Free The Sheikh's Pretend Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 2) by Cara Albany

contacting Ella's car. Once again Ella fought to control her car, but she felt the wheels skid against the edge of the tarmac, saw the cloud of sand rise up by her side.  
    Ella was thrown from side to side, her seatbelt cutting into her shoulder. Then she saw the dark car speed off amidst a roar of engine.  
    Ella wrenched the steering wheel with all her might, but it was no good. With a cry of indignation Ella tried with one last effort to keep her vehicle from skidding off the road, but she couldn't do it.  
    The car bumped violently on the roadside. Ella felt herself thrown back and forth and it seemed as if it was no longer contacting the road.
    Then she was thrown forward, her chest stretching the seatbelt. Ella knew the car was tumbling down the steeply elevated bank of the road. She saw the beach yards below her. Ella threw her hands up to her face. She knew the car was heading for the flat beach; knew that the impact could be deadly.
    Ella yelled defiantly one last time as the car hammered down the embankment. She closed her eyes, hearing the awful sound of jarring metal, feeling herself being thrown around inside the car like a rag doll.
    And then she felt the impact. The car juddered and stopped as if it had hit a brick wall.
    There was a roaring in her ears and the last thing she thought was how beautiful the booming pulse of the waves of the nearby sea sounded, now that the car had come to a complete halt.

CHAPTER SEVEN

    There was that sound, again, Ella thought. The sound of the waves. It was such a pleasant, relaxing noise.  
    Ella was aware of the distant rhythmic pulse of the sea, even as she kept her eyes closed. The darkness was inviting. She just wanted to sleep a little longer. Just a little while more. It wouldn't do any harm to sleep a few more hours.
    Once again the sound of the sea caught her attention. This time, it was different, a booming roar, like surf crashing on rocks. The darkness enveloped Ella like a warm blanket.  
    Where was she?
    Then she remembered. The car. The beach. Tumbling down the embankment. The bone-jarring impact. How had she survived?
    Ella forced her eyes open.
    A room? How could that be? Why was she not still tied into the driver's seat of her car?
    Ella was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. A soft blanket covered her body, and her head rested on a scented pillow. From the open double doors that led onto a balcony, she heard the sound of the sea. The waves were more distant than when she had last heard them as she had lost consciousness in the car.
    The car!  
    Ella gazed around the room. It was a luxuriously furnished room. The bed Ella lay upon was enormous. Even as she stretched out her legs, her feet couldn't reach the end of the bed.  
    Ella raised her head slightly and gazed around the huge room, taking in the exotic furnishings, the table, sofa, and bureau. She saw the slightly open doors of a step-in wardrobe. Luxurious rugs covered the marble floor. On either side of her bed were small tables. One had a telephone and the other a clock, which told Ella it was five o'clock. The sunlight streaming in through the open french doors told Ella it was probably late afternoon and not early morning.
    How had she got here? And where was she?
    Ella tried to sit up in bed, but came to a sudden halt. The pain in her head hit her like a physical blow. Ella winced and rubbed her forehead. Had she been hurt in the accident? Then she recalled that it hadn't been any accident. She had been forced off the road by that thug.
    Ella laid her head back down on the pillow. She let out an exasperated sigh.
    Where was she?
    Then, a memory drifted into her consciousness; a sweet memory of a comforting, distant voice calling to Ella, demanding that she open her eyes.  
    Raz!
    Ella's breath caught in her throat. She saw an image of Raz forcing open the door to her car. The beach and sea were behind him as he thrust his head into the car and struggled to free Ella from the seatbelt