‘I used to do that,’ Aubrey said with a smile, and Khalid looked over to where she sat. Her legs were tucked behind her and the breeze caught her golden hair; without make-up she looked terribly young.
Yet she was wise, Khalid realised, for she made a guarded Nadia smile with what she said. ‘I used to take cookie dough ice cream from the fridge. I would tear a chunk off and put it in a bag I kept right at the back of the ice box and I would add to it.’
‘Why?’ Khalid asked.
‘So that when I was upset I had plenty of cookie dough ice cream to make me feel better.’
Khalid gave a brief shake of his head, for it made no sense to him, but then his sister spoke. ‘When I am cross with the King, I eat halva in my suite...’
He looked at Aubrey, whose eyes seemed to be urging him not to let this conversation go.
‘We all get cross with him,’ Khalid gently said to his sister.
‘Even you?’
‘Yes.’ Khalid nodded and he turned again to Aubrey. ‘Nadia is a lot like our mother, a little impetuous and argumentative at times, and though that is a good thing, it also makes the King cross.’
‘You said that I look like her.’ Nadia pushed for more conversation about her mother.
‘Which you do,’ Khalid agreed.
‘Khalid?’ Nadia’s voice had gone husky and Aubrey looked over to where the young girl sat. ‘Did she ever see us?’ Her face was flushed and her eyes were filling with tears.
‘Yes,’ Khalid said. ‘She held you both for two full minutes and she said her family was complete, that she had the most beautiful children. And she kissed you both, and she asked for Hussain to come and meet his new brother and sister.’
Nadia was crying and Abbad stared ahead, but Hussain sat upright, his eyes narrowed. He rarely challenged anyone but on this day he did.
‘You don’t know this. You just say these things, why?’
‘I do know this,’ Khalid calmly answered. ‘Because after her funeral I went and spoke with the medical staff who had been with her, and I found out all I could.’ At the time it hadn’t been for his brothers and sisters; he had wanted to know about his mother’s last moments for himself. The time was right to share them now. ‘She was happiest when with her children, I promise you that, and she would speak of you to me. Hussain is so funny, she would say, she was so proud of you...’
Aubrey watched as a tear spilled down Hussain’s cheek and as he went to fiercely wipe it away, Khalid caught his brother’s hand and held it and as Hussain wept he told them some more, and like thirsty sponges they soaked it up.
How Dalila had loved to sing.
That one night she had been found in the kitchen, making bread the way it was made in her own country.
And he told them how she had adored the history of Al-Zahan and had been a collector of the amulets given to newlywed couples to promote fertility.
‘Her collection is on loan to a gallery off Fifth Avenue,’ Khalid said. ‘Go and look at it when you miss her.’ He looked at Aubrey, who had made this all possible. For, yes, it was easier to say these things in the warm sunshine, but it was also easier to speak like this, with her near.
Khalid did not know why.
‘She loved you all so much, and if you want to know more about her, ask me.’
They did.
And then they spoke about other important things.
‘I cannot be King,’ Hussain said urgently. ‘Khalid, I cannot marry.’
‘I know,’ Khalid said gently.
‘You don’t understand. I cannot make heirs.’
There was a dart of tension as Nadia and Abbad shared a glance. Aubrey saw it and guessed they had long known Hussain’s secret, and she looked at Khalid, who still held his brother’s hand.
‘Hussain, you are not next in line—that is me.’
‘And you refuse to marry. Now he threatens that if you don’t comply then there are two more sons who can step in...’
‘I don’t want it to fall to me,’ Abbad said, and Khalid could hear the note of fear in his voice, for, though similar in nature to Khalid, he had not been raised to be King and had known a lot of freedom.
Hussain spoke. ‘There is no way out. If you don’t comply with his rule, then it falls to us. If we don’t step up then Al-Zahan falls to the mainland. You have to marry, Khalid,’ Hussain said urgently. ‘And you have to have a son.’
‘Hussain,’ Khalid responded in an even tone, ‘I shall not marry because my father tells me to, and neither shall I marry just because you want me to. Certainly, I am in no rush to produce an heir. I have no interest in fatherhood.’
‘But—’ Hussain attempted.
‘No buts,’ Khalid said. ‘I have listened to you, now listen to me. I have told the King that for the next year my focus is on my country, and also the new hotel...’
‘Then you will marry.’
‘Hussain,’ Khalid warned, refusing to be pushed. ‘I shall look for a solution...’ Khalid faltered, when he so rarely did, but it dawned on him that there could be no solution for him.
Khalid knew then why today was made easier with Aubrey there.
Life felt better with her by his side.
It was a revelation, for Khalid had never, for a second, expected love to enter his life. And there was nothing to mark the moment that it did. Children ran, parents chased, and his brothers and sister waited for him to go on.
Not Aubrey.
She had put on her shades and was lying back on the grass, appearing to enjoy the midday sun.
But she wasn’t.
It killed her to hear him talk of marriage and heirs and for them to speak of a world she would never see and one where she could never belong.
And she lay back and closed her eyes on tears and listened as Khalid reassured his siblings, but his words did not comfort her. ‘You have to trust that I shall strive for a solution that takes care of everyone. Life will be good, you will see.’
Khalid himself could not see a solution, though.
It was a long picnic, and there were fond goodbyes, and as she hugged Nadia and even the brothers, it hurt that she would never see them again.
And when they were gone, when she and Khalid were alone again in his suite, there was an even fonder goodbye. They made love because there was no tomorrow and then showered together. And when their time was up, never had being heir to the throne felt more of a burden to Khalid.
‘I will call the butler to pack—’
‘Don’t,’ Aubrey interrupted him, because she could not bear the sensual haven they had created to be disturbed. The drapes were closed across the entire suite, the bed unmade, and they stood in the bathroom dripping wet from a long, steamy shower.
And now it must all come to an end.
Khalid wrapped a towel around his hips and headed out to summon the necessary staff to organise his leaving New York as Aubrey stood and gripped the sink, trying to tell herself she could say goodbye without crying. Trying to convince herself that one night, one day was surely better than none.
She reached for a comb, his silver comb, anything other than focus on their parting, but as she did so she saw the small silver bottle with Arabic engravings. Ready for distraction and not so worried about touching Khalid’s things now, she unscrewed the lid, removed the small stopper and inhaled deeply.
Oh, that scent!
She took the stopper and dabbed it on her neck, her wrists...
‘Aubrey?’
She smiled in the mirror when caught but Khalid was not smiling.
‘You can’t wear that...’
‘I have to wear it,’ Aubrey corrected. ‘Let me have some.’
‘That scent is not for anyone but me,’ Khalid said, and he came up behind her. That scent had been designed for him, and only his future bride could wear
it. He was not cross, for he had never expected her to understand the ways of Al-Zahan, and while he knew she meant no harm, the deeper truth was that he wished she could wear his scent.
His arms came either side of her and she held the bottle up high, though Khalid could easily reach it, he did not take it from her tight grip; instead, he lightly ran his fingers down her naked ribcage till, laughing, she released it.
He replaced the stopper and put the bottle back down on the bench and told a breathless and laughing Aubrey their new plans. Still behind her, he hooked his strong arms under hers. ‘We have an hour.’
‘But I’ll miss my flight,’ Aubrey said, watching his dark hands span her stomach.
‘You’re getting a later one.’
His fingers were kneading her stomach and she watched their darkness press into her pale flesh. She could feel the nudge of him behind her as relief washed through her that it wasn’t yet goodbye.
‘Let me have your scent,’ Aubrey said as his hands moved up to her breasts. She didn’t want his money, she simply wanted something of his. ‘I just want a keepsake...’
‘Shh,’ he said, and she could feel him harden and the rock of him in the small of her back. His hands sent tiny volts through her and his fingers stretched and rubbed her nipples to what felt like capacity, because she was filling up low in her stomach and pressing back into him.
He lowered his head and he kissed her neck and she felt as if she had a fever as he sucked on flesh between her neck and collarbone. Even as she went to lean forward he held her up against him.
One hand worked her breast and the other slid down and he found the spot that made her quiver at his cruelly slow beats of pressure...
‘Khalid...’ she said. He removed his finger and offered it to her mouth and she sucked on it, then he placed it back where it was urgently required.
His eyes were open, watching them both in the mirror, and though Aubrey had been doing the same, the pleasure was too exquisite and she closed them.
‘Khalid, please.’ She was asking him to push her forward, for him to take her from behind, to fill her, but he misinterpreted.
‘You can’t have the scent, Aubrey.’
It hadn’t been what she’d meant, but, oh, to be denied while being held so close meant that now she really wanted it!
Hot and wet, she turned in his arms and her face was buried in his chest and she inhaled his scent, and licked him and tasted him and her teeth grazed his flat nipples.
His hand came to push her head away, to push it down, for it was unbecoming in a prince to let her mouth linger there, and suck and taste till he was weak. Yet he did not push her head away.
Aubrey could feel the tension and hear his ragged breathing as she nipped him with her teeth. She knew not what she was doing, just that their pleasure was intense, and her mouth moved down. Licking and sucking his taut stomach, bending at her knees and just making out with the dark skin there as her hand slid between his thighs.
And she first tested her power on a very willing source. ‘I want that scent, Khalid.’
He did not answer.
So she kissed just above his hipbone and his hand pushed on her scalp.
She kissed up, and heard his hiss of frustration as her tongue brushed his ribcage and she moved up to be kissed.
‘I want it, Khalid...’ Aubrey did. She didn’t want money, she just wanted one little keepsake, to recall the scent that had turned her first to him. ‘Please...’ she begged.
He relented, but with compromise. ‘Kneel for me, then.’
He was tall, so tall, but she pulled a towel under her knees and licked up his thighs, and then cupped his balls and held him. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
‘Then practise.’
Aubrey did, tentatively at first, licking his soap-scented length, and then swirled her tongue round the head, scared she might hurt him.
‘You won’t,’ he assured her as her mouth covered him and she took him in.
Aubrey held his hips and the rhythmic buck of him was her guide. His hands smoothed her hair from her face and then held it pleasantly taut. She was exquisitely turned on, the heat of him and the way he slowed her down at one point told her he was close.
‘Aubrey...’ He said her name and it sounded like a warning so she took him a little deeper than she had thought she would dare.
He made a low growly noise and then let out a curse as he lifted her head from him, and seeing him so aroused and shiny and close had her wonder why he’d stopped her, but as she went to lower her head and finish him, his hands went under her arms and Khalid lifted her onto the cold marble bench.
‘I have to have you one more time...’ Khalid said, and he roughly parted her legs and scooted her forward so Aubrey was on the edge.
He was thorough rather than urgent, for he positioned her exactly and, more than that, to her frustration he moved the shaving mirror.
‘What are you doing?’ Aubrey begged urgently, but Khalid refused to be rushed.
He returned to her his full attention and he fanned her damp curls and then stroked her for an indulgent moment before, very deliberately and very slowly, he entered her.
‘Watch,’ Khalid said.
‘I can’t,’ Aubrey admitted, because her bottom was lifting off the marble and she was fighting not to come.
It was uncomfortable on the marble and she twisted a little but the grip of his hands on her hips did not let her move so she leant back onto the glass mirror, which was cold on her naked shoulders.
And then she found out why he had moved the shaving mirror for it was perfectly angled towards the sight of them. It felt like an out-of-body experience, feeling him while watching him glide in and out. She could see her swollen flesh and the veins on his thick, dark length. Her thighs started to tremble yet still he held them wide open.
‘I can’t...’ Aubrey said, and even she didn’t know what she meant by that.
‘You can,’ Khalid said, as if he understood her words.
He moved faster and held her tighter and Aubrey felt a shiver run through her and a scream build inside her. She could feel tears running down her flushed cheeks as he relentlessly moved within her.
‘I can’t,’ she said again, and now understood her own meaning, because she just did not know how to feel this much in one moment.
How to give in to him while knowing in the next moment she had to let go of him for all time.
But then Khalid showed her how.
He let go of her hips and shot into her with a breathless shout, and the sound and feel of him dragged out her scream and she wrapped her legs around him and gave in. She came so deeply that it hurt but Khalid lifted her and she coiled around him, resting her head on his shoulder as he thrust the last into her.
And she did not want it to end.
Did not want those flickers to be fading.
She felt dizzy and bereft when he slowly let her down and not even the tender slow kiss they shared could make this better.
‘I don’t want to go home,’ she admitted, with her face pressed to his naked chest.
Come with me, Khalid wanted to say. Come to Al-Zahan and be my lover for ever, my ikbal, my confidante and friend.
But never his wife.
And so he peeled her from him. ‘We must go.’
Two butlers came to pack up the suite but Aubrey could not bear to watch and instead headed down to the foyer to wait for him there.
And then Khalid’s driver drove them to the airport and it was there that they said goodbye.
‘Here,’ Khalid said, and he took her hand and placed in it the silver bottle and closed her fingers around it. It was forbidden that she have it, of course, but he could not deny her the one thing from him she had asked.
‘I hope they don’t confiscate it.’ Aubrey tried to make a joke and
that squeezed his brutal heart.
God, but he loathed leaving her.
‘What will you do?’ he asked as he returned Aubrey to her life.
‘What I always do,’ Aubrey said. ‘Survive.’
‘No,’ Khalid said, and pulled her back. ‘You will strive.’
They shared one more long, lingering kiss, then it really was time for goodbye and all too soon Aubrey sat in her first-class seat and buried her face in the hot towel provided and fought hard not to cry.
Soon this feeling would pass, she told herself.
Soon it would hurt far less.
* * *
Khalid’s plane had already commenced its long journey to Al-Zahan and he flew east over the Atlantic as Aubrey flew west for Vegas until they could not be further apart.
Oh, abnay alhabib... I have fought for you to walk in the sun and laugh as I did.
He finally had.
Now it was time to return to the desert.
And duty.
CHAPTER NINE
KHALID HAD TAUGHT Aubrey many things.
About her body, of course, yet he had taught her far more about herself.
Turning down that money had been harder than Khalid could know, but Aubrey was so glad that she had.
She knew now that history would not be repeating itself and she would strive for more.
Aubrey just worked harder. She worked in the casinos on the Strip during the day and headed for Downtown Vegas by night. Wearing white platform boots and a tiny red costume and big red wig, she performed with two other girls, dancing to keep warm on cold desert nights and having her photo taken with tourists.
And she had a secret too.
Every week, unbeknownst to family and friends, she knocked on an old man’s door.
David had advertised online and it had taken all her courage to call him and eventually go to his home.
And, contrary to what it looked like, it was David who charged her for the hour-long session!
Aubrey took the money she had held back from her tips, held back from paying bills or her mom’s meds, or a coffee to keep awake and warm and somehow invested in her dream.
Claimed For The Sheikh's Shock Son (Secret Heirs 0f Billionaires) Page 9
