The Sheik's Mysterious Mistress (Friends Forever) (9 page)

He moved closer, his eyes angrily glaring at her. “You were asleep. Why did you leave?”

She held her breath, realizing that he wasn’t just furious about her being in danger. She’d left him and she’d known he’d be upset about that. Just as she would be if she were in his position. “Look Hassan, about that…” she started to say but he interrupted her.

“We will not discuss this now. You’re tired and need some sleep. Go back to my suite and get some rest. When you wake up, we’ll talk.”

She was already shaking her head by the time he finished, looking around to see if anyone had heard him, horrified at the idea of the other palace employees knowing that she’d slept with the sheik. “I can’t sleep there!” she whispered, her head bent and her eyes glancing to the right and left.

He had to control his anger at her reply. He counted to three before he responded but even then it came out as almost a shout. “Why the hell not?”

She grimaced at his loud voice but tried to get him to understand. “Because, people will start to gossip! They’ll think something is going on between us.”

“There is something going on between us!” He put his hands on his hips, wondering if she was really so naïve to think that their interlude last night had gone unnoticed. Not only were his personal body guards aware of her whereabouts, but he’d also assigned a team to her, and they’d been outside his door the whole time. Not to mention the police force who had to be brought in because of the accident and the investigation, the arrests of the men who had been sent to kill her and all the support staff for those issues. There were so many people who were in the loop about this that it was ridiculous to consider that the whole palace wouldn’t know by tomorrow afternoon. Or today, he corrected as he glanced at his watch.

“Fine,” he snapped, allowing her the fantasy of thinking she’d escaped notice. He waved over one of her guards who had been standing behind her at attention and pretending they weren’t hearing everything that had been said. “Bring Ms. Miller to the suite next to mine and let her sleep. Make sure no one disturbs her.” Hassan had lived in the palace his whole life so he knew that the guards were fully aware of all conversations. And most of the time, they needed to know in order to understand what kinds of issues they might face. In this case, he didn’t really want to wound her pride, so he went along with the pretence that the guards been far enough away to not have overheard.

Dana was having none of that. “Not the one next to yours!” she hissed. “Everyone will still wonder why I’m sleeping so close to you. I’ve already been in there one night. Two nights will really be fodder for the palace gossip.”

Hassan rolled his eyes and turned away. “The farthest suite from mine,” he replied and turned away, walking towards his office and trying very hard to ignore the woman who was driving him crazy. If he were in his right mind, he would simply toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to his own bed. But he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep if that happened. Nor would she, he thought and turned the corner to head towards his office.

“Where are you going?” she called out to him.

“I’ll be in my office. Go to sleep,” he replied and turned out of her sight.

Dana stared at his back, worried that he wasn’t getting any sleep either. She’d done this to him, she thought. If she’d been smart about this whole thing, she never would have gotten involved with him. But he’d goaded her in the gym. And then he’d done….goodness what he’d done to her! She shivered and took a deep breath to get herself back under control.

Facing the large, bulky man standing silently beside her, she smiled and said, “Okay, where’s the farthest bedroom from the sheik’s where I can freshen up a bit?”

He bowed and led her down a long hallway. He pushed open an ornate door that led to a lovely room filled with gauzy fabrics and long sofas. “This is really nice,” she sighed and smiled up at him. “I’ll just freshen up and head into Has…I mean, the sheik’s office to help him with whatever he’s working on.”

The man bowed and retreated as he closed the door and Dana was uncomfortable with the idea that he was probably standing outside her doorway waiting for her. She wasn’t sure if he would be keeping her safe, or making sure no one else got into the room. Or ensuring that she didn’t leave the palace again. Probably all of the above, she thought with resignation. What would the guard do if Hassan tried to enter the room, she wondered. Dana was pretty sure the guard wouldn’t stop the ruler of his country.

She went to the bathroom and found several toiletries and took another shower, this one longer and more thorough in an effort to revive her muddled mind. There was a hair dryer and some makeup, but much better brands than what she was used to. Most of the colors would work for her, but she experimented with some others. She used extra foundation to hide the dark circles under her eyes and applied several coats of mascara to help her eyes appear more awake and alert. Lipstick and powder finished it off and she smoothed down her wrinkled blouse and slacks. They’d been on Hassan’s floor for a bit too long to look professional any longer. Nothing a good dry cleaning couldn’t fix, she told herself and splashed water on her wrists to revive her a bit more.

She was back in her office twenty minutes later, but didn’t disturb Hassan who was already writing notes on some contract or document. He looked very intent, and not tired at all. How he managed that, she’d like to know as she wilted into her chair.

“What are you doing here?” he asked a half hour later.

Dana jumped and spun around to face him. “I’ve finished these documents and they’re ready for your approval. Your speech for the conference this afternoon is on the top in case you’d like to make any changes.”

He took the papers and set them down on her desk. “I told you to get some sleep. Not get in here earlier than normal, Dana.”

“I heard you,” she replied and turned to her computer.

“So why are you here at your desk instead of in bed sound asleep?”

She turned worried eyes up to his face and smiled gently. “You got just as much sleep as I did last night,” she whispered, glancing around since others were starting to arrive for work and she didn’t want them to hear. “If you can be here in the office, so can I. I want to help and you need some rest so if you’ll go to sleep, so will I.”

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But I gave you a direct order to get some sleep.”

She looked up at him and smiled brightly. “Like I said, I will if you will.”

He leaned forward and braced his hands on her desk. “Is that an invitation?”

She pushed back, shaking her head emphatically even as her body reacted in a completely different way. “Certainly not! I don’t like ornery men who like giving orders.” She was lying. All she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and feel those muscles close in around her, making her feel all soft and feminine. She loved the way he touched her and….stop it, she told herself. Time to concentrate on work and not on making love with this very amazing man.

He smiled sensuously, his eyes straying down from her face to her breasts, watching as they reacted to his visual touch. “You liked me fine last night. Shall I repeat some of your comments?”

She put a hand over his mouth in case he wanted to proceed. “That was different.”

He pulled her hand away and smiled wolfishly down at her. “How so?”

Gone were all those gentle feelings she’d had towards this man a few moments ago. Now she was just irritated that he was being inappropriate in the office environment. It didn’t matter that her own mind had already gone down that road. She’d stopped it and he needed to do the same! “That was before I knew what an arrogant, domineering jerk you can be when you order me around!”

“I’m keeping you safe,” he countered, not offended at all about her words. She was touching him, and he liked it even if she was being treasonous by covering his mouth or punching him in the arm. Hell, he even liked the way she didn’t obey him, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. With all the people who bowed and scraped to him, it was nice to have someone speak openly.

It was probably because he wanted her so badly that he put up with her kind of insolence.

“You’re going to sleep.”

“I will as soon as I get these notes transcribed for your lunch meeting,” she said and walked out of her office, leaving him still leaning against her desk.

He stood up and watched her leave, his hands burning to grab her and…well, he had lots of things he wanted to do. A good spanking was at the top of his list at the moment. And then he’d rub the redness away, soothing the skin and kissing it until she purred just like she had last night.

It occurred to him that she might be thinking that last night was a one time deal. If she was worried about others in the palace gossiping, he’d have to be a bit more subtle, but he was damned if he was going to give her up. No way, he thought and grabbed the papers she’d handed to him and stormed off to his next meeting.

By four o’clock that afternoon, Dana was almost in tears with fatigue. But she was determined to continue on if Hassan was still going strong. She wasn’t going to be weaker than he was and she wanted to help him through his day as much as she could.

Besides, she needed to give him her resignation and she hadn’t had a chance to do that yet. He’d been so busy that he’d been rushing around from one meeting to another, or his advisors would show up and want to discuss one issue or another. The poor man really had a tough life, she thought as she pulled out yet another submission for assistance.

A sandwich had appeared at her elbow at some point during the day, but she’d been to tired to finish it. When she almost knocked it off her desk, she gave in and dumped it into the trash can. It was dinner time now and Hassan had gone to yet another endless meeting so Dana gave in and shut down for the day. She was so tired she actually ached.

She thought about going to the kitchen for something to eat, but she discarded the idea in favor of just crawling into bed and sleeping for the next twelve hours. Glancing at her watch, she noted that even if she were to get into bed now, she still wouldn’t have twelve hours before she needed to be back at her desk.

In the suite she’d been given the night before, she smiled to the guard who stood outside the door before closing it. She showered and dried her hair, then slipped between the sheets in the large, comfy robe she’d found in the bathroom. She still didn’t have her night clothes so she didn’t have an alternative. Good grief, she thought before she slipped off to sleep. She didn’t even have anything different to wear tomorrow!

Later that night, Hassan looked down at the woman lying amid the sheets. She looked so achingly beautiful with her hair spread out against the satin pillow that he was hard pressed not to strip off his clothes and climb in beside her. The only thing that stopped him was the dark circles under her eyes that he could see even in the dim light. She needed a good night’s sleep and she definitely wouldn’t get it if he slept with her. There would be very little sleeping, he thought as his body hardened while he looked down at her breast that was only barely covered with the fluffy, white robe. He could still see the gentle curve and he wanted very much to pull the material away and taste her breast, to feel her softness and taste the nipple, feeling it peak in his mouth as she moaned with pleasure.

Instead, he turned around and walked out of the room. “Make sure she’s safe,” he ordered the two guards standing at attention outside her room.

Both men saluted him an instant before he turned and headed back to his private suite. It would still be a long night, but at least he knew where she was and that she wouldn’t be kidnapped or shot at.

Chapter 5

Dana shuffled the papers around, filed several away and pulled more out which Hassan would need later in the day. She slapped them onto her desk and glared at the tower of paperwork still waiting for her attention.

She told herself she wasn’t disappointed that Hassan hadn’t come to her bed last night. She’d gotten a good night’s sleep, one of the guards had even brought her a new suit to wear, a sophisticated black number with lots of pretty buttons up the middle. Thankfully, the suit had come with a sexy pair of black pumps, which made her feel oh so sophisticated!

She might feel better physically, but for some reason, she was not a happy camper today. And she couldn’t quite figure out why she was so snippy.

“I’m here to see Hassan,” a sexy, female voice announced from her doorway.

Dana looked up from her files and noticed the gorgeous woman standing in front of her desk. Her long, black hair was smooth and silky, curling just slightly at the ends. Her eyes were almost black but the eye liner that edged each eye made her look sultry and very chic.

Dana hated the woman on site and wished she had a brighter outfit like this woman’s. The creamy yellow sundress was perfectly cut to enhance this woman’s curves, low cut in the front in order to show just the right amount of cleavage to be alluring without being slutty.

“I don’t have an appointment, but he’ll see me,” she replied, laughing softly.

In her wildest dreams, Dana couldn’t pull of a laugh as sexy and sophisticated as that and she clenched her teeth in frustration.

“His Highness has a very busy schedule today,” she said, trying very hard to be polite, but it was difficult since all she wanted to do was reach across the desk and scratch the other woman’s eyes out. Instinctively, Dana knew that this woman with her cloying perfume and perfectly styled hair, sophisticated makeup and all the mannerisms of a supremely confident woman, was “The Competition”.