Page 22 of The Sheikh's Matchmaker Bride

Chapter Seven

Aliyah's bare feet splashed into the warm water of the Qazhar Sea. She squealed with delight, grabbing onto the hem of her dress and lifting it up so that it wouldn't get wet. She took a few more steps, enjoying the feeling of the water rising up to her knees, the small waves lapping against her skin.

She turned, realizing she was desperate to see Shahid. He was standing on the water's edge a few feet away, hands on hips, looking straight at her. What was that look on his face? Appreciation? Pleasure?

If that was the case, why was he not coming in after her?

"Scared of the water?" she taunted. She scooped up a handful of water and threw it in his direction. He didn't move a muscle, simply letting the water land on his white shirt and dark pants. With a scowl he looked down at his wet shirt.

"You want me to take all this off?" he called out to her, looking down at his shirt and pants.

Aliyah felt her throat tighten as the thought of that sunk in.

"Just roll your trousers up," she suggested, although she really didn't mean what she'd just said. Of course, she wanted him to take off his shirt. Maybe she wanted him to take everything off. Now, that would be a sight to behold, she told herself.

She could already see the contours of his firmly muscled torso through the wet fabric of his shirt. Aliyah felt her heart race, and she knew it was nothing to do with the fact that she standing in water.

"Really?" Shahid replied, sounding completely unconvinced.

Shahid shook his head and started to undo his pants, looking directly at her, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Tell you what,"he said. "I'll take these off, and just keep my shirt on. How about that?"

Aliyah froze on the spot, watching his fingers undo the buttons of his pants. "You don't need to go to all that trouble on my behalf," she said, trying desperately to sound casual, even though her heart was thudding and her pulse was racing.

"It's no trouble," he said with grin.

She could see that he hadn't bought her pretend indifference. His gaze was locked firmly on her, and one corner of his mouth had creased into a sardonic grin. He wasn't going to stop, she realized. No matter what she said, he was determined to take off his pants and step into the sea to be by her side. Was that so bad, after all?

Aliyah started toward him. "You don't need to do that," she started to say. "I'll come out and save you the trouble."

She halted when she saw him raise a hand. "Stay there, Aliyah," he said firmly. His tone of voice allowed no disagreement.

She stopped, feeling the waves lapping around her shins.

Then he started to slide his pants down across his hips, revealing his white shorts. Aliyah swallowed as she gazed at what was contained within those shorts. She dragged her gaze away for a few seconds and when she looked back at Shahid, she saw that he'd placed his pants down on the dry sand at his feet.

He started to come toward Aliyah, and with every step, she saw the sheer power of his movement, the animalistic ease with which he stepped into the water. His body contained a promise, forcing her to keep watching him as he strode toward her, the water splashing lightly around his bare legs. His long legs were powerfully muscled, the skin lightly covered in dark hair.

She saw the way Shahid watched her, the satisfaction written on his features. Now it was his turn to play with her, she told herself. During the drive out here, she'd done everything she could think of to keep Shahid off balance. She'd teased him, toyed with him, taunted him. All in good humor, of course. And she'd thought it had worked.

But, right now, Shahid looked like a completely different man. His brows were furrowed, hungry and determined looking. His eyes were dark, searching pools that threatened to draw her into even deeper waters.

The way he was advancing toward her was making nerves twist in her middle, causing heat to glow in a way that made the water around her legs feel suddenly cool by comparison.

Aliyah drew in a deep breath and clutched her dress even tighter. She realized she was lost for words. All the quips and jokes had deserted her, for the moment. The only thing she could do was watch Shahid and wonder what he would do once he was by her side.

From behind her, the sea surged, and a wave rose up, catching her thighs. She squealed and lifted one leg, raising her skirt higher. In an instant, she realized that she had probably revealed her underwear to Shahid in an unguarded moment. Feeling exposed, she quickly lowered the hem of her dress back down and looked at him, and discovered that she had been right. The smile on Shahid's face told her that, whether he'd wanted to or not, he'd just enjoyed the sight of her thighs and panties.

Then he was by her side, and they stood facing each other.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it?" he said.

"Obviously not," she replied glancing down at him. The water reached up to his knees. Against her better judgment, she couldn't help noticing that standing in the water hadn't affected the firmness of what she could see contained beneath the thin white fabric of his shorts.

She quickly lifted her gaze back to his face, seeing that he was obviously trying to read her mind. Well, he had always been able to guess her thoughts. Why did she believe that now would be any different?

He was so close that she could have reached out and traced her hand down the front of his slightly damp shirt. The thought of how that would feel made her face flush, betraying her secret imagining.

Why was she suddenly being overtaken by these treacherous thoughts? She tried to regain control over herself.

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