The breath left her chest in a rush as he dragged her close. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded, his dark eyes flashing fire.
‘I’m a strong swimmer, Razi.’
His grip tightened. ‘In the pitch-black middle of the night? Alone?’ His voice was fierce with concern.
‘You said it was safe,’ she protested.
‘Not on your own. Not again. Not ever. Do you understand me?’ He held her back to stare into her face, and then, without waiting for her answer, he secured her in an iron grip and swam for shore.
Or she imagined that was his purpose, but as soon as he was within his depth Razi stood, and in the same fluid movement he took her.
He sank deep, the size of him making her gasp with surprise. She would never become used to him. The darkly exotic light of passion smouldering in his eyes said he understood her need and that this was all for her. Her arousal was extreme. The heat of their bodies and their passion contrasted strongly with the cold of the water to make every sensation bigger, stronger and far more intense. Razi encouraged her to lie back on the cooling water where she could gaze up at a desert moon planted in a field of stars. Could heaven improve on this? she wondered. The majesty of the desert had unleashed the untamed spirit in her heart, Lucy realised, sobbing with pleasure as Razi moved steadily and with absolute intent. He understood her as no one ever had, not just sexually, but in every way. And in turn, she loved his exciting, exotic country, with its passionate people, and its wild, unknowable desert…She loved him.
‘I hope I have your full attention?’ he murmured, lifting her into his arms so he could add something wicked in his own language.
‘Can you doubt it?’
His lips curved.
Her answer to that could only be a groan of deep satisfaction as he sank deep inside again. She hardly had to cling to him at all with the water supporting her and Razi’s strong hands controlling her buttocks. He thrust into her just the way she liked while her limbs floated lazily. All the pleasure centred at her core, just as he had intended until finally she couldn’t hold him off any longer and her cries of release mingled with those of the eagle owl as it swooped down from its roost to hunt.
‘More…’ Razi spoke for her, as she was still beyond speech. He kept up a steady beat, gently and persuasively, so that one starburst sensation had barely faded before it began to build into the next. He took her slowly and carefully, making sure she savoured every moment. How could she not? Making love beneath a lemon moon and a deep blue velvet sky filled with diamond pinpoints of light was almost too beautiful, too perfect.
So perfect it frightened her. If only she could capture this experience somehow and bring it out when she was alone to convince herself this had really happened…
‘Lucy?’ Razi murmured, teasing her with a pass of his roughened cheek against her neck.
‘Yes,’ she whispered, closing her mind to doubt as he settled her back on the rippling water. She held her breath, waiting for words of reassurance that never came, but Razi knew her body so well—too well, and she had nothing more to do now than rock gently on a pool turned silver beneath the moonlight as he pleasured her, while all the worrying thoughts about the future drifted away.
He watched Lucy come apart in his arms again and again, wondering if she would ever tire, for he was sure he wouldn’t. Moonlight had transformed her into an exquisite water nymph, and one whose appetite for sex continued to amaze him. They shared a fierce passion, he reflected as he swung her into his arms to carry her back to the bank, but tonight there was no urgency. They had every hour before dawn to indulge themselves in pleasure before reality reared its ugly head and put a stop to it. Until then he would make this a night to remember for both of them.
When they got back inside the pavilion he swaddled her in towels and dried her tenderly, rejoicing in her beauty as well as in the fact that she would soon be the mother of their child. Lowering her gently onto the silken-cushioned bed, he murmured, ‘Hussy,’ as she reached for him.
‘Your hussy,’ she said, smiling while her hand insisted on creating its own sort of havoc.
He drew in a sharp breath as she moved down the bed and then she snatched his breath away, cupping him firmly, her lips brushing him, her tongue teasing him. At first she was a little tentative, as if this was a first for her. He found he was fiercely grateful for that, and had to ask himself just how deeply he was committed to a girl he had so recently thought of keeping out of the public eye before making sure she caught the next flight home. They were way past that, he concluded as Lucy grew bolder. As she laved him with her tongue and closed her lips around him to draw him deeper into her mouth he wondered if he could ever bear to let her go. ‘Stop,’ he managed huskily, realising how selfish he was being—on all counts.
‘Why?’ she said, resting her chin on his thigh. ‘Are you frightened you might lose control?’
He laughed and lifted her into his arms. She made him laugh. She made him happy. He was wary of losing his heart for the first time in his life. He was frightened of hurting her. She had never put her female powers to the test in quite the same way before and, having done so, she was flying high. She looked triumphant, and more beautiful than ever. She was more flushed, more aroused—more womanly and yet more vulnerable in every way. The newfound confidence on Lucy’s face was everything he’d ever wanted to see, and he didn’t want anyone to change that—especially not him. ‘You’re full of surprises.’
‘Did I do something wrong?’ she demanded softly as he swung her beneath him.
‘You did everything right,’ he reassured her. ‘So right I had to make you stop.’
Her eyes reflected her innocence and her desire to please—to please him. He would never abuse that. It brought out all his protective instincts. ‘I won’t do anything that puts your pleasure at risk.’
A shadow crossed her eyes and he knew what she was thinking. This was about more than pleasure and in the morning they would have to face that. Where would they go from here? What did the future hold for Lucy—for her baby—for their child? ‘It will be all right,’ he promised. The clock was already ticking, but he refused to hear it—not yet.
‘How long do we have?’ she whispered as if she knew everything he was thinking.
‘Time enough.’ Teasing her lips apart with lazy passes of his tongue, he nudged his way between her legs, thrusting deep, exulting as Lucy’s eager body moved to claim him. Whatever the future held, one thing was sure; few people were lucky enough to ever know a night like this.
Chapter Fifteen
THEY enjoyed a feast in the middle of a balmy night—fresh fruit, which Razi had brought in the picnic hamper, along with hunks of delicious local bread and creamy cheese—before making love again. It was in the sleepy, contented aftermath, when Lucy was nestled safe in Razi’s arms, that he surprised her by confiding something of his childhood. The thought that she had touched him enough for that, and that trust was slowly building between them, was like a tiny flame she wanted to shield with her hands to help it to grow. When he told her about his mother she felt fiercely moved that he would do so, as well as fiercely protective of Razi. She was not just protective of her baby now, but of the man she loved.
His mother’s name was Helena, Razi said, naming her for the first time since her death. Helena had been very young and frightened, and had found herself fighting for position in a land where she didn’t speak the language, or have any rights to speak of. She had no place to run to, and no one to support her cause, as everyone lived in fear of Razi’s father, the ruling Sheikh. She had no money, no contacts to help her to return home, and her sole purpose in life had shrunk to remaining beautiful and available twenty four seven in case his father paid a visit. And for a time, that was enough…
Enough? How could it ever be enough? Lucy wondered, tears stinging her eyes as she thought of the little boy who had never known his mother, other than from cruel gossip amongst the palace servants. She cr
ied too for fear that history might repeat itself.
‘Hey,’ Razi said, kissing tears from her cheeks, ‘I can’t keep up with the downpour—and anyway, I’ve talked enough. It’s time for you to tell me your story.’
It was so like him to make light of his history. Razi came with a self-pity delete key. But if anyone had a right to be angry about their parents, it was him. They had never had a chance like this to get to know each other, Lucy realised, and maybe they never would again. Thanks to Razi confiding in her, she understood the father of her child a lot better now, but she was still eager to learn more. ‘I’m only interested in you,’ she protested.
‘Nice try,’ he said, ‘but I’m still waiting.’
‘Nothing I’ve experienced comes close to a child being shunned by its mother.’
‘Let me be the judge of that.’
‘Do I take that as an instruction?’ She stared into his eyes.
‘No.’ Razi’s smile was slow and sexy. ‘That was a command.’
It was always the same, he realised. Lucy never wanted to talk about herself. She had no idea how much she gave away just by adopting that attitude. When she finally gave in enough to share a few anecdotes with him, she only confirmed what he already knew. Listening to her as she laughed and joked her way through her family history, he realised she had felt as much the cuckoo in the nest as he had, and that sharing what they had tonight had brought them closer than he would ever have believed possible. His focus now was on reassuring her. ‘All that’s in the past,’ he said, ‘and you have your future to look forward to.’
‘Do I, Razi?’
He wished she wouldn’t look so sad. He wanted to make her happy—especially when he thought of the lonely child she’d been and the self-doubting young woman she’d grown into. She hadn’t told him that, of course—she didn’t need to. Instead, she made every excuse for her family and none for herself. ‘You did nothing wrong,’ he protested when she insisted that she always managed to let her family down. ‘Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone wants to be understood. Everyone wants to be heard, and you deserve all those things, Lucy.’
‘My family does love me.’ She made a wry face. ‘They just don’t get me.’
‘I get you…’ Touching her face, he kissed her again, thinking how lucky he was to have this time with her.
‘It’s not as if I was abandoned like you.’
‘It’s not as if you had a brother like Ra’id to look out for you.’
‘My brothers would have looked out for me—if they’d stopped arguing long enough.’
‘I’m sure they would,’ he agreed, stifling the urge to take all of them on at once for letting her down. Their loss, he supposed, hiding his feelings from her.
‘I’d like to meet your brother, Ra’id.’
‘You will.’
There was silence as she took this in. Under what circumstances? He could feel her wondering. Would he smuggle her into the palace for a private audience? Would he employ her in the kitchens and have Ra’id inspect the staff? ‘I’d be proud to introduce you to Ra’id.’
‘You would?’
‘How can you doubt it?’
Maybe because every idyll had to come to an end and theirs just had. She was already sensing Razi starting to distance himself. It was no coincidence he was moving away from her in every way he could, physically and mentally as light strengthened inside the pavilion. She clung to him as dawn broke and for a while he relented and they lay in silence, staring out at the pearly sky streaked with lavender and jasmine yellow, until they both, without saying a word, broke apart and moved away in separate directions.
‘I’ll get the coffee on,’ he said as she thought about taking one last swim.
‘It’s light now,’ she said when Razi frowned, ‘and I promise I’ll be careful.’
He stared at her for some time and then he let her go. It was more than an acknowledgement that she would take care in the water. When they looked at each other she was telling him she could do this on her own—all of it, and that he had to know that and accept it.
It was a brave stand, but with dawn came reality, and the reality was Razi was a king and she was no one. She could no more make a stand in his country than she could fly, but he stopped short of pointing this out and humiliating her. As she picked up her robe and slipped it on he drew her to him and kissed her briefly—it felt like one last time; one last kiss. ‘That was quite a night,’ he said dryly, releasing her.
‘Yes, it was…’
The look they shared now spoke of more than sex. They had confided in each other and grown closer just as now they must live apart. She shrugged, as if she could handle that too. ‘Don’t worry—I understand,’ she said as if she were reassuring him. ‘And I’ll always treasure the confidences you shared with me.’
She turned and walked away proudly, deeply conscious of the child inside her, and of the love in her heart, both for that child and for the man who had fathered her baby. Razi had given her new confidence, and by opening up his heart to her last night he had changed her for good, because now she knew love—she knew how it felt to trust and to be trusted in return, and even if this wasn’t going to end in the traditional happy-ever-after, she believed him when he said he would never part her from her child.
She had to believe.
He had always thought the desert changed him, freed him, but now he realised it was only the space it gave him to examine his thoughts that made the difference. As they drank their last coffee in front of the campfire he realised that with Lucy at his side exchanging solitude for companionship had proved even more productive and that she had freed something inside him. He’d let someone else in and he’d never done that before. He glanced at her sideways, admiring her composure. They knew where they stood now. He’d take care of her in every way he could, but they’d live their own lives. A night that had started in heat and passion had changed them both. He cared about her. He always would. Perhaps more than cared—perhaps even loved—but that didn’t mean there could be a solution to this. She was carrying his child and that had made him instantly protective, but it wasn’t love—it couldn’t be; it was…something else. The nervous smiles Lucy was darting at him suggested her thoughts had turned to concern too. If only she could know how much he wanted this. If only he could tell her that a family was all he had ever longed for, but he’d always accepted there was a high price to pay for privilege and that for every night of pleasure the bank of duty would exact its revenge. He just hadn’t known how much it would hurt. To block it out he turned to practicalities. ‘When was your last scan?’
Lucy paused with the coffee cup halfway to her lips. She was sitting opposite Razi in front of the campfire he had rebuilt. Dressed in jeans and a jumper to fend off the early morning chill, she had been glad of the hot coffee to nurse after her swim. Now she put it down. Razi had brought out his phone, which seemed incongruous in the wilderness, but not half as incongruous as a sheikh taking care of her maternity concerns.
‘You do have baby scans in England?’ he pressed, shooting her one of his intense looks as he stabbed in some numbers.
‘Of course we do.’
‘Well? Have you had one yet?’
‘I have my first appointment when I get back—on Friday.’
‘And this scan is for how many weeks of pregnancy?’
‘Twelve.’ She blushed.
‘Twelve—and do you know if everything is progressing well?’
‘I presume it is.’
‘You presume?’
Razi’s tone was a dash of cold water in the face. She had seen the doctor to confirm her pregnancy and was following the protocol set up in her health authority area to the letter. There was only one reason she could think of for Razi putting pressure on her now. ‘I won’t know the sex of my baby for sure until around seventeen weeks.’ When he found out it was a girl as she both knew and suspected in a crazy, mixed-up, newly pregnant way, would he quickly lose interest?
‘I want to know you’re both healthy,’ Razi pointed out in a stinging response to that thought. ‘Please allow me to speed up the process.’
‘I know I’m having a baby girl.’
The astute sea-green gaze flicked up. ‘Mother’s instinct is wonderful, I’m sure, but if you don’t mind I’d like a medical professional to check you’re both okay.’
Reality was pouring in thick and fast now, and as Razi held her gaze all the history behind that remark was reflected in his eyes, and she realised no woman would ever convince him that anything she said was true until she proved herself—and that included Lucy Tennant.
And was there something wrong with employing a belt and braces approach where the health of her child was concerned? She settled for, ‘Thank you.’
Razi raised his hand as the call connected and started talking rapidly in Sinnebalese. ‘It’s all arranged,’ he said. ‘We leave from here and go straight to the private clinic in the capital.’
‘Our news won’t be very private if you accompany me.’
‘Of course I’ll take you there. Who else is going to take you? You’re my responsibility and it’s my duty to make sure you have the best of care.’
His duty? She had been transformed by happiness up to that moment. She had seen so many emotions cross Razi’s eyes while they had been sitting cross-legged round the fire. His expression had even warmed and softened briefly, but there was none of that now. She had been transformed during the course of a cup of coffee from night-time lover into daytime responsibility and it seemed that with every inch the sun crept above the horizon the distance between them was growing.
‘If one of my employees needed medical attention,’ he said, ‘don’t you think I would personally ensure they got it?’
She wanted to put her fingers in her ears and blot that out—that was what she thought. Other than that she didn’t know what to think that didn’t hurt like hell. And that was mean-minded of her, Lucy concluded as Razi stood up and started kicking sand over their fire. She had heard nothing but praise for staff relations at Maktabi Communications since taking a closer interest in a certain R. Maktabi’s business card; she should be glad she was under the boss’s protection.
Ruling Sheikh, Unruly Mistress Page 12
