by Leslie North
Yaseen’s eyes blazed, heat crackling across the rich brown color. “Tell me, Kara. What would please you now?”
“If you would come closer.”
He did, his even pace giving her plenty of time to rake her eyes over every inch of him. The tailored slacks that hugged his muscular legs. The crisp, white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the throat and displaying the deep tan of his skin. His full lips, curved in a smile that said, “I want to devour you,” in the best possible way. Yaseen stopped half a step away, the warmth of his skin battling with the air conditioning to caress hers. “Is this close enough?”
“Closer.” The word escaped on an exhale.
Yaseen leaned in, a laugh escaping him. “Like this?”
“Like this.” Kara reached up to his face and stroked her hands behind his head to the back of his neck, then pulled his lips to hers.
Yaseen kissed her as if they’d been kept apart for months. He licked possessively across her bottom lip, drawing a gasp from her mouth, and demanded entrance with his tongue. She pressed her length against him, and his hands splayed across her back. He held her close, then closer. Oh, she wanted more of this. More and more and more.
The kiss warred in her mind with the rest of their responsibilities for the day. She had to finish their packing. They were due to fly back to Raihanabad in a couple of hours. If she let herself do what she really wanted to do—fall into bed with Yaseen—they’d never make it to the helipad.
Kara forced herself to break away, panting. She smoothed her hands over her dress. Yaseen’s hands lingered on her waist, and amusement danced in his eyes.
“Is that all you wanted?”
“No.” He laughed at her forceful denial. “But we have to get ready to go.”
He pressed his lips to hers one more time, a brief brush that set her on fire all over again. “If you insist.”
She laughed. “I think the pilot insists. And I don’t blame him, wanting to get back before nightfall.”
Yaseen took her hand and spun her gently away, her dress lifting away from her legs. “Let’s get ready, then.”
An aide came in, footfalls heavy. “Sheikh Yaseen? Might I have a moment of your time?”
Yaseen bent low, brushing his lips against the side of her neck. “I’ll be right along.”
His aide, a man named Saalim, wore a deep red blush on his face. No doubt he’d come in without the two of them noticing and backed out soundlessly. Yaseen felt a strange pride at being caught kissing Kara so deeply.
“What is it?”
The aide cleared his throat. “I’ve had news from the palace. A windstorm over Raihanabad has made it impossible to fly into the city by helicopter. It’s possible to go by car, but they told me this would be inadvisable.”
“No, we won’t go by car.” Traveling in a windstorm was risky enough as it was. And he wouldn’t have Kara getting sick on the bumpy roads. “We’ll stay here until the weather clears. At least tonight. Make my excuses to anyone on the schedule for tomorrow.”
“Of course, Sheikh Yaseen.” Saalim dipped his head and scurried away.
Yaseen went to find Kara in the master bedroom. When he stepped inside, she had her head bowed over a small suitcase on the bed and was adding some clothes to it. She straightened up and looked at him.
“You have news.”
“I do. We can’t leave the villa tonight.” He told her about the windstorm. “The only way back is by car.”
She grimaced. “That doesn’t sound ideal.”
“It’s not, so we’ll stay. The only problem is the staff.” Her lips turned up in a smile that made him want to kiss her for the rest of his life. “I’ve sent most of them home already, since today was supposed to be the last day.”
Kara put her hands to her face. “Oh, no,” she teased. “What’s a prince to do? How will he feed himself?”
He laughed. “I’m more concerned about you. I want you to have enough to eat.”
She shot him a look, eyes narrowed. “Yaseen, do you think I don’t know how to cook? I’ve been cooking for myself all my life. I’m not going to go hungry because you sent your staff home.”
“Good. I know my way around a kitchen, too.”
Kara put a hand on her hip. “Prove it.”
“We should both prove it,” he countered. “We’ll each prepare a dish and see which one tastes better.” He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, leaning down to brush a kiss to the side of her neck. “Come on. I’m hungry.”
They went into the kitchen, and Yaseen started pulling things out of the cupboards. He found lamb from the market in the fridge, along with everything he’d need for a simple savory sauce. He set it all out on the counter, then turned to find Kara getting a bag of rice down from a high cupboard.
“Rice?” he teased. “You think you’re up to that challenge?”
She sashayed past him to the spice rack. “I’m more than up to the challenge. If you keep staring at me like that, you’ll never have your dish done on time.”
“Oh, is there a time limit?” He caught her up close to him again.
“Not fair,” Kara said. “You can’t pin me in place, then expect me to cook.”
“Can’t I? What if I do it like this?” He spun her gently, slowly, over to the counter and turned her away from him, so her body pressed up against his.
Kara leaned back against him. “This might be fine, but with the cooking, I’ll need room to bend.” She bent forward just enough to drive Yaseen wild. “Do you think you’ll be able to stand it?”
He stepped away with a low groan. “If the house was completely empty, I’d have you on that counter.”
Kara clicked her tongue. “You will not. This is a competition, Yaseen, and you need to take it seriously.”
He threw himself into cooking, shocked to find himself enjoying it. It helped that Kara made a point of brushing against him at every opportunity. He made a point of kissing the back of her neck every time she went by. He delighted in the goosebumps that rose on her skin and the way she laughed, low and breathy.
It wasn’t quite an hour and a half later when they sat down in the small dining room, one with a picture window looking out over the mountains. Yaseen served his lamb dish and Kara served her rice. The fragrant scent lifted from the plate and made his stomach growl.
“Oh.” Kara tipped her head back, eyes closed. “It’s so good. I underestimated you. You do know your way around the kitchen.”
He took a bite of her rice, rich with spices and dotted with golden raisins and pine nuts. It tasted as good as it smelled. “So do you.”
“I wonder if the baby will inherit any of our cooking skills.” Kara smiled down at her plate. “I suppose that’ll be up to us.” Her eyes flicked up to his and back down. “Do you think you’ll have time to teach our child to cook, or will all your other responsibilities make that impossible?”
“I don’t think much is truly impossible if you put your mind to it,” said Yaseen. He looked into her eyes. “For instance, it wouldn’t be impossible to open up that envelope from the doctor and find out whether we’re having a girl or a boy.”
Kara sucked in a breath. The anatomy scan had been almost two months ago, and she hadn’t wanted to know. “I’ll find out when the baby is born.” He didn’t see irritation in her eyes, only amusement. “Why do you want to know so badly?”
“The fewer surprises, the better,” he told her.
“Do you have a bad history with surprises?”
“I prefer to know,” insisted Yaseen. They went back and forth for the rest of the meal, eventually circling back around to the kids on the football field. When the food was gone Yaseen stood up and cleared the plates. The two of them went back into the kitchen and tipped all the dishes into the sink. He filled it with water and took a cloth from beneath the sink, washing each one. Kara stood at his side to dry.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Is this what a normal marriage is li
ke?”
She giggled. “Our marriage will never be normal.”
“We can make it into anything we want it to be.” He’d never believed it until this moment. “Maybe this is our normal.”
Kara stepped closer, tipping her face toward his. He leaned down and kissed her. She tasted his bottom lip with her tongue, and his body leapt in response. Kara flicked her eyes down to the front of his pants. “Leave the dishes, Yaseen. There’s something we need to do in the bedroom.”
8
Kara felt ravenous for Yaseen, a new hunger hip-checking her satisfied fullness out of the way. All the flirting while they’d prepared dinner had wound her up, and now—no matter what the consequences for their not-quite marriage—she needed him. She twined her fingers through his and tugged on his hand, pulling him away from the sink. He blinked, once, then followed her without argument.
In the master bedroom Kara crawled onto the bed and rose up on her knees. “Come here.”
Yaseen kicked the door shut behind him. “You don’t have to ask me twice, but I’d like it if you did.”
“Come here, please,” she repeated. She reached for the hem of her dress.
“No,” said Yaseen quickly. He’d already unbuttoned his shirt, and he shrugged it off as he took the final few steps to the bed. “Let me do it.”
Kara raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes. The whisper and tug of the fabric against her skin made her nipples peak against her bra. Yaseen exposed her skin inch by inch, leaning down to press a kiss above the line of her panties, then beneath her bra. Then he pulled the dress all the way off and let it drop to the floor.
She felt consumed by the heat in his eyes, as if they’d taken all of her in for himself. Slowly, as if she were the most precious object Yaseen had ever touched, he put his hands on either side of her waist and stroked his fingers over her skin.
“You’re gorgeous.” His voice was low and tight with want. “I’ve never seen anyone as gorgeous as you in all my life.” Yaseen’s eyes traced over her new curves, and an answering desire curled her toes. He leaned in and kissed her, tasting spicy and sweet, and maneuvered himself onto the bed next to her.
Kara’s hips ached from standing in the kitchen, and she could think of no better way to alleviate the pain than straddling him. She pushed him backward onto the pillows and climbed on. He kept his hands on her hips, steadying her and pulling her in close. Yaseen bit his bottom lip and ran his hands up and down her back.
“You’re teasing me,” she breathed.
“Who’s teasing whom? You’re the one on top of me and still wearing clothes.”
“I thought you wanted to do the honors,” Kara teased back
Yaseen reached behind her and deftly unclipped her bra. He slid both straps down her arms and tossed it away, then groaned low in his throat. He cupped one breast, then the other, playing at her nipples with the pad of his thumb. She rolled her hips over his, losing herself in the sensation. Yes, yes—she wanted more of his touch.
Yaseen sat up, catching the back of her neck with his palm, and pulled her in for a kiss that began hard and crashing and insistent and deepened into something slow and so intimate it stole her breath. When he pulled back, she found herself panting.
“You’re right.” His tone was deadly serious. “This isn’t fair.” He lifted her off him, placing her in the center of the bed. When he stood up, Kara could see how hard he was through the front of his pants. “Take your turn, Kara.”
She perched at the edge of the bed and trailed a touch down his abs, savoring the warmth and shape of his body. When her hand reached his waist, she traced his belt with two fingers, drawing a hiss of impatience from him.
“I suppose I deserve this,” Yaseen said through gritted teeth. “You let me take off your dress.”
“And I’m still wearing panties,” she chided. “You haven’t even done your part.” She unhooked his belt, and as soon as he’d kicked his pants—along with his boxers—away, his hands were back on her, wanting, caressing, taking. Her hands itched to cradle his eager cock, but he kept himself out of her reach. Yaseen laid her back on the bed and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties, tugging them down inch by agonizing inch, stopping to press kisses all the way down to her toes. By the time he’d finished, her nerves sang for more, more and more and more, and she spread herself open on the bed and let him climb between her legs. Kara had never seen a more intoxicating man. Every inch of him was perfect, and every inch called to her in a way no man ever had before. Would it be so bad if she let herself fall into him completely?
Yaseen spread her legs open another inch, then bent his head and licked her, his tongue flat against her soft folds. He hummed happily and alternated between licking and sucking, finding more sweet spots than she knew she had. He chased every thought from her mind, replacing all of them with sheer, unending pleasure. The muscles low in her belly clenched, and Kara went up and over the final swell into rushing release. Yaseen pinned her hips with his hands and licked up every drop of her desire.
When she came back down, she was breathless, begging in a series of words that probably meant nothing. Yaseen seemed to understand anyway. He drew her close in his arms and lay back on the bed, letting her straddle him again. This time, they had no barrier between them. She circled her hips over the hard tip of him, letting it graze her opening, until he threw his head back on the bed and groaned.
“Kara, this is beyond teasing, this is torture—”
She sank down onto him, taking the full length of him inside. She tipped her head back. He was a perfect fit for her, and all their earlier flirtation had her primed and ready and—oh, god, it was good. All her senses zeroed in on Yaseen—her palms against his chest, his hands on her waist, and the urgent pulse of him inside her.
They moved together wordlessly, the only sound in the room the hum of the air conditioner and the ragged breaths the two of them took. Yaseen thrust hard into her and Kara rode him like an ocean wave, rising and falling with the tides of his movements. Finally he tightened and gripped her, pulling her down onto him, and looked into her eyes.
Kara tipped her hips forward so her clit made contact with him and rocked her hips, frantic from need for more, more, more of the exquisite pleasure they generated together. Then exploded onto him with all the pent-up need from the day…from their months together. He followed her a few moments later with a muffled cry.
When their breathing slowed, she slid to her side, pressing up against his rib cage. The coolness of the sheets next to him felt delicious under her flushed skin, and Yaseen fit himself to her, putting an arm around her waist.
“Yes,” was all he said. “Yes.”
9
Zayid’s wife, Laila, was the first one to greet Kara a few days later at the state dinner the crown prince was hosting. She threw her arms open wide. “Look at you. A week in Mennah did you good.”
Kara hugged her back. “You’re flattering me. I feel almost too heavy to stand.”
“I hope I bear it half as gracefully as you when I’m at this stage.” Laila hooked her arm through Kara’s while Yaseen and Zayid caught up. “You’re just in time to be seated. The food will be ready any minute, and I know you want to rest.”
Laila was right. Lately, even the walk from Yaseen’s palace quarters, which they still used to dress for events like this one, to the main dining room left Kara out of breath. She’d already spent quite a bit of energy getting ready for the state dinner. Enough energy that she hadn’t minded the beauty team that did her hair and makeup. It made her a little nervous that she was getting so used to that kind of pampering. It wouldn’t last forever. She had to be able to do it on her own.
But today?
Not so much.
Laila guided Kara to a seat midway down the table. “I’ll be on this side of you, and I’d like you to meet Salima.” The dark-haired woman on the opposite side of Kara’s seat turned at the sound of her name. She wore a burgundy gown tha
t looked like a cousin to the thobe, the traditional garment of Raihan, and she had a smile in her eyes. Salima rose, and Kara saw that she was also pregnant.
“It’s so wonderful to meet you,” Salima said. “You and Yaseen are a perfect match.”
Kara laughed out loud, taking the woman’s hands in hers. “Are we? Most times I think we’re complete opposites.” She said the words with a smile.
Salima nudged her back and the two of them sat down together. “Opposites are often the best pairing, in my experience,” Salima said. “Laila mentioned you’ve just spent a week in Mennah. Were you and Sheikh Yaseen there for business or pleasure?”
“Both.” Kara settled her napkin into her lap. After a moment, Laila and Zayid sat down on opposite sides of the table, and the dinner service began. “There’s a project in development there that we both have a stake in. But we were able to relax together as well.”
“A project in development?” Salima raised her eyebrows. “Can you say more about it? I understand if you can’t. Things with the royal family sometimes need to be kept under wraps.” She took a bite of chicken but didn’t lose her hopeful expression.
Kara’s soul lightened at the prospect of being able to share this project with Salima. They’d done plenty of outreach about it, and the palace’s involvement wasn’t a secret.
“I can.” She laughed. “So much more that you’d probably be tired of it by the time I was done. My organization is in the final planning stages of building a sports and community center in Mennah. We’re actively pursuing financial support from the royal family. Still working that out—but I feel very optimistic about it.” Far more optimistic than she’d felt before the trip to Mennah, but that might also have to do with how much closer she felt to Yaseen.
“That’s a lovely idea. My grandmother was from there, so our family spent quite a bit of time there when I was growing up. A place like that could become the beating heart of the community.”
