Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
A knock at the door scattered my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called, expecting one of the maids.
But it was Mik’hail who stepped through the doorway, and my toes instantly curled at the sight of the royal sheikh dressed so formally and dashingly. How could this impossibly handsome man be my husband? It just didn’t make sense. Aretha might have anger management issues, and okay, a serious case of narcissism as well, but Aretha was more suitable to be his wife in every other way while I was this ugly duckling—
The sheikh’s sigh cut my thoughts off. “There you go again.”
Huh?
He crossed the room in three strides and my pulse raced as he stood behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders as our eyes met in the mirror. “When will you see what I see?”
His exasperated tone had me laughing despite myself. How well he knew me, to have guessed right away that I was struggling with self-doubt even without me uttering a single word.
“You are perfect, Aurora.”
“I just...” I swallowed hard. “I don’t want to shame you tonight. Everyone will be watching, and I—”
“Everyone will be watching,” he agreed, “and every single one of them will fall in love with you the way I did.” His lips brushed the curve of my ear, and a shiver rocked my body. “They’ll love you. How could they not?”
“I’m just so nerv—”
He spun me around and kissed me.
It was not a gentle kiss.
His mouth claimed mine with a hunger that made my thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm. One hand curved around the back of my neck while the other gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him, and I gasped into his mouth at the contact.
“Mik’hail,” I breathed, but he only kissed me deeper while sweeping me up in his arms, and before I knew it, my back had met the wall, and...oh...my...goodness.
The sheikh and I were almost late to our own party that evening, but his, um, kisses had been so wonderfully helpful, with how it left me starry-eyed, rosy-cheeked, and so helplessly in love with him that I was no longer crippled by anxiety as he introduced me to our guests.
After supper, we waltzed into the dance floor before an appreciative crowd, and as Mik’hail’s graceful expertise had me feeling like a ballerina in his arms, there was this tiny quiet part of my heart that was so overflowing with gratitude that I found myself closing my eyes for a moment—
Thank You for making my dream come true...even when I never had the courage to ask for it.
The End