Read Online The Sheikh's Destiny (Harlequin Romance) by Melissa James - Free Book Online Page A

be difficult for their trackers anyway.’
    â€˜Do we run, or try to jump from rock to rock as long as we can?’
    Caught by the innate wisdom—he’d assumed they’d keep hiding in the creek bed, and he was right—she smiled at him, and found her foolish lungs trapping air inside her when hesmiled back. ‘Tonight you’ve earned your name, Alim. The rocks, as fast as safety allows.’
    â€˜I have my moments—as do you, happy woman.’ He winked at her. She could tell he was pleased—her foolish heart certainly leaped at the smile, at the unexpected emotional intimacy—and the inexplicable sense of oneness she’d felt with him from the first moment she’d seen him torn and bleeding in the truck came back in double force. She couldn’t tear her gaze from him—and the worst part was it was as emotional as it was physical. She felt bound to him somehow.
    â€˜We have to go,’ he said softly, his eyes warm, dark as he smiled, and his mouth— oh …
    â€˜Yes,’ she whispered, her eyes locked on his half-smile, lips parted, breathing fast. A thrill so strong it almost hurt ran through her, breasts to fingertips. Her body swayed towards him.
    He bent until his breath whispered along her lips like a tender kiss. ‘We must go now, Sahar Thurayya. I won’t let him take you, not while there’s breath in my body. Let me go first this time, my star. I’m actually useful at jumping rocks and finding the most stable ones.’
    She couldn’t speak, aching for the almost-touch…but she managed a nod.
    He bent to pick up the packet from his energy bar and made a mess of the soil where they’d slept, and the moment passed—no, it didn’t pass; it slipped into his pocket, into her heart, awaiting its chance. And she knew it would come.
    She followed him from rock to rock, leaping like mountain goats, her mind in turmoil, her heart and body fighting for—what? There could be nothing between them. She’d only known him two days, yet she ached and hurt with desire for him as she never had for any man.
    Taking the lead yet asking her first was just another way he’d shown her the man he was. Alim was a complex blendof traditional and modern, Arabic and man of the world—but even with his humour and his kindness, and a smile that melted her inside, he was still a man; and she wasn’t free to feel attracted to him, or to dream of a future.
    She was trapped…if not by this life on the run, then by tradition, her father’s pride—and by Mukhtar. She might not have made the vows herself, but her father had done so for her, and he’d signed the marriage certificate in her name. She hated the man her father had given her to in marriage, but she had no choice. Mukhtar had made sure of that.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HEY’D been leaping and running alternately for a couple of hours when Alim’s brain began crash-banging against his skull and his feet no longer felt certain on the ground.
    He came to an abrupt halt. Hana would have barrelled into him if she hadn’t had superb self-control—or if she hadn’t been watching him for signs of collapse. She stopped right behind him and said, softly, ‘Ibuprofen and water?’
    Yes, she’d been watching, waiting for him to fall. She was thoughtful and high-principled, imperious queen and caring Florence Nightingale rolled into one. She might be the daughter of a miner, but a woman with Hana’s integrity and inner strength was destined for some high place.
    His mouth and throat, even his lungs felt scorched, parched as the earth beneath their feet. ‘Yes.’ It took all his control not to groan aloud. ‘Please,’ he ground out.
    In moments she’d handed them to him, and he drank gratefully.
    â€˜Drink it all, Alim. You’re dehydrated. We still have four canteens left, and we’ll hopefully reach a small well by