by Lynn, Sophia
"Good. I am glad to hear it."
This time, when he started taking off his clothes, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. His body was lean but well-muscled, and she had a moment to think of some of the Renaissance paintings she had seen. The tour guide had said that some of the most famous artists were enraptured by the male form, considering it the closest thing to pure and divine inspiration that they would ever see in this life. When she looked at the swathes of bare skin and dark hair on Ziyad, she thought she had some idea what they were talking about.
"May I climb into the bed with you?"
Even as Penny nodded, she could sense that he was doing his level best not to frighten or startle her. Even when he didn't speak, she could feel him telegraphing his intentions and his every motion, making sure she had no reason at all to fear.
Somehow, she ended up resting on her side with Ziyad spooned against her back. He felt almost luxuriously warm and safe, one arm draped over her hip.
"And now what do we do?" she whispered.
He kissed her ear gently, making a soft shiver of pleasure run through her. It was not as startling as it had been before, and she almost purred with how good it felt.
I want him, she thought, almost in wonder. She wasn't sure she had understood before what it meant to want someone with all of her being, but now she did.
"Well, since it's growing later, we should try to sleep," he murmured. "It's a bit early for me, but that only means that we can get up earlier and go to the little bakery around the corner. I do not know this neighborhood all that well, but I thought it smelled divine when we walked by. At the very least, they will have some chocolate croissants, and that sounds very good to me."
"Do you have a sweet tooth then?" she asked, already feeling her voice getting slow and drowsy.
His chuckle sent a warm shiver through her. "I do, as long as it has some kind of fruit in it..."
They continued like that for a while even as Penny drifted in and out of a drowse. She learned things about Ziyad, and he learned things about her as well. She knew she was speaking far more frankly than she usually spoke with people, but in his arms, under the thin blanket that she had brought from the house she had shared with her mother, she felt like it was safe to do so, and that he was the right person to do it with.
Soon enough, she fell into a deep and warm sleep, drifting away on the currents of an ocean that she couldn't see.
Chapter Eight
Ziyad woke up suddenly, aware with some surprise that the dawn was sneaking fingertips of light through the cheap blinds on the window. For a moment he was confused as to where he had spent the night, but then a sleeping Penny shifted against him, and he smiled.
He wasn't sure when he had last slept with a woman without making love to her first, but it was probably at least as long ago as the last time he had seen the sunrise.
Disentangling himself gently from Penny, he paused to stroke her hair briefly as she whimpered with displeasure. He had called her bella before, but now Ziyad realized he’d had no idea. In her work clothes, she was merely pretty. Vulnerable, with her silken hair spread out around her like the fires of the dawn itself and her rosy pink lips slightly parted, she was simply beautiful.
Ziyad went to use her bathroom, and on his way back, he noticed that there were several calls waiting for him. He made a face, wanting nothing more than to ignore them and get back in bed with Penny, but instead he made his way to the living room.
When he checked his messages, he could see that they were from Altair, his father's personal assistant. If it was Altair, it was likely quite serious.
He thumbed the phone to call Altair back, and his father's dutiful assistant picked up immediately, even as Ziyad realized with a wince how early it was in Najma.
"Altair, I am sorry it is so early, but I saw your calls..."
Rasim Altair had been with his father since before Ziyad was born, and so despite the fact that the man was always professional, there had always been a slight feeling that he was more of a distant uncle than simple assistant.
"It does not fill me with security or comfort that you can be this out of touch for this long," Altair said crisply, and somewhere in the back if his still slightly sleep-fogged mind, Ziyad realized there was no grogginess in Altair's voice at all, as if the man had already been awake.
"What's going on? Is everything all right at home?"
Altair was certainly too professional to sigh, but there was something a little worn in his tone as he spoke. "Your father is in the hospital again. He started having some numbness in the early evening, and it was thought best by his personal physician that he be taken to the hospital."
Ziyad winced. "That is the third time this year." Across the miles, he could imagine Altair nodding.
"His prognosis is good. It seems like the same issues with his heart have cropped up, but he is recovering quickly. He said it was not important that you be told..."
"But you actually had a heart in your chest and a brain in your head and decided otherwise. Thank you, Altair."
There was a pause, and when Altair spoke again, there was a carefully-considered tone to his voice.
"Things between you and your father have not been easy for some time, and honestly, it is not my place to say, but I do not feel it will get any easier the longer you stay away from home."
"I think that might precisely be the problem, me being at home," Ziyad said. "Do you think his condition is serious enough that I should come back?"
"Are you planning on staying away until the sheikh is on death's door?" asked Altair, bitingly sharp. "I have to tell you, that is hardly a kind way to deal with things."
"If you can think of a kinder one that does not involve my father flying into a rage whenever I so much as come out of my quarters, you are welcome to let me know." His voice had been rising in intensity, and he quieted himself, glancing back at the bedroom. It seemed that Penny was a deep sleeper, because she never stirred during any of this.
He sighed, because at the end of the day, Altair did not deserve the ire he kept in his heart over his father. Only old Qasim deserved it, and at the moment, as long as the old man was still relatively healthy and whole, there was no reason at all to confront it.
After a moment, he went back to bed. He had hidden his shock at the poor conditions of the apartment she lived in well, he thought, but the shock wasn't for the reasons he presumed she feared. It wasn't because the conditions were so terrible; instead, it was because someone as obviously bright and clever as she was would live like that. Didn't that school pay her what she deserved? There was certainly enough money in it already to do so. However, after a few moments, he thought he understood. Penny might be a skilled and inspired teacher, but she was still new, and she was a foreigner to boot.
He would have liked to believe that Najma, the emirate he called home, would have been better, but he wasn't sure if that was true at all.
I would not have let her languish in obscurity, he thought, and as he lay back on the bed, he wondered if it was worth having a word with Resad about it in the future. Perhaps a place could be found for Penny, one that would appropriately treasure the gifts she had to offer. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but the thought of her coming to Najma was one that intrigued him.
When he settled back into bed with her, she stirred briefly. Her eyelashes fluttered, and Ziyad held his breath, wondering if he had disturbed her slumber. Then she turned towards him with a faint grumble, settling back in against his body and throwing an arm over his stomach. He listened as her breathing eased back into slumber, and a deep peace such as he had never known swept over him.
He pulled the blanket a little higher over both of them, and he let sleep take him as well. Ziyad didn't know what it meant that she could give him such peace, but he certainly wasn't going to turn away from such a precious thing.
***
PENNY AWOKE WITH a subtle sense of alarm. There was something very different from t
he way she had awakened every day of her life before, and she was shocked to realize there was a man in her bed, rolled over onto his back with one arm pillowed under his head. After a momentary panic, she recognized Ziyad, and somehow, even after everything he had put her through, the thought made her smile.
The pale light coming through the blinds told her it was still early morning, and for once there was no reason to rush off and get things done. Instead, she could take the luxury of lying in bed, and today there was a beautiful man in it with her.
Penny wasn't sure she’d had a chance to look at him so closely before. As silently as she could, she leaned down on one elbow to really look at him. She had known he was a handsome man before, but now she could take in the crisp darkness of his hair, the way even a single morning without a razor could put stubble on his face. The line of his jaw was strong, and there was something almost old-fashioned about the kind of handsomeness he had. There was very little soft about his face at all, she decided, except perhaps around his mouth. He had always been so quick to smile that seeing him without it only made her think of how brilliant it was when he was happy.
The white sheet was tugged low on his hips, and after a moment of trepidation, she allowed her gaze to drop down lower. He was not as blocky or as thick as some of the well-built men she had known at home. Instead, he was all lean power, clean lines and beautiful, bronze skin. There was a dusting of fine black hair between his dark nipples, and after a moment, she nerved herself up to touch his skin. Her touch was as light as a feather at first, but when he didn't stir, she stroked her hand down the length of his chest, marveling at the firmness of his frame even in repose, and by contrast, how smooth his skin was. He sighed softly when she stroked the tender flesh of his belly, but when Penny looked up sharply, he was still deeply asleep.
Men had always been something of a mystery to her, if Penny were honest with herself. When she was growing up, she had always seen them as another species after a certain point. They became loud and mysterious things, always sneering and mocking her, always wanting things she couldn't imagine doing with them.
She had always thought her friends and acquaintances were a little mad to be so invested in their relationships, but now, looking down on a beautiful man as he slept, she thought she could see it. There was some invisible force pulling her towards Ziyad, and though she thought she could still break it if she absolutely needed to, a part of her would grieve it.
For several long moments, her fingers traced the edge of the white sheet. It was thrown so low that she could see the first curve of his hip bones, and she was intensely curious about what lay underneath it.
It would surely be fine, wouldn't it? Penny thought nervously to herself. He’d said he usually slept naked anyway.
Those felt like excuses to her, if she were going to be entirely honest with it, but she shook it off. Right now, on this strange and lazy morning, she was going to do what she wished, and what she wished to do apparently was to tug the sheet down gently. Of course, she hadn't noticed that a fair amount of the sheet was already on the ground, and when she tugged it from where it was tucked between them, it slithered the rest of the way down. Suddenly she was confronted by the entirety of Ziyad, almost entirely naked save for his boxer shorts, and somehow it was far different than simply having his chest uncovered.
Once she got over her surprise and checked to make sure he was still asleep, she turned her fascinated gaze towards his form, and she couldn't quite stop herself from gasping a little.
He was as perfectly formed as she had thought he would be, with long straight legs that bore the definite suggestion of muscle and feet that seemed somehow to her wonderfully shaped. Out of shyness, Penny avoided looking at the slight bulge beneath his thin boxers at first, but then she was unable to look away. His manhood was half-erect, its outlines partially visible through the pale cotton, and after a moment of shock, she realized what a natural part it was of him, and much of her former anxiety seemed to melt away. There was no tearing monster here, nothing that was not a part of a man who had proved himself to be amazingly gentle and understanding.
Twice, she raised her hand to touch it, twice she drew back, and then biting her lip, she reached towards it again.
I'll just...be very gentle... she thought, and then she froze when she heard a soft and familiar laugh.
Penny pulled her hand back with a yelp, moving so quickly that she almost certainly would have tumbled off the bed if he hadn't moved just quickly. Ziyad's arm shot out, and he grabbed her wrist to steady her. Instead of letting her go, however, he tugged her to lie down next to him, where she could stammer her apologies while simultaneously wanting to bury her face in his chest. She wasn't sure how well she was doing at all, but then Ziyad kissed the top of her head, squeezing her gently.
"I'll be honest," he said gravely. "Waking up with a beautiful woman wanting to touch me is actually a wonderful way to figure out that it’s morning. I would far rather have you than an alarm, if I must be frank."
"I am so sorry," she repeated. "I had no right to...to...”
"Hush. Believe me, if I didn't like anything you were doing, I would have stopped you quite a while ago. "
His words cut through the humiliated haze in her mind, and she looked up at him in dismay.
"How long did you know I was looking at you?" she asked in shock, and the look on his face turned to something significantly more smug.
"Well, a little while," he admitted. "Honestly, I've not been sleeping very much since I got up earlier. I’ve been awake, just drowsing a bit. You are wonderful to sleep with, by the way."
Penny heard the compliment, and it would have made her very happy, but that of course meant that he had been awake for all of her shy observations.
"I guess if there was any doubt in your mind about my lack of experience, that just put it to rest then," she murmured, and Ziyad sighed, a gust of soft air against her temple.
"Your lack of experience is a gift, and if you choose to give it to me, I would be very honored."
He seemed content to let the matter rest, settling down in bed with his arms around her, but Penny didn't feel the same way. She wanted to make a decision, she wanted to change from who and what she had been before. She needed more with him, and finally she found her voice.
"I want to give you my...my gift," she said softly, looking up at him with a simultaneous shyness and hope.
For a moment, Ziyad was utterly silent, and then he looked down at her with eyes slightly widened in awe.
"Bella...are you sure? This is...not a small thing for a woman..."
She was already nodding her head, becoming more and more sure of her choice by the moment. Penny realized with an aching certainty that she had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but right now, there was nothing she wanted more than to be close with this man, to know everything about his body and how it matched hers.
"I want it to be you," she said, her voice shaking but forcing herself to say the words. "You're the one who...touches me."
She fell silent, because despite her skills in the classroom, she couldn't explain it any better than that.
It occurred to her that after everything that had happened, perhaps he had changed his mind. Of course that would be her luck. He might have been interested when she was still an unknown quantity, but now that he had gotten to know her a little bit, now that he had seen what a mess she was, how little she knew, how very few skills she actually had, of course he was going to draw back...
Almost as if he could see the turmoil that was going on within her mind, he leaned forward to place a comforting kiss on her forehead and then a deeper, more passionate one on her lips.
"I am only a man," he said, almost to himself. "I look at you, and all I can see is a woman I want more than breathing. Penny, please be very sure of what you want. If you let me start, I might not want to stop when we go farther."
Penny wondered if those words should have frightened her, but instead,
they only awoke an intense heat inside her that made her groan. She had never imagined being someone who could drive a man wild before, but right now, she had proof in her very bed. She had a handsome and gentle man within the walls of her shabby little apartment, he was kissing her in a way that warmed her down to the soles of her feet, and she was tired of always being so careful.
"Please," she whispered achingly. "I want you..."
Ziyad groaned as if those were the words he had been waiting to hear, and then he rolled her onto her back and started kissing her. His kisses began as quick and furious, but then they slowed down and he took his time, planting kisses all over her face and neck and collarbones. His mouth was making a wild desire spring up low in her belly, and she could barely understand how simple kisses could make her feel as if she was slowly being consumed with fire.
It seemed like the most natural thing in the world when he hooked his fingers under the straps of her ancient nightgown and slowly slid it down her body. There was a moment of trepidation where she lay entirely naked underneath him, but his eyes were filled with such appreciation and awe that she could feel a responding heat pulse inside her. She remembered looking at his body in the exact same way, and when he dropped a line of kisses between her breasts and down to her navel, she only groaned with surprised pleasure.
He sat back on his heels and ran his hands over the curve of her breasts, the tight dip of her waist and the roundness of her hips.
"Who could ever have known that you were hiding such beautiful secrets under your clothes, bella? I named you better than I knew..."
Despite the obvious compliments in those words, Penny found herself blushing more than a little. She had always thought--and on more than one traumatic occasion been told--that her endowments were ridiculous, especially as short as she was. Though she could look back and guess that some of those wisecracks were simple jealousy or malice, she had never been altogether that comfortable with how she looked. Her hourglass figure might have been a classic, but in general, she came to realize, people ended up preferring something a lot more modern.
