The Sheik and the Virgin Secretary

Desert Rogues #10

by Susan Mallery

The wedding of my dreams was only days away...until I discovered my fiance had a nasty habit of unfaithfulness. So to mend my wounded pride, I turned to the most eligible man I knew: my boss, Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat! Although the dashingly handsome prince had enticed dozens of women, I had just one thing in my mind when I proposed becoming Rafiq's mistress: revenge on the man who'd humiliated me.

It was easier than I'd expected to go from Rafiq's chaste secretary to his lustful lover. What I didn't expect was to fall head over heels for a man who could give me anything I wanted, except for his heart...

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Contemporary, Fiction, Ebooks, Royalty

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

#1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery writes heartwarming and humorous novels about the relationships that define women's lives—family, friendship, romance. She's best known for putting nuanced characters into emotionally complex, real-life situations with twists that surprise readers to laughter. Because Susan is passionate about animal welfare, pets play a big role in her books. Beloved by millions of readers worldwide, her books have been translated into 28 languages.

Critics have dubbed Mallery "the new queen of romantic fiction." (Walmart) Booklist says, "Romance novels don't get much better than Mallery's expert blend of emotional nuance, humor, and superb storytelling," and RT Book Reviews puts her "in a class by herself!" It's no wonder that her books have spent more than 200 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list.

Although Susan majored in Accounting, she never worked as an accountant because she was published straight out of college with two books the same month. Sixteen prolific years and seventy-four books later, she hit the New York Times bestsellers list for the first time with Accidentally Yours in 2008. She made many appearances in the Top 10 before (finally) hitting #1 in 2015 with Thrill Me, the twentieth book in her most popular series, the Fool's Gold romances, and the fourth of five books released that year.

Susan lives in Washington state with her husband, two ragdoll cats, and a small poodle with delusions of grandeur. Her heart for animals has led Susan to become an active supporter of the Seattle Humane Society. Visit Susan online at www.SusanMallery.com.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kiley was about to marry her fiance Eric but on the day before the wedding she discovered he was a cheater. She cancelled the wedding and asked her boss to become his mistress, for revenge. However she fell in love with him and their friends with benefits situation turned into an unrequited love affair for Kiley. Naturally Prince Rafiq is also in love with her but he has trust issues and he is afraid of admitting his feelings.

What's refreshing is that Kiley won't give up. She knows Rafiq is in love with her and even though she won't marry him she also won't abandon him. She is determined to fight for him and break down his emotional walls. His bitchy mother tries to come between them and then there is the issue of Kiley's unplanned pregnancy and angst ensues.

Amazing love story. So original! Heroine was a breath of fresh air. She was sweet, loving, warm and honest. Hero was a sexy and vulnerable man. Their chemistry was just sizzling!

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those book that you read and while it's a good story it's not amazing. They are both very logical people and the reason for going to her boss was stupid because if she really did not care about her ex she would not have wanted revenge after she found out that he could not care less. The hero just wanted sex it did not have to be her. He eventually grows to love her but if there is not insta lust or draw of passion I am out. I like when the relationship grows but when desire has to evolve, that's not for me. Call me old fashion but I love when the guy tries to get the girl into bed and not the other way around. Just personally not my kind of thing.

[Daisiemae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate the titles of Harlequins! For years, I wouldn't read one because of them, but even though they annoy me tremendously I have learned to ignore them.
This is about Kiley and Rafiq.
Kiley is a woman bent on revenge. Angry at her ex-financee for cheating on her the day before the wedding, she sets out to give her boss Rafiq-the Prince of Lucia-Serrett a proposal he can't refuse. Especially since her ex has always been jealous of him...why not rub a torred affair in his face?
Rafiq is very surprised to hear what Kiley is propositioning to him. To be his mistress for 3 months with no strings attached. Intrigued by her offer he accepts somewhat reluctantly.
Deciding to take their relationship slowly they learn about one another and a love blossoms.
This was a good book. I liked that the characters got to know one another, and I saw the relationship evolving into something more than physical.
Definately a nice easy read.

[Gby · Rating 1 out of 5]

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy did i read this

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kylie is cheated on by her dbag fiancée Eric. To take revenge, she propositions Rafiq, prince and cousin of the El Bahar family to be his mistress.
In a typical Silhouette romance, she falls for him, they have über cute love scenes, minor mishap and HEA.
Not a lot of fighting feelings in this one. They both had explosive chemistry and she really was open and honest about everything
I missed the other Bahar family in this one though!
Safe read
3.75/5

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great! loved the Heroine. she was cute straight forward and funny. Hero was a nice guy too

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most favorite book ever, though it is now gone, I would love to be able to find another copy and will endeavor to find it. Just by the fact that I've been looking for it this long (3 years) should tell you it's a good book and as always has a happy ending.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author

I love this author and book. This book was truly a dream come true. A bit cinderella without the wicked step mother. The wedding at the end was satisfying. Perfect HEA story with a glitch or two.

[MaryD · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better "Sheik" heroines, Kiley isn't afraid to love and to stand up for that love.

I was uncomfortable with her desiring to become Rafiq's mistress just to have revenge on her ex-fiance, but I did like the way Rafiq was very patient with her inexperience.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

==>Re-read November 30, 2016 (add 1 star)
==>Read February 8, 2012

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tuve la sensación de haber leído antes esta novela, sobre todo al final de la misma, palabra por palabra, tal vez sea así, pero no por ello me gusta menos. Es una de mis favoritas de esta serie

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. No nonsense, straight to the point, and the main characters were pragmatic. I liked Kiley because she was steadfast and honest, and I admit to being a sucker for pragmatic or martyred FLs, and Kiley happens to he both. I liked that Fariq felt alien and too perfect at first, like he accepted everything that was thrown at him because he knew he could come out unscathed by it all. And then as the story went on we saw the stakes rising and his aloofness being chipped bit by bit. Overall, for its length and what it promises to offer, it does its job. They communicated well and acted like actual adults with common sense. Of course, because it was short and straight to the point it did sacrifice a certain level of depth and complexity, but I don’t think that was the point. Finally, although he got way too close for comfort, Fariq somehow avoided the “she’s not like other girls” rabbit hole by saying something along the lines of “she’s nothing like the women I’ve dated before” which is good because you can infer it’s got more to do with what he was after in those past relationships rather than the quality of womankind as a whole, but I sweat authors have to stop thinking their MLs can only fall in love with an FL if she’s got a heart made of platinum or a vagina made of gold. She can be like all the other women out there and still be special because of the circumstances, not because he hasn’t met any other girl out there who has kept their virginity intact or says no to cars or something. I promise women aren’t mostly materialistic leeches, and even if they are materialistic that hardly robs them of any depth whatsoever. What was it Marilyn Monroe said, that men don’t like women solely for their faces, but obviously it helps?

[LadyAileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storia d'amore insolita ma troppo breve. Stavolta è la protagonista femminile che propone un accordo allo sceicco (suo capo). Manca effettivamente la conoscenza pregressa tra i due protagonisti capo/segretaria. Il lettore viene catapultato immediatamente davanti a lei che chiede al suo capo di diventare il suo amante per vendetta.
È interessante che la protagonista non sia succube ma sappia farsi valere. Lo sceicco, stranamente, è molto paziente e per niente arrogante. Sul finale è troppo repentino il cambiamento dello sceicco.
Carino ma niente di memorabile.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story deserves a better title in my opinion. Kiley is one of the better-realized women in this series. She is in control of her story from start to finish, no matter how muddled she might make it herself. She also fights better for her relationship than some of the others. Rafiq is fairly standard in the series; slightly tragic backstory that makes him incapable of believing himself in love but Kiley prevails.

[Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read this in paperback and since bought it as an ebook. It has a few corny scenes and everyone is stereotyped but the couple is so cute! She ends up pregnant and he uses it as a justification to marry because he can’t admit to being in love. She stays though...proves she won’t leave.

[S Dash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book among all the books that I have read in the entire series. I loved all the parts where Fari was involved. I loved how he confessed his love and I loved the patience that she had. This one was truly good.

[Cathie McManus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sheik is stoic. He loves 'em and leaves 'em. Kiley called off her wedding after finding her ex in bed with someone else. She makes a proposition the sheik doesn't want to refuse. Some fun and excitement happens. Overcoming his past is difficult for him.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhm.. ok. Ga ada konflik yg berarti

[NZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy book to read and a really relatable character. :)

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty clichèd. I liked Rafiq. Although The HER being a virgin was a little difficult to digest. Overall, it was quite ok.

[Ezri]

exactly what it says on the tin

[Renae Guetzkow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and recently saw it on ebook. It's just as good the second time.

[Roxanna Chabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

linda Historia

Exelente novela…. Sencilla y original recomiendo seguir leyendo más de Jeques. Un viaje a un País que nunca escuché . Ahora voy a buscar donde es Bahania y El Bahar

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiley Hendrick had worked for Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat as his personal assistant for years in Los Angeles, watching beautiful women drift in and out of his life. When she discovers on the day before her wedding that her fiance has been sleeping around like it's an Olympic sport, she decides she needs revenge in order to get on with her life. Said fiance always seemed exceptionally jealous of Rafiq, so the obvious (to her) solution is to initiate an affair with her boss.

Kiley is certainly not his usual type, but Rafiq enjoys her company in the office and is intrigued by her honesty about her motives. He had always thought her attractive, in the abstract, but when he learns that she's a virgin he is stunned by the intensity of his desire to claim her. They agree to a three-month affair, but it's not a surprise that unusual circumstances have unusual results.

I swear, I'm a feminist, but I love it when the hero gets possessive. To be clear, that's not the same as controlling, and it doesn't work if there isn't exclusivity (but we're safe from that in Harlequin Land). This book has some seriously sexy scenes. The set-up is pretty interesting - it's unusual for the woman to initiate, and even more so for her to be unaware of her attraction to her boss. Her reaction to the the typical prince speech ("I'm a prince. I honor you with my proposal, but I will never love you because that would make me weak. blah blah...") is different, and I admire her ability to stand up for herself to her ex and Rafiq's mother. It makes her perfect for Rafiq, but I kind of have a hard to time believing she's real.

The epilogue was a nice thought, but the name-dropping from other books in the series felt sort of forced. It didn't really add anything, but it wasn't annoying enough to ruin the book for me.

*note, The Prince & The Pregnant Princess mentions that the crown prince of Lucia-Serrat is a handsome widower with 4 sons and King Hassan's cousin. Apparently this is Rafiq's father, but it seems strange that Sabrina would try to hook Cleo up with someone with sons that close to her age. Also this book has him being married to the mother of most of his children for 15 years, so I'm going to attribute this to another series inconsistency*

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

After discovering her fiancee's cheating ways, Kiley approaches her billionaire, sheikh boss and offers to be his mistress so she can have revenge against her ex. He agrees, but plans to take it slowly, since she is a virgin and he wants to get to know her first. But after 3 months, they'll go their separate ways. But Kiley's feelings become engaged and Rafiq treats her too well - of course she falls in love. But Rafiq doesn't believe in love...but he does believe in duty and opportunity. He likes her - so when there's a chance she could be pregnant, he decides to marry her. But Kiley won't have him until he can admit that he loves her.

I liked some things about this story that make it different. First of all, it's the woman who is after revenge and she's all about using the hero for sex. Not that he seems to mind. And she's not some doormat heroine either, nor is she overly stubborn and idiotic. She's a nice blend of independent and needy without being a doormat. She's well written. Also, Rafiq (which sounds a bit too close to Rafiki and then I start thinking of the Lion King) is a decent guy. Not many HQN heroes out there would put off sex with the heroine until she felt perfectly comfortable with it. He never once even approached the asshat line in the sand. It was actually borderline too undramatic. And that's why the 3 stars. It wasn't particularly memorable; it was average. I liked it, but it didn't excite me.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite of the Sheik books. I like that it took place in LA instead of on Lucia-Serrat. I had previously read the novella The Sheik's Virgin (found in the anthology titled Sheiks of Summer) and it turns out that the prince in that story is the father of the prince in this story. However, Rafiq is the eldest son and his mother opted to leave (or sell) him to the royal family so she could return to being a Hollywood starlet. He is already grown and away at school when we meet his father so of course his father didn't raise him with the love that he learned later and therefore Rafiq has some scars from childhood to overcome. It was fun getting to know both Rafiq and Kiley. Kiley was a strong character who knew what she wanted in her life and wasn't about to settle for something less. I especially liked that Rafiq recognized that quality and (mostly) understood that he couldn't just order her around with the imperiousness that many of the sheiks start out with in this series.

[AelixRage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it!

The heroine was just fantastic. Independent and self-reliant, yet loving, compassionate, and faithful. She's strong, not given to tears and I like that in a heroine.

The hero was ok, he didn't really give me that much of an impression but he's a breath of fresh air from all the arrogant and insensitive alpha-males these novellas seem to have. However, his admission of his love wasn't very convincing. I mean, a bit more drama would have been better, a bit more depth, a struggle perhaps in his emotions - like when heroes realize a deep sense of loss or fear or something along those lines.

As for the story itself, the dialogue was good, it kept me comfortably entertained. Situations and events could have given more perspective but I'm not really complaining.

All in all, a good novella, worthy of a second or third read in the future. :)

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Susan Mallery books. Her characters are fun. You never really know what the characters are going to get themselves into, but you know it is going to be hot, hot, and along the way. This book is part of a series called the Desert Rogues. Each book showcases different couples but with an alpha, rich, handsome man who needs a woman to show them how to love. SIGH....


In this book, The Sheik and the Virgin Secretary, the main characters are Kiley and Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat. Kiley is Rafiq’s secretary. She was about to get married when the whole thing fell through, so Riley asks her boss if she can be his mistress. WOW. While, it starts out as revenge to her jerk ex-fiancé – well, we all know revenge is a double-edged sword... As for Rafiq – he doesn’t have a clue what is coming his way!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wedding of my dreams was only days away...until I discovered my fiance had a nasty habit of unfaithfulness. So to mend my wounded pride, I turned to the most eligible man I knew: my boss, Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat! Although the dashingly handsome prince had enticed dozens of women, I had just one thing in my mind when I proposed becoming Rafiq's mistress: revenge on the man who'd humiliated me. It was easier than I'd expected to go from Rafiq's chaste secretary to his lustful lover. What I didn't expect was to fall head over heels for a man who could give me anything I wanted, except for his heart... Awesome book. Details into the heart. I could feel her pain. Very well written. 5 star.

[Mariana Bezerra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this story. It was strange to jump into this sheikh story without a desert around, but Rafiq is actually very romantic in his own way, plus it was fun to see how he reacted seducing his secretary. She’s sweet and virgin, just like that happens in this short of books.

I actually liked these two as a couple, they work really great and Rafiq was good about waiting and following the rules. Plus he’s rich and fun to have around. And I just loved the day he bought a puppy for her. So perfect!

Learning about his problems with his father and the way they tried to work together to patch things up, made me realize these sheikh’s need to learn a bit more about what a child needs. But everything turned up just fine at the end.