The Sheik's Virgin Lover (The Sisterhood) (6 page)

The man took the bow and started to stop her entry. But a call from behind him stalled the movement and he immediately moved out of the way, giving Emma direct access to the man she’d been furious with for the past hour. “Who do you think you are, giving me something like this? And what did you think I’d do to repay your…kindness?” she demanded, stalking towards him with death in her eyes. “I can’t believe you thought so little of me that you thought this kind of thing would work!”

Dharran watched as his furious kitten stormed into the suite. He was instantly turned on by the fire bursting from her eyes, but then he noticed the tears she was fighting to restrain.

With a nod behind her, he dismissed his guards, who quickly disappeared. Emma turned around and noticed all the men disappearing through various doors and suddenly all her anger was gone. “Why?” she asked, in a much quieter, but no less hurt voice. “Why did you think this would work?”

He looked at the bow in one hand and the check in the other and put an arm around her waist. “Let’s sit down and have a cup of coffee and you can tell me exactly what you thought I meant by the donation and the gift.”

Emma tossed the bow onto the table in disgust. “I’m not for sale.”

“I didn’t think you were.”

“So what’s with the huge check and the new car?”

“The check isn’t for you, it’s addressed to the center. I think the work you’re doing there is worthwhile and when I come across industry like that, I want to help the endeavor.”

Emma was stunned. And speechless. “The money was for the center?” she asked in a small voice and her heart started to warm up. “You like what we’re doing?”

“Yes. I spoke to the mayor who had nothing but good things to say about the work your recreation center does and the benefits the city has received because of the center and what you’re doing there. You’re practically a volunteer there yourself, because of your insultingly low salary, and I saw how much you cared about the people you help. I was hoping the money could be used to support the activities, and maybe even add a few more things to benefit the kids.”

That completely changed things, she thought and looked down at her hands. She couldn’t really look at him any longer, ashamed of what she’d thought earlier and humiliated at what she thought he expected from that money. “I apologize.”

“Tell me what you thought I wanted from that.”

Her fingers fiddled with a nail and she focused on that instead of on him, sitting so close to her. She could feel his heat now that her own fury had died down so much. “I thought…I just assumed that you were….um, paying me for services.”

She heard him sigh. “Am I so hideous to you?” he asked finally.

Emma’s head snapped up and she looked up at his incredibly handsome face. “No! Of course not. You’re a very attractive man.”

“Then why would you think I would need to pay you for your body?”

“Crudely put,” she quipped and looked back down at her fingers. “But I guess I just assumed that’s the way you work.”

“It’s not,” he stated firmly.

She sighed and leaned back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. “I know that now. And I’m truly sorry. I just…I haven’t been sleeping well lately and….” She couldn’t say anything more because he was looking down at her, leaning over as if he were about to pounce. “Don’t do that,” she said, her voice barely a whisper and rough, her eyes dropping down to his lips.

“Don’t do what?” he asked, moving closer.

“Don’t kiss me.”

“That’s inevitable,” he countered. “Why shouldn’t I kiss you?”

“Because there’s no future for us.”

“Why don’t we let the future….” He started to say but he never finished because she reached up and kissed him softly, tentatively and quickly pulled back, her terrified eyes looked up to his to see if he was offended.

She wasn’t sure if the fire in his eyes by her actions was more frightening than the way she was feeling, but either way, she needed to get out of here. She started to pull away, get ready to leave and run for her sanity, when his lips touched hers. There was no hesitation and it wasn’t in any way tentative. When he kissed her, his mouth possessed, took over and there was no pulling back this time. His hand came up to hold her head while his other wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

All thinking, all rational thought was now a memory as her mind shut down and her body took over. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer, her body arching to have more contact with his hard planes. As he touched her, she gasped and reveled in the electrifying feelings ripping across her body, leaving her both weak and empowered at the same time.

Her fingers, emboldened by the flames tearing through her, reached up and tangled in his jet black hair, feeling softer than she would have thought possible.

Each time he explored a new area, she gasped in surprise, feeling more and more of an ache, something she’d known was possible, but had never experienced before. The only thing that would ease the ache was more of the same, but that in turn intensified the feelings. When his hand moved under her cotton blouse, touching her bare skin, she cried out and moved, her body automatically begging for more of that touch, more excitement.

When he lifted her into his arms, she looked around, confused that he was no longer touching her. Initially, her only thought was to demand that he put her down and touch her again, more and longer. Then she realized he was walking and something inside her head blared out a warning sign.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“My bedroom. Much more comfortable for what we’re going to do, kitten.”

“Bedroom?” she asked, the worry that had been pushed aside when he was touching her came roaring back to life and she pushed against him. “We can’t do that,” she gasped and forced him to stop.

He stood there in the middle of the suite’s fabulous living room, holding her in his arms as if she weighed almost nothing at all. “Please put me down, Dharran,” she said and something in her face or tone of voice seemed to get through to him. He stopped and looked down, his eyes hot and slumberous but a creep of fire, of definite anger was battling inside him. Thankfully, his amazing control came through and he let her feet fall to the floor, but he didn’t release her.

“What are you afraid of?” he asked, holding her against his tall frame.

Emma wanted both to push away but also stand here in the circle of his arms, feeling the heat of his body warming hers. “I can’t go into the bedroom with you,” she said as clearly as the new feelings of desire would allow.

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Because of my job,” she explained carefully.

“Your job doesn’t factor into this situation at all.”

She shook her head and pushed away, forcing her feet to carry her away from his enticing scent. “It has everything to do with that bedroom.”

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration but didn’t come close to her. “Explain.”

Emma took a deep breath and pushed her flyaway curls behind one ear. “My job is all about teaching a bunch of kids, of all ages, that they need to think about the consequences of their actions, whether that’s simply attending school and getting their homework done to providing help around their house, or getting out of their house if their parents are doing something illegal. Which happens more often than you can imagine,” she said with sadness.

He was quiet while she explained and she noticed the tension in his shoulders and facial features. “And having sex with me would be irresponsible.”

She nodded. “Yes. It contradicts what I preach to them over and over. I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about who you are as a person. Not to mention the birth control issue.”

“I will take care of that,” he said with finality.

She shook her head. “You can, and should, do your part, but that doesn’t negate my responsibility. I have to be responsible for my own body. Can you understand that?”

He smiled softly. “I understand you’re telling me that it has been so long since you were with a man that you are no longer on any form of birth control.”

Emma laughed. “It figures that, from that whole speech, you would get that out of it.”

“Is it true?”

She looked down, nervously smoothing her cotton shirt back down over her hips, feeling a bit self-conscious that she looked so drab while he looked fabulously elegant. “I haven’t had a significant man in my life for quite a while,” she confirmed, not bothering to tell him that she’d never been with a man sexually. She didn’t think that was something he needed to know since he’d head back to his country and she’d get back to her life. There was no reason for the two of them to ever meet again, which caused a completely different ache in the pit of her stomach than she’d been experiencing only a few moments ago.

She looked around and took a deep breath. “I think I’d better go,” she said, exhausted now with the bad night’s sleep, then the raging emotions she’d experienced in such a short period of time.

“Do you like your new car?” he asked, stepping in front of her, not allowing her to pass. He put his hands on her waist, one hand moving up to her chin to caress her skin softly.

Emma shook her head. “I haven’t driven it.”

“Why?” and then he thought for a moment. “How did you get here if not by car?”

She laughed at his horrified expression. “I took the bus, like any normal person would do.”

His anger came back into his eyes. “You are not a normal person, Emma.”

She laughed again, amazed by this man’s arrogance. “Sure I am. And be glad I did, because I probably would have done you bodily harm if I’d gotten here any faster.”

He smiled at that and shook his head. “You can think so if you like,” then he became serious one more time. “Why didn’t you take your new car?”

“Because I can’t accept it.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because I can’t accept a gift like that with the implications behind it.”

“And if there are no implications or expectations other than me wanting you to have reliable transportation?”

“There are always strings attached to gifts like that.”

He looked at her, assessing how best to get around her objections but Emma was firm about this. Besides, she had a more practical reason as well.

“It’s probably already stolen, anyway.”

She was waiting for his expression to change into horror but that never transpired. Instead, he only shook his head. “It is equipped with anti-theft devises.”

That was so hilarious, she threw back her head and laughed, shaking her head at his assumptions of how illusory anti-theft devices were on vehicles. “You don’t really know the guys that live around that center. They would know exactly where any anti-theft devices are and, if they were to steal that car, the only thing left in the parking space is what remains of your fabulous anti-theft device, just to twist the knife a bit more. Some of them think it’s funny to show the previous owners of vehicles just how ineffective those devices can be, and how smart they think they are.”

“You need a safer job,” he said with frustration, exhaling deeply as he looked up at the ceiling in frustration, his hands running down her arms from her shoulders all the way to her elbows and back up, causing her to shiver despite herself.

She shook her head, amusement still lingering on her lips. “I love my job and I know I’m helping. That makes even the frustrations worthwhile.”

“You can make a difference in a less dangerous atmosphere,” he countered.

“I’m good at my job.” She sighed and looked down at her watch. “Speaking of which, I need to get back there. The preschool kids are probably finishing up with lunch about now and I like playing on the playground with them.”

“You must stay and eat something,” he countered and released her to walk to the phone sitting on a beautifully polished side table.

“I’ll just grab a sandwich from the kitchen at the center,” she said and started walking towards the doorway.

“You will not,” he argued. “And I will drive you back.”

Emma eyed him carefully, understanding that he thought he was going to win this argument and not letting him, but also not allowing herself to underestimate him as an opponent. “I’ll grab a sandwich at the kitchen,” she said firmly, refusing the sandwich strictly out of stubbornness now.

“I’ll order you a sandwich. It will be ready by the time we reach the car.”

She bristled at his dictatorial tone. “Dharran, I’m taking the bus, and grabbing what is probably a grilled cheese sandwich. And there’s really nothing you can say about it.”

He moved closer, only an inch separating their bodies as he looked down at her. “You think not?”

She tried to move back but he stopped her, his arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her hard against the front of him. “I could keep you here, make love to you and make you so crazy that you’ll obey everything I demand of you,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “And we would both enjoy it immensely.”