by Albany, Cara
And, as he finally declared his eternal allegiance to her he knew that this was no lie. Grasping her hand, Tariq knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that, in spite of the reasons this marriage was taking place, there was one simple fact that would not be denied.
Tariq would do whatever it took to turn his temporary bride into an eternal bride.
And then there was a long moment where silence seemed to rein, and the guests became very quiet. Tariq gazed into the bottomless pools of Zoe's amazing green eyes. They shimmered and for a moment he thought he saw a tear hover at the outer corner of her right eye. But then, Zoe drew in a sharp breath and blinked back the tear. Had that betrayed something? Had she fought that tear back, determined to hide some truth from Tariq?
He drew her close, feeling her slight resistance. He knew everyone was watching, expecting the inevitable, and he had no intention of disappointing any onlooker. Nor would he deny himself this singular pleasure.
Tariq saw Zoe's eyes widen, and he felt her body tighten. The feeling of the silk dress against his fingers sent a shiver of delight through his erect torso. Tariq drew in a deep breath and fixed his gaze upon the eyes of the woman he had just taken as a wife. There was an undeniable truth in this moment, even if Zoe was set on fighting it.
If only the onlookers knew what a duel was taking place before their eyes, they would be scandalized. Tongues would wag, and the gossip would spread throughout the kingdom that the sheikh's new wife had resisted kissing her new husband. He could not allow that.
Tariq took firm hold of Zoe and drew her against him, communicating with every muscle the wordless command that he would not be denied. He saw her lower lip shift slightly in surprise. She knew what he was about to do. She also realized that there was nothing she could do to stop him.
Tariq and Zoe had not kissed since their meeting in the stable. And, as on that occasion, it required that Tariq take possession of the reluctant American's lips without hesitation, and with a defiant resolve of his own.
His head dipped, and he claimed her lips. The taste of her mouth was sweet. The passion of his kiss jarred Zoe out of the dream into which she had sank. It took a few seconds, delicious moments of the tender kiss, but Tariq eventually felt a surge of victory as Zoe's breath softened and her body settled against his own.
There was a polite applause from the guests. The sound jolted Tariq and Zoe back to the moment. Their lips parted, and Tariq turned, smiling at the assembled well-wishers. He glanced down at Zoe. Her face had colored, and he could see she was trying to compose herself.
Tariq drew his shoulders back and gazed across the room. He had won a minor skirmish.
Would he win the war that lay ahead?
CHAPTER SEVEN
How could he have kissed her like that during the ceremony? The thought ran around inside her mind, elusive and insistent even as Zoe clutched at the folds of her dress and turned to wave farewell to the guests gathered on the steps at the front of the palace.
Although night had fallen, it was still warm enough that she felt comfortable in the wedding dress. Behind her stood the limousine which would take her and Tariq to his palace. They had left the other guests still enjoying the wedding reception inside the palace and were about to retreat to Tariq's desert palace where Zoe's fate awaited her.
What was going to happen on their wedding night?
She tried to push that question out of her mind for the hundredth time. No good would come from thinking about that, she told herself firmly.
All through the meal, throughout the dancing and celebrations, she had tried to understand the look in Tariq's eyes as he had uttered his wedding vows to Zoe. Didn't he know this wasn't for real?
And that kiss.
Zoe had been thinking about it all evening. She had tried to resist; had been resolved to stop him from kissing her. Aliyah had told her that it would be the sheikh's decision whether he kissed the bride after uttering the vows. Tradition left that decision firmly in his hands. Zoe had hoped Tariq would decline the chance to kiss her.
Who had she been fooling?
Tariq was never going to pass up the chance to kiss her. And, the feel of his lips on hers had sent every nerve tingling in Zoe's body. At one point she'd had to lean against him to avoid losing her balance. That would never have done, she thought. Had Zoe forgotten how skillful Tariq was when it came to love-making? No way, she told herself.
She had to give him credit for putting on such a convincing performance. He'd kept his side of the bargain.
Tariq leaned against her, sliding an arm around her back. Zoe glanced up at him. "Isn't that a little too familiar?" she asked.
Tariq waved at the guests and didn't look down at Zoe. "Now that we're married, some familiarity is accepted in public. You'd be surprised at how enlightened we are, these days," he teased her.
Tariq released his arm from her back. He held the door to the limousine and waited for Zoe to enter the car. She ducked down and took her seat on the luxurious wide leather seat. Tariq entered, closing the door behind him with a soft thud. Tariq pressed a button, and a dark tinted glass panel slid up between them and the driver. The car started to move away. Zoe and Tariq gave one last wave to the guests and then they were heading down the driveway.
Zoe let out a huge sigh. Tariq sank back on the seat, stretching out his long legs, the formal robes settling loosely about him.
Tariq's gaze drifted to Zoe, and she saw his lips stretch into an appreciative grin. "I didn't get a chance to tell you how wonderful you look," he said in a soft growl.
Zoe stiffened, suddenly aware of how alien she looked in the exotic gown, and with the backs of her hands covered with intricate henna decorations. Tariq reached across and tried to take her hand, but she gently pulled her fingers loose. For a moment, he seemed offended.
His brows furrowed. "I merely wanted to examine these beautiful designs," he said gazing down at her hands. He stretched out and gazed down at her slipper-clad feet. Zoe glanced down and moved her feet self-consciously.
His nostrils flared, and she heard him draw in a harsh breath. "You have no idea what the sight of that does to me," he said.
"I can see that," she replied peering at him in the soft light of the limo's interior. She caught his scent which had become more intense with the sweat of his recent exertions. She'd had no idea that Tariq was such a good dancer. He'd celebrated in a joyous manner, moving around the floor with a child-like abandon not only with Zoe, but also with Aliyah, Ella and Chloe. Watching how well he moved had given Zoe a curious, surprising pleasure.
Tariq slid closer to Zoe and moved an arm around her shoulders. She squinted at him, but he seemed to disregard her reaction, instead gazing into her eyes with a look of acute longing. Didn't he realize that this part of the charade was over? No-one could see them. They were safe from scrutiny.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Tariq quirked a brow. "What do you think I'm doing?"
Zoe drew in a deep breath and turned her head away from him. She felt one of his fingers touch her chin and gently tease her face back toward him. His touch sent a sudden shiver across her chest. She felt her nipples harden and a warmth settle in her middle.
Zoe met his gaze with a challenging stare. "I don't think we should be doing this," she stated.
"And I think there's nothing more natural for a newly wed couple to be doing than this," he said.
Zoe tucked her head down causing his finger to slide from her chin. She assumed he would be angry, but she saw his eyes narrow and the crease of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Tariq nodded slowly and leaned away from her. "If that is what you want, then it will be so," he said with barely a hint of disappointment. Why had he accepted her refusal so easily? Had that been a test?
Zoe straightened, settling her hands primly in her lap.
"After all," Tariq continued. "That is now my purpose in life."
Zoe frowned quizzically at him.
T
ariq's features assumed a sardonic expression. "To give you what you want and what you need. You already know how seriously I take my promises."
"But this is different," Zoe objected.
Tariq shrugged. "I spoke my vows with absolute sincerity. You understood what was said, didn't you?"
"Of course, I did," Zoe replied.
They'd spoken their vows in English as well as the Qazhar dialect. Zoe had rehearsed the few simple words until she had been confident she could say them correctly. In English, Tariq had declared an eternal love and devotion; he had promised to protect Zoe and provide all that she needed in life; he had vowed never to forsake her for anything nor for anyone else while they both journeyed side by side in this life.
At the time, Zoe had thought the vows sweet, even quaint. But now, it seemed that Tariq had taken them literally and very seriously.
Tariq looked suddenly earnest. "You said those same words to me. I have to say, hearing you say such things to me in my own tongue gave me an exquisite pleasure," he said with a grin.
Zoe glanced toward the darkened partition hiding the driver. "We can't be heard, can we?"
Tariq shook his head. "Even if he could hear us, Abdul doesn't speak English."
Zoe twisted in the seat and faced Tariq directly. "Can we please get something straight? You and I know what happened back there. We made an agreement, and that agreement still stands, doesn't it?"
Tariq's eyes narrowed, and he remained tight-lipped.
"Well, doesn't it?" Zoe insisted peering into the dark pools of Tariq's eyes. Why did he have to look so sexy when he brooded, she thought. Because, that was what Tariq was doing right now. Brooding.
He looked pensive, his handsome features fixed in an expression of contemplation. Was he calculating just how far he could push Zoe?
Something had changed in Tariq in the past two weeks. The man sitting next to her wasn't the same man who had succumbed to Zoe's demands in the stables of the polo club. There was a new and entirely disturbing resolve and purpose about Tariq.
Finally, Tariq spoke. "The only agreement that now exists between us is the one we made back there, in the palace," he said slowly.
His voice had dropped to a feral growl that seemed oddly out of place within the civilized interior of the luxury limo. It was a voice that belonged in the desert. His words had an instant effect on Zoe. Heat ignited in her core, and she shifted nervously, anxious that he not notice her reaction.
Tariq cocked his head to one side, scrutinizing Zoe as if she were his possession. His eyes ran down the length of her body, pausing on the curves of her breasts and then down to her middle. The feelings his words had aroused intensified even more in spite of Zoe's efforts to regain control of herself.
"Are you suggesting that our agreement is no longer valid?" Zoe forced herself to say.
"We have a different pact now," Tariq replied.
"Really?" Zoe challenged. "How so?"
Tariq barely moved a muscle as he spoke the next words. It was as if he was utterly and absolutely certain of the justness of what he was about to say.
Tariq sighed contentedly. "You belong to me, now," he said simply.
A sudden outrage overtook Zoe. "I belong to you? What do you mean? That's not what we agreed."
Tariq ignored her protestations, his features unmoving. "It's the promise you made back at the palace. That supersedes all other vows. You gave yourself to me, and now you are mine."
Zoe gasped, feeling the thudding of her heart like the beating of horses hooves upon the hard earth. What on earth was the man talking about?
She leaned closer to him and then froze when she saw the eagerness in his reaction to her movement. "I am not yours, as you so quaintly put it," she declared.
Zoe peered at Tariq, willing him to react. A strange calm had overtaken the sheikh sitting next to her. He had become the living embodiment of absolute conviction. For a moment, Zoe felt that no matter what she said, Tariq would not budge an inch from his belief that she was his property. The very idea provoked a jolt of indignation within Zoe.
"I will not accept this," she declared.
Tariq's gaze did not move an inch from her eyes. They were locked in a battle within the luxury of the limo, heading through the desert toward a fairytale palace which now threatened to become a prison.
Tariq leaned his head back. "We will see," he murmured.
Zoe hammered a fist against the firm leather seat.
Tariq glanced down at her hand and smiled. "I see you've lost none of your fighting spirit. I like that. It'll make for an interesting honeymoon."
"Honeymoon?" Zoe demanded.
"Well, it's not quite the traditional honeymoon most newlyweds would expect, " he said. "My palace is small by Qazhar standards. It has only eight bedrooms," Tariq said with a sly grin. "I suppose one will be enough, don't you?"
Zoe gritted her teeth and fixed Tariq with a withering look. "I will not share a room, nor a bed with you. Those days are over between us, Tariq. I told you that before. Have you forgotten?"
"As I said. Things are different, now that we're married. You are my wife and as such, there are certain obligations which you are duty bound to submit to," he said.
"Submit? What century do you think this is, Tariq?"
Tariq's gaze was unmoving, his determination unaffected. "You are in Qazhar, Zoe. Here, the rules are different, and very clear."
"I will not submit to you, Tariq. What happened to the way we once were?"
"That was in the past, Zoe. A long time ago."
Tariq leaned forward and took her henna covered hand in his. His head dipped quickly before Zoe had a chance to react, and then his lips were on her skin, sending a shocking, delicious sensation racing up her arm. The betrayal of her body shocked Zoe, and for a moment, all she could do was gaze down at the luxuriant thickness of Tariq's dark hair. She felt the moistness of his lips on the back of her hand. Zoe gazed up at the roof of the limo, scolding herself for such weakness.
Then as quick as she had succumbed, Zoe wrenched her hand away from Tariq. His head rose, and his face was mere inches from Zoe. She leaned back and shook her head. "No, Tariq," she murmured.
Tariq sighed and composed himself, sinking back against the seat. She could see that he was momentarily shaken by the indulgence he'd allowed himself. His breathing had quickened and his face was flushed with heat.
After a moment, he spoke. "We'll be at the palace very soon. My servants will help you settle in the chamber I have chosen for you. I anticipated that you would react this way, so I have assigned the best room in the palace for your personal use."
Zoe frowned. "And you? Where will you be sleeping?"
"As I said. There are seven more bedrooms in the palace."
Sleeping apart on their wedding night? Zoe stared out the window at the moonlit desert. The limo hurtled along the narrow stretch of road, leading Zoe inexorably to her fate. What did she have to complain about? She had chosen this course of action. Tariq had agreed to go along with it. They both knew what they were doing, didn't they?
Somewhere up ahead there was a palace in the desert. And, in that palace lay Zoe's destiny. She only had to remain his bride for a short while. And then she would be gone.
So, why was it that she was starting to feel that it might not be quite so simple to resist the advances of this powerfully sexy sheikh.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"How do you like your room?" Tariq asked leaning casually against the door to Zoe's chamber.
She stood in the middle of the room, arms folded, gazing around the sumptuously appointed room. A flicker of hope rose within Tariq when he saw Zoe's eyes brighten slightly. However, he was sure she was determined not to encourage him with any obvious display of satisfaction. She remained tight-lipped as she gazed around the luxurious suite.
Tariq had made sure the room had been prepared exactly to his specifications. He figured he already understood Zoe's tastes. He'd heard from Aliyah about h
er reaction to the chambers in his parents' palace and had tried to reproduce as much of those details as possible.
Tariq had to admit his servants had done a good job. The suite was divided into two main areas. The main area, the sitting room, had exquisitely styled furniture in the Qazhar style. Rugs covered the marble floor; the twin sofas were long enough for even Tariq to lay stretched out upon. The rest of the chairs, tables and wall decoration fitted with the overall traditional Qazhar eastern aesthetic.
Tariq could just see into the other room, the one that interested him the most. The bedroom. There was a huge bed in there, and he wanted to be on that bed with Zoe. But, for now, all he could do was clench his fists and tighten his jaw, trying to contain the tension that was building up relentlessly inside himself.
Zoe gasped in surprise when she saw some of her personal possessions arranged on the far table. She ran to the table and picked up a hairbrush. "Did you have all my stuff brought over, already?"
Tariq stood at the door and nodded. He didn't know whether he should enter the room. Perhaps it would be best for Zoe to invite him in. Even if it was his own palace, he desperately wanted to get off on the right foot with her.
Upon entering the palace, Zoe had seemed awestruck by the sight of Tariq's home. He had given her a quick tour of the downstairs rooms, showing her the sitting room, dining room, library and the fountain in the courtyard of the palace building. It had given Tariq real delight that Zoe's initial reluctance to come and be with him in his own home had been momentarily overcome.
Tariq watched Zoe place the hairbrush down on the table. She moved quickly to the bedroom door. Tariq knew that her suitcases were already in there.
He heard her squeal with surprise. "You brought everything!" she exclaimed turning to him.
"You're going to be here a while," Tariq replied.
He saw her jaw tighten, and he was sure she had just stifled a smart comeback.