“Are you offering to cook?”
He moved her toward the kitchen. “No, but I have a very efficient housekeeper who keeps my refrigerator filled with items that need only be heated.”
They walked into the large, open kitchen. Kiley crossed to the smooth granite countertops and ran her hands against the cool surface. She stared at the six-burner stove, the warming drawer and did her best to hold in a moan.
“Will she mind if I cook in here?” she asked.
“Sana would be happy to share.”
Kiley looked at him. “Are you sure? Women can be very possessive about their kitchens.”
“Sana would be delighted if I dated someone who knew how to make toast, let alone an entire meal. I assure you, she will not be offended.”
Kiley had to admit she couldn’t imagine the very beautiful, albeit short-tempered, Carmen knowing her way around much more than an espresso machine or an ice bucket.
“I’ll have to come up with a menu,” she said. “Then I’ll dazzle you.”
“You already do.”
His words made her whole body sigh.
“Come,” he said, holding out his hand. “I know I gave you a tour the first time you were here, but I suspect you were too nervous to remember very much. There is also the matter of where you will be sleeping.”
“Didn’t we already have this conversation at the hotel?” she asked, walking to him and letting him capture her fingers.
“That was for a single night. This is for more than two months.” His dark gaze studied her face. “You have made many changes in the past few weeks. I don’t want you to feel you’re being pushed into something you’re not ready for.”
He was sweet. Funny how she’d never realized that before. Sweet and kind and handsome and charming. Talk about a winner.
She stepped close enough for their bodies to touch. With her free hand, she rubbed his chest.
“I’m here for the sex,” she said in a low voice. “I want to be perfectly clear about that. Being in different rooms is going to make that difficult. Unless we do it on the phone, and, honestly, I’m not ready for that.”
His reply was a kiss that took her breath away. He claimed her passionately, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as if he would never let her go.
“Then we will share a room,” he said when they both came up for air.
She had a sudden thought and winced. “Oh, no. Were you trying to tell me that you wanted separate rooms?”
He rubbed against her, pushing his erection into her belly and turning her thigh muscles to mush.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She smiled. “I would say you’ve got yourself a roommate.”
Sunlight and the sound of running water woke Rafiq. He’d forgotten to set the alarm and had slept later than usual. Perhaps because he’d gone to sleep so early this morning.
He stretched, then placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. It had been a late night. Every time he’d tried to roll over and go to sleep, he would feel Kiley in the bed. She would move or sigh or even just breathe and then he would want her again. Wanting her, he would reach for her. She always welcomed his touch, joining him eagerly in whatever game he wished to play.
While he knew intellectually that she had been a virgin, he would never have guessed how quickly and easily she would discover the pleasures of making love. He barely had to touch her to make her swollen and ready. She raced toward her climax with an eagerness that only made him want to please her more.
The shower turned off. Instantly he pictured her wet and naked. His erection was instant, but he held back. No doubt she was already sore from their previous night. Better to give her a few hours’ rest before claiming her again.
He thought about his meetings planned for the day and the weekly teleconference with the parliament leader back on Lucia-Serrat. About twenty minutes later, Kiley opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom.
She was dressed in her usual skirt and blouse. Her short, spiky hair was slightly damp, her makeup fresh. Tiny gold studs decorated her earlobes. She looked prim and proper and it was all he could do not to rip the clothes from her body and take her right there.
“Morning,” she said with a shy smile.
Rafiq smiled back. “How are you feeling?”
“God. This is kind of a first for me. A sleep-over. Although, we did at the hotel, so I guess not technically. Maybe it’s the whole workday thing. Plus, I’m tired. We didn’t get much sleep either night. Not that I’m complaining. So, how are you?”
“Well. Did you want to rethink our living arrangement?”
“What? No. Of course not. I like being here.”
“But you are not comfortable.”
“I will be. Just give me some time. It’s not every day a girl signs up to be the love slave of a prince. Ohh, maybe they’ll make a cable movie about my life. What do you think?”
That she charmed him. That he wanted her in more than his bed, he wanted her in his life.
The realization surprised him, and not in a pleasant way. He knew about commitments, what they meant and what happened when people grew tired of them. He knew that love didn’t exist, and whatever feelings people claimed in the heat of the moment faded over time.
“Go eat breakfast,” he said as he sat up. “I will join you shortly.”
She smiled and left the bedroom while he considered why Kiley had the ability to make him wish that things were different, that marriages could be happy and long lasting.
Perhaps it was her family, he thought. They embodied what most people aspired to. But how much of it was real? Did Kiley’s sisters’ husbands really stay faithful to their wives? Did they love them through childbirth and teething and job losses?
He doubted it. In his world, love was a convenient word used to manipulate. His father had claimed to love him and then had disappeared for months on end. His mother had claimed she hadn’t wanted to leave him all those years ago. It wasn’t her fault—the money was too good. And the women who moved in and out of his life—how many of them claimed to love him? And when it was over, how quickly did they take up with someone else?
Even Kiley, who was soft-hearted and inherently honest, had forgotten about her fiancé quickly enough. Although, in that case, he was willing to believe she hadn’t loved the other man in some time.
No, this was better, he told himself. Taking for the moment. Better to have her leave while he could still think of her fondly than to have things end badly with recriminations on both sides.
He showered and dressed quickly, then found Kiley in the kitchen, eating breakfast and chatting with Sana, his housekeeper.
The tiny, dark-haired woman nodded approvingly as he walked in.
“This one appreciates my cooking,” she said, pointing at Kiley’s plate of pancakes and fresh fruit. “Not like the others who only want coffee. As if their skinny hips would appeal to any man.”
“You’ve made a friend,” he told Kiley, accepting the cup of coffee Sana handed him.
“I love her cooking, and she’s telling me all of your secrets. What’s not to like?”
He raised his eyebrows, but his housekeeper only shrugged. “I am an old woman. You won’t throw me out, so I can do what I like, hey?”
Kiley grinned. “And she likes to talk.”
“I have no secrets,” he said, refusing to be intimated by a woman older than his mother.
“So you would like to think. What about the one who threw things? You wouldn’t want me talking about her, would you? Or the one who sunbathed naked out there on the deck for all the world to see. The teenage boys in the neighborhood would stand on the sand with their binoculars.”
Kiley wrinkled her nose. “That’s kinda tacky, Rafiq. I’m surprised at you.”
He narrowed his gaze. “We should change the subject.”
“Oh, look,” Kiley said with a grin. “He’s getting imperious. I love it when that happe
ns.”
“You’re not going to be like this at the office, are you?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
“Oh, please. I’ll be perfectly professional.” She waited until Sana walked to the far end of the kitchen, then looked him in the eye. “No one but you will know I’m not wearing any underwear.”
Heat boiled his blood. He glanced down at her skirt. “You’re kidding, right?”
She picked up her plate and carried it to the sink. “I guess you’re going to have to wait until tonight to find out.”
She returned to the island and picked up her handbag. “Thanks, Sana. That was fabulous. And what you suggested for dinner sounds perfect.” She turned to Rafiq. “By, honey. See you at the office.”
He followed her to the garage. “Not so fast.”
She blinked at him. “Are you going to attack me right here in the hallway? I wouldn’t want to get on Sana’s bad side and have her think I’m tacky.”
“You’re more concerned about my housekeeper’s feelings than what I want?”
“Pretty much.”
She opened the door to the garage, stepped into the large, four-car structure and came to a complete stop. Rafiq put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Kiley didn’t know what to think. She’d been having fun, enjoying her morning, her breakfast, the possibility of a new friend and feeling at one with the universe. She liked that she felt confident enough to tease Rafiq about not wearing underwear, even though she was, and that he wanted her. She liked knowing what would happen when they got home that evening. She’d been quiet, shy and uncertain a few weeks ago, and today she was a different woman. Or she had been until five seconds ago.
“Kiley?”
She stared at the shiny red convertible parked next to her old sedan. The big white bow and ribbon gave her an idea it was a present. For her.
“You’re giving me a car?” she asked, not sure what to think.
“Yes. Do you like it?”
It was gorgeous. Sporty and sleek, no doubt really fast.
“If you prefer a different color, we can exchange it.”
Sure, she thought, not quite able to catch her breath. Just like socks.
“I, ah…”
“You don’t like it,” he said, sounding disappointed.
“No, I’m just surprised. No one’s ever bought me a car before.”
“But Eric gave you gifts.”
“Not a car.”
He turned her until she faced him. “Is it the money?”
“Well, yeah.”
He smiled. “I am Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat. Do you think this was any more financially significant to me than a book would be to one of your sisters?”
“No.” She could do math. This wasn’t even a drop in the bucket for him. It was barely a molecule of water. But…“It’s a car.”
He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, where he pressed his mouth to her palm. “You delight me in more ways than I can explain. It would give me great pleasure if you would accept this small token of my admiration for you.”
She looked at the car, then at him. “What do you give when you want to offer a big token of admiration?”
“A castle.”
She smiled. “I understand your point, but this is really strange for me.”
“Would you rather have something else?”
Time, she thought. She would rather have more time with him. But to say that would break the rules, and she was determined to abide by them.
“I don’t want anything except what I already have,” she said. “You.”
“But what about what I want? Take the car. When we are finished, you may sell it if you prefer. It is yours.”
“I’ll drive it while I’m here, but when it’s over, I’m leaving it behind,” she said.
“I will convince you otherwise.”
“Not a chance,” she told him. “I have a will of iron. You just haven’t seen it yet.”
She could tell he didn’t believe her, but that wasn’t important right now. Instead she focused on the kiss he gave her, then settled into her sassy red convertible and reminded herself this was all about living for the moment.
Chapter Eleven
“No,” Kiley said later, her blue eyes wide with something that looked very close to terror.
Rafiq feigned surprised. “You are refusing me?”
“That’s generally what no means. Although if used with another word such as ‘no kidding,’ it sometimes means something else entirely.”
“I’m very familiar with the English language.” He shook his head. “We are barely a month into our relationship and already you ignore my modest wishes.”
She stood in the center of the bedroom, a silk robe clinging to her curves. Her hair was wet, her face scrubbed clean of any makeup. She shouldn’t have aroused him, and yet she did. He was very familiar with the rush of desire he experienced whenever she was around.
“I’m not ignoring your wishes,” she told him. “I’ll take care of all your wishes, just not this one.”
“It is a simple matter,” he said.
She raised her arms and tightened her hands as if she wished to strangle him.
“It’s entertaining. You never said anything about entertaining. I don’t entertain. Oh, sure, I can have a few friends over for casual party or a football game or something. But not like this. We’re talking about the American ambassador to Lucia-Serrat. That’s not casual. That’s really formal. I’m living here. I’m your mistress. What will he think? What will his wife think?”
Rafiq held in a smile. “Actually, the new American ambassador to my country is a woman.”
Kiley made a half-growling, half-laughing noise low in her throat, turned and collapsed facefirst on the bed. “That would be my point. I don’t even know who the new ambassador is. I can’t be responsible for entertaining. You do it. Have a great time. Save me some leftovers.”
“Kiley, it’s not so bad.”
She rolled to her side and glared at him. “You didn’t make Carmen entertain any ambassadors.”
“She was not up to the task.”
“Neither am I. What are we supposed to talk about? My idea of staying on top of current events is whatever I get on the local news radio station during my drive to work. I don’t know social-economic policies or what’s happening in Bosnia. I don’t even know if I could find Bosnia on a map.”
He frowned. “Why would we discuss Bosnia?”
“I don’t know. It could come up. Or another country. And then what? I’ll stand there with my mouth open, looking really fishlike. It’s not a plan for success. You have the party and tell me all about it.”
“Social events are part of the deal,” he said.
She shifted onto her back and covered her eyes with her forearm. “You never said I had to entertain.”
“Would you have refused me if I had?”
“Maybe.” There was a pause, then she sighed. “No. I wouldn’t have. But this is really, really a mistake.” She sat up and looked at him. “I’ll do anything if you don’t make me give a party.”
He walked to the bed and took her hand. After pulling her to her feet, he lightly kissed her. “As appealing as your offer is, I must decline. We have guests coming, and I wish you to be there.”
“But I…”
“Have I asked for anything else?”
“Sure. The, ah…” She glared at him, then stomped her foot. “That is incredibly unfair and low. Don’t bring up how nice you’ve been.”
“I negotiate to win.”
She grumbled something he couldn’t hear, then stalked toward the closet. “Fine. I’ll be at your party, but I won’t like it. And when I mess up, because it’s a when not a maybe, you will have to suffer with the consequences. Are you clear on that?”
“Perfectly.”
Stupid man, Kiley thought as she stared at the clothes in the closet. Not her real o
nes—they would never do. Instead she flipped through the fabulous designer clothes Rafiq had purchased for her. Okay, what exactly did one wear to a casual-but-elegant, at-home soirée. She’d never been to a soirée. She’d only ever read about them or seen them on nighttime soap operas.
Panic knotted her stomach and made her a little nauseous. An ambassador. Worse, a woman ambassador. What would they talk about? No doubt Madam Ambassador was ambitious and accomplished. What was Kiley supposed to say in the face of that? “Hi, I’m a twit who put my whole life on hold because I thought I was marrying Mr. Right. When that didn’t work out, I became the mistress of a sheik. My entire gender must be so proud.”
She sank onto the small padded bench in the closet and hung her head. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. She’d been stupid about Eric, but not about Rafiq. He was a great guy. She’d gotten the revenge she wanted, a chance to discover the magic between a man and a woman in the most thrilling way possible and time to regroup. He’d been nothing but supportive and kind. The only thing he’d ever asked for, aside from this party, was fidelity.
Plus, there was nothing wrong with wanting to be a wife and mother. Those were still her goals. The difference was she would think things through more next time. She would be more clear about the man she wanted to marry. Character was everything and all that.
She stood and reached for a pair of silk slacks and a fitted white silk blouse. When in doubt, keep it simple, she thought.
After hanging them on the hook by the door, she returned to the bathroom where she quickly applied her makeup. When she’d dressed, she returned to the bedroom. Rafiq was gone, no doubt checking on the last-minute details.
“Couldn’t we have started with a couple of clerks and maybe an undersecretary?” she muttered to herself as she walked down the hall. “Maybe a gameskeeper or two?”
She found Rafiq in the dining room. Sana stood next to him, explaining what dishes would go where. When he reached for a bowl of nuts, she slapped his hand. Kiley couldn’t help laughing.
“Did you see that?” he asked in outrage. “She violated my royal person.”
Sana glared at him. “If you snack now, you won’t be hungry later,” the housekeeper said, and then returned to the kitchen.
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