Read Online The Oil Tycoon and Her Sexy Sheikh by Ros Clarke - Free Book Online Page B

would be this hard. Sitting next to Khaled, so close she could reach out and curl her hand into his dark silky hair, and yet unable to. It would be so easy to tug his face down to hers and taste once again the delicious warmth of his mouth against her lips. Such a small gesture, and yet so utterly forbidden. Even if Khaled hadn’t told her how it would be, back in Aberdeen, he was making it perfectly clear now. His body was stiff, his legs crossed away from hers, and his arms folded across his chest.
    “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at an impressively ornate building.
    “Police station.”
    “And that?”
    “Department store.”
    Olivia glanced at him. Khaled wasn’t even looking where she was pointing.
    “Sorry,” he said roughly. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know how to do this.”
    “I know. I don’t want to make things difficult for you, Khaled, but you’re going to have to deal with me being here.”
    He sighed. “Yes. Fine. I’ll try. We’re going to drive along the beach road.”
    “Lovely. Are there beaches all the way along the Saqati coastline?”
    “No. Here and a few miles further north. Most of the coastline is mangrove swamps.”
    “Where the dugongs live?”
    That drew the first smile from Khaled. “Yes. Where the dugongs live.”
    “Can we see them?”
    He laughed properly then. “It’s obvious you’ve never been to a mangrove swamp. I don’t think you would enjoy it, and we almost certainly wouldn’t see anything.”
    “What about the research center?”
    “What about it?”
    “Will I see any dugongs there?”
    “You’ve taken quite a fancy to them, haven’t you?”
    She shrugged. “Someone has to. They don’t have the cute factor.”
    “No. No, they don’t.”
    The chauffeur held the door for Olivia to step out of the car when they reached the Golden Palace.
    “It’s completely over the top,” Khaled said. “Imagine the most ridiculously fancy building you’ve ever seen, cover it with gold, and stick an onion on top.”
    Olivia’s eyes moved slowly over the vast edifice, taking it all in. The palace was like a wedding cake, with every wall plastered and painted in pretty pastel shades, then decorated with white and gold icing so that it shimmered in the white Saqati sunlight. The entire building was topped with a huge pointed dome. Completely over the top, completely ridiculous, and completely fairy tale. She couldn’t imagine anything more different from the solid granite blocks of Dalneith House.
    “Well?”
    She became aware of Khaled standing beside her, watching her with an ironic glint in his eye.
    “I love it,” she said. “I mean, it ought to be in Disneyland, or on a film set or something, but I love it. What woman wouldn’t?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Indeed. Welcome to my home, Ms. McInnes.”
    “Thank you, Sheikh Khaled.”
    …
    “I thought you were going to arrange for someone else to show me the city.” Olivia had been surprised by Khaled’s appearance at her rooms after lunch, inviting her to walk with him into Saqat City.
    “I have a couple of hours.”
    Olivia slid him a sideways glance. “I see.”
    “If you would prefer someone else…”
    “No. I prefer you.”
    He didn’t say anything, but his shoulders relaxed a little. He was under too much strain, Olivia realized. He needed a break.
    “Show me your country, Khaled. I want to see as much of it as I can while I’m here.”
    They strolled through unpaved streets lined with little white, flat-roofed houses. Even without the telltale presence of the guards walking a few paces behind, it was clear everyone knew the sheikh. Women lowered their faces, but the children stared wide-eyed. Khaled paused to talk to some of them, crouching down to their level. Olivia was conscious of the curious glances in her direction, but without knowing any Arabic, she was unable to engage anyone in conversation.
    “You made their day,” she said, nodding toward the children who were