Sheikh's Unlikely Desire Read Free

high vaulted glass ceiling with calm acceptance. If Leah were on her own, she would have been much more inclined to stare around her in shock and awe. As it was, she simply muttered, “Right this way,” to Zayn, leading him to the elevator.
    They had lodged him in the penthouse, of course. The enormous sprawling apartment took up the entire top floor of the Marseilles. As the elevator climbed and climbed, she felt slightly trapped, though strangely enough, she had no urge to run.
    Zayn seemed to have no interest in speaking at all, and though Leah was grateful for the opportunity to keep her mouth shut and to make sure she didn't further embarrass herself, she wished she knew what he was thinking behind those cool green eyes.
    If the lobby of the Marseilles was jaw-dropping, the penthouse was beyond amazing. The elevator opened to a gorgeous sunken living room, surrounded with couches facing an enormous state-of-the-art entertainment center. Beyond were two bedrooms and the bathroom, closed behind impressive double doors.
     “Here you are,” she said as briskly as she could. “I hope everything is what you've been looking for—”
    He started to speak, and she wanted to hear what he said, but his phone rang. He held up a finger to keep her there, and he answered the phone, turning away.
    Now that she was out of her car and out of traffic, she could breathe a little. The floating hairs that always escaped her bun had run absolutely wild, and she distractedly shoved them behind her ears. She was just beginning to worry about what she was going to do when her own phone buzzed. She would never have usually answered a text when she was with a client, but it sounded as if Azim had caught up with Zayn, and they were occupied in a distracted conversation in their native Almiran.
    She pulled her phone out of her purse and blinked.
    Hey, have you met him yet???????
    Daisy, her cousin from Albany. Daisy had always been the quiet one in the family. No one had been surprised when Mira had run off to marry Middle Eastern royalty, but absolutely no one expected Daisy to follow in Mira's footsteps.
    Him who? Leah texted back cautiously.
    You know! Zayn al-Fasi!!!!
      Leah found that she was looking at the texts, multiple exclamation points and all, with a great deal of wariness.
    Daisy, what the hell do you know about this? My firm JUST got this notice that we were going to be hosting the sheik of Almira, and that we had better be ready if we knew what was good for us.
    There was a pause as Daisy typed out a longer message.
     Zayn's a really old friend of Rashad. He's got some real troubles I know you can help him with. I promise, you are the right person to deal with the case, and to deal with him. It's going to be fine. I ran it by Rashad, and even Mira and Kahlil, and they both agree!
    Leah gritted her teeth. Daisy was one of the most positive people in the world when she was up, but sometimes, her view of reality didn't exactly match the world.
    Daisy... I'm an entertainment lawyer. I'm not an expert in international law or whatever it is that he needs. I need you to understand this.
     Don't worry! You're exactly what he needs.
    Leah thought about her slip-up in the car and flinched. When Daisy was wrong, she was incredibly wrong, but there was something heartening about the other woman's faith in her. She had heard that Rashad was quite good about reining in some of her more erratic ideas, while being absolutely stunning at spoiling her rotten.
    She started to type up a reply when she glanced up to see Zayn gazing at her. With a softly muttered curse, she shoved her phone back in her purse. To her relief, he didn't look angry, only thoughtful.
    “You're forgiven,” he said softly.
    She blinked. “What?”
    He shrugged. “I forgive you for what you said in the car. People in the West hear of places like Almira, Samara and Marat, and they have visions in their heads. Flying carpets and harems are the best of it. The worst,