The Sheikh's Bought Wife. Sharon Kendrick

in his voice, as if he’d just been reminded that everybody had their price, and a flush of guilt flooded to her cheeks until she forced herself to remember that he wasn’t her friend. She didn’t owe him anything and she certainly didn’t need his approval. He was quite prepared to exploit her love for his country to get her to consent to marry him—so why not exploit his grossly inflated bank account in order to save her sister’s skin? Only rich people, she thought grimly, could be so dismissive of other people’s worries about money.

      ‘Of course I mean money,’ she said. ‘Don’t you think I should be rewarded for having to enter into such a union as this?’

      He glowered. ‘You would obviously be given a settlement after the marriage has been annulled. Surely your greed could be tempered until then?’

      ‘Not really. I need it now,’ she said, more urgently than she’d intended.

      ‘Oh?’ He looked at her and his voice grew cold. ‘And why is that?’

      She opened her mouth to tell him, before thinking better of it. Zayed was reckless, yes, but he was also clever—and completely unscrupulous. They said that knowledge was power—something he already had more than his fair share of. Why reveal more about herself and her family than she needed to, when she had no idea how he might use that power?

      ‘Oh, just personal reasons,’ she said lightly. ‘Which I won’t burden you with. I’m sure it would bore you, Your Highness.’

      A look of irritation crossed his face and Jane suspected he was one of those men who only wanted something when he was told he couldn’t have it. So start showing some strength. Put him on the back foot.

      ‘So,’ she said. ‘Do we have a deal, or have you changed your mind?’

      ‘How much?’ he demanded.

      Quickly doing sums in her head, Jane gave him the amount which Cleo had mentioned and added a reasonable sum for interest—but his face gave barely a flicker of reaction as he nodded his head in agreement.

      ‘Satisfied now?’ he questioned archly.

      ‘Not quite. There’s just one other condition which needs clarification before I agree to become your wife.’

      ‘More conditions?’ he snapped. ‘You drive a hard bargain, Jane Smith. Hurry up and tell me, because my patience is wearing thin.’

      This bit was much more difficult but Jane was determined to go through with it because—although she intended making a sacrifice for her sister—she would not be made a fool of.

      ‘You say you wish the marriage to be dissolved within six months on the grounds of non-consummation.’

      ‘I don’t imagine that’s going to be a problem for either of us, do you?’ he questioned pleasantly.

      She found herself thinking that even when he was trying to be agreeable, he still managed to be insulting. ‘Not for me,’ she admitted, hoping she was managing to convey the fact that he repulsed her, rather than the more disturbing revelation that she was still a virgin. ‘But rather more so for you, I imagine—since you don’t strike me as the kind of man who would choose to embrace a self-imposed period of celibacy.’

      ‘You are a very perceptive woman,’ he said silkily. ‘For it is true that I cannot live without sex. But you strike me as intelligent enough to understand my appetites—even if you do not share them—and to discreetly look the other way.’