The Sheik's Virgin Lover (The Sisterhood) (3 page)

“To me it is,” he said and one finger ran down her cheek. “Now that you have given me the tour of your wonderful facility, I will take you to dinner to repay you.”

Emma stepped back, burned by his touch and terrified of his offer. It wasn’t really an offer though, it was more of a command. She couldn’t hold his gaze and looked away, frazzled and her heart racing. “The tour was my pleasure but dinner is unnecessary.”

“Of course it is necessary. I would like to know more.”

“About the center.”

“About you.”

She shook her head, not wanting to get any closer to this tall, dangerous man who terrified her on so many levels. “Thank you but I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“Anything is possible.”

“Not dinner tonight.”

“Why not?”

She thought quickly, frantically. “I have other plans tonight.”

Dharran watched her eyes and knew she was lying. He also knew that she was resisting him for some reason. The idea was novel. Never had a woman rejected him. In fact, the opposite was generally the case, with women throwing themselves at him, handing him keys to their hotel rooms, enticing him with whispered promises of sexual exploits or simply sending the message of their availability to him from across the room with a knowing glace.

She was indeed refreshing and interesting. Pursuit of a woman was different and suddenly much more enticing. Patience, he reminded himself. This woman reminded him of his prize stallion at home. It took him weeks of patience to break the horse to his bidding, but eventually, he’d gained his complete obedience and was now one of his best breeders.

Not that this woman would bear his children, but she would definitely bend to his will. He wanted her and he knew she was just as attracted to him. He just had to find her price. “Another time, then.” He took her hand and raised it to his lips, bowing over her hand. “It has been a pleasure, Ms. Knightly. I look forward to our next meeting.”

Emma was stunned into immobility as he bent over her hand, kissing her knuckles and sending sparks of electricity up her arm. And then he nibbled oh so gently on her fingertip and Emma’s experience hadn’t prepared her for that kind of touch. With alarm, she yanked her hand out of his just as she had on their initial meeting, holding it against her chest as if he’d burned her. Which he had in a way, although the burn was under her skin, in her blood and was much more terrifying than an actual flame.

He knew he’d gotten to her too. As she looked up into his eyes, a smile formed on those lips. Lips that had seemed hard and almost cruel, now turned into a sensual kiss when they smiled like that. And a promise, she thought with additional panic.

Without another word, the man, along with his entire entourage, left as quickly as they’d appeared. Emma looked down at her watch and was shocked to realize that it was almost four o’clock. Where had the day gone? Had she really just spent several hours with a man she barely knew answering his questions and feeling as if her entire life had turned upside down?

Well, that was a stupid question, then reprimanded herself and stomped back to her office, telling herself that she didn’t have time to spend thinking about a man she’d never see again. She moved the mouse slightly to release the screen on her computer but as she sat down and looked at the enormous amount of paperwork, she wanted to toss it all up and ignore it.

Unfortunately, that’s what had gotten her into this predicament, she thought. She’d ignored her work in favor of playing basketball earlier today. If she hadn’t done that, had simply stayed at her desk and focused, she never would have tossed that ball to Father Mike, then Jerome wouldn’t have copied him and he wouldn’t have thrown the ball onto that man’s car. And she wouldn’t have this aching sense of loss at the idea of never seeing him again, never feeling that instant excitement when he touched her.

How stupid was that thought? She’d just been pulling away from him and now she was wishing he was back? If that wasn’t ridiculously contradictory, she didn’t know what was.

With determination, she sorted the files on her desk and got back to work. She had so much to do and very little time to do it.

Chapter 2

Emma smoothed the skirt down over her hips, and then buttoned the jacket over her silk blouse. Her hair was styled professionally, with all curls mercilessly tamed and curling softly in place around her shoulders. The black suit was complimented by the cream silk blouse underneath and she wore only a simple pearl necklace and pearl earrings. Nothing flashy, nothing hippy today. She had to look professional and competent.

Lesley Myers walked into the shower area where Emma was changing and shook her head. “Lunch with the mayor again?” she said and it was more of a statement than a question.

“Yep. Fundraiser luncheon this time,” Emma confirmed.

Lesley looked at Emma, shaking her head. “You look like you’re going to a funeral.”

Emma laughed. “That’s probably a good thing. And a funeral might be more interesting.”

Lesley’s face fell and she turned away. “No, it isn’t,” she stated firmly.

Emma’s heart clenched, remembering too late that Lesley’s brother was shot and killed last year walking home from the grocery store on a Saturday evening. It wasn’t even dark, and he had been carrying two heavy bags of groceries. Food was precious, but that night, as the food lay on the ground spoiling in the heat, Emma had known that Lesley’s little brother was much more precious to her than the food.

“He’s safe now,” Emma said softly and put an arm around Lesley’s shoulders.

“I know. But it still makes me sad.”

Emma nodded and hugged the girl more firmly. “Then we need to change things even more,” she said. “And to do that, I need to look like I’m going to a funeral.”

Lesley laughed and sniffled, fighting back the sadness that had crept into their conversation. “You’re right. And I’m going to help. I’m not sure how yet, but I’m going to do it.”

“You’re going to help by being the wonderful person you already are,” Emma said emphatically. “Study, do what’s right and help out. That’s all that can be asked of you.”

“And marry some gorgeous dark stranger who rides a long limousine?” Lesley said with a twinkle in her eye.

Emma rolled her own eyes. “I don’t think so,” she scoffed. Word of the basketball debacle had spread like wildfire around here. Only two days had passed and Emma still felt a flutter in her stomach when she thought back to that tall stranger. Surely, he hadn’t been as scary as she’d remembered the encounter being. She’d just over-reacted since she’d been out in the heat, had skipped lunch and had been taken by surprise. “Off I go,” she said, feeling pumped and ready to tackle the world.

“Get us popsicle money, Ms. Emma!” Lesley called after her.

“You got it,” she said with a wave.

Emma drove her battered, circa 1969 VW bug down the street, the windows rolled down all the way since the air conditioning had long since lost the battle with age. The car wasn’t one of those cute little new VW bugs with the sweet bud vase on the dashboard. Nope, this was vintage VW Bug, the kind that the hippies of the 70s drove around in, packing as many people as they could as they made their way across the country heading for rock concerts and enlightenment.

But it was reliable and didn’t get stolen, so it was the perfect car for her.

With a smile, she parked her rusty, beaten up old vehicle in between a jaguar with sleek lines and a white Mercedes coupe with white leather interior. She loved doing that and even chuckled as she slammed the door closed, then slammed it again when it only bounced back, ignoring her initial attempt to close.

The second try worked, as it usually did, and Emma swung around on her demurely shod black heels and walked into the Ritz Carlton hotel where the mayor’s fundraising luncheon was being held. She knew there would be many society people attending as well, and probably a few celebrities but her presence here was simply to fill an empty seat for the mayor’s lunch. The mayor routinely called her to attend these functions and, although he was very nice and pleasant, she rarely was interested in the events. It was good publicity though as the mayor was quick to introduce her and take her around to meet other people, all of whom she considered potential funding opportunities.

As soon as she entered the luxurious dining room, she spotted the body guards simply because they stood out against the elegantly dressed people milling about who were all sipping tea out of delicate china cups or partaking of an early cocktail, disguised as something benign while the guards were standing stiffly to the side. The bulky men in the dark suits were her first clue that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary mayoral luncheon. With trepidation, she walked forward and gave her name to the security guard who cleared her through. Instead of walking in and finding a friendly face, she stepped into the room and then immediately off to the side, wanting to understand if her fears were real or if she was just being silly.

She wasn’t being silly.

As soon as she stepped into the room, her eyes collided with his ice blue gaze. Emma stared, her body frozen and the rest of the world zipping off and out of existence as Dharran stared at her from across the room. A woman was already hanging on his arm but when his head turned to watch Emma, so did the other woman’s.

Dharran almost didn’t recognize her when she stepped into the room but something told him to look up. The woman leaning against him was like an annoying gnat buzzing around but when his Emma stepped into the room, she looked like a prim little librarian. He wondered why she was wearing such a drab, black suit when all the other women’s suits were in various colors of the rainbow, each of them trying to outshine one another and gain the attention of either the media or one another.

He suspected it was so she could blend into the background but her sleek, sexy cat eyes just wouldn’t let her accomplish that goal. Several other men also turned to stare and he thought of smashing their faces for daring to look at his woman. She might not know it yet, but she definitely was his. The way she looked at him, immediately sensing he was in the room, then not looking away, unable to look at any other man told him exactly that.

Charlie Asbrook, the mayor, immediately broke off his conversation with the group of people when he saw Emma standing near the door and walked across the room, blocking Dharran’s view for a moment while talking with her and tucking her hand in his. Dharran really didn’t like that, but since the mayor was pulling her towards him, he felt at least gratitude for that. He could just imagine her long, sexy legs running as fast as she could in the opposite direction if he had approached her without the mayor’s assistance. She was terrified, he noted, watching her eyes as the mayor drew her inexorably closer. The fear was good, he thought with satisfaction. That fear was masking her attraction, the electricity which was as alluring as her lovely face and figure. And she should be afraid, he thought. At least initially. The things he was going to do with her would definitely make her blush. And scream out in pleasure and beg for more.

Shifting his thoughts back to the present, he separated himself from the annoying gnat of a woman and stepped forward to greet his kitten.

“We meet again,” he said softly and surprised the mayor.

“Darn!” the mayor said, laughing hugely as most politicians did. “I was hoping to introduce you to the savior of our inner city. Emma Knightly here runs the Inner City Recreation Center and is doing a fabulous job at getting those kids involved and out of trouble. She’s really worked miracles with many of those kids, several of whom have actually started college, thanks to her encouragement and tutoring programs,” he explained.

“Ms. Knightly was kind enough to give me a tour of her facilities earlier this week,” Dharran said and took her hand, once again starting to lift it to his mouth but she held back slightly and blushed when he raised a knowing eyebrow at her efforts.

“Your Highness,” she said and bowed her head slightly in deference to his title. “It’s an honor to meet you once again.” She turned to the mayor. “Is your wife around somewhere?” she asked. “I really need to speak with her about some of the contractors she’s working with on another project.”

“I believe she’s over here,” Dharran said, bringing Emma’s attention back to him and away from the mayor. “I will discuss that issue with you later,” he said to the mayor, who was dumbfounded that he’d lost Emma’s escort so quickly and so smoothly.

Dharran reached out and took a glass of white wine from a passing waiter and handed it to her. Emma smiled gratefully and took a sip of the cold, refreshing liquid as they moved across the room, their progress being hampered by several others who wanted to introduce themselves to Dharran, treating him like the latest celebrity, but with a great deal more respect. Emma was impressed with the way he handled everyone, as if he were some sort of publicity agent who knew exactly what to say to each individual that would allow them to pass, and not cause offense.

By the time they’d crossed the room to a somewhat more private area, Emma was almost laughing at how easily he controlled every situation.