Sheikh's Possession Read Online Free Page A

breakfast. She almost didn't pick it up, but duty got the better of her.
    "Hello, Berry, I hope this morning finds you well."
    She blinked a little bit, startled and blushing to hear his voice. "I … Oh, Sheikh Rasul!"
    There was that familiar laugh. "That's quite formal, don't you think?" he said teasingly. "After all, I think we know each other a little bit better than that …"
    "I suppose we do," she said reluctantly. "How can I help you today?"
    "Well, I know that Michael Farnsworth offered you to me as if you were a prize he was dangling to get my support for the mall …"
    "The man is not subtle," she muttered without thinking about it, and Rasul laughed.
    "Quite. And the truth is that I am going to take grotesque advantage of his generosity because there are some things that I want to have appraised, but I would rather not have that happen while you were silently cursing me and wishing for my death."
    "I wouldn't do that," she protested.
    "Well, I am certainly glad to hear that, but I do need to apologize to you. When I saw you at the banquet, it seems as if I lost my head. I saw you with a man that I assumed had to be your husband or your patron, and I couldn't stop myself from abusing you. No matter what he was to you, it was none of my business."
    Berry blinked. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. She had expected him to fly right past the conversation that they had had, possibly taking a few more jabs about things that she had done with her boss before doing that. The fact that he hadn't was startling.
    "So I apologize, and I hope that you can find it possible to forgive me."
    She took another breath, and then one after that. When she spoke again, she surprised herself. "Thank you for your apology, but look, I just have to apologize too. What I said was rude and ill-considered when we saw each other at the banquet …"
     "Hmm." He seemed to think about what she had said for a moment. "And why are you apologizing? Is it because your boss asked you to do so? If so, that really doesn't hold much water …"
    She bit her lip, and then decided that at least at this point, she should simply tell him the truth. "I shot my mouth off because I was irritated," she said. "And if I am frankly honest, it sounds as if you did the same. Do you think … do you think that maybe we can just agree to forgive and forget? I mean, I hope we can …"
    She came to a stuttering stop, aware that her explanation was likely just making things worse. She couldn't really figure out what she was trying to say, only that her strange attempt to make things better had somehow gotten very tangled.
    "All right, then, do you think we can start fresh?" he asked. "Come at things with new eyes, and maybe try not to be so terrible to one another?"
    "I would like that," she said with relief.
    "Good. Then when are you free?"
    As it turned out, she had a free afternoon, and she agreed to meet him at his apartment in downtown Alamun. She dressed carefully for the appointment in a long linen dress that was specifically not flirtatious or in any way revealing. There was so much going on, and right now, the last thing that she wanted to do was to send the wrong signals. He might be confused or offended after everything that had gone on with them.
    Or maybe you are just afraid that he would take you up on it, and then you wouldn't have any idea what to do, the voice in her head jibed.
    She ignored it. It had never helped her in the past, and she saw no reason why it might help her now.
    The cab that picked her up dropped her off in one of the most expensive areas in a very expensive city. Even the doorman was better groomed and more poised than she was, and as she made her way through the lobby, she held her tablet in front of her as if it were a shield.
    Before she could get too panicked about being lost and out of place, however, she heard her name, and turned to see Rasul come up to her.
    Today he was dressed in some more traditional