by Leslie North
“Oh, that’s delicious,” she told him as she licked the juice off her lips. She paused when she saw that he was staring at her. Licking her lips again, she watched his eyes darken as he focussed on her mouth.
“So, which ones do you like?” she asked him trying to break the sudden tension.
Reaching across the table, he picked up what looked like a miniature pie and bit into it without breaking eye contact with her. Chewing slowly, Kim watched as he swallowed before he reached his hand across to her to give her the remaining bite.
Unsure what to do, she stared at his hand for what felt like several minutes as he patiently waited for her to open her mouth.
Finally opening her mouth, he placed the tart in her mouth as she bit down on it. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the mix of spices as she chewed. “Oh, that’s so good,” she commented as he grinned at her.
The tension now broken, the couple enjoyed their lunch occasionally feeding each other morsels as if they had been doing so for years. Neither of them noticed Hussain watching them, pleased for his friend who had yet to realise that he too had fallen for an American woman. “Welcome to the club, my friend,” he mumbled under his breath.
Chapter Fourteen
After lunch, they returned to the house, laughing and talking as if they were old friends. Walking inside, Kim was surprised to see that no one was home. Karim had excused himself to go take care of some messages, which left her on her own and unsure what to do.
As she walked upstairs, she caught sight of something reflecting outside. Walking to the window, she saw that it was a swimming pool and couldn’t believe that she had never noticed it before. On a whim, she ran up to her room to put on her swimsuit.
Coming back downstairs, she exited out through the courtyard and walked toward the pool, which sparkled like turquoise in the sun. Dropping her towel and kicking off her shoes, she looked over her shoulder toward the house, but didn’t see anyone.
With a whoop, she ran toward the pool and leaped up, curling into a ball as she went crashing in. Surfacing, she laughed aloud as she swam to the side. Resting her arms, she took in the opulent surroundings as tropical plants enclosed the pool making it look like an oasis in the desert.
Rolling to her back, she floated to the middle of the pool, closing her eyes against the bright light, as she enjoyed the sun’s rays. A loud splash startled her as she sat up suddenly. Looking around, she didn’t see anything but yelped when she felt a hand on her leg tugging her down.
Turning around in the water, she was surprised to see Karim staring back at her from under the water. Surfacing again, she laughed as he caught her around the waist.
“I thought you were in your office,” she sputtered, suddenly feeling the heat from his body as he pulled her closer.
“I was, but then I heard yelling so thought that I would go investigate. Imagine my surprise when I saw you doing a cannon ball into the pool.”
Laughing, “Sorry. If I had this incredible pool, I would be in it all the time,” she told him as he tugged her toward the deep end. Holding onto his arm to steady herself, she allowed him to pull her.
“My mother loved to swim,” Karim commented. “She was the one who insisted that we put it in. It rarely gets used anymore. I’m surprised that my father still keeps it maintained.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to use it? It’s fantastic.”
Smiling, Karim looked around seeing the pool from her perspective, “Yes, I guess it is. When my mother died, my father shut down. He blamed her for leaving us and everything that was good and beautiful was suddenly forbidden as he turned into the formidable man he is today.”
“That’s terrible. How did your mother die?”
“Cancer,” he answered simply.
“I’m so sorry. You were so young.”
“I was. Amare does not even remember her. I can tell when he looks at her picture that he sees a stranger.” Shaking his head to clear the bad thoughts, he pushed her lightly away. “Enough sad talk,” he told her as he splashed her.
Squealing, Kim splashed him back and they spent the next few minutes chasing each other around the pool. Jumping on him, she attempted to pull him under the water when he pushed her up against the wall. Breathing heavily, her laughter turned to pants as he pressed against her, their wet skin sticking to each other as one of Kim’s fantasies suddenly became real.
Cupping the sides of her face, he kissed her gently as her body immediately took over demanding more. Tendrils of pleasure that he was so good at unfurling began to spread around her body as she pushed her feet flat against the wall to keep them from curling in response.
She was so wrapped up in the kiss that she didn’t realise that he had pulled the tie on her swim top until she felt the breeze on her exposed breasts. Looking frantically around, she attempted to cover herself but he stopped her.
“Relax, no one can see you,” he told her as he tugged at the tie on her bikini bottom. Pulling it loose, he tossed her swimsuit on the side of the pool before he pulled her unresisting body toward him.
His eyes darkened as he watched her floating toward him. Grabbing her legs, he helped her straddle him as she settled her hands on his shoulders. Turning so he was leaning against the wall, he kissed her again as she stroked her hands over his body.
Kim couldn’t believe that she was out in the open and naked as her traitorous body greedily accepted everything he had to offer her. While that little voice in the back of her head warned her again about getting too close to him, she steadfastly ignored it, determined to enjoy this moment.
Lightly tracing her fingers down his body, she came up against an obstacle as her hand settled on his briefs. Breaking the kiss, she gave him a stern look.
“Someone appears to be overdressed,” she commented as she fought the urge to giggle.
“Indeed. Perhaps you could help me out with that?”
Grinning at him, she climbed off his lap and pressed up against him, using her feet as support to keep from floating away. Taking a deep breath, she sunk under water and using her hands, pulled herself down. Sliding her fingers along his waistband, she tugged his briefs over his hips, not realising that it would be more difficult to do under water.
Finally succeeding, she pulled them down and off his feet. As she was about to surface, she brushed against his erection and it bounced playfully in front of her. Unable to resist, she wrapped her hand around it, before opening her mouth and drawing it in. Karim’s sudden thrashing made her pause as she rose to the surface to toss his briefs next to her swimsuit.
Before she could ask him what’s wrong, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him as he kissed her. All the past weeks’ angst and turmoil melted away. Despite her need for caution, when she was in his arms, she felt as though she were home and there was no place else that she wanted to be.
Closing her eyes, she kissed him back as their tongues danced together twining back and forth. Placing his hands on the outside of her thighs, he lifted her so that she was straddling him again. His erection bounced against her stomach as she moaned into his mouth.
Reaching down, he rubbed his fingers along her slit and smiled when he felt that she was ready for him. Positioning himself, he slowly pressed into her as she rocked her hips to accommodate him.
Once he was seated, he held tight to her hips as he rocked her back and forth along his shaft. Placing her feet against the wall, she used it as leverage so that she could thrust harder against him.
As he continued to thrust into her, Kim held tight to his shoulders. Leaning in, she sucked on his lower lip as he growled in response and sped up.
Moaning, Kim rocked harder as his thrusts became more chaotic. Within moments, her orgasm rolled through her as she cried out into his mouth.
One, two, three more thrusts and Karim was coming, her spasms speeding him up as she milked him dry.
As they finished, Kim sagged against him as he kissed the top of her head.
/> The sound of a ringing phone caught their attention as he set her aside to answer it. Speaking animatedly into the phone, he exited the pool and grabbed his clothes, walking back to the house without saying a word to her.
Staring after him, Kim couldn’t believe that he didn’t say anything to her as she wondered if he would come back. Given that he had taken his clothes with him, she assumed that he wouldn’t as she fumed.
Both Taleb’s and Amare’s warnings echoed in her head as her brain reminded her that he was not into relationships. Swearing, she got out of the pool and wrapped herself up in her towel before scooping up her swimsuit and stalking back to the house.
This would be the last time she allowed Karim Sharqi near her, she vowed.
Chapter Fifteen
A couple of weeks later, Karim finally decided to take Kim’s advice and update the company’s accounts. While he should have done it when Kim told him; Karim did things on his terms and would not be ordered around by a woman.
Since that one night they had spent together as well as the incident at the pool, it appeared as if Kim was going out of her way to avoid him, which was probably for the best as he still had much work to do. But that didn’t stop him from thinking about her.
He still remembered how soft her skin had felt and how good she tasted. Every time he touched her, she had been so responsive to him. So much so that there were times that he could think of nothing else, but he had too much work to do.
Karim headed out of his home office and walked down the corridor. As he was walking, he spied Kim walking down the hall staring at her phone. She gasped when Karim stood right in front of her.
“You scared me,” she told him, clutching her chest.
“I updated my software,” he said with a smile.
Kim raised her eyebrows. “Well, it took you long enough.” She shook her head.
“Meet me in your room, in five minutes,” he said quietly to her. Kim raised her eyebrows in question. She looked at him and saw a dangerous and dark look. She had seen it in his eyes the night they had sex.
She should tell him no, she told herself, as her mouth answered, “Okay,” cautiously. Kim felt her body heat up and her fingers tingle as she watched Karim walk off. She so badly wanted to follow him straightaway, but Amare and his friends had been complaining about their upcoming exam.
She had told him that she would drop by to answer their questions, so she headed to his study room where she found them sitting around the room with their laptops and books. Kim stepped into the air-conditioned room and approached them.
“Hi guys, I’m here. Let’s get started!” It was only going to take a couple of minutes; she thought to herself. She might as well help them and then go meet Karim. He had not even said why he wanted her to meet him in her room anyway.
“Great!” Amare said to her. He looked so relieved to see her.
“So what do you guys need help with?”
“Here, take a look.” Amare showed her a past exam paper. Kim read the questions and started working through the questions with Amare and his friends.
***
Karim paced the room impatiently while he waited for Kim to come to her room. He had told her to meet him in five minutes and it had been much longer than that. He lay on her bed completely naked, his thumbs drumming against his chest. He was growing more and more impatient by the minute.
He saw the door opening. Finally, she had come to him. He was definitely going to punish her with a few hard spanks for making him wait for so long. He told her five minutes and it had been at least thirty. No one made him wait, they would not dare. What had she been doing anyway?
“Father!” Karim shouted and quickly covered his manhood with one of Kim’s pillows.
“Karim!” his father shouted and took a few steps back.
Karim got off the bed and quickly slipped on his trousers. What on earth was his father doing in Kim’s bedroom?
“What are you doing here?” Karim asked his father.
“That is what I should be asking you. Why is it that you are laying on her bed, NAKED?” the sheik shouted at his son.
“That is my business, father. Why are you sneaking into her room?”
Karim was angry with his father. What right did he have to sneak into her room? It definitely warranted an explanation. Karim buckled his belt and placed his hands on his hips. He stared at his father and waited for an explanation; however, he did not receive one.
“So, you are sleeping with the American woman?” he asked. He shook his head in disappointment with his son.
“What does that have to do with you?”
“She is a westerner!”
“So what? I love her.” Karim could not believe that those words had left his mouth. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to admit it to himself and come to terms with it.
“You what? Don’t make me laugh,” Saeed Sharqi barked. “You are my eldest son! You must lead by example and be with a full Arabic woman.”
“I can be with whomever I choose to be.”
“Over my dead body,” Saeed shouted. Karim was not surprised that his father did not approve of him being with a Westerner. He too never wanted a western woman but Kim was different. She was a smart and beautiful woman. It was unlike him but he couldn’t stop himself from developing feelings for her.
“Father, you need to stop being so controlling and outdated with everything. What harm will Kim bring?” Karim shouted. He never shouted at his father but at the moment, he was so angry, he could not control himself.
“She is not Arabic! Those westerners have no culture. You cannot bring me a foreigner as a daughter-in-law,” Saeed said, pacing across the bedroom.
“All I said is that I love her.” There were those words again. He said them without even thinking. “There is no ring, so relax father.”
“Love? What do you know about love boy?”
“Probably more than you will ever know. You do not know how to love anyone, not even your children.”
The sheik shook his head. “Being with her has already changed you. When have you ever spoken to me like that?” he demanded. “That spoilt American brat!”
Karim could not believe the things his father was saying about her. She was one of the most humble people that he knew. He picked up his shirt and walked out of the room leaving his father standing there by himself.
“Don’t you dare walk away when I am still talking to you!” Saeed shouted after him but Karim ignored him.
Chapter Sixteen
Saeed summoned Kim to his home office the following day. She assumed that he wanted to chat about Amare’s progress. After all, Amare had informed her about how much his father was invested in his studies. She went with nothing but praises on her mind. Amare was a hard working young man and his father needed to hear how well he was doing.
One of Saeed’s maids ushered Kim into his office. Walking in, she found him scribbling away at some papers. Waiting for him to lift his head, she was unsure if she should sit down, so she remained standing as he continued with what he was doing.
Looking around, she found his office much like Karim’s but it felt darker, colder and more oppressive. Growing impatient, she coughed, but he continued to shuffle his papers. Finally, she spoke up.
“Good afternoon, sheik,” she said to him.
“Please have a seat, Miss Atkins,” he said waving to the chair nearest her. Kim nodded and sat down opposite the sheik as he finished with his notes. She counted to ten in her head and then counted to ten four more times before he finally put his pen down and looked up at her.
“You wanted to see me?”
“I did indeed.” Saeed studied her for a moment. He had so much displeasure on his face that Kim wondered what he was thinking about. “So, you are sleeping with my son,” he said at last. Kim’s eyes flew open. She had not been expecting that at all.
“Excuse me?” Kim had only slept with Karim once, and even if she was, that was not Saeed’s busi
ness. Why was he asking her that and how had he found out?
“I know all about it and I must say that I am disappointed.”
Kim knew that she was not the woman for Karim but she did not expect his father to get involved. Besides, they had only slept together once even if she did relive it over and over each night before bed.
“I do not understand, sir,” she said, even though she did. She just did not know what to say to him.
“You are smart a girl. I am sure you understand my words,” Saeed said, his lips tight. “I need you to distance yourself from my son.”
Kim’s jaw hung open. “I don’t understand... why? I mean him no harm.” Saeed dismissed her with his hand.
“Listen, Miss Atkins, Karim is my eldest son and he will marry a full Arabic woman and bear me grandchildren appropriate to my station.”
“While I can understand your desire for grandchildren, it is Karim’s choice who he wants to be with.”
Saeed looked at her as if she was mad. “I do not care what you think; I will not have you poison my son against me.”
Poison Karim against his father? This was simply ridiculous. Kim almost laughed because that was how stupid the sheik was sounding. “I would never turn your son against you.”
“If you truly care for him, then you will leave him at once.”
She did care for him. More than she had yet to admit to herself. What had started as a little crush, had soon developed into much more than that. She had tried her best not to fall for him but she failed miserably.
“Sheik Sharqi, I cannot see what I have done to offend you,” Kim said calmly.
The sheik sighed. “I see, you won’t leave easily.” Saeed opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a chequebook. He picked up his pen, clicked it and started writing out a cheque. He tore it out and passed it to Kim. She frowned as she picked it up. He had written her a cheque for fifty thousand dollars. She gasped.
