The Sheikh & the Princess Bride Read Online Free Page B

He was going to make sure that didn’t happen.
    “Oh, they’re going to learn, whether they enjoy the process or not.”
    “I will put a car and driver at your disposal. Simply tell the driver where you wish to go and he will take you there.”
    Her mouth parted. “You’re kidding? My own driver?”
    “You may share him if you would like.”
    She laughed. “No, that’s okay. As I said before, I could really get used to this.”
    “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay in my country.”
    He nodded at her and left. While there was much more to be said, this wasn’t the time. Later, when he’d decided on his strategy he would talk to her about more than her work. He would discover the secrets of the beautiful woman who flew like a falcon and moved with the grace of the cats she found so distasteful. He would learn her strengths, her weaknesses and he would have her in his bed. He would also best her in the air. To be honest, he wasn’t sure which he would enjoy more.
    Billie finished drying her hair and stepped back to admire the effect. “Not bad,” she murmured to her reflection, as she fluffed up a curl. She’d always been a big-hair kind of gal and the complete lack of humidity in Bahania meant no risk of her carefully poofed style going flat.
    Nearly an hour in a massive tub had relaxed her. Now rested, redressed in a sundress and still jetlagged from her trip the previous day she felt both tired and antsy.
    “We should take a walk,” she told Muffin as she moved back into the living room of the suite. “A couple of laps in this room would almost do it, huh?”
    She grinned as she spoke, then turned in a circle as she admired the elegant Western-style furnishings and beautiful paintings. There was a thick oriental rug by the sofa and a dining area to the left. The view was as spectacular as any she’d ever seen from the ground. Silent air-conditioning kept the room a comfortable seventy-six degrees.
    “The good life,” she said as she gathered Muffin in her arms. “Okay, what if we take a quick walk outside, then figure out what we’re doing about dinner? I mean does the palace have room service? I should have asked the prince about it.”
    She would have, too, if he hadn’t been so tall and princely while he’d showed her around the suite.
    “The man is a hunk,” she told her little dog as she carried her out into the corridor. “Wish he were my type.”
    Not that Billie had an actual type. That would require a level of involvement she’d never had.
    “In my next life I’ll be a guy magnet,” she told herself. “They’ll be tripping over each other to get to me.”
    But until then, it was just her and her dog.
    Billie walked to the end of the corridor and took the stairs down. She had a good sense of direction and was able to find her way to the garden in under five minutes.
    The lush cultivated space seemed larger at ground level. The various gardens spilled into each other, more formal English garden hedges giving way to serene pools surrounded by tropical disarray. She set Muffin down, careful to keep an eye on her so she wasn’t cornered and attacked by marauding cats.
    “Not bad,” Billie murmured as Muffin began to sniff. “Easy to understand why it’s good to be the prince.”
    Her sandals clicked loudly on the stone path. She wove her way between plants and bushes and trees, stopping to smell a flower or finger a leaf. She didn’t know all that much about growing things. Her expertise required an engine and enough thrust and speed to break the sound barrier. Still, if one had to stay earthbound, this was the place.
    She rounded a corner and saw a man sitting on a bench. He looked up as she approached, then stood.
    “Good afternoon,” he said with a smile. “Who might you be?”
    The man was tall and handsome, albeit older. Gray spread from his temples and there were lines by his dark, deep-set eyes. His well-tailored suit reminded her of a bank president or senator, not that