Сьюзен Мэллери - The Sheik & the Princess Bride

Not possible, she told herself. Men like him didn’t care about brains or thoughts. They wanted…She paused as she realized she didn’t know what men like him wanted from women. But as she was neither a supermodel nor the heir to a champagne fortune, she was unlikely to find out anytime soon.

“Seven-thirty then,” the king said.

“I’ll be there.” She bent over and scooped up Muffin, then headed back to her room. If she was going to dine with royalty she needed much bigger hair.

Jefri finished knotting his tie and turned to reach for his jacket. As he picked it up, he checked the fabric for cat hairs.

“Try this,” his brother, Murat, said and tossed him a delinting roll.

“Thanks.”

Jefri went to work on his jacket while Murat lounged on the recently dehaired sofa.

“She really has a dog?” his brother asked.

“It is more of a rat with fur.” Of course Billie seemed to have an affinity for rodents, he thought remembering the tragedy of her mouse.

“And she shot you out of the sky?”

Jefri shrugged into the jacket and turned his attention on his brother. “Not literally.”

“I can see that.” Murat grinned. “I cannot wait to meet her.”

“She is…unexpected.”

“Sounds interesting.”

Jefri said nothing as he stared at Murat. His brother rose, stretched, then chuckled.

“I am the crown prince,” Murat said, as if Jefri needed reminding. “I may claim who I choose.”

“You may not claim this one.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “Why not?”

Jefri allowed himself a small smile. “She is mine.”

“Ah. Does she know?”

“Not yet, but she will. Soon.”

“Then I wish you luck, my brother.”

“I will not need it.”

Jefri was determined. Nothing would stand in the way of his learning all of Billie’s secrets, then having her in his bed.

L ike most women, Billie had loved to play dress-up when she’d been younger, so the chance to actually put on finery for real was too good to pass up. Plus one of her job perks was attending the Paris Air Show every other year. Which meant after she and her brothers oohed and ahhed over the latest in aviation technology, she went shopping.

She stood now in one of her impulse purchases—a shimmering floor-length dark purple gown. The halter-style permitted her to show off curves and still wear a bra—always exciting. Combs held her hair off her face and allowed her to tease the curls up about another inch, while long tendrils cascaded down her back. Strappy silver sandals with four-inch heels made her feel like an Amazon goddess…well, a short one anyway.

“What do you think?” she asked, holding out two different earrings for Muffin to inspect. Her dog lay on the high four-poster bed. “These are more dangling, but these have more flash.”

Muffin barked.

“I agree. Flash over dangle,” Billie said and put on the smaller cubic zirconia earrings.

After a light spritzing of perfume, she pronounced herself as ready as she was going to be.

“I promise to bring you back something,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll have some kind of meat dish. I tucked a Baggie in my purse.” She waved her tiny evening bag at Muffin.

The trick would be getting the bit of entrée from her plate to her handbag, but she’d done it countless times before and had almost never been caught.

“Okay. You be good. I’ll see you soon.”

Billie pushed the play button on the DVD player in the bedroom armoire, then headed for the door. As she stepped into the hallway of the amazing pink palace, she had the feeling that for the first time in her life, she was almost a princess.

“Way better than Halloween dress-up,” she murmured as she started down a corridor.

As she paused by the elevator, waiting for it to take her to the second floor because there was no way she could do stairs in these shoes or the long dress, she heard a door close and the sound of footsteps. Seconds later Jefri walked toward her.

“Good evening,” he said, looking more than a little spiffy in a black tux. So she’d guessed right then, “a family dinner” in royal circles meant way dressier than jeans.

The soft wool fabric of Jefri’s tux had the faintest shimmer to it, and Billie had an instant urge to touch. That would be bad, she told herself, trying not to swoon as she took in the rest of the package.

Most men cleaned up pretty well and looked good in a tuxedo, but those who had a head start in the looks department came out looking even better. Jefri was no exception. He’d brushed his dark hair away from his face, which emphasized his stern yet handsome features. The white shirt collar and cuffs made his skin seem darker. Billie avoided the sun whenever possible. She burned more than tanned and didn’t want to be fighting the leather look when she was fifty.

Knowing how pale she was and how dark he was gave her a little shiver. She had a visual of them entwined in bed, looking like actors for an erotic movie.

“Hi,” she said and waggled her fingers. “You look nice.”

He reached for her free hand and raised it slightly, then kissed her knuckles. “You are enchanting. The glories of my country pale when compared to your beauty.”

Okay, sure. It was a line and little old-fashioned, but it worked. Billie felt her knees get a little wobbly and her heart start to pound.

The elevator doors opened. Jefri put his hand on her back to urge her to enter first. His thumb and forefinger landed on bare skin. Goose bumps erupted, even as warmth poured through her.

“I see you left Muffin in your room,” he said.

“I thought it was best. I always feel badly when I’m going to have fun without her, but she’s watching a movie.”

He pushed the button for the second floor. “Excuse me? Your dog is watching a movie?”

“Uh-huh. And I have to say that DVD collection in the armoire was fabulous. I had a hard time deciding, but in the end I put on Legally Blonde II because she has a real thing for Bruiser. That’s the dog in the movie.”

Jefri’s gaze never left her face, yet she felt him mentally drifting. He blinked.

“I do not understand,” he told her. “You are the same woman who can fly a fighter jet better than anyone I know.”

The doors opened and they stepped out.

“Yup. That’s me.”

“Yet you put on a movie for your dog? ”

“I don’t really see how the two concepts relate.”

“Nor do I. This way.”

He escorted her down a long corridor. Soft lighting spilled from the dozens of rooms they passed. Talk about a lot of space. Taking a lap around each floor would pretty much take care of anyone’s aerobic needs for the day.

“I heard your brother could not join us tonight,” Jefri said.

“The rest of the equipment arrived and he wanted to oversee that. If you ask me, he was in a snit about having to get dressed up for dinner. His loss. I’m sure the food will be amazing.”

“I hope you find that everything pleases you.”

His low voice scraped along her bare skin like a length of nubby fabric. Billie felt strange, sort of trembling and overheated and spacey. She had to get a grip. In the heels she wore, one wrong step could be fatal.

They turned left at a large pillar and entered what she supposed for them was a small, casual dining room. For her it was like being asked to eat in the roped-off parts of the British Museum.

A long table stood in the center of the room. From the number of chairs pushed up against the walls, she supposed it could be expanded to seat at least thirty, maybe more. Two antique hutches stood flanking a large tapestry depicting a young woman in an open kind of boat. Based on her dress, Billie would guess the scene was from the mid-sixteen hundreds.

Three chandeliers provided light over the table, but instead of using bulbs they twinkled with candlelight. Several sconces lined the walls, also providing illumination. A long buffet held a bucket of champagne on ice and unopened bottles of red and white wine, along with an assortment of liquors. Two men with trays of canapés hovered by the doorway, and there wasn’t a cat in sight.

“This works,” Billie said as she and Jefri strolled the length of the room.

“I’m glad you like it. Champagne?”

“Sure. I’m not flying until late tomorrow morning.”

Jefri popped the bottle with an ease that made her feel like an extra in an old Audrey Hepburn movie, then accepted the delicate crystal glass.

“To new adventures,” he said, touching his glass to hers. “And those we share them with.”

She figured this wasn’t the time for her usual “Bottoms up” so she smiled before taking a sip. The liquid bubbles tickled the whole way down her throat. Oh, yeah. This was the good life for sure.

A tall man Billie hadn’t met entered the dining room. Based on his good looks and regal bearing she was going to take a wild guess and say he was another royal prince.

Bingo, she thought, when Jefri introduced him as “My oldest brother, Crown Prince Murat.”

She had her purse in one hand and her champagne in the other. For one horrible second, Billie thought maybe she was expected to curtsey. Why hadn’t she asked Jefri on the walk over? Before she could figure out what to do, Murat leaned forward and lightly kissed her cheek.

“Welcome, Ms. Van Horn. My brother complained of your great skill in the sky but he said nothing of your exceptional beauty.”

She would have thought that older handsome prince set to inherit the kingdom would have had some effect on her when he’d kissed her. She’d braced herself for at least a toe curl, but there hadn’t been even a flicker. Interesting. So her reaction was specifically to Jefri and not just to the whole good-looking-guy-in-the-palace thing. She would have to take that information out later and figure out what it meant.

“Most men don’t enjoy being shot down by a woman,” she said with a smile. “It’s an ego thing. I don’t take it personally.”

“Billie is convinced I will not ever best her. I am going to have to prove her wrong.”

Murat glanced between the two of them. “She does not look concerned, my brother. Perhaps you will have to content yourself with besting her in other ways.”

The king entered the room, along with an obviously pregnant woman and what Billie took to be yet another of the handsome prince crop.

Jefri leaned close. “Perhaps my brother is right and I should seek other kinds of victories.”

The combination of his words and his warm breath on her neck made her quiver.

“Come, you must meet our newest treasure,” the king said, leading the couple toward them. “Billie, my son Reyhan and his beautiful wife Emma.”

Billie had the whole purse/champagne thing under control this time. She’d tucked her bag under her arm so she was able to hold out her right hand to both of them.

“Welcome,” Reyhan said pleasantly.

“Are you really a fighter pilot?” Emma asked.

“She is brilliant in the sky,” Jefri said, answering for her.

“Amazing.” Emma smiled. “I thought you would be more…masculine. But you’re lovely enough to be a pop star or an actress.”

Billie beamed. “Aren’t you sweet. I’m just a girl who likes to dress up. I tried being one of the boys for a long time and it never worked.”

“One cannot imagine why,” Jefri murmured in her ear.

Murat returned with a scotch for his brother and a glass of what looked like sparkling water for Emma.

“What do you think of Billie?” he asked. “Is she not most intriguing?”