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Tarif stiffened.
“I know it sounds ludicrous, but I must not find you funny, sheikh.”
Tarif’s jaw tightened.
“And you know why. I know you know why.”
If she had said this two months ago – one week ago, hell, even one day ago – he would have told her no. She was wrong. He had no idea what she was talking about, and he would have meant it.
But things were different now, and unease uncoiled inside of Tarif as he recalled the things he had recently learned about Anisah.
Smiles are a luxury to her, and so are her tears.
She doesn’t believe she has the right to smile or cry when so many people had lost their lives because of our father.
Everything she does is to atone for sins even when she’s a victim herself!
In the beginning, all Tarif had set out to do was to make Anisah regret her unflattering opinion of him. But then he had gotten to know her more, and with it he found himself wanting something different – he had wanted her to realize she was the man meant to take her virginity.
And now, things had changed again.
The things he used to want had lost their value. They had ceased to matter the moment he realized he had achieved something else – something greater and more precious.
He had sought to change her opinion about him, and he had done that. He had sought to seduce her and make her want him the way a woman wanted a man, and he had done that. But one thing he had not sought and yet still ended up doing was giving her a reason to smile.
He actually had the ability to make her smile and laugh the way she made him smile and laugh, and goddammit, if he had to choose – he would rather have her smile than her body.
Life had dealt Anisah the worst card in the pack by giving her a father like Sidqi Kahveci, but she had overcome this with quiet dignity and strength that bordered on obstinacy. While she might constantly exasperate him with her recklessness and defiance, Anisah was also one of the few women in this world he genuinely respected. Her refusal to compromise and her willingness to stand for her convictions were the things he admired most about her, never mind if they were also the same traits that made her fight against the sexual attraction simmering between them.
Anisah of all people deserved to have something to smile about for the rest of her days. He genuinely wanted that for her – but did he want it enough to give up on making Anisah his lover?
Tarif knew it was only a question of time – a matter of when and not if – before Anisah became his. Sooner or later, she would be his woman – but would his honor allow this even if it meant Anisah changing for good? Did he want her enough to risk destroying the very things he wanted about her?
“Sheikh?” The odd look on the sheikh’s eyes made Anisah wary. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Probably because I can’t make up my mind if I want to strangle you or kiss you.”
Her mouth opened and closed.
“Any preference?”
Getting strangled would kill her, but since getting kissed would be just as suicidal, she could only frown at him, muttering, “There is no lesser evil between the two.”
A crooked smile played on the sheikh’s lips. “I see.”
He did?
“I’ll make the choice for you then, anisdi.”
She stilled.
“I promise not to bother you again...if you promise you’ll always find a reason to smile.”
Chapter Ten
Apples were fruits, whales were not fishes, and Tarif Al-Atassi was a selfish playboy sheikh. These were the facts in life that kept the world turning, and disproving any of them were what made the world come tumbling down.
Like hers did now.
