Page 18 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

Aliyah's insides tumbled at that suggestion. His palace was a half hour from Azim's. Aliyah started to wind her hair around a finger. She started to frantically search for the right words, how she could refuse his offer. Because, she had to refuse. Didn't she?

"Well?" he asked quietly. He glanced at her, and she could see the hope in his eyes.

"But what if they find out?" Aliyah asked knowing that it was a poor attempt at getting out of the invitation. In any case, she wasn't even sure she wanted to refuse.

"How are they going to know?" he asked. He leaned toward her. "It'll be our secret," he added with a grin.

Aliyah smiled at him. Did he have any idea how wonderful he looked when he smiled like that? Of course he did, she told herself. Shahid was the kind of man who was completely comfortable in his own skin. There was a natural confidence about him. He was so different when he was alone with Aliyah. Back at the palace he'd seemed defensive, hesitant. Here, though, in the confines of the car, in his own world, with his hands around the wheel, he looked like a different man, entirely.

Aliyah lifted a brow. "Secret?"

She thought about that for a moment and concluded that she liked the sound of that. In fact, this whole escapade with Shahid was turning out to be pretty exciting, in its own way, she concluded.

"I like the sound of secrets," she said with a smile.

Shahid grinned. "I thought you might," he said. "Does that mean you accept?" he added.

Aliyah made as if she was weighing up the invitation, her mouth pouting slightly, her brows furrowing. Best to let him wait a bit before giving him an answer.

"I'll think about it while your driving," she replied.

"You look cute when you pout. You know that, don't you?" he teased. His eyes were bright with good humor and she knew he was playing with her.

Aliyah felt her face flush at the sudden compliment. She narrowed her gaze witheringly at him and shook her head, trying not to smile.

"You're seriously making me wait for an answer?" Shahid asked almost disbelievingly.

Aliyah nodded. "What do you think I am? A pushover?"

Shahid glanced away from the road. She saw him run his gaze quickly down the length of Aliyah's petite figure. "One thing you're not is a pushover, Aliyah. That's not the word that comes to mind when I look at you."

Seeing the sudden hunger in his eyes made something tighten in her middle. There was that feeling again, she told herself. Every time he looked at her, all it took was one glance from his intense, dark eyes to trigger something inexplicable in her, something no man had ever come close to triggering in her.

She forced herself to smile at him. "Just keep your eyes on the road," she ordered him.

"Now, that's not going to be easy. You know that, don't you," he declared with a grin.

Aliyah sighed and shook her head. Was this what it was like to be in Shahid's world? Speed. Intensity. Excitement. Emotion.

If that was the case, then she had a decision to make before they arrived back in Qazhar city. Should she take the chance and go to Shahid's palace? Or should she take the safe route and demand that he drive her straight back to the safety of her family home?

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