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Sheikh. Bites. Ear. Queen. Whimpers.

“Don’t tweet!”

The words were out before she could stop herself, and the crowd laughed.

“I didn’t,” Farica de Konigh said with a grin. “I usedInstagram Storiesinstead.”

“Traitor!”

And the guests laughed again.

From the other side of the hall, the sheikh smiled at the way the crowd reacted to his queen. Their early morning talk had made Harper unconsciously aloof with his guests, and when people had started to talk, he knew he had to do something to make her loosen up.

Rayyan shook his head at the look on Khalil’s face. “Stop congratulating yourself.”

Khalil shrugged. So he enjoyed the fact that the world would see his queen the way he had always seen Harper: a woman who was too adorablenotto tease. That was not a crime, surely?

“What happened to the man who says he wanted a queen who could slay her own dragons?” Tarif asked slyly.

“It is still what I want,” Khalil answered calmly. And his queen would become that tonight, for the sheikh had already set things in motion.



















Chapter Fifteen

DINNER TOOK PLACE INthe ballroom, a multi-course extravaganza that had the palace’s guests oohing and aahing on every dish that was served. This time, the king and queen were seated on opposite ends of the table, with about fifty guests on each side separating them.

Harper normally hated this type of setup, but tonight she welcomed it, the distance between them allowing her to mull over the sheikh’s words feverishly.

Don’t do it for me,he had said.

Then that meant – she should do it for herself?

It made sense, she supposed. She should take pride in her own work as his queen, and she could see why he would want that. But something still didn’t feel right, and the thought continued to nag at her even as dancing commenced and Harper and the sheikh were called to perform the first dance.

They met on the dance floor, and her heart swayed at the dashing sight her husband made. He had changed into a tux for the dance, and dear God, he looked so damn sexy she found herself gulping, knowing just how a whole lot sexier the naked body underneath it was.

“You look beautiful.”