Never Seduce a Sheikh (International Bad Boys Book 2) by Jackie Ashenden Page B

patient.
    Today, she was neat and business-like in a white shirt and loose camel-colored trousers. Her head was wrapped in her blue scarf, golden hair hidden away. Poised and cool, in control. Every inch the business woman. So different from the woman he’d seen the night before. A woman who burned with anger. Who still bore the scars of what had happened to her, no matter how much she denied it.
    The chief grabbed Lily’s hand and Isma’il found he’d tensed up, the need to go over and snatch away the old man’s hand from her, coiling low and vicious inside him. It wasn’t done to grab women in this way but Zayed was the headman and was only delivering one of his blessings, something he was known for and which the tribe respected.
    I don’t want or need your protection, Sheikh.
    He took a slow, silent breath, trying to get himself to relax. No, of course she didn’t need his protection. But, as he’d told her last night, her confession had changed things between them. After his experience with Khalid, his protective instincts were powerful and difficult to cage, especially when it came to violence against the vulnerable. And whether she liked it or not, Lily Harkness was vulnerable. He’d seen it in the blank look in her eyes as she’d told him what had happened to her. Heard it in the detachment of her voice. He knew. He used those same techniques himself.
    Lily smiled at the old chief as he delivered a pat to her hand, looking completely unfazed. Clearly, the man’s touches didn’t bother her. This should have made Isma’il relax and yet he didn’t. The memory of fixing her scarf before the banquet the night before replayed suddenly in his head. How she’d held herself so still as he’d touched her. So still, she may have been made out of wood.
    Why could she bear the old chief’s touch and yet not his? Was that fear? Did he think he would take advantage of her like her coach had?
    That had nothing to do with my assault . . .
    A strange, restless, edgy feeling went through him. He turned away, rising to his feet, as the chiefs began to file out of the tent.
    “So what’s going to happen now?” Lily asked, coming up beside him. “They didn’t seem to indicate whether they’re going to choose Harkness or not.”
    “They will meet privately to discuss the issue, then make a decision. Usually, that will take a couple of days.”
    Lily raised a pale eyebrow. “Days?”
    “Yes, days.” He glanced down at her. “Surely you have learned our ways by now, Ms. Harkness?”
    A flash of her usual impatience crossed her features then it was gone. “The meeting went well though, didn’t you think?”
    “Very well. You surprised them, then impressed them. It was well done. Very well done indeed.”
    Something flickered in her eyes then gold-tipped lashes came down, veiling her gaze. “Thank you,” she replied. “So, no more banquets tonight then?”
    “No, not tonight.”
    “Good.” She turned her head, looking out of the tent’s entrance, over the tops of the palm trees. “I thought I might take the chance to do a bit of exploring.”
    “Exploring?”
    “Yes. One of the chiefs offered his son to take me out to see the dunes. I heard they were quite spectacular.”
    The dunes . . .
    Rough, dry sand on his skin. The heat like a hammer blow. The pain . . .
    A fragment of memory caught at him like a thorn, still sharp, even after all these years.
    It annoyed him. “I will take you, if you wish to go.” The desert held no fears for him, not any more. And besides, he didn’t want Lily making the trip with anyone who didn’t have her best interests at heart.
    As if she knew exactly what he was thinking, she gave him a narrow look. “I do hope this isn’t ‘courtesy’ again, Sheikh?”
    He didn’t miss the emphasis on the word. “Think of it more along the lines of a sightseeing opportunity. One you can either accept or refuse.”
    Lily’s gaze slid away, back out over the oasis