by Kim Lawrence
Genie walked through the structure, hands in pockets, her mind not quite as engaged as it should be for something so exciting.
Zafir was somewhere behind her, his footfalls distinct in the shadowy interior. His ever-present bodyguards had fanned out to guard the perimeter while they came inside alone. It seemed to her he’d gathered more security since yesterday. She’d asked about it, but he had shrugged the question off.
They’d hardly spoken since lunch. What was there to say?
She’d told him one of the darkest, most painful secrets of her life, and now she regretted it. Because he felt sorry for her. In Bah’shar, it seemed as if a man could have more than one family and no one thought anything of it. Not the women, not the children, and certainly not the men.
But her father had mostly ignored her existence, except for the occasional inquiry into her grades, or the awkward acceptance of a childish drawing that she’d used to believe he took home and put on the refrigerator. Now she realized he must have thrown them all out. His wife wouldn’t have wanted to know anything about the woman and child he kept across town.
One day he’d finally walked out for good. She’d never known why.
Zafir passed her line of sight and she studied him from beneath the brim of her hat. She should be studying the temple, but she couldn’t stop thinking about their lives together before. She replayed the kisses, the caresses, the early-morning walks, the late-night lovemaking, the look in his eyes when they’d been together—everything she could think of. How had she not realized it was only temporary?
Because it had felt like so much more. She wasn’t wrong about that. She couldn’t be.
But was that what her mother had thought too? Was that what had made her stay with a man who could never be hers, who’d kept her in a cage and expected her to be available whenever he wanted her?
She’d done this before, after they’d broken it off, and she was angry that she was suddenly being forced to reexamine the past after all this time. He’d accused her of needing her work more than she needed him, but it was so much more than that. Perhaps he finally realized it too.
Zafir was standing in the middle of a room, gazing down at the ruins of a mosaic on the floor. “There is much to be done here, yes?” he said, looking up and catching her staring at him.
Genie refused to look away. To do so would be to admit she’d been thinking of him and not of her work. That he’d caught her in an unguarded moment. Clearly he wasn’t as tormented by thoughts of the past as she was. He’d been thinking about the temple.
“It’s an extraordinary place,” she said, all business. “I believe the work could take a very long time. But I also think it’s a good decision to allow excavation here, even if you choose someone else to do it. This is an important site, and it should not be forgotten.”
He speared her with a determined look. “I do not intend to choose someone else.”
“I won’t let you down if you give this to me.”
“I know. It is why I made the deal in the first place.”
Genie bit her lip. Whether he believed her or not, she had to say it. “I slept with you because I wanted to, not for the temples.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “It matters not. The commission is yours.”
She resisted the urge to stomp her foot. She’d been feeling wounded and hurt, and now he’d managed to put her on the defensive. How did he do that? “Zafir, do you believe me or not?”
He strode toward her, stopping in a swirl of robes and dust. He looked suddenly angry. “Does it matter? You have got what you want.”
She swallowed as she gazed up at him, all six-foot-something of hard, arrogant male. He made her body ache just looking at him. Ridiculous the way her heart pounded. “I have never been dishonest with you, Zafir.”
“Outright? No. But omission is still a form of dishonesty. You never told me what happened between your parents.”
How dared he turn this around? He was the one at fault, not her. “What good would it have done? Besides, you were dishonest with me first.”
“We were dishonest with each other.”
The thought stung, and yet it wasn’t the same thing at all. “Why do we keep rehashing the past? It changes nothing. You still intended to marry a woman your father chose.”
“I was obligated, Genie.”
She slashed a hand through the air. “I know that, and I’m done talking about it.”
He caught her close, gripping her upper arms hard. “You were important to me, whether you believe it or not. And you have no idea what it is like not getting to make your own choices in life. No one has ever told you that you are required to give up everything you want for the greater good of your country.”
Genie jerked free from his grip. She didn’t fool herself that she was what he’d had to give up. “Maybe not, but do you think my life was any easier? You were born into privilege and accustomed to having the world at your fingertips. I had to work hard for every opportunity I ever got.” She took a step backward, putting distance between them, her body shaking with adrenaline and fury. “What would you know about sacrifice? You wanted me to sacrifice everything to be with you, yet you weren’t prepared to sacrifice a thing!”
The words echoed through the empty temple. Zafir’s gaze was hard, his nostrils flaring as they stared each other down. His voice, when he finally answered, was deadly cold. “You will never know what I’ve sacrificed. Do not presume to tell me I have no idea what the word means.”
Genie pulled in a shaky breath. Why did she get so emotional? Why did she let him press her buttons and make her so defensive? Her life had been upside down since the minute she’d walked into that tent and seen him sitting on the dais. And she was having a hell of a time getting it right again.
Zafir glanced at his watch, dismissing her as easily as he might one of his subjects. “If you are finished here, it’s time we returned to the palace.”
Before she could answer, he simply turned in a sweep of robes and headed toward the entrance.
He was furious. Furious with the woman sitting so quietly beside him in the car, and furious that he was allowing her to get to him when he had far more important things to think about.
Just this morning there’d been another threat to his life. He wasn’t worried. His security was tight and, besides, he knew there was always a certain level of disgruntlement to be expected when a new leader took office. The threats were vague, written on plain stationery and posted in Al-Shahar. The royal police were investigating, and Zafir had every confidence they would soon find the culprit.
At least one situation in his life required definite steps to take and had a resolution in sight. For that he was thankful.
But how did one correct a situation based on strong emotion and cultural differences? If he’d known about Genie’s childhood, would it have changed his actions?
Probably. Because he would have understood how painful it was to her, and would have realized how different their worlds were. He’d asked her to give up her schooling and come to Bah’shar for what amounted to nothing more than an affair.
And he’d done it for selfish reasons, which made him furious with himself. She’d filled the emptiness inside him and he’d been reluctant to give that up. And, he admitted to himself, he’d hoped that once she reached Bah’shar, once they’d been together for a while, even his marriage to a princess wouldn’t prevent Genie from staying as his lover.
He’d offered her nothing and expected her to give up everything, just like she’d said.
Worse, he wanted to do it again.
When they reached the palace, he left her in the care of Yusuf and turned his attention to the Sheikhs. It was time to reach a solution. And, after that, time to let Genie Gray walk out of his life for the second time.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Genie was shown to the palace library, where there was a vast selection of books, and did a bit of research on the history of Bah’shar. Her
Arabic was tolerable, though her command of the Bah’sharan dialect left something to be desired, but she worked her way through a few texts as the hours passed.
She might have gotten through them more quickly if she’d been able to stop thinking about Zafir. He’d seemed unapproachable in the car on the way back to the palace, as if he’d closed himself off and meant to keep it that way.
Maybe she wouldn’t see him again. Maybe he’d issue orders that she was to be driven back to her camp and left there. The thought left her feeling empty and bereft. And angry—because why did she want to torture herself by spending more time in his company?
Being sent away was the best thing that could happen to her.
She did not belong here. Oh, she would return to excavate the temples—she wasn’t a fool—but she didn’t belong in the royal palace in the bed of the King. Nothing good could ever come of a relationship with Zafir. She knew because she hadn’t been able to stop herself from reading some of the Bah’sharan code. The King was duty-bound to take either a Bah’sharan wife or a royal one from a neighboring country. Genie, for all her success in her chosen field, had no place in his life—nor would she ever.
When she returned to the harem, she found the same servant from yesterday, who bore another letter with the King’s seal. She reached for it, a thread of apprehension skimming through her.
Was this it? Was this her dismissal? She half prayed it was. The back of her neck tingled as she ripped it open and read it.
It was not a dismissal—or at least not an outright one. Zafir simply regretted that he could not have dinner with her, and indicated that she would be served in her room.
Genie ate dinner alone, then passed the evening with one of the books she’d taken from the library. She thought about going to bed several times, but she wasn’t in the least bit tired, so she stayed up and read on one of the comfortable sofas. She was just about to close the book and go to bed anyway when the door to the harem opened and Zafir strode in.
A glance at her watch told her it was nearly midnight. She blinked at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
He was still dressed in the garments he’d worn earlier. He jerked the headdress off and tossed it aside. “Disappointed to see me?”
Genie swallowed. “Not at all. But I thought you were angry with me.”
He shrugged. “I was irritated.”
“Where have you been all this time?” She winced at how much like a jealous girlfriend she sounded. It wasn’t at all what she’d meant to convey, but if he noticed he didn’t react.
“I’ve been trying to make a room full of grown men stop acting like spoiled children fighting over a toy sword.”
“It’s not going well, I take it?”
He popped two hands on his hips, his dark eyes full of fire and frustration. “It could be better.”
Genie closed the book and set it on the table. “I can listen if it helps.”
His gaze slid over her. “Listening is nice, but it is not what I want.”
Her body felt as if he’d blazed a trail of flame over it.
“What do you want?”
His grin was sexy, sinful. “A swim in the mineral bath.”
“Oh,” she said, sudden disappointment swirling inside her. She shouldn’t want to make love with him again, but she couldn’t stop the desire coursing in her veins like thick syrup. Just as well he didn’t seem affected by it.
“You may join me, if you wish.” He left her sitting there, her mouth dropping open, as he headed for the spa. Genie debated with herself for a full minute before getting up and following him.
Zafir stood poolside, stripping out of his garments. Her mouth went dry as layer after layer was peeled away until he stood there bronzed, hard-muscled, and magnificently naked. He wasn’t fully aroused, but he was on his way.
She should turn and walk away, should prove to herself and to him that she was capable of refusing to be drawn into another doomed relationship with him. Last night had been amazing, a reminder of all she’d missed for so long. Did she really need another when there was no future in it?
“Coming in?” he asked, before he dove cleanly into the water. He came up like a dolphin, rivulets of water rushing down his chest and arms before he flipped over and started to backstroke across the pool.
Was she? Could she really turn away and go back to her book when all this glorious male body waited for her? She stood there in indecision, until Zafir cupped his hands and splattered her with water from halfway across the pool.
Genie began to unbutton her shirt. “You’re going to pay for that,” she said.
Zafir swam toward her, his eyes glittering with heat and desire. “I look forward to it.”
She stripped, and would have glided into the pool quietly had he not shot up and grabbed her. He threw her over his head and she went under.
When she came up, sputtering, he was laughing. “A little slow, aren’t you?”
Genie dove under and went for his feet. She jerked them out from under him and he splashed down while she powered away to the other side of the pool. But before she made it strong arms encircled her and hauled her back against his body.
The length of his erection pressed against her buttocks. Her insides liquefied.
“You give as good as you get, don’t you, habiba?” he growled in her ear. But it was a sensual growl, not an angry one.
“I try,” she replied, her pulse zipping into light speed. My God, it took nothing at all for this desire to spiral out of control. She should have known it would.
“Mmm, and I can think of so many ways to test your ability to get even with me.” He turned her in his arms, his slick skin hot against hers. Part of it was the natural heat of the spring, and part was the desire between them.
Genie wrapped her arms and legs around him, feeling suddenly reckless and full of joy.
“You are welcome to try, King Zafir. I relish the opportunity.”
“Do you indeed?”
In answer, she kissed him, urgently tangling her tongue with his. Zafir responded as she’d hoped, groaning and squeezing her to him. His hands wandered, his fingers sliding around her bottom, down to the vee of her legs. He stroked her center lightly and she rocked against him, trying to make him go faster.
He only laughed low in his throat, however. Genie reached for him, wrapped her hand around his hard length and squeezed. His laugh turned to a moan.
She broke the kiss, trailed her tongue down his throat, his chest—and then she sank beneath the water and took him in her mouth. His thigh muscles tightened and she could feel the sharp intake of his breath where one of her hands rested against his abdomen.
The other stroked him while she swirled her tongue around his length. Soon, however, he grabbed her and hauled her up.
“I could have held my breath for another minute,” she grumbled.
“But I’m not sure I could have held mine,” he said. “I declare you the winner of this round, because I am now unwilling to wait.”
He took her by the waist and lifted her from the pool. Then he leapt out beside her and hauled her over to one of the cushioned divans that lined the sides of the chamber. “This is much more comfortable,” he murmured, following her down.
There were no preliminaries. There was no need. Genie wrapped her legs around him as he sank into her. Her head tilted back, her eyes closing tight as the bliss of his possession threatened to overwhelm her. “Zafir,” she gasped.
His lips were on her throat, her jaw, her breasts.
“I cannot get enough of you, Genie,” he said, almost brokenly. “The more I have, the more I want.”
And then he was thrusting into her, hard and fast, hurtling her toward the abyss. She welcomed it, wanted it, craved it—
Suddenly she was there, crying out his name and wondering how it was possible to feel this way with only one person in the whole world. To feel as if you needed this to live, as if you would die if you didn’
t have it.
It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. She was in love with a man she could never have. Even if she gave up everything and moved to Bah’shar to be with him she would only have stolen moments of bliss like this one.
And that wasn’t nearly enough.
CHAPTER EIGHT
ZAFIR’S brain had dissolved along with his sense. He rolled from her body, belatedly remembering as he came back to earth that he’d forgotten to use a condom. Icy cold fear dripped down his spine in spite of the heat in the room. How could he be so stupid?
How could he risk such a thing?
Because this was Genie, and she excited him, made him forget everything but the urge to join himself with her. She always had, though she’d been on the pill when they were at university. He prayed that was still the case.
“Are you on birth control?” he asked, his tone sharper than he’d intended.
She blinked at him, her expression confused. And then it cleared. Horror was not the emotion he’d hoped to see. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees, her skin still flushed from sex and dripping with water from the pool.
“I am, but I haven’t had a pill in two days now. All my things were in the camp…”
Zafir swore.
“It’s the wrong time of the month, though. I’m sure of it.”
“If there is a baby, I want to know,” he ordered. “I will provide for him, never fear, so there is no need to terminate the pregnancy.”
Her lovely face clouded. When it cleared, anger was the dominant emotion. “Of course I would tell you, Zafir. What kind of person do you think I am?”
He thought of Layla, of her deception, and his jaw tightened. “You are a professional woman. Perhaps you would decide that a baby was too much of a burden for you.”