He streaked a hand over his jaw. “You have a certain innocence about you. Perhaps even purity.”
Here we go again.... “Looks can be deceiving.”
“True, but eyes do not deceive. I’ve noticed your growing discomfort during the course of our conversation.”
“Have you considered my discomfort stems from my attraction to you?” Heavens, she hadn’t really just admitted that, had she? Yes, she had. Her gal pals would be so proud. Her grandfather would lock her up and toss away the key.
“I’m flattered,” he said without taking his gaze from hers. “I must admit I find you very attractive as well, and I would like to know you better. Because of that, I have a request. You are under no obligation to agree, but I hope you will.”
The moment of truth had arrived. Would she be willing to hurl caution to the wind and sleep with him? Would she really take that risk when she knew so little about him, including his last name? Oh, heck yeah. “Ask away.”
When A.J. stood and offered his hand, her heart vaulted into her throat. She held her breath and waited for the ultimate proposition, the word yes lingering on her lips.
“Piper McAdams, would you do me the honor of taking a walk with me?”
* * *
Sheikh Adan Jamal Mehdi did not take women on long walks. He took them to bed. Or he had before he’d taken that bloody vow of celibacy eight months before in order to be taken more seriously by his brothers. A vow that had suddenly lost its appeal.
Yet Piper McAdams wasn’t his usual conquest. She was witty and outgoing, while he normally attracted sophisticated and somewhat cynical women. She was only slightly over five feet tall, he would estimate, were it not for the four-inch heels, when he usually preferred someone closer in height to his six feet two inches. She also had surprisingly long legs and extremely full breasts for someone so small in stature, and he’d had trouble keeping his eyes off those assets for any length of time. The oath of restraint had not silenced his libido in any sense, especially now.
They strolled along the walkway bordering the lake for a good twenty minutes, speaking mostly in generalities, until Adan felt strangely at a loss for words. Conversation had always been his forte, and so had kissing. He thought it best to concentrate on the first. “Do you have any siblings?”
When a gust of wind swirled around them, she pulled her hem-length black cashmere sweater closer to her body. “One. A twin sister whose official name is Sunshine, but she goes by Sunny, for obvious reasons.”
He was immediately struck by the familiar name. “Sunny McAdams, the renowned journalist?”
Her smile showed a certain pride. “That would be her. We’re actually fraternal twins, as if you couldn’t figure that out from our obvious physical differences.”
Yet neither woman lacked in beauty despite the fact one was blond and the other brunette. “Piper and Sunshine are both rather unusual names. Did they hold some significance for your parents?”
Her expression turned somber. “It’s my understanding my mother named Sunny. Unfortunately, we don’t know our father. Actually, we don’t even know who he is, and I’m not sure my mother does, either. You could say we were a thorn in her socialite side. Our grandparents basically raised us for that reason.”
That explained her sudden change in demeanor. But due to his own questions about his heritage, he believed discussing family dynamics in-depth should be avoided at all costs. “You said your mother named your sister. Who named you?”
“My grandfather did,” she said with a smile. “He adores bagpipes.”
Her elevated mood pleased him greatly. “I learned to play the bagpipes at school, but I quickly determined the kilts weren’t at all my style.”
She paused to lean back against the railing. “Tell me something. Is it true that men wear nothing under those kilts?”
“A man needs some reminder that he is still a man while wearing a skirt.” Being so close to this particular woman served to remind him of his manhood at every turn.
She laughed softly. “I suppose that’s true. Why did your parents send you to boarding school?”
He’d asked that question many times, and he’d always received the same answer that he’d never quite believed. “I was an incorrigible lad, or so I’m told, and my father decided I could use the structure a military academy provides.”
“Guess he wasn’t counting on the panty raids.”
Hearing the word panty coming out of her pretty mouth did not help his current predicament in the least. “He never learned about them as far as I know.” His father had never really been close to his youngest son, if the truth were known.
“I’m sure if you’d ask him today,” Piper said, “he’d probably admit he knew everything. Fathers and grandfathers have an uncanny knack of knowing your business.”
He moved to her side, faced the lake and rested his hands on the railing. “My father passed away not long ago. My mother died some time ago.”
“I’m sorry, A.J.,” she said. “I didn’t mean to be so thoughtless.”
“No need to apologize, Piper. You had no way of knowing.” Nor did she know he hailed from Middle Eastern royalty, and that bothered him quite a bit. Yet she had clearly stated she loathed men with fortunes, and he had a sizable one. For that reason, he would continue to keep that information concealed.
Tonight he preferred to be only the pilot, not the prince. “Did you attend university?” he asked, keeping his attention trained on the less-interesting view in order to keep his desire for her in check.
“Yes, I did. In South Carolina. An all-women’s university. Evidently my grandfather believed I couldn’t handle the opposite sex. But since he was footing the bill, I put up with it long enough to get the dreaded business degree.”
He shifted to face her, one elbow braced on the top of the railing. “Since business is apparently not your chosen field of expertise, what would you do if you weren’t playing the ambassador?”
“Art,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “Painting is my passion.”
He knew all about passion, only his involved planes. “Then why not pursue that dream?”
She sighed. “I have several reasons, most having to do with obligation.”
“To your grandfather?”
“Yes.”
Not so unlike his obligation to his legacy. “What about remaining true to yourself and your own happiness, Piper?”
A span of silence passed before she spoke again. “It’s complicated.”
Family dynamics always were, especially in his case.
When he noticed Piper appeared to be shivering, Adan cursed his thoughtlessness. “Obviously you’re cold. Do you wish to return to the hotel now?”
