The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar. Susanna Carr

wouldn’t work on his trembling wife. He needed to romance her. Show his tender side.

      If only he had a tender side.

      “Zoe, I’m not angry. Just stop cowering.”

      She inhaled sharply. “I don’t cower,” she shot back.

      Ah, those tears were fake. She wasn’t above using that age-old feminine technique, Nadir realized as he rose to his knees. That was good to know.

      “You make a valid point about how we are strangers. We need to learn about each other more.”

      She nodded fiercely and relief shone brightly in her eyes. “Exactly.”

      “But you’re still sharing a bed with me,” he announced. He saw the hunted look on her face as he settled onto the other side of the bed. “How else will we know each other more?”

      “I—I—”

      Her gaze shifted from one point of the room to another. He knew she was trying to come up with an argument.

      They had to sleep in the same bed. All it would take was one servant to notice their separate sleeping arrangements for gossip to spread like wildfire. That was the last thing he needed the tribe elders to discover.

      “I won’t touch you until you’re ready,” Nadir said.

      Zoe’s jaw shut with a snap. She narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to find some hidden loophole in his words. That offended him. Why should she question his word? He was a sheikh. He was her husband.

      “I don’t need to force myself on a woman,” he said with lethal softness.

      Her face paled. “I n-never said …”

      “I know.” She didn’t have to. The look in her eyes indicated that she thought he was the fabled beast who would devour her in her sleep. Nadir swallowed back another deep sigh and turned off the lamp. “Go to sleep, Zoe.”

      She gave a huff, as if to say that it would be impossible. Nadir watched as she scooted off to the far edge of the bed. She lay on her side, facing him, as if she had to keep an eye on him.

      “You flatter yourself,” he muttered, and reached for her. She protested with a squawk, her muscles locking as he curled her against his side. He tried to ignore how well she fit against him.

      “You said you wouldn’t touch me until I was ready,” she said stiffly.

      “I won’t have sex with you until you’re ready,” he amended. And they would have sex very soon. He would make certain. “But you’re not going to get to know me, be comfortable with me, if you’re hanging on the edge of the mattress.”

      She didn’t fight out of his loose embrace, but he could tell she wanted to. Zoe would probably leave the bed the moment he fell asleep. He had to build a quicker rapport between them, but how could he do that without sex?

      He looked up at the ceiling as he considered possible alternatives. He remembered what Zoe had said and he rolled his eyes. It was ridiculous, but he might as well give it a shot. “And it’s blue.”

      “What is?” she asked.

      “My favorite color,” he answered gruffly. “A deep sapphire-blue. The color of the desert sky right before night falls.”

      The silence stretched between them. “Blue is my favorite color, too,” she reluctantly admitted.

      “Imagine that.” Nadir didn’t know if she was saying it to please him or if it was the truth. It didn’t matter as long as she’d learned a little bit more about him. Tomorrow she would accept—no, welcome him in her bed. And then he would tame his wife with one night of exquisite pleasure before sending her away.

      He closed his eyes, his body still hard, his blood racing as he inhaled Zoe’s scent. Her long hair spilled over his shoulder and her soft body pressed against his. They were skin to skin.

      And he couldn’t do anything about it.

      He hadn’t expected to suffer like this, but it was a hell of a lot better than his last wedding night.