The Sheik's Reluctant Lover by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online Page B

she’d never seen evidence like that before.  Surely it was just because she was so far away that he looked so large.  That didn’t make sense, but it certainly helped her to regain her composure. 
    She walked several more feet away, then slipped back into the stables.  She walked by the horses who were being cleaned and even patted one on the nose, further decreasing the panic and allowing her mind to start to function a little bit more rationally. 
    She felt a bit silly now that she was away from Rais and away from the power he had over her.  She stopped at the ladder to the loft, then smiled as she remembered climbing up into the loft and looking down at the stable workers.  She’d seen so much from up here.  From this vantage point, she could see into all the stalls, both stable doors as well as the side doors and even her father’s office down the way although she couldn’t see inside of it. 
    This had been her hideout, the place she’d come when she was hurt or angry, sad or happy.  She’d brought friends up here and they’d played cards when her father wouldn’t let her ride any longer.  If she hadn’t been in the rose garden doing her homework, she’d be up here.  It was a magical, secret place where she could read for hours and get a bird’s eye understanding of what went on throughout the day on the farm. 
    She pushed several of the spare bales of hay around, forming a sort of couch where she could curl up and watch , think about what had just happened.  She was so deep in thought, she didn’t hear the other person climb the ladder.  She didn’t hear Rais as he stopped at the top of the loft and watch ed her for a long moment, contemplating her long hair with small pieces of straw sticking out on various sides. 
    He walked over to the edge and looked down into the stables.  “So this is where you saw everything that happened over the years, eh?”
    Rachel started and twisted around, surprised to find him standing right behind her.  He was so tall he had to duck down slightly or he’d hit his head on the roof of the stables, but otherwise, he looked ‘right’ up here in the straw and hay bales.
    “What are you doing up here?” she asked, curling up into a ball, almost defensively.  She wrapped her arms around her legs and stared up at him, then glanced behind him to the ladder.
    “Don’t go trying to run out on my again,” he said and sat down next to her on her makeshift ‘couch’.  “You’ll break your neck trying and then I’ll be really irritated with you.”
    She had to laugh at his comment.  “You’ll be irritated with me for breaking my neck?”
    He raised an eyebrow at her reaction. “Not a good enough threat?”
    She chuckled again and shook her head. “Not really.  Irritation with you isn’t anything to be afraid of.”
    He nodded as if accepting her point.  “How’s this for a threat…if you fall down and break your neck, I’ll have you exactly where I want you…on your back and at my mercy.”
    She giggled at the image but agreed that that threat was better.  “Okay, I’ll stay put as long as you stay on that side of the hay.”
    He instantly agreed with her terms then relaxed back against the hay.  “So how did you find this place?” he asked.
    She shrugged and looked down over the workers who were milling about, taking care of the horses or hauling in food and water.  For the next hour, they discussed non-threatening issues like her job, his job, politics and horses.  She relaxed and sank deeper into the hay, feeling as if their old friendship were back and that pesky sexual tension that always seemed to be around them now had dissipated slightly.  It was still there and she caught him glancing down at her breasts more often than she wanted to admit, but his eyes always moved back up to her eyes and he paid attention to what she was saying. 
    He also laughed.  His deep, lustrous voice laughed at several of the things she commented on