The Sheik's Furious Bride (Love By Accident) by Elizabeth Lennox Page B

afternoon.”
    She wanted to pull herself out of his arms, but he held her firmly.  “How do you know what I wanted?”
    His firm lips quirked upwards, but she could tell that he was trying to hide his amusement.  “Because I knew what was going on inside you and it wasn’t simply pleasant.  You were on fire, Isla.”  He stopped her protest by placing a finger over her lips.  “If we’re going to survive this marriage, you’re going to have to be honest with me.”  He hesitated a moment before he continued by saying, “And honest with yourself.”
    She sighed and shook her head.  “I can lie to myself all I want,” she gritted out.
    He laughed outright with that statement, then kissed the top of her head.  “Okay, so you can lie to yourself if that makes you feel better.  Just don’t think that I’ll believe your silly nonsense.”
    “So let me get this straight.  You get to touch me and kiss me whenever you want, I have to attend all meals with you and answer your questions, you’re apparently going to answer my questions as well.”
    He knew where she was going with this but played along.  “That about sums it up.  What’s your answer?”
    She shook her head and looked back up at him.  “What do I get out of this?” she demanded. 
    He shrugged one of those massive shoulders. “You get the pleasure of my company, the excitement of kissing me back, you may feel free to touch me in any way that strikes your fancy and you get to know me better.”
    “But I don’t want to touch you!” she lied.  Even now, her hands wanted to smooth up his forearms, to feel the muscles that were revealed by the cuffs of his shirt that were rolled up.  She wanted to place her hand over his heart and feel the rhythm, to find out if his heart raced when she touched him just like hers did when he touched her.  But she kept her hands firmly on his hands, considering that to be a “safe” place to leave them.  At least for the time being.  
    He shook his head and pulled her slightly closer.  “You can lie to yourself, Isla.  But don’t lie to me.”
    She rolled her eyes.  “What do you perceive I’m lying about now?”
    “You want to touch me.  You want to touch me so badly that your fingers are twitching against my hands.  I can also see it in your eyes.  So tell yourself whatever you need to.  But keep it honest when it leaves those pretty lips of yours.”
    She snatched her hands away, keeping them by her side which she worried was a dangerous way to stand in his arms.  At least with her hands on his, she could more easily and quickly reach up to push him back. 
    “As for what you get out of the agreement…I’ll hold off on the wedding until next week as we’d originally planned…”
    “As you had planned.   There was no ‘we’ in the discussions,” she interrupted.
    He conceded her point with a slight smile.  “As your brother and I agreed, the wedding date will remain next week, and you get to know me better.”
    “This sounds like a one-sided agreement.  Why should I do this?”
    He leaned closer and his lips nuzzled her neck.  “Isla, you’ve got to accept that, one way or another, you’re going to be in my bed.  It’s a matter of time but we can marry now, as strangers who want each other painfully, or we can do it as friends next week.  Those are my concessions.”
    She shivered as his mouth found a sensitive spot on her neck and nibbled with his teeth.  “That doesn’t really sound very fair,” she said, unaware that her voice was breathy and she actually tilted her head to the side to give him better access. 
    “Life isn’t fair.  Anyone who tried to tell you otherwise was lying,” he said and moved to her ear lobe, giving it the same treatment.
    Isla tried hard to get oxygen into her lungs but it was difficult when he was doing this to her ear and neck.  She shivered, her hands unconsciously moving to his shoulders and her body pressing against his.