Free Shadow of the Sheikh by Nina Bruhns

lazy smile reappeared. Damn.
    â€œAll the same, what kind of a gentleman would I be not to offer my lady a soothing bath after a hard day of riding?”
    He didn’t add. “and before indulging in a ride of a different sort,” but it was plainly written in the slant of his dark, languorous eyes.
    She pulled at her martini-soaked shirt, pretending she didn’t understand exactly what he was saying. “That would be, um, great.”
    â€œExcellent. Come with me.”
    If she’d expected him to call a bevy of servants to pull out a copper tub and heat water to fill it, giving her an hour or more to debate her options, she was sadly mistaken.
    He lifted her knuckles to his lips and kissed them, then linked fingers and led her through another curtained door in the very back of the tent. “Here we are.”
    Her breath caught. They’d entered a smaller tent that was attached to the main one like a satellite. But this room had a tile floor instead of carpets, and contained an elaborate stone basin, like a Roman tub, fed by a bubbling hot spring that cascadedover the lip in a smooth, wide fall. A light mist of sweetly fragrant steam rose invitingly from the water, curling into the gauzy lengths of shimmery fabric that decorated the inside walls of the tent. The whole room had an air of sensual mystery.
    He waved his hand and a hundred glowing flames sprang to life, lighting the drifts of candles that were scattered about on the stone surfaces.
    Instantly, her qualms were forgotten. “Oh! It’s lovely!” She went to the edge of the tub and dipped her fingers in. The temperature was perfect. She sighed in delight. The bathroom in the rental villa was primitive, the shower an ugly cement cubicle. She turned to tell him how much she was going to enjoy this.
    And her breath caught again, this time for an entirely different reason.
    He’d taken off his tunic, peeled down to his bare skin.
    His chest was magnificent, broad and lean and olive tan. His abs were a rippling six-pack, all angled shadows, bisected by a light vee of black hair.
    He walked over to the basin, sat down on the rim, and pulled off his riding boots. First one, then the other, hit the floor. “What are you waiting for, kalila ?” She blinked. Oh, lord.
    â€œYou want to…” She glanced at the swirlingwater as he poured a handful of crystals into it and they began to foam. “Together?”
    His brows rose. “That’s generally how it’s done. Unless you Americans have invented a new way I’m unfamiliar with?”
    He obviously wasn’t talking about bathing.
    He untied the waistband of his trousers. They, too, dropped to the floor.
    Leaving him completely, wonderfully, rampantly naked.
    Not what she’d expected.
    But oh. My. God.
    Impossible to refuse.

Chapter 9
    R ibbons of heat shot through Gemma from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. Mine , she thought giddily. All mine.
    â€œShy?” Shahin asked when she didn’t— couldn’t —move. He came toward her. “Shall I undress you?”
    â€œN-no,” she stammered. “I mean y-yes.” She slammed her eyes shut. Totally befuddled and embarrassed. “I mean—”
    â€œShh,” he murmured, reaching for her. “It’s okay. I will bare your body for you.”
    She stood immobile, helpless to move. Her blood was thick with want and her limbs trembled withneed as he, one by agonizing one, unfastened the buttons of her shirt. He pushed it from her shoulders, leaned in and brushed the tip of his nose along the side of her temple, burrowing into her hair, rubbing his cheek against hers in an impossibly sensual gesture. Not quite affection, not quite possessive, but something in-between.
    Her shirt fell to the floor, and his lips moved down her throat, trailing along her collarbone and across her shoulder, leaving sparks of unbearable desire along the way.
    He unhooked