Ryshia Kennie - Sheikh Defence

He’s the one she can’t remember, she’s the one he can’t forget...

Tossed overboard, Ava Adams had been left for dead, drifting at sea. But security specialist Faisal Al-Nassar was determined to find her. He owed her father a great debt and had never forgotten the connection he and Ava had once shared. Yet after rescuing Ava he discovered she barely remembered him.

Amnesia had left Ava uncertain of who had tried to kill her. She did know, however, that Faisal was a man she could trust. The sheik’s embrace was familiar and enticing...and possibly even more dangerous. How could she succumb to feelings for her protector when what she didn’t know could get them both killed?

“Ava, it’s me, Faisal.”

She hadn’t heard right and yet she had. The voice, the words, even the shoes. It all came together. All of it was familiar. The fear fell away. She relaxed in his arms, her heart pounding a zillion times an hour.

“If I let you go, promise me you won’t run,” he said.

“It’s a mistake to be here with me.”

His arm eased and she slid down, landing on her feet and turning to face him.

The look he gave her was both intimidating and full of concern. “You could have died, running the way you did.”

“But I didn’t,” she said obstinately as if her earlier fears had been based on nothing but her imagination. “It was a mistake to follow me,” she repeated, for he hadn’t responded the first time she’d said it. “Fai,” she whispered. “You need to get out of here. Trust me.”

“We’ll get out of here together. It’s what I do, protect.”

Sheikh Defence (Sheik Defense)

Ryshia Kennie

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RYSHIA KENNIE has received a writing award from the City of Regina, Saskatchewan, and was also a semifinalist for the Kindle Book Awards. She finds that there’s never a lack of places to set an edge-of-the-seat suspense, as prairie winters find her dreaming of warmer places for heart-stopping stories. They are places where deadly villains threaten intrepid heroes and heroines who battle for their right to live or even to love. For more, visit www.ryshiakennie.com.

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If you are reading this dedication, this one is for you.

You are the reason this book was published.

Thank you and enjoy.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text He’s the one she can’t remember, she’s the one he can’t forget... Tossed overboard, Ava Adams had been left for dead, drifting at sea. But security specialist Faisal Al-Nassar was determined to find her. He owed her father a great debt and had never forgotten the connection he and Ava had once shared. Yet after rescuing Ava he discovered she barely remembered him. Amnesia had left Ava uncertain of who had tried to kill her. She did know, however, that Faisal was a man she could trust. The sheik’s embrace was familiar and enticing...and possibly even more dangerous. How could she succumb to feelings for her protector when what she didn’t know could get them both killed?

Introduction “Ava, it’s me, Faisal.” She hadn’t heard right and yet she had. The voice, the words, even the shoes. It all came together. All of it was familiar. The fear fell away. She relaxed in his arms, her heart pounding a zillion times an hour. “If I let you go, promise me you won’t run,” he said. “It’s a mistake to be here with me.” His arm eased and she slid down, landing on her feet and turning to face him. The look he gave her was both intimidating and full of concern. “You could have died, running the way you did.” “But I didn’t,” she said obstinately as if her earlier fears had been based on nothing but her imagination. “It was a mistake to follow me,” she repeated, for he hadn’t responded the first time she’d said it. “Fai,” she whispered. “You need to get out of here. Trust me.” “We’ll get out of here together. It’s what I do, protect.”

Title Page Sheikh Defence (Sheik Defense) Ryshia Kennie www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author RYSHIA KENNIE has received a writing award from the City of Regina, Saskatchewan, and was also a semifinalist for the Kindle Book Awards. She finds that there’s never a lack of places to set an edge-of-the-seat suspense, as prairie winters find her dreaming of warmer places for heart-stopping stories. They are places where deadly villains threaten intrepid heroes and heroines who battle for their right to live or even to love. For more, visit www.ryshiakennie.com .

Dedication If you are reading this dedication, this one is for you. You are the reason this book was published. Thank you and enjoy.

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Friday, June 10—11:00 p.m.

“Son of a...”

The broken expletive was followed by a bang that seemed to echo through the bowels of the yacht.

Ava Adams’s eyelids fluttered. Fitfully, she turned once, then twice. The yacht shifted and rocked in the waves. It had been a late night yesterday and the day before, not to mention the fact that this trip had been completely unexpected. She was dreaming—there was no reason to get up, not yet...not for hours yet.

Still, she shivered. Her sleep was skating on the edge of consciousness—what was reality and what was not were no longer clear. In her dream, she only knew that she needed to escape. She flung one arm out grazing the wall, causing her to turn to her other side.

She opened her eyes. She wasn’t fully awake. She didn’t even take in her surroundings before immediately closing her eyes again. But she couldn’t shift as deep into sleep as she’d been. In fact, now with her eyes closed, her consciousness was heating up. She could see through the curtain of lashes. The moonlight drifted in a faint stream of light across the sheet that twisted around her waist. Her breathing leveled out and she fell asleep again. This time the sleep was even lighter than it had been before—more troubled. She didn’t know how long she slept. She only knew that it wasn’t long before she was again awakened. This time by sounds that she couldn’t ignore. They were loud against the background of the once calm rocking of the boat. Her senses came awake, first noting the change in smell. She inhaled, long and slow. She’d done that often in the two days that they’d been anchored in this cove. She loved the hint of vanilla that was so pervasive and wove through the salty scent of ocean, of seawater. Oddly, the vanilla scent was gone.