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His eyes popped. “Uncle? Seriously? And hello, I have been forced to come here by you.”
Ignoring him, she leaned closer and began to unknot his tie. Her warm breath danced over his jaw, and his heartbeat jack-knifed. God, the way she touched him as if she was born to do so. As if she’d been doing it forever; as if she had a claim on him.
He shifted back, unwound the tie from around his neck, and tossed it on the back seat. His jacket followed. She tipped her head at his buttoned sleeves.
Sighing, he folded his sleeves to his elbows. “Any other requests, Princess?”
“You’ll do.” She unwrapped the colorful scarf from her neck, opened the top two buttons of her green silk shirt and put her bag under her seat. “Now come on, let’s go. This will be fun.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“Have a little faith, will you?” Smiling, she linked her arm with his and dragged him inside.
They bought tickets at the entrance, and he walked into a sensory overload of lights, colors, sounds, and smells. Dozens of food and gaming stalls lined the walkways, children running between them, their parents following, shouting instructions. And through it all, Sheena looked this way and that, grinning like a little girl who had got her dream handed to her. Seeing the pure happiness on her face brought him a rush of satisfaction like no other.
She dragged him to a shooting booth. Handing some coins to the owner, she procured a rifle from the man. She hoisted the gun on her shoulder, taking aim, but no matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t burst a single balloon on the wall.
Finding him watching her, she said, “This gun is faulty.”
He laughed. “Is it? Why don’t I try?”
“As if you will be any better. I’m telling you the gun is faulty.”
He lifted the gun easily in his arms and took one shot after the other. At the end of ten shots, there was a whole circle of burst balloons in the middle of the wall.
Sheena was gaping at him. “Never mind, don’t even tell me how.”
He shrugged. “I own a sports club, and we have a shooting range there. I practise often.”
She looked heavenward. “Is there something you’re not good at?”
“Nope.”
She made a disgusted face. This time, she linked her hand in his and took him to another stall, where she made him shoot at a row of tin cans. Of course, he won. He had good aim. He won her a teddy bear. She whooped and pecked his cheek, cuddling the stuffed toy like it was precious.
She twirled in a happy circle. “This is so much fun, right? Now come on, I want to win that shiny gas balloon.”
He laughed. She was too cute. He won her the gas balloon, and she squealed in delight. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. She gasped. A yelp escaped her as the gas balloon escaped her hand and flew above her head. Her face fell as it got stuck in the light strip high above them.
Without a thought, he scooped her in his arms and lifted her high in the air. He watched as she carefully untangled the balloon and tied its string around her wrist. Her happy eyes met his when she was done securing it. The smile she gave him was soft, sweet and meant for him. His heart roared in acknowledgment. A yearning began in his veins. Desire burned in his belly. He’d been curbing it for too long. He’d tamped his need and kept his craving for her at bay during his outings with her, never allowing that to come to the surface. But now, with her suspended up in his arms, her eyes darkening in response, acknowledging whatever she was seeing in his eyes, it was so hard to resist the temptation that she was to him. And she was…such a temptation. One he was finding harder and harder to resist.
He lowered her slowly to the ground, every inch of her body touching his, heating his. She didn’t move away from him even when her feet touched the floor. She looked up at him, her eyes flaring with need. Her sexy, unique scent washed over him, amplifying his need for her. She moved closer to him, their lips only an inch away now.
A loud gong broke them apart. Her chest rose and fell. She clasped the teddy bear to her chest tighter, her fingers twisted in the string of the gas balloon.
She licked her lips. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”
He exhaled. What had he been thinking? He had been about to kiss her publicly, and he doubted he’d have been able to stop. She wasn’t meant for him; he repeated that in his head as he followed her to a food stall.
She ordered thick potato fries and hot dogs with chilled cola from the soda fountain and topped it all off by making him buy her candy floss, talking nineteen to the dozen like always. But he knew what she was trying to do. Like him, she was hiding what had erupted so suddenly between them, what he suspected that she also knew had always been between them, bubbling under the surface. He ignored it, and so did she as she offered him the candy floss.
They wandered around aimlessly, sharing that sugary, sweet and sticky concoction, not saying anything until Sheena halted, pointing at the Ferris Wheel. “Last thing, and then we can go, okay?”
They stood in line for a whole ten minutes before they got into an empty cart. The cart swung with his weight as he sat. Sheena fell against his chest, and he put an arm around her, steadying her. Instead of shifting away, she rested her head on his chest, snuggling into him. Their car rose in the air, causing his stomach to whoosh.
He laughed as they rose higher and higher in the sky until their cart stopped right at the pinnacle. He looked down. The view was fabulous. Below him, he saw the entire city spread around them—the lights, the sea, the Burj Khalifa; everything looked like a canvas painting. Above him, the stars twinkled in a blanket of midnight, her shiny gas balloon dangling in the sky from her wrist.
Sheena sat straighter, looking around. The pure joy on her face was a sight to behold. His heart hurt looking at her. She was so utterly beautiful.
