Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Remembering this made her glance over her shoulder—-
Her court tutor was indeed there, a nondescript figure in gray standing at the edge of the crowd, violet eyes trained on the queen.
Ugh.
Harper hurriedly looked for someone to talk to, lest the damn tattletale report to the sheikh she was being “socially lazy.” Unfortunately, the first woman she chanced to talk to turned out to be a hedge fund manager, and when the other woman started discussing the potential economic ramifications of Brexit, her eyes started to glaze—-
From across the hall, Rayyan’s blue eyes started shooting daggers at her.
Oh, shit.
Harper straightened and forced herself to concentrate on the conversation. It lasted another five minutes before the woman’s husband thankfully called her away. Oh, thank God. Another minute there and her brain might have started hemorrhaging.
Turning around, she bumped into a YouTube vlogger, who then asked her opinion about DCEU vs. MCU but later on appeared surprised when she answered him in all seriousness, saying, “DCEU might win it for me if they let CW’s Arrow join them in the silver screen.” And when the guy’s jaw dropped, she couldn’t help adding, “But what I’m really more interested in is seeing who wins the Chris Wars.” She had only meant this as a joke, then a hand suddenly curved around her waist from behind, and Harper almost yelped.
Oh, shit, she knew that touch.
Turning around, she saw that it was indeed the sheikh, along with all four of his vassals.
Shit, shit, shit.
Had they heard—-
Tarif was openly smirking. Altair was shaking his head. Malik was grinning, while Rayyan, as always, was glaring at her.
Harper slowly looked at the sheikh, her husband.
One dark eyebrow arched at her. Are you certain you want to talk about other men?
OH SHIT.
He inclined his head to the side. Because if you do, I’ll start talking about Wonder Woman and the Black Widow—-
SHIT.
Since having the sheikh merely think of another woman was already unimaginably tortuous for Harper, she backpedaled immediately, turning to the vlogger as she stammered, “I w-was, umm, just joking. Whoever wins the Chris Wars would never compare to my husband. He’s the hottest of them all.”
She could feel the sheikh’s gaze boring through hers, and she nodded vehemently, stressing with all the piousness of a devoted wife, “The hottest, ever.”
By now, even the YouTube vlogger had caught on with her little tête à tête with the sheikh and was doing his best to keep a serious face. When she was done singing praises to the sheikh’s hotness, the vlogger coughed, saying, “I’ll, umm, make sure to let all the fans of Chris Wars know that, ma’am.”
He would? The words caught her off-guard, and Harper cringed before she could stop herself.
Behind her, the other sheikhs burst into laughter.
Khalil pulled his wife close, murmuring smoothly, “See that you do. My queen will appreciate it.” He looked down at Harper. “Won’t you?”
She bared her teeth at him. “Oh, I will.” Not! Never! Ever!
The sheikh’s dark eyes laughed at her, telling Harper that he knew perfectly what she truly meant to say.
When the vlogger left, she muttered, “I should go,” but the sheikh only pulled her closer, and Harper stiffened. “People are loo—-” Her voice trailed off. A quick look around them told her that this wasn’t the case for the other sheikhs, along with the AFK this time, had once again formed a circle around them, preventing anyone from seeing them.
“Still angry with me?” the sheikh asked softly. When she didn’t answer, he asked, “Is that a yes then?”
Slowly, she shook her head.
The sheikh tipped her chin up. “But you’re hurt.”
Harper didn’t say a word.
There was a moment of silence, and then the sheikh said roughly, “Everyone thinks I’m being hard on you.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t think—-”
“It’s true.” His voice was flat.
Oh.
“But I’m doing it because I know you can do more—-”
Harper didn’t know whether to be hurt or pleased by the sheikh’s words, and she cut him off, saying stiffly, “I’m already doing what I can—-”
“But not for the right reasons.”
Here we go again, Harper thought. Frustration seethed inside of her, and she burst out in a low voice, “Why can’t you just tell it to me straight? And what do you mean I’m not doing it for the right reasons? I want to make you proud and—-mmph.”
The sheikh had covered her mouth with his, and she stiffened even more when she felt his tongue slip between her lips.
They were in public!
Her hands automatically moved up his chest to push him away, but the sheikh retaliated by kissing her harder.
Oh. My. God.
Her fingers unclenched against his chest.
The sheikh started sucking on her tongue.
And she ended up clutching his thobe.
The moment she started kissing him back, the sheikh pulled away, and Harper whimpered in protest. Unfair!
The sheikh stared down at her for one moment, his gorgeous face inscrutable. The circle his vassals formed around them broke away, revealing the couple once again to their audience, and the noise in the reception hall increased tenfold.