when I saw him next week?



No.



I didn't even know where this guy lived, but it definitely wasn't San  Diego. It might not even have been the United States. No bond we created  tonight would be long-lasting. Best-case scenario, I found out  something horrible that immediately made me not interested in him.  Worst-case scenario, I had an amazing night and spent the next few weeks  (or months, depending on how amazing) pining over a guy I would never  see again.



Not just any guy, mind you, but the first guy since Sam's dad that I'd  felt this strong of an attraction to. And I hadn't felt it this soon  with Sam's dad, either. I hadn't felt this attracted to Jackson until  after we'd been on three dates.



I'd known Jalaal for less than two hours and was already so invested  that my better judgement had been forced to take a backseat to my baser  impulses. I wanted him. No amount of better judgement would help me now.



And thus, San Diego Skyler slid silently into the background and Jalaal and I ordered two more rounds of drinks.



It was starting to get late, and I was starting to wonder where this  evening would take us. More importantly, where did I want it to take us?



I wasn't sure. On the one hand, it had been a long time since I'd had  this much fun with a guy who wasn't Sam. But that was also my main  issue. What if things ended up moving too fast and I woke up filled with  regret?



"Is everything all right, Skyler?"



Jalaal's honeyed voice coaxed me back to the present. I loved it when he  said my name. His accent made it sound like he savored every syllable. I  stared at him over our empty glasses, still composing my thoughts in my  head.



"Yeah," I said. "I was just thinking."



"What about?"



I chuckled nervously. "I guess I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my evening."



"Trying to ditch me already?" His lip quirked up in amusement.



I grinned. "Therein lies the question." I swirled the straw in my empty  glass and took a deep breath. "I think I'd like to grab a nightcap with  you, if you're interested."



Jalaal smiled approvingly. His dark eyes swept over me and sent a wave of shivers over my skin.



"Would you like to come back to my hotel?" he said. "It's only a couple blocks away."



I thought about what my friends would tell me to do. Undoubtedly, all of  them would tell me to go. They were probably having more fun without me  than they had with me. Wasn't that proof that I should go with Jalaal,  if nothing else?



"I'd like that," I said. "Lead the way."



Jalaal's hotel was just as close as he'd said. As soon as we stepped out  onto the strip, I could see it, towering just a block behind the other  casinos. It was probably one of the tallest hotels in Vegas-if not the  tallest.



I checked the time after texting the others to tell them where I was. It  was nearly midnight, and yet all kinds of people still populated the  streets. If it wasn't for the darkness, I wouldn't have been able to  tell if we were nearing twelve a.m. or twelve p.m.



"Las Vegas sure is an interesting place," I commented.



Jalaal strolled alongside me, one hand in his pocket and the other  holding mine. I was trying to act nonchalant about the gesture, but in  truth, it had been years since anybody had held my hand like that, and I  was positively giddy about it.         

     



 



"It has its advantages and disadvantages," he said. "Being able to get ice cream at all hours is definitely a plus."



"You like ice cream?" I glanced across at him with a grin.



He returned my smile. "Anybody who says they don't like ice cream is lying. I have that on good authority."



"Oh yeah? Is that something you learned from your royal connections?"



"If it were, I couldn't tell you." He squeezed my hand.



We arrived in front of his hotel, which looked even more magnificent up  close. The tall structure was all glass and steel beams, stretching up  into the sky as far as I could see. The front doors led into a bright,  airy lobby, with a babbling water feature just inside the doors.



"I don't think I'd ever be able to get used to this," I said, staring up at the ceiling and its thousands of glittering lights.



"You'd be surprised." Jalaal strode toward the elevator at the far end  of the lobby. "You can get used to anything with enough time."



The front desk came into view. Behind it, a perky blond man smiled affectionately at us. Or at Jalaal, anyway.



"Good evening, Sheikh Afsal," he said. "Welcome home."



"Thank you, Rodney." Jalaal nodded toward the man and then pulled me  into the elevator. He pressed the button for the top floor. The child in  me was tempted to press every button on the panel. There were so many.



"This is a pretty big hotel," I said. "They must have a lot of guests."



Jalaal cocked an eyebrow down at me. "I believe they do."



"Does the receptionist know everybody by name?"



Jalaal smirked. "No, not everyone."



"Do you live here or something?" I asked.



Jalaal chuckled and continued to gaze at the elevator doors. I wasn't  sure whether it was because it had been a stupid question or not. I  wasn't rich; I didn't know how these things worked. Maybe the  receptionist was obligated to know all resident royalty by name and  title. Maybe Jalaal was just a friendly guy who spoke to a lot of  people.



Whatever the case, I wasn't going to let my confusion ruin my night.



I needn't have worried; all doubt was wiped from my mind the moment the  elevator doors slid open to reveal the largest, grandest hotel suite I'd  ever seen.



My mouth dropped to the floor. Jalaal didn't give me time to collect it  before he was tugging me out of the elevator and into a wide reception  space, which was decorated more elegantly and with more care than any of  the houses on my Pinterest board.



"Oh my God … " I released Jalaal's hand and ran over to the  floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end of the room. Vegas' flashing  lights extended for miles, eventually tapering off into the pitch  blackness of the desert.



"It's a nice view, huh?"



I jumped. I wasn't sure if Jalaal had just been very quiet when he snuck  up behind me, or if I'd been too overwhelmed by the vista to notice  anything else. His warm laugh rolled over me, and I felt two strong arms  encircling my waist.



I leaned back against Jalaal's hard chest. It felt right. I had been  worried that I would be nothing but a ball of nervous energy as soon as  he tried to touch me, but I was okay. I was better than okay.



"It's amazing." I sighed. "But I couldn't see myself ever getting used to this."



Jalaal's lips found the top of my head. He pressed them into my hair as  he spoke, sending warm breath over my scalp. "I need someone like you  around," he mused. "Nobody else does such a good job of reminding me to  be grateful."



I snorted. "If you want help staying humble, that is a service I'd be happy to provide."



"Come into the living room and help me stay humble there," he replied. "I've got some bourbon you can make me appreciate."



"I like the sound of that."



The living room turned out to be the next room over, but it was  light-years away from my version of normal. It was massive. I could  probably have fit my whole apartment inside the space.         

     



 



"Do you own the whole top floor of the building or something?" I gazed  around in wonder, admiring the classic glass and ceramic accents and the  wall-sized bookshelf on the back wall.