The friction was wonderful and Sada felt the pressure right down to her toes. Grinding her core against him, she tried to ease the need roaring through her. But it wasn’t enough. Zahir laughed softly, as he pressed his thigh higher, harder. She was so close! So painfully close but…he wouldn’t give it to her. His mouth continued to torture her nipple and he even moved to the other. All the while his thigh tormented that swollen bud. Sada couldn’t handle this kind of teasing and shrieked, lifting her hips, begging!
“I need to taste you, Sada,” he warned as he moved further down her body. Then he was there and she couldn’t hold back when his tongue flicked against that bud, his touch sending her careening over the edge into a climax that was so intense, she screamed.
Sada was just remembering how to breathe when she opened her eyes to find him ripping at his own clothing.
“Don’t move, Sada!” he ordered, buttons flying in every direction as he tore the material away. He dumped his shirt onto the floor then quickly divested himself of his slacks. It seemed as if it took him only seconds. He moved between her legs, and pulled her hands up to his shoulders. “Tell me if I hurt you, Sada,” he whispered as he pressed into her heat.
Sada lifted her hips, arching her back to accommodate him. When he was deep inside of her, she felt…whole. Perfect! Complete!
“Yes,” she whispered, closing her eyes so she could savor the feeling of him inside of her like this. Her skin sizzled with sensitivity. She needed him to move. To thrust into and create that friction, just like he’d done that last time.
Thankfully, he understood and gave her what she wanted. What she needed. Smooth, powerful strokes brought her closer and closer. She was gasping now, needing still more. And he gave it to her. Over and over, he thrust into her. Harder. Faster. And then….!
Glorious release! Wrapping her legs around his waist, she held on as her body exploded with light.
Moments later, she felt him groan, his arms tightened around her as he found his own climax. Sada felt a few remaining tremors, then he collapsed against her, pulling her against his side so that he didn’t crush her.
For long moments, she didn’t move. She just savored the moment and the post climactic joy. It was so wonderful. She wanted to stay like this forever. It was unrealistic, but a woman could dream, couldn’t she?
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
Sada smiled, feeling his fingers sift through her hair.
“Yes. More than okay.”
He laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. At this moment, all of the worries from her day just disappeared. Would it always be like this with him? Could he kiss away all of her concerns and stress? She certainly hoped so.
Chapter 9
“I heard that you are looking to hire a staff,” Zahir commented the following morning.
Sada turned, watching him enter the bedroom. She still thought of the room as his, mostly because everything was in dark, masculine colors.
“I’m sorry?” she asked, her eyes moving over his tall body with appreciation. Her thighs hurt again, because of strained muscles as well as the raw skin from his beard. But she couldn’t tell him what was going on because…well, because she was too embarrassed. Instead, she pulled the silk of her robe closed, unconsciously backing up as he approached.
He didn’t answer until he was right in front of her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up.
He tilted his head slightly, watching her closely. But then he watched her features and shook his head. “No, something is wrong. Tell me.”
Sada laughed softly, lowering her lashes so he couldn’t see her eyes. He seemed to be able to read her mind when he looked into her eyes and this was definitely something she didn’t want him to know about.
Which was absolutely silly, she thought with the small bit of reason her brain could produce when he was close by. Of course, she needed to tell him what was going on. She needed to tell him that the evening scruff of his beard was hurting her.
A moment later, he took her hands in his, lifting them higher and, with that, her eyes came up as well.
“What’s wrong?” he asked again, this time with an intensity that told her he wouldn’t back down.
With a sigh, she tried to take back her hands, but his fingers gently tightened, not relinquishing his hold.
“Zahir, I just…”
“Remember last night?” he interrupted. When she nodded, his thumb rubbed over her fingers. “Last night, you showed me how you wanted me to touch you. You were beautiful, Sada.” He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.
When she nodded, he pulled her closer. “I want that kind of honesty between us. For years, you’ve never held off on telling me anything, even if it might irritate me.” He chuckled. “I suspect that at certain times, you were even trying to irritate me, weren’t you?”
She smiled, but her face was buried in his chest. “Perhaps a few times,” she admitted.
He slid his hands underneath her hair, his fingers massaging the tense muscles along her scalp and neck.
“So, will you tell me what’s bothering you?”
“Why do you think something is bothering me?”
“Because you pulled back. The look in your eyes. And how you quickly closed your robe when I came towards you.”
She chuckled. All very good points.
“Are you on your period?”
Sada jerked out of his arms, horrified that he would ask such a question. “I’m not…you can’t ask me that!” Her fingers moved to the neckline of her silk robe, pulling the edges closer together.
“Of course I can ask you about that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Sada. It’s a natural part of you. And I’ll need to know when you are menstruating so that we can alter our lovemaking slightly.”
She backed up a bit more, slashing her hand through the air while shaking her head adamantly. “There won’t be anything happening during that time of the month, Zahir!” she insisted firmly.
He laughed again, moving closer. He was stealthy, like a panther. “Think so?”
“Yes!” she told him, irritated by his laughter and insistence on doing…that…during…that time of the month!
“Is that what’s bothering you today?”
“No!” But then she wondered…perhaps she should have grasped that answer as the reason for her hesitation.
“So what is it?” He waited a moment, then pulled her back into his arms. “Sada, I’m going to find out. So why not learn to trust me? Why not open yourself to me so that we can have a relationship with no secrets?”
He was right. She was so tender that even walking rubbed the sore skin on her inner thighs. She leaned her forehead against his chest. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “I’m…uh…in a bit of…well, the skin on my….”
“You have skin problems?” he prompted when she fell silent.
Sada sighed. “Your beard. I’m sore now.”
When he pulled back, she looked up into his dark eyes and realized he was startled by her admission.
“My beard hurt you?” When she nodded, he pulled back a bit more. “Where?”
Immediately, she pulled out of his arms. “I’ll be fine. I need a few days to…”
“Show me,” he ordered, then didn’t wait for her to follow through. He simply lifted her up in his arms and set her down on the bathroom counter. His fingers moved along her jawline and he saw the red skin. “I did this to you last night?” His lips pressed together. “Where else?” he demanded. But this time, he didn’t wait for her to show him. He simply opened the silk robe and surveyed her body. She was fresh out of the shower, and her skin was still warm from the water. As soon as her robe opened, her nipples perked up, eager for his attention.
He cupped her breast gently, examining where the roughness of his evening stubble had scraped her raw.
His hands were gentle as he explored each abrasion carefully. It made
her squirm as those merciless tendrils of desire began swirling in her stomach.
“Where else?” he asked, his voice deeper and she looked up into his eyes, startled to see the same heat she was feeling.
“Zahir, this isn’t…”
“Shhhh,” he admonished. Then his hands moved lower, caressing her waist, then her hips and the tops of her thighs. “I hurt you here, too, didn’t I?” he asked, his thumbs rubbing along the line where her thighs were pressed tightly together.
Sada couldn’t pull her gaze away from his. But she nodded slowly, holding her breath as anticipation shot through her. “Don’t you need to work?” she asked, her voice coming out sounding breathless.
“I have time to ensure that my new wife is feeling…good,” he purred, his eyes intense as his thumbs continued caress her thighs. “Open for me, Sada. Let me see what damage I’ve done so I can make amends.”
She looked up at him, debating for a moment before shaking her head. “No. I’m fine,” she told him primly. “You probably have people waiting on you.”
“Right now, I’m waiting on you to let me see the damage I’ve done. Are you going to show me?”
“No, Zahir. I’m fine.”
He chuckled. “I’ve already seen everything,” he pointed out. His lips were a fraction of an inch from her own. “I want to see, Sada. Open your legs for me. I promise that I won’t hurt you again.”
“You’ve never hurt me.”
One hand reached up and touched her breasts, sliding along the skin just under the areas that were raw and red. “I’ve hurt you and I need to make it better.”
Sada closed her eyes when his thumb slipped along her skin, teasing her nipple lightly. “Zahir, I’m sure people are waiting for you. They’ll wonder what you are doing here. Go!”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Sada, I have about fifty people needing my attention at the moment. But you are my wife. You take priority.” He kissed her gently. “And I want to take care of you.”
“I’m fine,” she whispered, but then his fingers slid between her legs and she groaned.
“Let me make you feel better, Sada. Open for me.”
“No. You have to go.”
He shook his head. “I have to fix what I damaged. You’re hurting.” His thumb slipped into her core, sliding up and down the wet folds and then…flicking against that nub! She gasped and leaned back, her hands braced behind her. She wasn’t aware of her legs falling open. Sada was only aware of the aching fire that he’d started low in her belly.
“You’re beautiful!” he told her. She gasped when he knelt so that her core was at eye level and once again, she tried to close her legs.
But he stopped her from hiding herself from him. “The skin is worse here,” he announced, his thumbs caressing the edges of the raw skin. There were several patches of red areas here and, even as she watched, he smiled slightly. “Perhaps I was overzealous in my efforts at pleasing my new wife,” he announced. “But I truly love the way you taste, Sada.”
“It’s daytime, Zahir,” she sighed, but didn’t try to close her legs.
“Yes. And that is important because…?”
She didn’t have an answer for him. Not as his fingers caressed her folds.
“Zahir!” she moaned, her head falling backwards. She no longer cared that several people might be wondering where he was. She didn’t care that it was broad daylight. All she cared about was that he continue.
Then she felt his mouth on her and…she was so turned on! That was all it took before she splintered apart into a climax that had her throbbing for what felt like an hour, although the time was probably only moments. Zahir was quickly learning her body and learning how to prolong the pleasure.
When he stood up, there was a victorious smile to his features and she laughed slightly. “Um…I guess I don’t mind the abrasions if you’re going to do to make up for it.”
He kissed her. A deep, sensuous kiss that had her trembling and holding on to him for dear life. Unfortunately, he pulled back before she’d had enough.
“More later,” he promised. “And I’ll shave before coming to you at night.”
A moment later, he walked out of the bathroom as Sada admired his broad shoulders and tight butt.
When she hopped down off of the counter, it occurred to her that he’d probably come back to her this morning for a reason. But he’d been so focused on pleasing her, that he’d walked away without telling her why he’d searched her out.
Her very next thought was that he hadn’t found his own release. And she smiled, thinking about various ways to return this morning’s favor.
Chapter 10
The best laid plans…she thought as she stormed into their suite three weeks later.
Sada stomped over to the window looking out over the beautiful capital city. There were houses and businesses, apartment complexes and skyscrapers. It wasn’t a neatly laid out city. The ancient roads in one area of the capital dated back thousands of years and wound around in odd patterns. There hadn’t been many zoning laws when the initial city had been planned.
The outer areas were neater, more geometric in their layout. And the zoning laws had kicked in at some point, so retail spaces were separate from residential areas.
Exactly like her own life, she thought with increasing resentment.
Zahir worked hard. She had known that fact since early in their friendship. Whenever he’d come to Altair over the years, she’d listened to him talk about business and politics with Tavon and Jaffri over dinner, even eavesdropping on their conversations when they didn’t know she was around.
Years ago, she’d felt excluded and isolated. Her brothers and Zahir would go off and do things, leaving her with her parents. They had deep conversations, debates about politics and economics. They challenged each other in mock battles, raced on horseback, and planned out pranks against their schoolmates.
After Zahir had visited her in London that first time, she hadn’t felt excluded any longer. She’d felt as if she’d developed a special friendship with Zahir. Special and different from what Zahir got from his friendship with Tavon and Jaffri.
But now, standing in the middle of their apartment, she felt abandoned. Zahir still wouldn’t allow her to leave the palace, which meant she couldn’t implement her ideas. Sada wasn’t a hot house flower, even though he wanted to treat her like one. She was smart and creative. She wanted to help, to get things done! She wanted to be included.
She didn’t even have a role in the running of their household. Ms. Lotz controlled every aspect of palace life. The horrible woman selected meals and then sent the tedious menus to Sada for approval. When she asked for different meals, Ms. Lotz explained that there was a system, a routine. Disrupting that routine by demanding special meals, or even meals that were different each week, would put a burden on the palace staff.
So, the menus didn’t change from week to week. The side dishes might vary slightly, but not the main course. The wines that were served with the meals were horrible! Ms. Lotz asserted that only certain wines were appropriate for each meal, regardless of Sada’s preferences.
When Sada tried to change things, Ms. Lotz reverted Sada’s instructions back to her original plan.
Sada couldn’t even hire an appropriate chief of staff, so all of her ideas for getting out of the palace and doing some good in the country were on hold. Talking to the director of human resources revealed that Ms. Lotz had gone behind her and reviewed all of the resumes herself, offering only three of the candidates interviews, of which Ms. Lotz approved of only one woman, and that person was so underqualified for the role Sada envisioned that a second interview wasn’t offered.
Of course, the first item on her agenda was to get rid of that horrible woman! But everyone went to Ms. Lotz for direction instead of Sada.
And worse, Zahir treated her like a mistress. He came to their bed every night, making love to her until she screamed with pleasure. But he always left before she wok
e up. She didn’t see him during meals, although she occasionally saw him in the hallways when he was walking from one meeting to another. Otherwise, she was alone. Isolated from the happenings in the government and in the palace. It was demeaning and horrible and she was sick of it! All of it! She wanted to control her destiny, to help the people of this country, but her efforts were being constantly undermined!
Pacing furiously in this horrible, dark apartment wasn’t going to solve her problems either! Time to take charge of her life.
First off, she had to change things inside the palace. She knew that the controlling Ms. Lotz had worked for the royal family for decades, so the woman wasn’t going anywhere. In theory, Sada knew that Ms. Lotz was probably just worried about her job now that Zahir had a wife. A lot of people were concerned about their jobs as the power transition occurred. But the way the vile woman was going about trying to ensure her job security was counterproductive!
Besides, her desire to keep her job didn’t mean everyone had to eat the same foods each week. Nope! That was the first thing Sada was going to change. Variety! She wanted variety and innovation! She wanted to be excited by a meal, even if she had to eat it alone.
With a flash of determination, she yanked open the apartment door. “I need to speak with the palace chef,” she announced to her guards. “Where is the kitchen?”
The guards looked startled by her vehemence. They glanced at each other, then back to Sada who waited patiently. Well, somewhat patiently. She was impatiently tapping her foot, watching to see what they would do. If they didn’t help her, she’d make another stop at the security office and have her guards switched out with men who would listen to her orders.
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