Page 38

“This disappoints you,” the sheikh observed.

“I’m not sure...how I feel about it.” Because what if she wasn’t a virgin? Didn’t that mean she wouldn’t have registered on his radarat all?

“You are wasting your time dwelling on hypothetical questions.” His words had her blinking in surprise, and the sheikh said simply, “You are easy to read.” After a moment’s hesitation, he slowly reached for her hands and brought them to his lips. “Just think of it this way,qalifa.Fate has decreed you to remain a virginfor me.Can you not be satisfied with that?”

No,Harper thought. What she really wished for was the impossible. She wanted him to say that he would still have chosen her, even if she weren’t a virgin. But that couldn’t be, could it? For only a man in love could say such things – and this man, for all his desire, for all his trust and respect of her, did not love her.

And so in the end, Harper only forced a smile. “I guess I can try.”

The sheikh pressed his lips to her hands. “It will be good between us, Harper. Believe this. Believe in me.”

“I...do.”More than I should.

Releasing her hands, he pulled her into his embrace, and she went to him willingly. He kissed her hair, murmuring, “Good night, my Harper.”

It was his first time to call her that, and her toes curled. Oh, this man was too good at exploiting her weakness.My Harper,he had said. It was too, too sweet, and yes, it was enough to dispel the hurt that came with his earlier words.

“Good night, sheikh.”

She felt him smile against her hair. “Do you not think it’s time you call me by my name?”

Harper thought about it, tried to imagine her saying his name, and she just...couldn’t. He had always been the sheikh to her, and to have that change overnight was—-

“Impossible,” she muttered.

The sheikh sighed. “And you would think that, of course.”

“Maybe next time,” she hedged.

“I would like to say that you sound very convincing, but you do not.”

She pulled away, grumbling, “Do you have to have your way with everything?”

“Is it too much to ask for my bride to call me by my name?”

And because she was feeling contrary now, she said hotly, “Yes, it is!”

They stared at each other.

A moment later, they were smiling.

“We will have a good marriage,” the sheikh declared.

Harper couldn’t help laughing. “You’re crazy.”

“But you believe me.Nem?”

She wanted to lie, just to be contrary, but looking into his dark eyes and seeing the soft gleam of tenderness in it, she realized she couldn’t do it. And so she mumbled, “Nem.” And then she quickly got inside her room and slammed the door on his face.

Harper leaned against the door, face flushed, heart swaying.

God, that had been embarrassing.

But it had also been true.

She did believe him.

Even though they didn’t love each other and came from different worlds – no, universes...