Free The sheikh's chosen wife by Michelle Reid

giving her no chance to argue.
    Leona returned to
watching the sun inch its way across the cream carpet for a while. Then, on a
sigh, she slid out of the bed and went to get herself ready to face the next
round of argument.
    In another room not that
far away Hassan was facing up to a different opponent. Ethan Hayes was standing
there in the clothes he had arrived in minus the bow tie, and he was angry. In
truth Hassan didn't blame him. He was wearing a bruise on his jaw that would
appeal Leona if she saw it and he had a thick head through being encouraged to
imbibe too much alcohol the night before.
    'What made you pull such
a crazy stunt?' he was demanding.
    Since Hassan had been
asking himself the same thing, he now found himself short of an adequate
answer. 'I apologise for my men,' he said. 'Their...enthusiasm for the task got
the better of them, I am afraid.'
    'You can say that again.'
Ethan touched his bruised jaw. 'I was out for the count for ten minutes! The
next thing I know I am stuck on a yacht I don't want to be on, and Leona is
nowhere to be seen!'
    'She's worried about you,
too, if that is any consolation.'
    'No, it damn well isn't,'
Ethan said toughly. 'What the hell was wrong with making contact by
conventional methods? You scared the life out of her, not to mention the life
out of me.'
    'I know, and I apologise
again.' Not being a man born to be conciliatory, being forced to be so now was
beginning to grate, and his next cool remark reflected that. 'Let it be said that
you will be generously compensated for the... disruption.'
    Ethan Hayes stiffened in
violent offence. 'I don't want compensation,' he snapped. 'I want to see for
myself that Leona is okay!'
    'Are you daring to imply
that I could harm my wife?'
    'I don't know, do I?'
Ethan returned in a tone deliberately aimed to provoke. 'Over enthusiasm can be
infectious.'
    Neither man liked the
other, though it was very rare that either came out from behind their polite
masks to reveal it. But, as the sparks began to fly between the two of them,
this meeting was at risk of being one of those times. Leona might prefer to
believe that Ethan Hayes was not in love with her. But, as a man very intimate
with the symptoms, Hassan knew otherwise. The passion with which he spoke her
name, the burn that appeared in his eyes, and the inherent desire to protect
her from harm all made Ethan Hayes' feelings plain. And, as far as Hassan was
concerned, the handsome Englishman's only saving grace was the deep sense of
honour that made him respect the wedding ring Leona wore.
    But knowing this did not
mean that Hassan could dismiss the other man's ability to turn her towards him
if he really set his mind to it. He had the build and the looks to turn any
woman's head.
    Was he really afraid of
that happening? he then asked himself, and was disturbed to realise that, yes,
he was afraid. Always had been, always would be, he admitted, as he fought to
maintain his polite mask because, at this juncture, he needed Ethan Hayes'
cooperation if he was going to get him off this boat before Leona could reach
him.
    So, on a sigh which
announced his withdrawal from the threatening confrontation, he said grimly,
'Time is of the essence,' and went on to explain to the other man just enough
of the truth to grab his concern.
    'A plot to get rid of
her?' Ethan was shocked and Hassan could not blame him for being so.
    'A plot to use her as a
lever to make me concede to certain issues they desire from me,' he amended. 'I
am still holding onto the belief that they did not want to turn this into an
international incident by harming her in any way.'
    'Just snatching her could
do it,' Ethan pointed out.
    'Only if it became public
property,' Hassan responded. 'They would be betting on Victor and myself
holding our silence out of fear for Leona's safety.'
    'Does she know?' Ethan
asked.
    'Not yet,' Hassan
confessed. 'And not at all if I can possibly get away with it.'
    'So why does she think
she's