The Inherited Bride by Maisey Yates Read Free Book Online Page B

protected from.” His dark eyes burned into her, making her feel exposed, as though all her inadequacies were revealed to him. “Not all experiences are good.”
    She swallowed hard. “You speak as a man who has never been a prisoner.”
    He took a step toward her and she stepped back, dodging a pedestrian. “I
have
been a prisoner. A prisoner of war. Where do you think these came from?” He indicated the marks etched into his cheek. “You are nothing more than a foolish child. You know nothing of the world. Be grateful for that.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    I SABELLA flicked her eyes up and focused on Adham’s cool expression, reflected in the dressing room mirror. “You don’t like it?”
    He shrugged, his expression one of cool disinterest. “Buy what
you
like.”
    She fixed her gaze back on her reflection. Yes. She was going to buy what
she
liked. It didn’t matter what he thought, or what her mother’s personal shopper would say. The only thing that mattered was how she felt about the outfit. The crisp white button-up top hugged her breasts and nipped in at the waist, accentuating her hourglass shape, while the brown satin shorts showed off more of her golden legs than she was accustomed to. But she thought she looked nice. She was reasonably certain she looked nice.
    She looked back at Adham. “Is it unflattering?”
    His coal-dark eyes raked over her, and it made her want to tug on the wide cuff of the shorts so that she could get some more coverage. “It’s very flattering.”
    Isabella was suddenly conscious of the fact that they were alone in the dressing area. Her skin felt sensitized. She could feel the air touching her, closing in on her. She could feel Adham’s heat across the small space.
    “Th-thank you.” Her heart was beating harder now,her palms damp. She needed … she needed distance. She didn’t want to be closed in with Adham anymore, didn’t want to share the air with him. Air that suddenly seemed thicker, harder to breathe. “So … so you like it, then?” She despised the hopeful tone in her voice.
    His Adam’s apple bobbed; his eyes flickering over her curves. “I like it.”
    She noticed that he tightened his hands into fists again, then released them, flexing his long, masculine fingers.
    He was the most infuriating man. He’d all but crushed her before they’d gone into Printemps, making her feel like a silly child, and now, only half an hour later, he was making her more conscious of the fact that she was a woman than she’d ever been before.
    “I’m finished,” she said tightly, disappearing into the dressing room and putting on her own clothes as quickly as possible, before exiting with her carefully chosen outfits.
    She added the packages to the shoes she’d purchased already, which included a pair of very sexy, strappy high-heeled sandals and tall butter-soft brown leather boots. Definitely not things her mother’s personal shopper would have chosen.
    They meandered through the massive department store, and Isabella did her best to simply block out everything but the moment she was living in. She loved being surrounded by the crowd of people, by the low hum of conversation. She was
with
people rather than above them—a part of things rather than held back, kept separate from everyone.
    Although Adham seemed content to hold himself separate on purpose. From her, from everyone. Though he wore designer jeans and a T-shirt with ease, he seemedout of place in their urban surroundings. He stood out—his height, his breadth, his handsome features, his scars all drawing attention to him. But it was more than just his looks. He seemed too exotic, too wild for something as prosaic as a department store.
    He was so completely unaffected. By the sights, by the crowds, by her. And he was making her feel edgy and restless and … nervous. He was definitely affecting her, no matter how much she was trying to pretend otherwise.
    With a spark of defiance she checked the map of the large