Read Desert Orchid: The Desert Princes: Book 1 for Free Online Page B

hers with an intensity that caught her lungs.
    Real fear crawled up her spine as he moved towards her and she forced herself not to back away.
    Negative energy hissed and spat in an atmosphere filled with a tension between them that was combustible. Dangerous. The dogs growled low in their throats.
    She gave a hand signal and they whined their anxiety.
    Khalid stepped right into her personal space and she couldn’t help the tiny shudder of panic that ran through her.
    "If those animals so much as twitch I’ll have them destroyed. I refuse to live in my own home in fear of having my throat ripped out." The drawl was no longer lazy but clipped and harsh.
    She read the truth in those chilling grey eyes.
    He meant every single word.
    His hand lifted and strong fingers gripped her chin as he tipped up her face to his. For the first time in six years a man was treating her like a thing. A possession. And it was as if this man's touch scorched her skin, branded her as his.
    "So very beautiful. So very young," he murmured. Then his eyes narrowed and she read annoyance. "You’ve kept me waiting for many days, Highness. What’s it to be? Marriage to me and a life of duty and sacrifice? Or a life of leisure on the French Riviera? With those looks you’ll have no problem bagging yourself another sugar daddy."
    The insulting tone told her he knew exactly which life she would choose.
    His touch burned her flesh and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the utter loathing in his.
    His breath, the heat of his body spun around her over-heightened senses.
    The cologne he wore was a spicy, peppery scent mixed with a citrusy top note.
    But most potent of all was the scent of an aroused man in his prime.
    A scent that sizzled through her system sending a liquid ache low in her belly, her breasts. Charisse had read enough that she understood the laws of chemistry, the fickle law of attraction, as well as pheromones, and what was possible between a man and a woman.
    What she simply could not understand was how on earth her body was attracted to this man?
    He hated her.
    She despised him.
    And yet she read arousal in those dark eyes, even as they studied her mouth for an eternal moment.
    Charisse couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe.
    It was as if her life was poised on a knife edge, on the decision she needed to make.
    The strong fingers holding her chin squeezed hard, telling her he was becoming impatient for a response.
    He lowered his head and his mouth was a mere whisper from hers.
    "Choose."
     
    Khalid watched her big blue eyes widen as she stared up into his.
    The delicate pulse in her neck beat a frantic tattoo.
    She was trembling now.
    And guilt that he was frightening her made him pause.
    He inhaled.
    God, he loved how she smelled. She wore a light floral scent, could be jasmine, but most of all he loved the scent of a warm, soft, and willing woman. Her hair was fabulous, like a silver river of pure silk. And he had no trouble imagining her in his bed, that slim body under his, long legs spread wide, taking his manhood to the hilt. No trouble at all. And her full mouth was a lesson in vulnerable temptation for a hungry man who hadn’t tasted a woman in a very long time.
    He wondered what his brother would say if he knew the women he entertained at his home in London were in fact real life models for his work? Yes, he drank too much, but he’d already begun to cut back if for no other reason because too much alcohol had a detrimental affect on his creativity, never mind his libido. Khalid couldn’t help but enjoy the heady excitement this woman appeared to bring to his over stimulated senses. He read real fear in those blue depths as well as a courage and dignity that made his chest ache.
    Her eyes searched his face before flickering to his mouth, and back, to search his eyes.
    "Marriage," she whispered.
    Khalid blinked.
    Again, she’d caught him by surprise.
    The response was not what he’d been expecting and he wondered for a