Chapter Two
I WAS HOME BY FIVE, excited to spend precious time alone with the sheikh.
Although we both lived in the palace, such times were a lot more rare than most people believed.
Mik’hail was a very busy man, the kind of king who went above and beyond duty to answer his people’s needs.
I loved that about him, and it was why I never complained about the long hours he spent working.
The sheikh came back to the palace at eight, and I was at the foyer to greet him with a curtsy. “Welcome back, Your Majesty.”
Mik’hail shot his long-time retainer a wry look. “Do you get the feeling this is Aurora’s way of saying I’m dreadfully late?”
“As Lady Aurora would not be so crass to do so—” Gordan’s conspiratorial wink had me quickly stifling a laugh. “Then it must be your conscience speaking to you, Your Majesty.”
“I should’ve known you’d take her side,” the sheikh said dryly.
The retainer, too wise to reply to this, simply bowed. “I bid you good night, Your Majesty.” He turned to my direction and bowed as well. “Good night, milady.”
“Good night, Gordan.” I added a silent thank you as well, and the older man’s gaze twinkled back at me. This might be wishful thinking on my part, but I always did feel Gordan wouldn’t mind so much if I ended up becoming the sheikh’s bride.
If only, I thought wistfully, I could say the same thing of the sheikh as well.
“Sorry for making you wait, brat.” The sheikh strode up to me as he spoke and ruffled my hair. “Let me take a shower, and then we can have dinner—”
“And movie afterwards,” I reminded him. “You promised.”
He laughed. “A movie, too,” he said obediently, “as promised.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he needed help with his bath, but I managed to keep the words down.
Instead, I looked up at him with a pout. “You should also say I’ve been a very good girl, for waiting so patiently.”
The sheikh didn’t answer right away, and a quick glance told me why. I knew I was being reckless again, but ever since realizing how much the sheikh, um, enjoyed seeing me pout, I just couldn’t help myself.
I pouted as often as I could get away with it, and every time I did...
This happened.
His body responding to me in ways that were impossible to hide. The tension that crept into his shoulders. The way his jaw would tighten, as if he was fighting some invisible battle with himself.
I found myself taking a step towards the sheikh, and warmth pooled low in my belly when I saw his nostrils flare. I knew I should back away before I ended up exposing my own need for him. I knew I should be a little more cautious, but...
I can’t.
I was just so frustrated these days, just aching for him so badly that I ended up teasing and teasing him. I wanted to keep pushing him to his limits in hopes that maybe...just maybe...
His resolve would one day break, and then he would finally touch me, like we both knew he wanted—
“You’re a good girl.” The sheikh had finally answered, and the roughness of his voice was yet another sign of how hard he was struggling to keep himself in check.
Stubborn, stubborn man...
The sheikh strode off right after speaking, and I bit back an aching sigh when I heard him curse under his breath. I watched him take the stairs faster than usual...
Ah.
By now, I knew full well why he was in a hurry, and when the sheikh, now dressed in a white shirt and slacks, joined me in the dining hall, his smiling and relaxed countenance confirmed my suspicions.
The tension from earlier had been...dealt with, and as soon as the thought formed in my mind, I found myself squirming in my seat.
“Aurora?” The sheikh slid into his chair at the head of the table. “Is everything alright?”
“Just super hungry.” *For you,* I wished I could add, but now just wasn’t the right time.
“I’m sorry, brat,” the sheikh apologized with a wince. “I’ll be sure not to make you wait next time.”
We ate dinner fairly quickly, and it was only half past ten by the time we made our way to the palace’s private theater, which boasted of the most comfortable leather seats and couches as well as its own popcorn machine and soda dispenser.
Although the theater could comfortably accommodate fifty viewers per screening, most of the time it was just us, and I hoped it always stayed that way. This was one of the few times I could pretend the sheikh and I were on a date, and well...
So many things could happen once the lights went off, and a girl could hope, couldn’t she?
“What are we going to watch tonight?” the sheikh asked as we settled into our seats.
I grinned. “Horror, of course.”
Mik’hail groaned. “Not again.” He threw me an exasperated glance. “You know you’ll just have nightmares after.”
It was true, but I loved the thrill that horror movies gave me, and so I kept torturing myself with it. “We’re still going to watch this, akh,” I said stubbornly, “so stop being a spoilsport.”
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The sheikh raised his hand, and the technician with us immediately shut off all lights in the cinema. A moment later, the huge screen in front of us lit up, and the technician bowed to us before leaving.
At the end of the film’s opening credits, thunder boomed out from the speakers, just as a shadow of a ghost dashed across the screen.
I screamed.
Mik’hail chuckled, and I made a face at him. “Not one word, akh.”
Another scary scene followed a couple of minutes later, and I screamed again, which of course made the sheikh chuckle once more.
Hmph!
He knew how much I hated it when he had fun at my expense like this, and I swore to myself I’d soon have the last laugh.
Ten minutes later, the opportunity presented itself, and when another scary scene had me screaming...I didn’t stop there.
I also climbed into the sheikh’s lap like a little girl, pretending not to notice the way he immediately stiffened. And just to punish him even more...
I shifted against him, and I heard the sheikh bite back a groan.
“Now, I won’t be scared anymore,” I whispered, and Mik’hail practically shuddered as my breath caressed his ear.
“This is not—”
“Sssh. I can’t understand the movie if you keep talking.” I settled back against his chest and thought of how everyone was right when they said nothing tasted sweeter than revenge—
“AAAAAH!”
A ghost’s face filled up the entire screen all of a sudden, and I quickly threw my arms around the sheikh’s neck and hid my face against his chest.
“You’re such a kid.” The sheikh’s voice was teasing, but it was also the slightest bit strained, and it was easy enough to tell why, with the way his body had hardened under me.
As I felt the evidence of his desire becoming more and more impossible to ignore, I could feel Mik’hail staring down at me, and I realized he was waiting for me to react.
He’ll wait forever then, I thought.
I forced my body to relax even as I felt myself melting with want.
I stared harder at the screen, watching without really understanding anything.
All I knew was that I had to do my best to pretend I was unaware of how he was responding to me, and that the smallest slip would make Mik’hail throw me off his lap.
..and probably out of the palace as well.
Minutes passed and eventually, I felt the sheikh relax against his seat. He was still tense beneath me, but at least he no longer suspected me of playing coy.
When another ghost zipped past the screen, I squeaked in terror, and my body jerked against his as I startled in his arms.
I felt the sheikh breathe harshly, and the sound made my toes curl against his calves.
The female lead of the movie had been rescued by a handsome gruff-speaking man of mystery, and the two of them were now temporarily safe in the basement. Classic forced proximity trope, I couldn’t help thinking, and happily, too, since what happened afterward was exactly what I was hoping for.
Oh, yes.
I’ve been shipping the actors playing the couple in real life, and to see them kissing like two people truly in love is just...oh!
The scene grew unexpectedly heated, and I couldn’t help but shift restlessly in the sheikh’s lap when I saw the hero take his shirt off. His abs were strikingly similar to the sheikh’s, only in my not-so-humble opinion, Mik’hail’s were so much better, and...oh.
Her top was gone, too!
“If this is too much...” Mik’hail seemed to be speaking between clenched teeth. “We can always watch another—”
I quickly shook my head. “I’m just a little cold,” I lied.
“I can have the air con—”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly as I snuggled against him. “I’ll warm up soon enough.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Mik’hail was wrapping his strong, muscular arms around me. “It’s your fault,” I heard him mutter. “You eat so little, brat. That’s why you get cold all too easily.”
Instead of answering, I adjusted my position in his lap, settling even more firmly against him.
Mik’hail jerked behind me, and I bit back a smile, knowing that I could get away with things like this for as long as Mik’hail thought my being innocent also made me completely clueless about such matters.
And maybe women born in the kingdom of Layla were like that, but since I was born elsewhere, I didn’t grow up completely sheltered from the truth.
My childhood was fairly normal before I came to the palace, and that meant I knew more than the sheikh gave me credit for.
I might not have the experience, but I had knowledge on my side.
It was just too bad for the sheikh he didn’t know that.
Otherwise, he might have realized that I had reached the end of my tether.
But since he didn’t...