Loving a man could be wonderful. Loving a man who loved so many women was dreadful. Rachel Stuart had grown up around Sheik Rais’ farm, starting off as friends and riding the woods with him whenever his official business brought him to Washington, D.C. Being in town only occasionally didn’t stop him from having the best and most beautiful horses and, as Rachel grew up, she learned to love those horses, and the man. When her love for him became too painful, she had to move away, only visiting her father, the sheik’s horse trainer, when Rais was not there. Until one day when he arrived earlier than anticipated, causing Rachel’s heart to beat frantically, her body to shiver with both fear and delight as he looked at her with those dark, penetrating eyes. Eyes that were now focused on her, but she refused to be just another in a long line of mistresses. Sheik Rais Sayyid Tarif Zaman couldn’t believe the beauty who walked into the small cottage. He’d known Rachel all her life and his feelings had changed as well. What had started off as sisterly affection had grown into something much deeper, significantly stronger. He’d waited years for her to grow up. And had seen her become more beautiful over the years. But now she was an adult and was mature enough to understand his feelings. She tried to fight it, but the attraction that blossomed between them was not to be denied. He would have her in his life, he promised himself. He just had to convince the shy, young beauty to let him love her as she deserved.