Read Online Sheikh's Unlikely Desire by Sophia Lynn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sophia Lynn
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she had been just a hair less angry or if he had been standing just another few feet away, she likely wouldn't have done what she did next. Hell, she might not have done it if she had another few moments to think about it.
Leah wasn't very large, but she made up for it with quickness. As fast as a striking serpent, she lashed out and wrapped her fingers firmly around Zayn's wrist. She kept her right foot planted and she swung her left foot low, crashing into Zayn's knees. Her grip on his wrist prevented him from moving with her kick, and as a result, his legs were neatly swept out from underneath him.
Zayn made a strangled sound as he hit the ground. A part of her that stood apart from the rest approved of the way he landed. Obviously, he’d had some training when it came to defending himself. He wasn't entirely reliant on Azim and the other men in black. She glanced around them. To her surprise, Azim stood unobtrusively a few hundred yards away. She tensed to be knocked down herself or at least held, but to her surprise, the older man simply grinned, giving her a very American thumbs-up.
Zayn flowed to his feet, more graceful than a man his size had any right to be. He was a little flushed with surprise, but a great deal of the anger and stress had drained from his face.
“That's my plan,” she said as evenly as she could. “I keep telling you that I am far from helpless, Zayn. When are you going to believe me?”
“Not before I've been dumped on my ass apparently,” he said with a wry smile. “Do you truly expect me to stand by while you are threatened, however? No matter how good you are at taking care of yourself?”
She should have had something tart and cutting to say, but what came out instead surprised her.
“Why should you care? I'm your lawyer. That doesn't mean I'm under your protection or that I'm... I'm...”
Someone important to you. The words were right there, but she choked them back. To her relief, Zayn stepped in, and she didn't have to flounder with that particular humiliation.
“After what we did last night, I cannot think of you just as some hired gun from LA who's helping me. Surely you felt it, too. I know what you felt like when we were together. I remember the look in your eyes and the way you smiled. Perhaps here in the west you are separated from what you want and what you need, but I was raised differently. I know truth and desire and more when I see it.”
Something in Leah opened to those simple words, as if some starved part of her had been waiting to hear them her entire life. She had yearned to hear words like that, and now they were coming out of the mouth of the least likely, least suitable man in the world.
“You're mistaken,” she forced herself to say. “Things are very different here. I'm nothing more than your lawyer, the person representing you in this very personal, very important matter. You are important to me, and your case is one that I am not going to lose. However, that is all we are to each other.”
Zayn's green eyes sharpened. “I think that you're lying to yourself, and even worse, I think that you know it.”
Leah couldn't take any more. She really couldn't. She lurched backward and when Zayn reached for her again, she tore her arm away from him with a sound that was nearly a snarl.
“Damn you, can't you see?” she nearly shouted. “I'm not going to be your goddamn concubine!”
The words made Zayn rear back. She could see the shock and hurt and confusion on his face, but the important thing was that he pulled away from her. She hurriedly got into the car, closing the door behind her and shoving the key into the ignition. She caught a glimpse of Zayn standing beside the car still, and she peeled away from the curb.
She knew she could close this case. She hadn't lied to him. All she had to do was to keep her heart from doing something stupid. She had to lock it away.
Leah glanced into the rearview mirror. Zayn was standing right where she
Leah wasn't very large, but she made up for it with quickness. As fast as a striking serpent, she lashed out and wrapped her fingers firmly around Zayn's wrist. She kept her right foot planted and she swung her left foot low, crashing into Zayn's knees. Her grip on his wrist prevented him from moving with her kick, and as a result, his legs were neatly swept out from underneath him.
Zayn made a strangled sound as he hit the ground. A part of her that stood apart from the rest approved of the way he landed. Obviously, he’d had some training when it came to defending himself. He wasn't entirely reliant on Azim and the other men in black. She glanced around them. To her surprise, Azim stood unobtrusively a few hundred yards away. She tensed to be knocked down herself or at least held, but to her surprise, the older man simply grinned, giving her a very American thumbs-up.
Zayn flowed to his feet, more graceful than a man his size had any right to be. He was a little flushed with surprise, but a great deal of the anger and stress had drained from his face.
“That's my plan,” she said as evenly as she could. “I keep telling you that I am far from helpless, Zayn. When are you going to believe me?”
“Not before I've been dumped on my ass apparently,” he said with a wry smile. “Do you truly expect me to stand by while you are threatened, however? No matter how good you are at taking care of yourself?”
She should have had something tart and cutting to say, but what came out instead surprised her.
“Why should you care? I'm your lawyer. That doesn't mean I'm under your protection or that I'm... I'm...”
Someone important to you. The words were right there, but she choked them back. To her relief, Zayn stepped in, and she didn't have to flounder with that particular humiliation.
“After what we did last night, I cannot think of you just as some hired gun from LA who's helping me. Surely you felt it, too. I know what you felt like when we were together. I remember the look in your eyes and the way you smiled. Perhaps here in the west you are separated from what you want and what you need, but I was raised differently. I know truth and desire and more when I see it.”
Something in Leah opened to those simple words, as if some starved part of her had been waiting to hear them her entire life. She had yearned to hear words like that, and now they were coming out of the mouth of the least likely, least suitable man in the world.
“You're mistaken,” she forced herself to say. “Things are very different here. I'm nothing more than your lawyer, the person representing you in this very personal, very important matter. You are important to me, and your case is one that I am not going to lose. However, that is all we are to each other.”
Zayn's green eyes sharpened. “I think that you're lying to yourself, and even worse, I think that you know it.”
Leah couldn't take any more. She really couldn't. She lurched backward and when Zayn reached for her again, she tore her arm away from him with a sound that was nearly a snarl.
“Damn you, can't you see?” she nearly shouted. “I'm not going to be your goddamn concubine!”
The words made Zayn rear back. She could see the shock and hurt and confusion on his face, but the important thing was that he pulled away from her. She hurriedly got into the car, closing the door behind her and shoving the key into the ignition. She caught a glimpse of Zayn standing beside the car still, and she peeled away from the curb.
She knew she could close this case. She hadn't lied to him. All she had to do was to keep her heart from doing something stupid. She had to lock it away.
Leah glanced into the rearview mirror. Zayn was standing right where she
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