Read Online The Sheikh's Offer by Jessica Brooke, Ella Brooke - Free Book Online Page A

frowning back at the purchase Kelly had shoved into his hands.
    She wasn’t perturbed or stopped at all by his reticence. She knew it was a quirky request. After going to the hotel and a first evening spent luxuriating in one another other’s arms, she’d shaken off the jet lag and her hangover and was now ready to see the sights.
    They’d started with the Women’s Market. It wasn’t what she’d expected. In her head, she had this image of a long stretch of makeshift stalls with women setting their blankets or tarps up directly in the swirling sands of the desert.
    It was nothing like that.
    The market was a permanent installation with tiled walkways, trees, and other foliage planted all around. Each stand had a permanent awning. They also had gleaming white poles reaching to an overhanging roof, decorated with cut wood and gold shapes above. Open enough to feel the breeze, but still protected by a roof and tile. The place was a flash of modernity and grace interwoven with the chills and thrills of open-air shopping.
    She loved it.
    There were various handcrafts—handmade silk slippers, beautiful rugs of varying geometric patterns that one could watch being woven, and of course, gorgeous shawls and other coverings. What she’d fallen in love with as she sat beside one of the weavers, watching the woman’s deft hands move faster than Kelly would have thought humanly possible was...well…both eccentric and probably underwhelming.
    She wasn’t earning cool chick of mystery street cred, and she knew it.
    “Really?” Asam asked as he stared down at the object, passing it back and forth between his hands. “I’ve come to show you the wonders of the Middle East, everything that you could want at your grasp. There are some of the finest silks in the world here, some of the most beautiful shawls, and even outfits for beneath one’s robes. I show you all of this, and you want a camel?”
    Grinning, she surged to her feet. “He’s not just any camel! His name is Carl, and he’s great.”
    “Now you’re just putting me on, my sheikha,” he quipped.
    Kelly chuckled and gestured to the small model, one carved expertly from wood and adorned with its own miniature, handwoven blanket in a rainbow of riotous stripes. The tiny load he carried on his back, with its white tassels and soft feathers, was too adorable to believe. It would be a perfect addition to her apartment back home, assuming poor Jasper didn’t shred it first. Cats tended to get into everything, like wrecking balls with claws and feet.
    “I love it. I’ve never gotten anything gaudy and touristy back in Al-Marasae. I’d be too embarrassed to get something so crazy in front of Alana.”
    “But for me, then more camels.”
    “He’s so cute, and I have the perfect spot for him on my mantel.”
    “Why does an apartment in the desert even need a fireplace?”
    “It’s for the effect. It’s romantic, isn’t it?” she asked, then gave a small squeal as he handed the coins over to the small woman before them. “See?” She threw her arms around his neck. “Was it really so hard? Besides, isn’t Carl the best?”
    “He’s an acquired taste. I was hoping to tempt you with jewelry and finery befitting my queen.”
    “You’re not the heir who rules,” she replied, slipping her arm around his elbow. “Besides, I’m quirkier than you’d think.”
    “I saw your pepper pants for work. A whole circus of clowns could wear them.”
    “They’re chef pants,” she griped, bringing a hand to her chest in mock horror. “We are allowed to be decorative and have some flair.”
    “Sure,” he said drolly, even as he carried little Carl under his arm. She narrowed her eyes at him, hoping Asam knew that humming organ grinder music would be a massive mistake and might cost him an eye. “Very P.T. Barnum, I loved it.”
    “Well,” Kelly said, eyeing the colorful array of spices set out before them. “I have the distinct advantage of making anything