The Sheikh's Resisting Lover (The Tazeem Twins Series Book 3)

by Leslie North

  “I will try,” she nodded. “The chauffeur is here,” she added.

  “Okay,” Tanya ran to the bathroom to get her toothbrush. “I almost left this,” she said and laughed.

  “As if it's important.” They each grabbed a suitcase and walked downstairs and out to the car where the chauffeur was waiting for her. As he loaded her luggage into the car, the two women hugged.

  “Don't get all emotional,” Tanya said to Rene.

  “I won't.”

  “Bye, love,” Tanya opened the car door herself and got in. She wasn’t paying attention when the driver loaded her suitcases and she was surprised that he was already behind the wheel. She dismissed it and sank back against the seat as he pulled away. She just wanted to get back to the US to the safety of her home that she used to share with Rene. The farther away she could get from James, the better for everyone.

  Chapter 12

  Tanya started flipping through the pictures she had taken. She had taken so many. She smiled as she looked at pictures of her and Rene. She was going to miss her so much.

  She did not like being continents and oceans apart from each other. She was her best friend and her sister. She was glad that she had found Joshua. He was great and she knew that he would never hurt her. Even the maids were fun and kind to her. She smiled as she looked at the pictures she took with them.

  Tanya stopped smiling when she came across the picture of herself and James. She hated to admit it, but they looked good together. She had had so much fun with him at the zoo and then at the café. She had never felt so many emotions for one guy.

  She wanted to hate him for what he had done but she could not. She was equally as responsible for sleeping with him. She could have stopped it but she chose not to. He had made her feel things that she had never experienced before and she was glad that her first time was with him.

  From the start, she had seen him for what he was; a rich, conceited, flirtatious playboy. But underneath all that, he was James. The guy who made her smile as he fed stray cats and referred to a rhino as a rhinoceros.

  Tanya frowned when she noticed the time. When she came to the palace, it had taken less than fifteen minutes. They had been driving for at least thirty minutes.

  “Excuse me, where are going?” Tanya called out to the chauffeur. Was he lost or was he kidnapping her? Something dodgy was happening. She got even more suspicious when he did not answer her.

  “Can we stop?” she called out, but he ignored her as he kept driving. Tanya rolled her sleeves up. She knew a thing or two about self defence and she was mentally gearing herself up for a fight when the car eventually came to a stop.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward. She wanted to see this driver's face and give him a piece of her mind. She did not appreciate him ignoring her when she was trying to leave Saudi Arabia quickly. The thick-tinted glass rolled down as the driver turned his head and smiled at her.

  “Hussain?” she asked with a frown on her face.

  “I am sorry about this, but his highness asked me to bring you here. I apologise if I frightened you,” Hussain replied. Tanya was confused. Nothing was making sense.

  “Where is here?” Tanya asked as she impatiently got out of the car. She had no time for this. She wanted to be on the plane and well away from him before he knew that she had left.

  She looked around in confusion. James was standing by a fountain impeccably dressed as usual in tailored charcoal trousers that fitted him perfectly and revealed the length of his legs, a black shirt and a charcoal suit jacket that matched his trousers. His dark wavy hair was neatly combed, with a side part. He looked amazing as usual. Tanya sighed. “Why am I here James?” she called out.

  “Come here,” he said to her. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. She was not going to go to him. If he wanted to speak to her, then he had to make the effort. He was the one who had brought her here, so he had to walk to her.

  “What do you want?”

  James walked toward Tanya and stopped in front of her. “I'm...sorry,” he said.

  “You can't even say sorry,” Tanya rolled her eyes. He was wasting her time if he was not going to be sincere.

  “It's just that after someone hurt me, a long time ago, the word has lost its meaning.”

  “Hessa.”

  James raised his eyebrows, pain briefly flashing across his face. “You know about her,” he said.

  “I do.”

  “Then you can understand my issues with relationships.”

  “No, I cannot. James I know it sucks and it hurts but that was fifteen years ago. It cannot define you for the rest of your life. You can't treat every woman that comes into your life like crap just because of her,” Tanya said vehemently as James stared at her in surprise. No one had ever spoken to him that way about her before. “Building walls around yourself and acting the role of a playboy is cowardly. It’s time to grow up and make new memories.”

  “Cowardly?” he asked.

  “Yes, cowardly, because you are scared to love,” she said. James started smiling at her. “Why are you smiling?” she asked him.

  “I missed you being so feisty.”

  Tanya rolled her eyes. This was hardly the time for his jokes and flirting. “Why am I here, James?” she questioned. She was starting to get impatient.

  “I wanted to apologise. I’m not good at relationships and I do not know how to love.” James took another step forward and took her hands in his. “Remember what Hussain said?” he asked.

  “What?” Tanya could barely think about anything at that moment. James was standing so close to her with her hands in his. It made her nervous.

  “I don't do dates. I’ve never even been on a date. But now I want to, with you. Only you.”

  “You say it like it’s some sort of consolation prize.”

  James laughed. “You are a hard woman to please,” he said as he kissed her hands. “I am saying that I would like to have the opportunity to start over with you.”

  “Why?” she asked him. She was not going to let him off that easy.

  “Because I love spending time with you, talking to you; our time at the zoo was the most fun I’d had with a woman...ever. I want to start over with you and do things right.”

  “I don't know,” Tanya replied trying not to smile.

  “Is that a smile?”

  “No, it's not,” she said and smiled even harder as James chuckled.

  “Besides, you came here to enjoy the country and spend time with Rene. Do not leave now because of me,” he said.

  “It's not about you,” she lied.

  “If you say so,” he said with a cheeky grin on his face.

  “Oh, James,” she started laughing.

  “I would like to take you out, show you around, spend some time with you and really get to know you.” He kissed her hands. “I would like you to be the last girl I ever court,” he kissed her hand again. Tanya smiled and nodded. “I want you to be my first and last, first date. Ever,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

  Tanya laid her head against his chest and enjoyed the moment. She had not expected him to stop her from leaving. She honestly thought he did not care about her and that she had become another notch on his headboard.

  It touched her that he had gone to so much effort to stop her. Lifting her head to look at him, he smiled down at her, as he pressed a feather light kiss on her lips. As he went to open the car door to get inside, she stepped away.

  “Before we go, there’s just one thing that we need to discuss,” Tanya said as she turned and walked toward the fountain. Grabbing her hand before she could walk away, he turned her around as she chewed on her bottom lip.

  “What is it? You can tell me anything.”

  “Did you by chance talk to your brother?”

  “Joshua? No. Why? Is something wrong? Tanya, what is it.”

  Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on his chest to keep some distance between them. “I
t’s just that, while you may have slept with what...hundreds of women...” As James was about to respond, he looked at her in surprise when she blurted out, “There’s been only one.”

  “What?”

  “You were my first, James.” Tanya had closed her eyes when she said it, unsure that she wanted to see the look on his face. Opening one eye, he had a grin on his face as he looked at her. “What?” she asked.

  “So, what you are saying is that I’ve spoiled you for all time and there can be no other man in your life.”

  “Oh. My. God. Here I am sharing something important with you and you joke about it,” Tanya shot back as she slid into the car.

  “I’m just saying that once you have me, there can be no other,” he said as he joined her in the car.

  “Could you possibly be more conceited,” she said, trying not to smile

  Taking her hand in his, he kissed it and held it to his heart. “What I’m saying, habibti, is that there will be no one else.”

  Tanya squeezed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder as Hussain started the car and drove them back to the palace.

  END OF BOOK 3

  BOOK 4 AVAILABLE EARLY APRIL 2015

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  Excerpt from Secret Billionaire’s Stubborn Cowgirl (Start Reading Today!)

  Lucy led him out to the old pond on Charlie’s farm. It sat back from the road not far from the horse pasture. They’d kept their halters on the horses, so they tied them to a tree and Zach began pulling out the food.

  Lucy sat down on the grass. “Oh, man! Charlie outdid herself this time.”

  It seemed like Zach just kept pulling food from his saddle bags. Fried chicken, biscuits, cheese and crackers, strawberries, even a bottle of wine and paper cups. He cracked open the wine—a twist-top, thank you, Charlie—and poured. “An excellent vintage, I see.”

  “Hey, don’t knock the convenience.” She leaned back on her elbows, sucking a strawberry into her mouth. The sweetness exploded and she closed her eyes and hummed. She looked up again to see Zach staring at her so intently that she had a hard time breathing. When his eyes dipped to her chest, she wondered if he could see the outline of her bra and breasts. His eyes darkened.

  She caught a breath.

  She didn’t want this—but she did. She knew he was trouble—he wasn’t the kind of guy she wanted. But he was what she needed right now.

  He leaned over her, his mouth hovering close. All she had to do was push him away. All she had to do was crack a joke about employee harassment. All she had to do… god, he had beautiful eyes, the blue framed by thick, dark lashes.

  He turned his head and kissed the crook of her neck. The warmth of his mouth undid the last of her good intentions. “Zach.” His name slipped out on a whisper.

  He pulled back. “Ask me.”

  She stared at him. “Ask you what?”

  “Ask me to kiss you.”

  She shook her head. “Not a good idea.”

  “It’s not a bad one. One kiss—what’s the harm in one kiss?”

  “Oh, I can think of a lot of harm.”

  He leaned closer. “Ask me anyway.”

  His eyes were her undoing. They teased her, light danced, tempted, promised, and she asked him by wrapping her hand around the back of his neck and pulling his mouth to hers.

  She opened her mouth to him, to that kiss, to the need for him, raw, pure and simple. He pushed her down to the ground and she spread her legs so he could settle himself. She hadn’t been with anyone like this since high school. She could feel his hands searching for a way under her shirt, a way to get to skin. She knocked off his Stetson and tangled her fingers in his hair.

  A horse whinny pulled her back to reality—to what she was doing.

  He pulled back and she sat up, pushing at her hair—he’d pulled it out of the pony tail. “That was some bottle of wine.” She tried for a smile, but the joke fell flat.

  “Lucy—”

  She held up a hand. “One kiss. That’s what you asked for—what I asked for. Best we leave it there.”

  “But—”

  Pushing up to her feet, she stared down at him. “I can’t quit. You don’t want to fire me—not for that. So let’s be smart about this.” Bending down, she started to pack up the food. “Now we should head back, shouldn’t we, boss? We’ve got clouds coming in and rain with ‘em.”

  He shoved a hand into his hair and grabbed for his Stetson. “Don’t think that leaves either of us satisfied.”

  Lucy pressed her lips tighter.

  It didn’t take long to pack the saddle bags, untie the horses and ride back. The wind picked up and the horses jogged, eager to get back to their pasture. At the trailer, Lucy focused on brushing down the mare, not on watching Zach—and not remembering that kiss. So what if he left her dizzy. So what if she’d been wet in five seconds. So what if she wanted to go back and grab him and kiss him again.

  That was the trouble with guys like him—they spun your world around and then if you were fool enough to hook up with them they just kept on spinning you. Her daddy had been a man like that. Well, no thank you, sir. She wanted a hard-working man. She wanted a regular guy.

  Zach headed into the trailer to put away his saddle.

  That was when Lucy heard a sharp jingle and a bark. Fear ran up her back.

  Excerpt from Secret Billionaire’s Stubborn Cowgirl (Start Reading Today!)

  Excerpt From ‘The Sheikh’s Accidental Pregnancy’ (Download Instantly Today!)

  “She's adorable,” Fiddah said to Tariq as Sara walked away. He was watching her walk with his usual blank face. He turned to look at Fiddah.

  “Amir keeps saying that. I do not see it,” Tariq said and picked up his menu. Fiddah laughed.

  “This is you we are talking about.”

  He lowered his menu and narrowed his gaze at her. “I am not the problem here,” he defended himself. The waitress reappeared to take their orders. She was watching him and blushing whilst he was speaking to her. Fiddah watched the waitress turn red.

  “When do you plan to marry?” Fiddah asked Tariq as soon as the waitress left. Tariq frowned at his grandmother.

  “What brought this on?” He was confused with her sudden change of topic even though it was not the first time she had questioned him about marriage.

  “The waitress was blushing when she was speaking with you but you did not even notice. Makes me wonder if you notice women.”

  Tariq sighed bef
ore he replied. He was so used to women blushing in his presence that it did not even faze him anymore. The waitress came back carrying their drinks. Tariq sunk in his chair and watched her. She noticed him looking at her and she immediately started smiling. He raised one eyebrow. He waited for her to leave before he commented.

  “Marriage is not for me and even if it was, she would not be my type,” he said and took a sip from his glass. Fiddah shook her head. For years, she had been trying to convince him to marry but failed.

  “So what, you will bury yourself in the company until your death bed?”

  “I like my job.”

  “Too much! You need a life outside your job. You need a family.”

  “I have one.”

  “Of your own! I want great grandchildren. Do not deny me that!”

  Tariq was never going to win this argument. Fiddah was tenacious. This was not their first time discussing his love life and it was certainly not going to be their last.

  “How about you pick a wife for me?” Tariq said and grinned at her.