“Bin-Asfour delivered illegal drugs to the prince,” Kadir continued, “but we don’t know what, if anything, he received in exchange. Do you?”
“I can find out,” York promised. “The Quiz has people everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. If anyone knows what went on between the prince and Bin-Asfour, we can find it.”
Cassandra felt a decided shimmer of unease. If anyone in the ministry ever found out she’d been a party to handing this kind of information to an employee of the Silvershire Inquisitor, she’d be out on her ear in a heartbeat. Ms. Dunn had never been known as a forgiving woman.
“Very good,” Kadir said. “I expect you will get the investigation started immediately. Until then, it would be best if we keep the information about the meeting under wraps.”
York’s head snapped up. “Under wraps? Are you kidding me? This is hot stuff. I can’t keep it to myself!”
Instead of arguing, Kadir smiled. “Hot stuff? I thought you said you already knew about the meeting.” He shrugged, very casual and uncaring. “That is up to you, of course. I imagine once this bit of information becomes public knowledge, everyone will be scrambling to find the rest of the story. I thought it might be best if you waited until you had everything, but if you want to divulge what we have thus far…”
“No, no,” York said, very grudgingly agreeing. “This had better pan out, mate. The princess is preggers, and I could be in Gastonia snapping photographs.”
“You and every other photographer in this part of the world,” Kadir argued. “I thought you wanted to be different. Special. A star among celebrities.”
“Yeah, yeah,” York mumbled.
Cassandra was still stuck on “The princess is preggers.” It would make a typical Quiz headline.
“Now—” Kadir leaned back in his chair and stared at York “—what can you tell me that I do not yet know?”
Kadir dominated the small rented room Simon York called home, not only with his size but with his energy and his force of will. No matter where he went, no matter how crowded or sparsely populated a room might be, how could every eye not turn to him? How could any person he spoke to not give his every word their full attention?
No one would ever mistake him for a Joe for very long, no matter how diligently he worked to lose his accent and his charm.
Cassandra wished fervently that he was a Joe. That they could date for a few months, and spend weekends here at the seashore or down in Barton. He’d ask for her father’s blessing, in a few months—maybe a year—and then they’d be married. At night they would each talk about their day, before falling into bed to make love. They could live in Silverton, where she’d continue to work until the babies came. Maybe even after the babies came. Wouldn’t he be wonderful with babies?
But he wasn’t a Joe and never would be. Dammit.
Before the meeting was over, York promised to do some discreet digging into the meeting between the prince and Zahid Bin-Asfour. This new research would require a trip to Silverton, as he did not feel secure in sharing too much information over the telephone. The three of them planned to meet here, in this room, Thursday evening. By that time York was sure to have something of importance to share.
At least they could hope that would be the case.
Cassandra was certain Kadir would immediately head back to the cottage, once the interview with York was done. But he didn’t. Instead he walked around town, his movements slow but his eyes sharp. He studied tourists and shopkeepers with equal intensity. Once she even caught him staring at a man and his children with what might be called melancholy. Perhaps it was only her imagination, but she was sure she saw some emotion on his face. It took her immediately and completely back to that insane moment when she’d decided he would be a wonderful father…and wasn’t that an unusual bit of fancy for her to indulge in?
He even stopped at Mary’s shop and bought some toffee, with cash he borrowed from her, as he was presently without funds. The woman was thrilled to see him, and was equally pleased to sell him a small container of her special candy.
Kadir remained lost in thought as they walked back toward the scooter. For the most part, he’d been silent as they’d walked about town, but now he mumbled to himself. He even cursed.
“What are you talking about?” she asked as he reached for his helmet.
“I don’t have any idea if he’s still here, so why do I waste my time looking into every café and alleyway?”
“Who exactly are you looking for?” Kadir knew the men in his entourage very well. Surely he suspected one—or more—over the others.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I still don’t want to believe that any of the men who worked for me would do such a thing. If indeed I was betrayed from within my own household, surely the traitor has left.”
“But you’re not sure.”
Instead of answering, Kadir leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Maybe he’s waiting for my remains to be discovered. Zahid is not a trusting man. He might very well insist upon concrete proof of my death.”
“But you don’t know that.”
“No,” Kadir said.
“Who do you think might’ve…”
He shook his head and mounted the scooter. She climbed on behind him and held on.
“I refuse to speculate on the possibilities,” Kadir said. “Logic aside, I very much hope I’m wrong in my suppositions, and the man who tried to kill me is a stranger who left Leonia soon after the explosion took place.”
Cassandra raked her hands against Kadir’s midsection, in an instinctive offer of comfort. She didn’t know what to say. Heaven above, she always knew what to say, in any situation, no matter how awkward. It was her job to know what to say!
But this was Kadir, and she loved him. She wanted to protect him from what he saw as the only logical explanation. While she searched for words, he lifted her hand and kissed the knuckles. Then he put the scooter into motion, and the time for speaking words of comfort or support was gone.
The afternoon was a long one. The phone only rang once, and it was a call from Piper Klein, who wanted to know if her daughter was well. It was touching to think that those who knew Cassandra well believed she’d be devastated by the death of a man she barely knew. But then again, women seemed to understand one another in a way men did not.
Sharif did not call. Would another message from Cassandra so soon be too much? Would someone question why she was trying so desperately to contact Sharif? Kadir decided it was too soon for another message. It would only draw attention to her, and he didn’t want that.
She sat next to him on the couch, close. Very close. Her thigh brushed his, and that simple touch was enough to make him hard.
“What do we do now?” she asked, as if she had been reading his mind.
“We wait.”
She fidgeted, very slightly. He had a feeling she did not wait well. “Maybe we should go back to town and directly ask people if they’ve seen the man who was photographed. We do have a vague description, thanks to York, and we can visit the shops nearest the pier and…”
“No,” Kadir answered sharply. If he asked the villagers about identifying a man who was supposed to be dead and they verified that he had indeed been seen, would they all be in danger? Would Mary the candy maker and William from the photo shop and the employees at the market close to the pier all be targets for a man who would surely prefer to remain among the dead?
If Kadir was right in his presumption, of course, and if the traitor was still in Leonia. Neither of those was certain. “We will wait for York to return and see what sort of information he can give us.”
“That’s two days, Kadir. What are we going to do for the next two days?”
That was one question he could easily answer. He kissed her, and she yielded quickly beneath his touch. One of her delicate hands rose up and touched his hair, and her lips parted.
He’d never known a woman like Cassandra Klein. In his country women were not allowed the
kinds of freedom what would produce a wonder like her, but it was more than that. In his duties as ambassador he had been around the world. He had spent time with women from all cultures. He had even slept with more than his share.
But Cassandra was special. No one else had ever been able to draw him in so closely, so intimately. Not intimately of the body, but of the spirit. It was as if she were inside him, all the time. It was as if he had known her forever, as if they had shared more than a few precious days.
When the time came, leaving her would be difficult. Fortunately, now was not the time for thinking about leaving.
She slipped her fingers into the waistband of his jeans, teasing him with her incredible softness and the bold warmth in her touch, and he forgot everything but the physical. He wanted to be inside her. He wanted to feel her quiver and hear her make those sounds low in her throat. He wanted to hear her cry out his name as she reached orgasm.
Kadir tried not to think about the importance of her being a virgin before last night, but he could not entirely push that knowledge away. She had waited for him. For him, and no one else. He didn’t want her to regret a moment of their time together, even when it was over and they were living their lives thousands of miles apart.
They undid buttons and zippers while they kissed, neither rushing nor dawdling, but moving slowly and without hesitation toward what they both wanted. Cassandra was wonderfully responsive to his touch. Kadir saw her response in the way she moved, in the flush that rose to her skin, in the swell of her breasts and the change in the way she breathed. And he saw it in her eyes, gray and soft and so full of spirit that the gaze alone touched him in a way nothing, and no one, ever had.
Before he removed her jeans, she reached into the back pocket and withdrew a condom. She had come to him prepared, and he was glad. Tonight he didn’t want to stop. He didn’t want to call even the shortest halt to the progression of their lovemaking.
Cassandra insisted that he be as naked as she, and soon he was. She touched him boldly, with delicate fingers that drove him beyond all rational thought. He wanted her around him, and nothing else mattered. Nothing.
Soon she reclined on the couch and drew him to her, her long legs wrapped around his hips, her eyes closed and a small smile teasing the corners of her mouth. Kadir just barely began to enter her, and then he stopped.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
Cassandra did as he asked and opened her eyes. Dove-gray eyes so soft and desirous and loving, they touched his heart. Kadir was determined that his heart not be involved in this. Even if it was, even if he could not stop what he knew was impossible…he could never tell her. He could never tell anyone.
Their eyes were locked as they came together. Cassandra’s body quivered. He adored that quiver, the sigh, the way she lifted her hips to meet his, in a rhythm that came so naturally to her. In her arms, in her body, he forgot everything and everyone else. There was nothing in the world but pleasure and beauty. There was nothing in the world but Cassandra and the way she came to him.
She climaxed quickly, almost as soon as he was fully, deeply inside her. Kadir did not wait, but joined her in a moment of pure, powerful release that wiped all the ugliness and uncertainty of the world away, for a short while.
As soon as she caught her breath, Cassandra laughed lightly. Kadir lifted his head and looked down at her. Light from the lamp at the end of the couch shone down on her exquisite face.
“What’s funny?”
“Me,” Cassandra said. “Us,” she whispered in a lowered voice. “I didn’t know sex could be so furious and wonderful and unstoppable. Like a freight train.” She laughed again. “The bed’s not so far away, and yet it seemed as if it was, when going there meant moving my body even a fraction away from yours.”
Kadir lowered his mouth and kissed her throat, so slender and pale and soft. “I want you in every room of this house,” he whispered.
“It’s a small cottage,” she responded, her fingers teasing his hair. “And we already have the master bedroom, the master bath and the main room covered. That just leaves three rooms.”
He lifted his head and looked down at her. In this light, with that expression on her face, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. A woman like this could very easily steal a man’s heart away.
Her fingertips touched his cheek. “Kadir, I…”
He saw the expression in her eyes, he felt the weight of what she was about to say in the very air around them.
So he kissed her to stop the words from leaving her mouth. He wanted Cassandra to the depths of his soul, but he could not allow love to come between them.
Wearing Lexie’s pajamas, Cassandra sat at the desk in the main room, where just a couple of days ago she’d found a six-shooter. Kadir had that weapon now. It was never far from his hand.
A tradition was a tradition, no matter where she happened to find herself. It was Tuesday night, after all. Lexie’s only stationery was plain white and lined, but it would do.
Dear Mum,
Lexie’s place is beautiful, and very relaxing. I didn’t realize how much I needed a holiday until I was forced to take one. The sound of the waves is unexpectedly soothing, and there are moments when the sight of the sea takes my breath away. No wonder Lexie loves it here.
There was no need to let her mother know that Kadir was alive, not yet, and if Piper Klein knew there had been fires set and assassins spotted, she’d be here in a matter of hours. Mothers were like that, almost-psychic or not. It was definitely best that her parents remain in Barton.
I’m feeling much better than I was just yesterday.
And how.
You were right. You and Lexie and Daisy and Paula, you were all right. Bet you never expected to hear me say that. But it’s true. When you told me to enjoy my life instead of planning it so carefully, when you told me that not everything can be planned to the last detail like an itinerary for a visiting dignitary, when you said I needed to enjoy my life, you were all right. Some things can’t be taught, they have to be lived, and love is one of those things. Loss, too. The sheik and I became good friends in his short time here, as you suspected. Nothing anyone could’ve told me would have prepared me for the sight of Kadir’s yacht exploding before my very eyes and the devastating emptiness that followed.
Even though she’d learned just a few hours later that Kadir hadn’t been killed, that moment would haunt her forever.
I’m much better, now, truly I am. Ms. Dunn wants me back in the office by the weekend. There’s always so much to do in preparing for the Founder’s Day Gala. Will you and Dad be making the trip to Silverton this year? I can get you tickets to the gala, but Dad has to wear a tuxedo. Tell him I said the tux he wore when you were dating won’t do. The ruffles are disturbing, and it hasn’t fit him well in years.
The gala was an exclusive event, but as an employee of the foreign service, she could always manage to wrangle a couple of extra tickets, if need be. As far as her father was concerned, nothing ever went out of style, and if an outfit was a little tight, well, as long as it covered everything that needed to be covered, he felt it was just fine.
He had not always fared well living in a house full of fashion-conscious women.
When I write next Tuesday’s letter, I’ll be back in my apartment and life will be back to normal.
She didn’t know if she’d be home by next Tuesday or not, but expected she might be. Once Kadir had his answers, he’d be gone. As for normal, well, she didn’t think any part of her life would ever be the normal she had come to expect. Still, she’d learn to manage. She wasn’t the type to fall apart when things didn’t proceed as she wished. She was, after all, a realist.
Would losing Kadir when he walked away from her be any less painful than watching the yacht explode? Of course it would. She wanted to know he was alive and well, that he breathed and smiled and maybe even went fishing. Somewhere in the world.
But it would be painful.
&n
bsp; See you soon, I hope.
Love,
Cassandra
Eventually her mother would learn that Kadir had survived the assassination attempt, and there would be plenty of explaining to do. But those explanations were not necessary tonight.
Letter written, Cassandra turned off the main room lights and crawled into bed with Kadir. He seemed to be asleep, but she didn’t think he was. She placed her body close to his, and draped one arm across his torso. She would miss this holding as much as the sex, when he was gone.
Was that why Lexie always found another man so quickly after her romances failed? She knew what it was like to be held and cherished and loved, and that had to make the loneliness sharper, more painful.
Cassandra wasn’t sure how she’d adjust to sleeping alone, once Kadir was gone. She was smarter than her eldest sister, though, and she knew he could not be easily replaced. Kadir could never be replaced.
The timing of Kadir’s quick, deep kiss on the couch, earlier in the evening when she’d still been trembling from making love, had reminded her that he didn’t want her to tell him that she loved him. It was a complication he didn’t know how to handle, and she understood that very well. So she wouldn’t tell him again. He knew, and that was enough. It would have to be. She would take what she could get from this short-lived relationship and store it all away in a glorious memory that would never fade.
Memories were a poor substitute for the real thing, but if it was all she could have then she’d make it be enough. Her body trembled, and she pushed away the acute pain that threatened to rise to the surface. She hadn’t known, all those years she’d waited for her true love to arrive, that she wouldn’t be able to keep him forever.
Chapter 13
Cassandra was willing to drive the pink scooter into Leonia Wednesday morning to post her letter. It would be a short enough and safe enough trip, she imagined. Kadir didn’t plan to do any more investigating, not until after York returned—hopefully with some new information—so there was no reason for him to go with her. She was very aware that with every appearance in town, Kadir took the chance that someone might recognize him. Try as he might, he wasn’t a very good Joe.
The Sheik and I Page 14
