by Kristi Gold
“Karen, is something troubling you?”
Karen brought her focus back to Ash who was studying her thoughtfully. “I’m just thinking about work. I’ll see what I can do about taking the day off.”
“Very good. I see no need to postpone the honeymoon.”
Honeymoon? Well, she supposed that was what it was in a sense. “I better get back to Baronessa now. I’m already late.” She was already imagining their lovemaking in great detail, not a good idea at all.
Karen had almost made it to the door and merciful escape until Ash called her back. “Yes?”
“Perhaps we should seal our bargain with a kiss.”
At least he’d asked her permission this time. “Do you really think that’s necessary?” There went the flying hands. She clasped them tightly before her.
“I believe it would be favorable to familiarize ourselves with each other before we are in bed together. If my kisses continue to make you nervous then it will be much worse when I make love to you.”
Karen’s traitorous eyes targeted the bedroom at his back. “Your kisses don’t make me nervous.” Her shaky voice betrayed her.
“Then you should have no objections now.”
When he moved closer, Karen’s mouth started flapping along with her hands. “Let’s keep it simple, shall we? I mean, this is more or less a business arrangement and—”
Ash caught both her hands and held them against his sturdy chest. “You are still nervous, Karen.”
“I am not!” What a fish tale.
He took her hands, turned them over and kissed each palm. “You need not be anxious around me. I promise I will treat you with great care.”
“I’m not breakable.” At the moment she felt like delicate crystal, poised to shatter the moment he laid his mouth on hers.
He leaned forward, a thin thread away from her lips that began to twitch and tremble. “Nevertheless, I promise I will be very gentle with my hands.” He leaned closer. “And with my mouth.”
His deep, tempting voice threatened to make Karen sway. She stiffened her frame, determined not to faint. “As long as you get the job done,” she said with as much challenge as she could muster.
“I most certainly plan to get the job done, and quite sufficiently,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
A long stretch of silence passed as Ash stared into Karen’s eyes. She prepared for the fallout from his kiss, but the kiss didn’t come. And then something incomprehensible happened to Karen. She kissed him first. Thoroughly, without the slightest hesitation.
She met his open mouth with an eagerness she didn’t invite, at least not consciously. Met his tongue with a few strokes of her own. Met the last of her resistance when he tugged her fully against him at the expense of her resolve.
That will be all….That will be all….That will be—
Suddenly her back was against the door and Ash was leaning into her and she was mentally scolding her legs not to wrap around his waist. His hands came to rest on her hips and hers were at the dip of his strong spine threatening to move lower to explore his regal rearend.
His mouth was gentle yet firm against hers while his tongue made silky forays between her parted lips. His fingertips traveled in feather strokes over her bottom, up her waist, then his thumbs grazed the sides of her breasts in a maddening, circular motion.
When Ash pressed against her, Karen was well aware the sheikh had a secret weapon below the fabric of his slacks. If she didn’t stop this insanity immediately, she might get to experience its potency right here, right now, on the floor near the door without ceremony. Without the wedding ceremony.
That will definitely be all….
But it wasn’t Karen who broke the kiss. Ash did. Yet he kept his arms securely around her as he said, “I believe that was much more effective than a handshake.” Then he stepped back and surveyed her from scalp to shoes.
Karen could only imagine what she looked like at that moment, probably glassy-eyed and red-lipped without the benefit of lipstick because she doubted she had any left on her lips. Several strands of her unruly hair rained down into her face, a few in her eyes. Regardless, she had no trouble seeing Ash standing there with his hands back in his pockets and the sultry smile back on his face.
Karen finger-combed her hair away, straightened her blouse and picked up her purse that had somehow landed on the floor. “I need to go now. Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.” Such cold, dry departing words considering that hot, wet kiss.
His smile could stop a speeding missile. “I certainly look forward to when we next meet, hopefully before we make our appearance at the altar.”
Karen felt like a wooden marionette with hinges instead of joints. “We probably shouldn’t see each other until the wedding.”
“Are you concerned that we might not be able to stop with only a kiss?”
Exactly. “I’m going to be busy.”
He nodded. “As you wish, Karen. I will keep myself busy as well until our wedding day, though I have no doubt I’ll be thinking of you often. Of us. Together.”
Karen needed to get out of there and fast. She reached behind her for the door handle. “Call me when you have the arrangements set.”
“You may depend on it.”
Karen jerked open the door and closed it behind her without giving the sheikh a second glance. But she knew deep down that in the next few days she would definitely be giving him, giving the wedding, giving his heady kisses more than a second thought.
“You may kiss your bride.”
After all of Karen’s anxious moments the past three days, the sleepless nights, the endless soul-searching and whirlwind planning, it had all come down to this moment. Even though they had signed a prenuptial arrangement outlining the terms of the marriage only a few hours ago, she still questioned the wisdom of agreeing to the proposal. But it was much too late to turn back now.
Karen looked from the nice lady judge to Sheikh Ashraf ibn-Saalem, her husband. Oh, my.
She half expected to find I’ve-got-you-now in Ash’s expression. Instead, she saw a glimmer of hesitation in his dark eyes, her own questions reflected in his gaze as if maybe he, too, wondered if they had done the right thing.
Karen waited with nervous anticipation to seal the deal while her cousins Daniel and Maria looked on. Yet Ash only brushed her lips with an innocent kiss and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, the same hand that now sported a gold band encrusted with multi-colored stones including several diamonds. Ash had told her it once belonged to his mother, the queen of Zhamyr. And now it was on Karen’s finger, a woman who was very far removed from royalty.
Ash, on the other hand, didn’t have a ring. Karen had considered buying him one until he’d allowed as how he didn’t care for rings. No big deal, Karen decided. Real marriages required rings, not those with the sole goal of producing a child. If it had been more, she would have insisted Ash wear some kind of wedding band. After all, he was her husband and she would definitely want women to know that the sheikh was off the market if the marriage were real.
Daniel moved forward, slapped Ash on the back and said, “Welcome to the family.”
Ash shook Daniel’s hand. “I am most happy to be related to you if only by marriage.”
Maria offered Karen the bouquet of roses that Ash had presented to Karen before the wedding. “You make a lovely bride, cousin.”
Karen took the flowers and gave Maria a sympathetic look. “And you will, too, some day.”
“I hope so.” Maria glanced at Daniel and Ash, who were still conversing. “I need to go,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Sure.” Karen turned to Ash. “I’ll be in the ladies’ room for a few moments.” At least she could be assured he wouldn’t follow her and Maria in there. Or at least she thought he wouldn’t. But just in case he had other ideas, she told him, “We can meet out front in a few moments.”
Ash sent her a sly grin. “On the courthouse lawn?”
&n
bsp; The rogue. The sexy, self-assured rogue. “On the steps. Standing on the steps.”
Ash bowed. “As you wish, my lovely wife.”
Wife. Karen wasn’t sure she would ever get used to being his wife. But she was his wife, if only temporarily, and she might as well get used to it. Get used to that and the fact that tonight they would be together in every way.
As Karen followed Maria down the hallway, she shivered with anticipation when she considered making love with Ash. When she considered she might like it.
Thankfully the restroom was deserted, allowing Karen and Maria a few moments alone before Maria departed for Montana. “Do you have the train tickets?” Karen asked.
Maria patted her purse. “Right here. The train leaves at 3:00 p.m. and I should arrive in Silver Valley day after tomorrow by bus. I called Louis and he said he’d be glad to pick me up. He was so nice, and I can’t thank you enough.”
“Give Louis and Magdalene my love.” Karen hugged Maria. “Take care, okay?”
Maria swiped at her face now moist with tears. “I will. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“You do that, and stop crying.” Karen sniffed. “You’re going to make me blubber all over my wedding dress.” A simple white satin sheath that she’d purchased the day after she’d said yes to the sheikh—the day after she’d decided to change her life and her future by marrying a man she barely knew.
“You take care, too,” Maria said. “And, Karen, keep your options open, as well as your heart. You never know what might come of this union.”
“Hopefully, a baby.” And nothing more. “You do the same, okay?”
“I’ll try,” Maria assured her.
And so would Karen. She would try to keep an open mind. But an open heart? That seemed somewhat dangerous. As dangerous as the pleasant thought of spending hours in Ash’s arms. Her husband.
Oh, wow.
Four
“I can’t believe you’re actually working on your wedding day, missy.”
From behind the counter, Karen regarded Mimi Fazano, a five-foot, sixty-something, dynamo waitress with short-cropped gray hair who had as much earthy charm as the old-time atmosphere of the gelateria. “It was a simple courthouse ceremony. Not that big of a deal, really. Just something to make everything official.” To Karen, the whole concept of being married to Ash still didn’t seem official. Maybe tonight. Maybe after she was in Ash’s bed, in his arms, making love with him. Procreating, she reminded herself. Making a baby, not actually making love.
Mimi shoved the cash register drawer closed with one bony hip. “You should be enjoying your honeymoon. Why, my Johnny, God rest his soul, took me to Florida after our wedding. Of course, we had to stay with his mother. Such a mama’s boy, my Johnny. But I loved him dearly for over forty years.”
Karen smiled through a sudden bout of melancholy. She had so wanted to hold out for love before she married. Instead, she had entered into a daddy deal with a prince. “It happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to plan a trip.”
Mimi narrowed her brown eyes. “You don’t happen to have a little peanut in the shell? A bun in the oven? Not that I would ever pass judgment. Johnny, may he sleep with the angels, never got me pregnant. But we certainly had a fine time trying all those years.”
“No, no baby on board.” Not yet. Maybe tonight. Maybe when she and Ash took to his bed, her with a bad case of raging hormones and him with a serious case of seductiveness. She certainly didn’t need to think about that during her shift or she’d be in danger of anointing customers with gelato.
Mimi eyed her with skepticism. “Regardless of your reasons for hurrying this wedding, you should be celebrating right now. It’s not every day a woman gets married. Unless you’re my poker partner, Carol Ann, who’s on her fifth husband now. Or maybe it’s her sixth. I’ve lost count. But in your case, since this is your first experience with matrimony, you should be with that young man of yours. And here you are, hard at work.”
Karen glanced around the sparsely occupied dining room. “I’m not really doing that much at the moment.”
Mimi cackled. “You could be if you went home to your new husband. If he’s like most men, he’s waiting anxiously for a nighttime ride with his bride.”
Ashraf Saalem wasn’t like most men Karen had known, and that in itself was a little frightening at times. She couldn’t always read him and she had to confess his air of mystery did draw her on some level. The thought of him waiting at the hotel suite for her—waiting to make love to her—caused her pulse to trip several times. If he was still speaking to her. He had been none too pleased when she’d nixed a trip out of town and hadn’t arranged to take the remainder of the day off.
But with Maria now on her way to Montana, the shop would be short-staffed and Karen had promised to look after things in Maria’s absence. “Mimi, you and I both know that it’s going to be hectic tonight.”
“That’s why I’ve called that Veronica with the platinum hair, the one who’s just a few eggs short of a carton. All that bleach must’ve destroyed a few brain cells. But the men certainly like her.”
Karen had learned early on that Mimi thought anyone under the age of sixty qualified as a girl. “True, Veronica is a little slow. For that reason, and since Maria won’t be here, I need to stay at least for a while. I promise I’ll leave at eight when the mayhem dies down.” By then she should be ready to join Ash. She’d be a little less nervous. After finishing the cup of cappuccino she now clutched in her hand, she should probably lay off the caffeine just to be on the safe side.
Mimi frowned. “Speaking of Maria, I’m wondering what’s going on with that girl. It’s not like her to take off at all much less on the day of her cousin’s wedding.”
“Something unexpected came up.” Karen hoped Mimi dropped it for now. Eventually she would have to inform the staff that Maria wouldn’t be back for a while, after she knew for certain that her cousin was settled in Montana.
“I think what’s been ailing our Maria has something to do with a man,” Mimi announced in her trademark crusty voice.
Karen fumbled with her cup of cappuccino, nearly spilling its contents on her white blouse. The phone rang, giving her a welcome interruption. “Baronessa,” she answered with a fake smile in her voice.
“I am beginning to wonder if I will ever have my wife here with me.”
Karen set the cup on the counter and white-knuckled the phone as her palms began to perspire, along with the rest of her. “Um, it’s going to be at least another few hours.”
Ash’s rough sigh filtered through the line. “That is a long time for a man to wait on his wedding day.”
“I’m sorry but it’s going to get pretty uncontrollable here now that the evening crowd is beginning to arrive.”
“I would suggest that once you arrive here it could become a bit uncontrollable as well. In a very pleasant way.”
She didn’t want to react to the innuendo, but Karen couldn’t prevent the stream of heat mixed with chills flowing through her. At least he didn’t seem angry. At least he was speaking to her, loud and clear. “I’ll be there as soon as I can get away.”
“I hope you arrive soon. The champagne is now chilling but I fear the ice is melting as we speak.”
So was Karen in response to his deep, husky voice. “I’m not sure I should have any champagne. It makes me kind of crazy.”
“I would have no objection to you being a bit crazy. I must admit that I’m feeling somewhat that way at the moment, imagining divesting you of your clothing.”
Karen glanced over her shoulder at Mimi who pretended not to listen. “Will that be all?”
“First I must warn you, I’ve already removed all of my clothing. And I’ve built a fire for our enjoyment.”
The image of Ash lying naked before the hearth jumped into Karen’s brain like a practiced pole-vaulter. A slow, uneven breath escaped her lips. “That sounds…” Heavenly. “Interesting.”
“Oh, I am
certain it will be. More interesting than either you or I could imagine. Have I been successful in encouraging you to leave early?”
He’d encouraged Karen to fantasize about making love with him. The conception should be her only concern, but she couldn’t help considering the pleasure Ash was offering. So what if she actually let go enough to enjoy the process? After all, she was a woman and he was a man—a virile, seductive, enticing man. Her libido was restless and he was offering to appease it.
Tonight, and only tonight, she would allow herself the freedom to give up a little control to gain a little satisfaction and hopefully a child. Tonight, and only tonight, she would give herself completely to the sheikh, at least from a physical standpoint. Emotionally, she would have to remain strong.
“Karen, shall I tell you what else I have imagined?”
Once more she glanced at Mimi who was grinning like mad. Karen propped a hand on the freezer case housing the gelati then immediately pulled back. If she didn’t, she was in grave danger of melting every last vat of the ice cream. “That’s really not ne—”
“I am greatly curious to know how your bare skin will feel to my hands. How you will taste. All of you. How you will feel surrounding me when I bring you to—”
“I’ve got to go now.”
Karen slammed down the phone and turned at the sound of Mimi’s grainy laugh.
“My, my, missy. Either that phone’s on fire or you’ve suddenly decided you’re in a big hurry to get out of here.”
The only fire present at the moment had landed on Karen’s face. Blushing, she said, “Well, Ash probably has dinner waiting on me.” A feast of the senses. “I guess I really hate to disappoint him, so—”
Mimi waved a hand in dismissal. “Get out of here. We’ll handle it fine, as I’m sure you’ll handle your husband fine.”
Another round of rough laughter followed Karen all the way out Baronessa’s door.
All the way home, Karen gave her ovaries a pep talk. If they chose to cooperate, then she could happily get the job done tonight. If they didn’t, then she would have to continue to make love with Ash a little longer.
