Free Awoken by the Sheikh by Doris O'Connor

AWOKEN BY THE SHEIKH
     
    Services to Sisterhood, 1
     
    Doris O’Connor
     
    Copyright © 2014
     
     
     
    Chapter O ne
     
    “ Astrid, I
am not taking no for an answer.” Lynn fixed her with one of those looks,
and Astrid found it hard not to squirm in her seat like a recalcitrant
six-year-old. “You’ve been working far too hard. You need a holiday, and I know
just the place. Every woman should go at least once in her lifetime. You’ll
love it, you’ll see!”
    Lynn shoved the brochure across the table at her, and
Astrid barely suppressed her groan of disgust. The glossy paper promised white,
sandy beaches, tropical weather, one’s every whim catered to, a
no-expenses-spared holiday. Too bad it gave Astrid heat rash just from the
pictures.
    Not again. How can I get out
of this?
    Astrid forced her lips into a semblance of a smile
    “ I don’t
do fantasies I tell you. What on earth am I going to do there, and how could
you afford it anyway?”
    Lynn just laughed at her. “Never you
mind that. It’s all taken care of. And as for
fantasies? You’ll surprise yourself, I’m sure. Look at this as
education. You need to loosen up woman, discover your inner sex goddess before
you turn into a shriveled up old prune.”
    Heat rose in Astrid’s cheek, and she was sure the
whole coffee shop stopped to look at their table. “Will you keep your voice
down? My sex life is none of your business.”
    “ Sex
life?” Lynn didn’t temper her volume. If anything it increased in decibels, and
Astrid feared for the plate glass windows. “Girl, you haven’t got one, and this
trip is going to change all that. No, don’t even try to wriggle out of it. It’s
all arranged. Call it services to sisterhood.”
    “ Lynn,
this is insane. I can’t just take off. It’s—“
    “ It’s half term next week, and you most certainly can just
take off. I’ll feed your goldfish. I’ll even talk to him, so he doesn’t feel
lonely.” Lynn laughed again and shook her head at Astrid. “You do realize how
sad that is, right? You’re turning into the proverbial cliché. Only you’re not
old, just a spinster, with a goldfish rather than a cat.”
    The more Astrid protested, the louder and more
insistent Lynn became, until Astrid had no choice but to agree, all too aware
of the sniggering around her.
    ****
    Services
to sisterhood—what a crock. She was not some sort of sex starved charity case, as
Lynn must have made her out to be to get her booked on this thing. And since
when was there such a charity anyway? So they booked you on this fantasy
getaway to get bonked senseless and then your life would be so much better
right? Right. Bull, bull, bull . And fool that she was , she was now stuck on this trip. There was no means to
reach the outside world until the holiday was over, and she had presumably been
shagged senseless by goodness only knew who.
    Astrid clung to the handrail a bit tighter as the
speedboat rode another wave. The man in charge of this tiny contraption gave
her a wide grin when she couldn’t contain her shriek. Here he went again with
the knowing looks that made Astrid all too aware of her own body. That
kind of undress her with his eyes look would have earned him a stern
dressing down, had she been at home. Out here, however, like the proverbial
fish out of water, she had no comeback. Men generally didn’t look at her twice, which was just fine by her, thank you very much.
    This one, however? His dark eyes raked her up and
down, and a slow grin spread across his face. He looked as though he knew
exactly what she was hiding under her sensible and far too hot suit. Yeah,
girl, wear a woolen suit to a tropical island. Now that was a brainwave, duh.
    The offending suit clung to her skin, and beads of
perspiration slid into the valley of her breasts and collected in the small of
her back. The heat was getting to her. That was the only explanation for her
body’s immediate and frightful response to this man’s latent