Debbi Rawlins - By The Sheikh's Command

Rafe took Bri’s hand and pulled her to her feet before she could renege. “We have the entire evening to convince your feet to cooperate.”

This time when he put his arms around her she was much more relaxed. He held her close, the welcome feel of her breasts pressed to his chest making him question his sanity. What spell had this woman cast on him?

“You are no novice at dancing. You move like a gentle wind.”

A misstep landed her on his right foot. “Thank you for breaking my concentration,” Bri said.

“There is no need to concentrate. Just follow me. I will not lead you astray.”

“And what if I don’t have such a good partner next Saturday?”

The sudden thought of her in another man’s arms made him crazy. “I will be there to rescue you.”

“I don’t need a chaperone.”

He shrugged and urged her to lay her head on his shoulder. Her face was too close, her full pink lips too tempting. The desire to kiss her battled his common sense. “It is merely an excuse.”

She drew her head back again to look at him. “An excuse for what?”

“To be with you.”

Dear Reader,

It’s hot outside. So why not slip into something more comfortable, like a delicious Harlequin American Romance novel? This month’s selections are guaranteed to take your mind off the weather and put it to something much more interesting.

We start things off with Debbi Rawlins’s By the Sheikh’s Command, the final installment of the very popular BRIDES OF THE DESERT ROSE series. Our bachelor prince finally meets his match in a virginal beauty who turns the tables on him in a most delightful way. Rising star Kara Lennox begins a new family-connected miniseries, HOW TO MARRY A HARDISON, and these sexy Texas bachelors will make your toes tingle. You’ll meet the first Hardison brother in Vixen in Disguise—a story with a surprising twist.

The talented Debra Webb makes a return engagement to Harlequin American Romance this month with The Marriage Prescription, a very emotional story involving characters you’ve met in her incredibly popular COLBY AGENCY series from Harlequin Intrigue. Also back this month is Leah Vale with The Rich Girl Goes Wild, a not-to-be-missed billionaire-in-disguise story.

Here’s hoping you enjoy all we have to offer this month at Harlequin American Romance. And be sure to stop by next month when Cathy Gillen Thacker launches her brand-new family saga, THE DEVERAUX LEGACY.

Best,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

By the Sheikh’s Command

Debbi Rawlins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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This book is for Tina Colombo. Thank you for your understanding and patience and wonderful editing. It’s a joy to work with you.

Debbi Rawlins currently resides with her husband and dog in Las Vegas, Nevada. A native of Hawaii, she married on Maui and has since lived in Cincinnati, Chicago, Tulsa, Houston, Detroit and Durham, North Carolina, during the past twenty years. Now that she’s had enough of the gypsy life, it’ll take a crane, a bulldozer and a forklift to get her out of her new home. Good thing she doesn’t like to gamble. Except maybe on romance.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

580—MARRIAGE INCORPORATED

618—THE COWBOY AND THE CENTERFOLD

622—THE OUTLAW AND THE CITY SLICKER

675—LOVE, MARRIAGE AND OTHER CALAMITIES

691—MARRY ME, BABY

730—THE BRIDE TO BE…OR NOT TO BE?

741—IF WISHES WERE…HUSBANDS

780—STUD FOR HIRE?

790—OVERNIGHT FATHER

808—HIS, HERS AND THEIRS

860—LOVING A LONESOME COWBOY

881—HIS ROYAL PRIZE

927—TO LOVE AN OLDER MAN

933—BY THE SHEIKH’S COMMAND

HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

587—HER MYSTERIOUS STRANGER

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Brianna Taylor saw him standing in the shadows, and held her breath. She would never have come to the barn if she had known Sheikh Rafe Bahram would be there. In fact, she wouldn’t have come at all.

Afraid to exhale, she stood, frozen, watching him, curious as to what he was doing. Unlike the angry man who’d arrived over a week ago, he seemed calm and at peace now. His dark head bowed forward, he murmured something she was too far away to hear. The tone reached her, though, low, soothing, hypnotic, as if he were whispering words of love to a woman.

The idea startled her. No one else was in the barn. Besides, with Allie gone, Bri was the only woman on the ranch. He spoke again and then ducked out of view. Fascinated, she took an involuntary step forward, and then abruptly realized he was talking to Magic Carpet, the Flying Ace’s newest colt, born only two weeks ago.

Luckily, Rafe hadn’t seen her. It wasn’t too late to back out and run to the house. No one was there. Cord and Rafe’s sister, Allie, had left for their honeymoon. The reminder that her brother now had a wife, someone else to share his life, dealt a fresh blow of grief and her steps faltered.

Not that she wasn’t happy for him. She truly was thrilled that he’d found someone so perfect for him like Allie, but it had been only a year since Bri had found Cord, only a year of having someone genuinely care about her and not consider her existence a burden to the modern world.

Rafe’s head came up again and she stopped, fearing any movement would attract his attention. He started to turn toward her and, without another thought, she dropped to the ground in a crouched position.

Immediately she regretted it.

How foolish. She could have waved and then walked out. It wasn’t as if she’d been spying on him. But it was too late and all she could hope for…

“What are you doing?”

The nearness of Rafe’s husky, accented voice startled her. He stood only a foot away. She looked up into his concerned dark eyes, lost her balance and landed on her fanny on the hard floor.

“Brianna.” He bent over to take her elbow, but she evaded him.

Humiliation stung her cheeks. “I’m looking for my earring. I lost it.” He continued to stare at her with unnerving intensity. Maybe because she never wore earrings. She was too chicken to get her ears pierced. She averted her gaze and focused on the hay-littered floor. “I lost it yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

She nodded without looking up and sifted through the hay.

“In this exact spot?”

She nodded again, and then the amusement in his voice registered, and she looked up. A ghost of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. She was fairly certain she hadn’t seen him smile before.