Title: Sheikh’s Royal Baby Revelation (book one in the Royal Brides for Desert Brothers duet)
Author: Annie West
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Blurb:
Desert captives for one night...
Bound forever by their unexpected baby!
When desert prince Ashraf was kidnapped alongside geologist Tori, their desperation to escape their life-threatening situation led to a moment of passionate oblivion. Rescued the next day, Ash was never able to discover Tori’s fate. Now he’s finally found her…but in their time apart, Tori has had his son! To claim them, Ashraf is prepared to make Tori his queen…but can he offer more than his royal name?
Excerpt:
Eyes the colour of a soft spring sky met his. ‘I’m sorry, Ashraf. I got it completely wrong.’
‘You did.’ Indignation still ran, a living current, under his skin, heating his blood.
This woman drove him crazy. She fought him over things that were, in his opinion, patently obvious, yet at other times was so reasonable it surprised him.
It wasn’t just her contrary reasoning that exasperated him. Her ability to ignore the rampant attraction between them was provoking. While he, damn it, was distracted by the sight of those lush breasts rising and falling beneath the skimpy triangles of fabric. And the gleaming abundance of slick, pale skin.
‘I should be thanking you, not accusing you.’ She lifted her hand to his sleeve. Ashraf stilled. Her touch was light, barely there, yet he felt it acutely. ‘It’s no excuse, but I feel dislocated, cut off from work and home. I overreacted. Can you forgive me?’
A huff of laughter escaped Ashraf. ‘I don’t suppose you feel chastened enough to marry me?’
Her eyes widened as if he’d suggested something shockingly debauched. Instead of honouring her with a proposal that would make her a queen and the envy of half the women in Za’daq.
The anger that her apology had quenched spiked anew. Impatience surged.
‘Is that a no?’ He turned his hand, capturing hers. Fingers encircled her wrist, he detected the wild pulse hammering there.
Was she really so timid?
Or was that arousal?
Ashraf was tired of tiptoeing around Tori’s doubts. Tired of waiting. Tired of holding back.
‘In that case, this will have to do.’ He tugged her close and she fell flush against him, her breasts to his torso, her other palm on his chest.
To steady herself or push him away?
Ashraf didn’t find out. In the same instant he roped his other arm around her slick body, lowered his head and kissed her full on the lips.
*
Tori saw those mesmerising eyes glitter and knew a moment of sharp, shocking anticipation.
Not dismay. Not even a second of doubt.
Just anticipation. It thrilled through her like an electric current, making all the fine hairs on her body lift and her breath seize.
Then Ashraf’s mouth was on hers, hard and demanding rather than coaxing.
She didn’t need coaxing. Tori was primed and ready for his kiss.
Had been from the moment he strode back into her life and some primitive part of her had hummed with excitement and want.
She wanted so badly.
Relief was profound as she finally gave in to what she’d secretly craved. For this moment she didn’t need to reason or try to unknot the tangle of her mixed emotions. Just feel.
She loved the taste of him, the heat and extraordinary maleness of him, hard and unrelenting. From that first instant there’d been no coercion. Just a demand she was eager to meet. It had always been like this with him.
Her lips softened beneath his, inviting him in, all but begging him for more.
He took up her offer and a shudder racked her as his tongue plunged deep, swirling against hers, exploring with a thoroughness that mixed determination and expertise. It was like tumbling through bright starlight, ceding control to this man whom she knew would never let her fall.
Ashraf scooped her closer, his hard frame solid muscle against her wet body. Tori clung tight, one hand clutching his robe, the other slipping from his grasp to slide up the back of his neck.
She heard a muffled grunt of approval as her fingers channelled through thick hair to splay possessively over the back of his head.
Tori’s tongue danced with his, hunger cresting as she went up on her toes, trying to meld herself to him. His taste, his scent, his mouth were achingly familiar, as if it was just a few days since they’d made love.
Had they kissed like this in the desert? Surely not. Then they’d been strangers. Ashraf didn’t feel like a stranger now. Remarkable to think they’d been together for such a short time, for it seemed they knew each other at some deep level beyond words. He was the man who filled her thoughts and dreams. Who had done so since that night together. He was the one man who’d woken her dormant libido after the rigours and exhaustion of pregnancy and motherhood.
The man she needed as she’d never before needed anyone. The realisation made her freeze.
Instantly he lifted his head, eyes glinting like black gems as they searched her face.
Tori heard the rasp of heavy breathing, felt her lungs heave and the push of his chest against her breasts as he too hauled in oxygen. Reaction juddered down her backbone and quivered across her skin. Being close to him, touching him, undid her caution. It allowed something wild inside her to take hold.
The air was smoky with desire, thick and scented with arousal. Yet the question was clear in Ashraf’s expression.
Did she want to stop?
She was plastered to him so she felt the uneven catch of his breathing and his waiting stillness. They were on the brink of far more than a kiss. It was there in the taut awareness singing between them. Yet even now Ashraf would release her if she wanted.
Emotion swelled. As strong even as the desire emblazoned in her bones. Tenderness for this man who put her needs before his own.
It struck her how remarkable that was, given Ashraf literally had all the power in this kingdom of his.
Now her earlier doubts about him seemed absurd. She’d never met anyone with such innate integrity.
Tori shivered at the enormity of her feelings. Yet she shied from investigating them too closely.
Ashraf straightened and pulled away. He’d misread her.
‘No!’ She fastened both hands on his shoulders, fingers digging into fine cotton, pads of muscle and beneath that, implacable bone. ‘Don’t.’
‘Don’t kiss you, or—?’
‘Don’t stop.’
Buy Links:
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sheikhs-royal-baby-revelation-annie-west/1129992753
Books a Million https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335478597
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Annie_West_Sheikh_s_Royal_Baby_Revelation?id=sTZ-DwAAQBAJ
What’s the first binge-worthy book you read and why was it a must-read?
That’s impossible to answer. I had my head stuck in a book so often from the time I could read. But I can tell you that I vividly recall binge-reading my first Mills and Boon/Harlequin books. My best friend’s mother had a huge stock of them and I spent hours losing myself in those romances. What made them must reads? Apart from the enigmatic, incredibly sexy, alpha heroes? The fact that I felt the passion in the stories. My heart beat faster as I read about star-crossed love, about falling for the wrong man in the worst possible circumstances who turned out, miraculously, to be the right man. I loved reading stories centred around the heroine and her needs and desires and I loved the emotional journey.
What makes this a binge-worthy book?
It’s got the elements I love in a great romance. Two strong, appealing characters, driven by compelling forces into conflict and also love. There’s strong sexual tension, danger and excitement, there are competing motivations and goals and above all, an emotional journey that I’m told makes for compelling reading. I hope you enjoy ‘Sheikh’s Royal Baby Revelation’! And if you happen to like secret baby or royal stories…
Giveaway:
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Open internationally
Runs August 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on September 1.
Author Biography:
USA Today Bestselling author Annie West loves writing passionate, intense love stories. She has devoted her life to an in depth study of tall, dark, charismatic heroes who cause the best kind of trouble in the lives of their heroines. Creating heroines who are a perfect match for those strong, stubborn men is one of her all time favorite things. As a sideline she's also researched dreamy locations for romance, from vibrant cities to desert encampments and fairytale castles. Her stories are published in 25 languages in around 34 countries and she loves hearing from readers. Annie lives on the east coast of Australia and her favorite things are books, good company, good food and travel.
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