I froze.
“I am not going out with anyone else…but a girl named Ella.”
Tears started running down my face.
“A girl,” he clarified evenly, “who was idiotic enough to exchange letters with another man and think that it wouldn’t matter to me.”
Suddenly he was clasping my shoulders from behind, and a second later, he had spun me back to face him. He cursed when he saw my tear-streaked face. “Do not cry! I will not be able to remain furious with you if you keep crying!”
His words made me laugh and cry a little more. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” I choked out. “I’m truly sorry I was such an idiot. I’ll never disobey you again.”
The sheikh’s lips curved. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”
I couldn’t fault him. “Then I promise to try not to disobey you again.”
“Now, that is more plausible. However…” He stroked my face. “It doesn’t mean I forgive you.”
“W-what?”
“You heard me right, ukhayyah,” he said pleasantly. “You are not forgiven yet.”
I blinked up at him in confusion. “T-then what should I do to make you forgive me?”
Bending his head, the sheikh licked my lip.
I froze and thought, Déjà vu.
And then I was gasping, finding my lower lip sucked and bitten between the sheikh’s teeth. The contrast between pain and pleasure was excruciatingly beautiful, making my entire body shiver.
The sheikh whispered against my mouth, “For me to forgive you…”
His mouth moved down, and my head fell back as he nuzzled my throat.
“You must seduce me first.”
The Seduction
That night, Ella appeared five minutes late for supper. When she did come down, she was a sight for sore eyes, her blond hair arranged in soft curls that fell against her back and her curvy body exquisitely flattered by the pale blue dress she wore.
“Good evening, Your Highness.” Her voice was breathless, which immediately alerted the sheikh. Lady Ella definitely had something up her sleeve.
After greeting him, she hurried inside the dining hall but stopped midway.
He raised a brow.
She clumsily dropped into a curtsy. “Sorry,” she stammered. “I forgot, Your Highness.”
The sheikh refused to make it easy for her by smiling, even though it was exactly what he wanted to do. Instead, he inclined his head in acknowledgment. “It is fine.”
He pulled out the chair for her and took his seat after. The moment he did, he felt it, her hand immediately moving under the table.
Ah, the sheikh thought. It was her first attempt of seduction.
Her fingers grazed his knee—-
An attendant stepped forward, asking, “May we start serving the first course, Your Highness?”
Ella yanked her hand back in panic and almost pulled the entire tablecloth with her. It was obvious on her face that she had forgotten they weren’t entirely alone.
“Perhaps not yet,” the sheikh said smoothly. He turned to Ella, who was still red-faced, asking, “What about you, milady?”
“Umm…” She looked like a deer caught in the headlights, with both the sheikh and the attendant’s attention on her.
Even as he sternly suppressed his smile, the sheikh took pity on her and said, “Is it all right if we have a drink first, Lady Ella?”
She nodded jerkily.
“Would you like to enjoy it in the drawing room?”
She shook her head.
How perfectly obedient she was. The thought made it even harder to control his amusement.
At the sheikh’s nod, the attendant bowed, murmuring, “Excuse me, Your Highness.”
When the door closed behind the attendant, leaving the sheikh alone with Ella, he said mockingly, “You may continue.”
At his words, Ella looked torn between killing him and herself.
He raised a brow. “You no longer care about seducing me? Shall I have another woman—-”
At the threat, she said hastily, “I care! I’ll seduce you!”
“Then…” The sheikh leaned back against his chair. “Seduce away, ukhayyah.” She shivered at his words, and just the sight of it alone had him struggling to hide his body’s reaction.
God, how he wanted her.
Even now, his mind hadn’t stopped warning the sheikh that he was playing with fire. Ella was the one woman he couldn’t have, the woman who could take the throne away from him just by being herself. He knew that, but he no longer gave a fuck, pun intended.
All he cared about was fucking Ella and making her his.
Beside him, Ella had noisily inched her chair towards him, the screeching sound making the sheikh wince.
Seeing this, Ella whispered, “Sorry.”
The sheikh was about to accept her apology, but by then Ella had already made her next move, with her fingers suddenly wrapping around his cock.
Pleasure shot through his body, and he fought hard to keep his face stoic. When he saw her wet her lips, his cock throbbed in her grip, and Ella jumped in her seat.
Fighting to stay in control even though he had a feeling he could come in her hand right that moment, the sheikh asked tauntingly, “That is all you can do, Lady Ella?”