The Sheikh's Offer Read Free Page B

think you know that.” Dharr stood from his desk. “I need to go check on Alana, actually. She’s drawing up contracts for a new oil company merger with new wells being acquired. You can stay as long as you like, and if you ever get tired of the wild bachelor lifestyle, then Alana can set you up.”
    “Victoria’s Secret, Dharr. I never will tire of it.” He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. He’d flown in from Los Angeles after a courtside seat at a Lakers game yesterday, so Asam was still catching up from jet lag. A quick catnap on his brother’s luxurious leather couch couldn’t hurt. “But thank you for offering,” he said, trying to be nice. He lifted his left arm over his eyes. “I’ll catch a quick nap before I walk back to my room. I might have been more exhausted from flying than I thought.”
    “You almost face-planted into your dates and honey at breakfast this morning. You’re exactly as tired as I assumed you were,” his brother said.
    Asam just shrugged. He was glad when his brother left.
    Oddly, Dharr’s quiet concern was harder to deal with than the very vocal complaints of his mother, father, and Faaid. Probably because when the “why aren’t you married yet?” nitpicking came from the rest of his family, it sounded condescending and self-involved. Always more about how Asam’s lifestyle reflected on the Hassem name than about actually caring for him. It was easy to ignore those endless lectures. It was different when he realized his brother and his sister-in-law were hurting for him.
    He just didn’t know how to be any different. He wasn’t sure how to make the effort to succeed. After all, for a few brief hours, he’d really connected once with Kelly and felt something he’d never had with a woman before.
    But that had all been a mistake, and she’d hated him ever since.
    What was wrong with having fun if Faaid and Dharr managed the family business and had all that vaunted responsibility covered?
    Heavy footsteps sounded on the tiled floor along with a third distinct thump with every shuffle. Groaning, Asam opened his eyes. Just as he’d feared, his father hunched over his cane. His dark eyes narrowed at Asam, and he shook his head as if Asam would ever be so dense as to miss the clear signs of his father’s disapproval.
    The only thing Azhaar Hassem ever seemed to feel for him in his twenty-nine years was disappointment. Well, that mixed with disdain and probably a desire to disown Asam altogether.
    “Father, I was hoping I could avoid you this visit.”
    His father wheezed and regarded him further. “You hope to avoid me every visit. I can understand why. That’s something to aim for when you know you’re a chronic disappointment.”
    Asam surged to his feet. That was clearly his cue to leave. No good ever came from being near Father Dearest. “It’s good to know you’re consistent, Father.”
    “Your brothers have grown into the men and leaders I’d hoped they’d be. With Dharr, it took a bit of convincing on my part.”
    “You blackmailed and forced him get a bride. Then when he tried to marry Alana, you threw a fit because she wasn’t Muslim enough even if her mother is Lebanese.”
    “Her father is still a fumbling infidel, but your brother has straightened out his ways. He no longer races or gets his name in every tabloid and salacious site on the planet.”
    “Good for him. And Faaid was always Mr. Responsible.”
    “That’s true, but what am I going to do with you?”
    “I’ve always been a fan of ‘live and let live’ myself,” Asam quipped as he tried to slip past his elderly father.
    The old bastard snaked out his hand and grabbed his forearm tightly. Asam hissed as his father’s yellowed nails dug into his skin. “You shouldn’t be so flippant. You know I can disinherit you, don’t you, boy?”
    “I don’t believe you would.”
    “I’m tired of you whoring around with Western women. I am proposing to you something similar to