The Sheikh's Resisting Lover (The Tazeem Twins Series Book 3) (9 page)

“And I agree with you.”

Tanya sighed and stood up. “I need to finish packing,” she said. She opened the drawer and started taking things out.

“I cannot convince you to stay?”

“No,” Tanya forced a smile. “I will be okay,” she replied as she continued packing.

“Does Rene know?” Joshua asked.

“She knows I am going back. She doesn't know the specific details because I do not want her to hate James. So I would appreciate it if you do not tell her,” Tanya replied with a sigh.

“Okay, I will not say a word.” Joshua stood up and his eyes rested on her sheets balled up on the armchair.

“What is that?” he asked her.

“What?” Tanya asked and followed his gaze. Her eyes widened when she saw the sheets. She had wanted to wash them before anyone saw them. “Oh, don't worry about that,” she added. Joshua was not listening to her. He walked towards the armchair, still staring at the sheets.

“Is this blood?” he asked her.

“Huh? What? No.”

“Tanya, this is blood. Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, I did not. Don't worry about it.”

Joshua whipped his head in Tanya's direction as he stared at her. “You were a virgin,” he said to her. Tanya cussed herself for thinking slow. She could have just said that she was on her period as that would have been believable. Now, it was too late.

“Don't tell James. Please,” was all Tanya could say. Again, she could have denied it and said she was on her period but she did not.

“What?”

“Please, do not tell him. It will only complicate things,” Tanya pleaded with Joshua. She really did not want James to know that she was a virgin and she did not want him to know that he had hurt her. She wanted to get home and move on. Tanya could tell that Joshua was in shock as he stared at her opening and closing his mouth but not saying anything.

Nodding his head, he pulled her into a hug. “Fine, I won't,” he said at last as he rubbed her back. He held her shoulders and searched her eyes. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked her.

“Yes, I will be,” she lied.

“Let me know if you need something, okay?”

“I will, thanks.”

Joshua left her room. A few moments later, Rene walked in and gave her a hug. “I can't believe you are returning already,” she said.

“I know but it’s time. Stay safe and be happy,” Tanya said to her.

“I will try,” she nodded. “The chauffeur is here,” she added.

“Okay,” Tanya ran to the bathroom to get her toothbrush. “I almost left this,” she said and laughed.

“As if it's important.” They each grabbed a suitcase and walked downstairs and out to the car where the chauffeur was waiting for her. As he loaded her luggage into the car, the two women hugged.

“Don't get all emotional,” Tanya said to Rene.

“I won't.”

“Bye, love,” Tanya opened the car door herself and got in. She wasn’t paying attention when the driver loaded her suitcases and she was surprised that he was already behind the wheel. She dismissed it and sank back against the seat as he pulled away. She just wanted to get back to the US to the safety of her home that she used to share with Rene. The farther away she could get from James, the better for everyone.

Chapter 12

Tanya started flipping through the pictures she had taken. She had taken so many. She smiled as she looked at pictures of her and Rene. She was going to miss her so much.

She did not like being continents and oceans apart from each other. She was her best friend and her sister. She was glad that she had found Joshua. He was great and she knew that he would never hurt her. Even the maids were fun and kind to her. She smiled as she looked at the pictures she took with them.

Tanya stopped smiling when she came across the picture of herself and James. She hated to admit it, but they looked good together. She had had so much fun with him at the zoo and then at the café. She had never felt so many emotions for one guy.

She wanted to hate him for what he had done but she could not. She was equally as responsible for sleeping with him. She could have stopped it but she chose not to. He had made her feel things that she had never experienced before and she was glad that her first time was with him.

From the start, she had seen him for what he was; a rich, conceited, flirtatious playboy. But underneath all that, he was James. The guy who made her smile as he fed stray cats and referred to a rhino as a rhinoceros.

Tanya frowned when she noticed the time. When she came to the palace, it had taken less than fifteen minutes. They had been driving for at least thirty minutes.

“Excuse me, where are going?” Tanya called out to the chauffeur. Was he lost or was he kidnapping her? Something dodgy was happening. She got even more suspicious when he did not answer her.

“Can we stop?” she called out, but he ignored her as he kept driving. Tanya rolled her sleeves up. She knew a thing or two about self defence and she was mentally gearing herself up for a fight when the car eventually came to a stop.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward. She wanted to see this driver's face and give him a piece of her mind. She did not appreciate him ignoring her when she was trying to leave Saudi Arabia quickly. The thick-tinted glass rolled down as the driver turned his head and smiled at her.

“Hussain?” she asked with a frown on her face.

“I am sorry about this, but his highness asked me to bring you here. I apologise if I frightened you,” Hussain replied. Tanya was confused. Nothing was making sense.

“Where is here?” Tanya asked as she impatiently got out of the car. She had no time for this. She wanted to be on the plane and well away from him before he knew that she had left.

She looked around in confusion. James was standing by a fountain impeccably dressed as usual in tailored charcoal trousers that fitted him perfectly and revealed the length of his legs, a black shirt and a charcoal suit jacket that matched his trousers. His dark wavy hair was neatly combed, with a side part. He looked amazing as usual. Tanya sighed. “Why am I here James?” she called out.

“Come here,” he said to her. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. She was not going to go to him. If he wanted to speak to her, then he had to make the effort. He was the one who had brought her here, so he had to walk to her.

“What do you want?” 

James walked toward Tanya and stopped in front of her. “I'm...sorry,” he said.

“You can't even say sorry,” Tanya rolled her eyes. He was wasting her time if he was not going to be sincere.

“It's just that after someone hurt me, a long time ago, the word has lost its meaning.”

“Hessa.”

James raised his eyebrows, pain briefly flashing across his face. “You know about her,” he said.

“I do.”

“Then you can understand my issues with relationships.”

“No, I cannot. James I know it sucks and it hurts but that was fifteen years ago. It cannot define you for the rest of your life. You can't treat every woman that comes into your life like crap just because of her,” Tanya said vehemently as James stared at her in surprise. No one had ever spoken to him that way about her before. “Building walls around yourself and acting the role of a playboy is cowardly. It’s time to grow up and make new memories.”

“Cowardly?” he asked.

“Yes, cowardly, because you are scared to love,” she said. James started smiling at her. “Why are you smiling?” she asked him.

“I missed you being so feisty.”

Tanya rolled her eyes. This was hardly the time for his jokes and flirting. “Why am I here, James?” she questioned. She was starting to get impatient.

“I wanted to apologise. I’m not good at relationships and I do not know how to love.” James took another step forward and took her hands in his. “Remember what Hussain said?” he asked.

“What?” Tanya could barely think about anything at that moment. James was standing so close to her with her hands in his. It made her nervous.

“I don't do dates. I’ve never even been on a date. But now I want to, with you. Only you.”

“You say it like it’s some sort of consolation prize.”

James laughed. “You are a hard woman to please,” he said as he kissed her hands. “I am saying that I would like to have the opportunity to start over with you.”

“Why?” she asked him. She was not going to let him off that easy.

“Because I love spending time with you, talking to you; our time at the zoo was the most fun I’d had with a woman...ever. I want to start over with you and do things right.”

“I don't know,” Tanya replied trying not to smile.

“Is that a smile?”

“No, it's not,” she said and smiled even harder as James chuckled.

“Besides, you came here to enjoy the country and spend time with Rene. Do not leave now because of me,” he said.

“It's not about you,” she lied.

“If you say so,” he said with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Oh, James,” she started laughing.

“I would like to take you out, show you around, spend some time with you and really get to know you.” He kissed her hands. “I would like you to be the last girl I ever court,” he kissed her hand again. Tanya smiled and nodded. “I want you to be my first and last, first date. Ever,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

Tanya laid her head against his chest and enjoyed the moment. She had not expected him to stop her from leaving. She honestly thought he did not care about her and that she had become another notch on his headboard.

It touched her that he had gone to so much effort to stop her. Lifting her head to look at him, he smiled down at her, as he pressed a feather light kiss on her lips. As he went to open the car door to get inside, she stepped away.

“Before we go, there’s just one thing that we need to discuss,” Tanya said as she turned and walked toward the fountain. Grabbing her hand before she could walk away, he turned her around as she chewed on her bottom lip.

“What is it? You can tell me anything.”

“Did you by chance talk to your brother?”

“Joshua? No. Why? Is something wrong? Tanya, what is it.”

Taking a deep breath, she put her hands on his chest to keep some distance between them. “It’s just that, while you may have slept with what...hundreds of women...” As James was about to respond, he looked at her in surprise when she blurted out, “There’s been only one.”

“What?”

“You were my first, James.” Tanya had closed her eyes when she said it, unsure that she wanted to see the look on his face. Opening one eye, he had a grin on his face as he looked at her. “What?” she asked.

“So, what you are saying is that I’ve spoiled you for all time and there can be no other man in your life.”

“Oh. My. God. Here I am sharing something important with you and you joke about it,” Tanya shot back as she slid into the car.

“I’m just saying that once you have me, there can be no other,” he said as he joined her in the car.

“Could you possibly be more conceited,” she said, trying not to smile

Taking her hand in his, he kissed it and held it to his heart. “What I’m saying, habibti, is that there will be no one else.”

Tanya squeezed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder as Hussain started the car and drove them back to the palace.

END OF BOOK 3

BOOK 4 AVAILABLE EARLY APRIL 2015

Read Hussain and Cassie’s story next!

Sign up to Leslie North’s Mailing List to be notified of release.

To further support this author, please post a review after you finish reading this book.

For all books by Leslie North go to:

Leslie North’s Amazon Page

OR Visit Her Website: www.LeslieNorthBooks.com

Sign up to Leslie North’s Newsletter and read
FOUR
of Leslie North’s full-length and highly-rated novellas for
FREE
: