by Diana Fraser
“I sense you don’t give your trust easily.”
She shook her head, not willing to answer, not willing to elaborate on the source of her lack of trust.
“Me neither,” he continued. “But I trust you.”
She eyes widened in surprise. “Why?”
“Because you are, as you are. You don’t pretend. There is nothing you need from me, nothing you need me to believe about yourself in order for me to give it.”
Lucy’s composure faltered only momentarily. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Me?” He sighed. “I’m far less interesting than you.”
“Yeah, right. You’re a King and I’m a chef.”
“Ah, but I was not groomed to be King. I was the younger son. My father believed I was better suit to the life of an English gentleman without responsibilities, or duties.”
“Better suited?”
“Put it this way, my elder brother was much like my father. Both were traditionalists, both autocratic and an integral part of the elite of Sitra. I was not like them. I remember, when I was young, before I was sent to boarding school in England, questioning why something was done in a certain way. Neither my father nor my brother could explain, neither could see why an explanation was necessary. I was sent away shortly afterwards to Eton. I was not to be trusted with the tradition of Sitra.”
“Perhaps your father wanted something different for you?”
“Thank you for your generous interpretation. But no, I wasn’t well liked by my father, too curious, too wanting to challenge. Apparently not good traits in a leader.”
“And yet here you are, leader to your country.”
“My father died several years ago and brother died suddenly after a short illness last year. There was no one else, apart from the Kings of neighboring countries—Qawaran and Ma’in.”
“Would they have tried to take over the country?”
Razeen laughed and shook his head. “No. They are our allies. Sitra has a treaty with both Qawaran, a mountainous region ruled by King Zahir and Ma’in, an important city state ruled by King Tariq. The three of us are strong together. Without one part of the three functioning, our lands would be vulnerable. I had no choice but to return.”
“So you had to turn your back on your old life. That must have been hard.”
He didn’t answer immediately but she saw the memories flit across his eyes like clouds casting shadows. “It should have been hard but it wasn’t. A man can live only so long without real work. I was tired of a life that revolved around purely pleasure. There’s nothing noble in that.”
Lucy realized he was turning out to be quite a different character to the one she’d first imagined.
“I don’t know,” she tried to keep it light. “That’s what I aim to do. Keep on moving, keep on enjoying life.”
He poured out two glasses of champagne, handed her a glass and held up his own to hers. “To Lucy, may you one day find a place where you’ll want to stay.”
She shook her head nervously, as his words hit home with more precision than he could possibly have imagined. She took a sip of the dry, effervescent wine and swallowed hard. She shook her head more vigorously than she needed to, as if to convince herself as much as him. “Traveling suits me. I’ve no desire to stay in one place. Ever.”
He frowned. “What are you running from?”
She held his gaze, unable to bring a smile to her lips to reassure him, as the sharp stab of painful memories threatened to emerge. She shook her head. “Nothing.” And with that one negative word, the memories receded. “Traveling just suits me, that’s all.”
His frowned deepened as if he didn’t accept her answer. “What made you want to come to Sitra? You sought out Alex’s boat and you sought out my country. Why?”
Her heartbeat quickened and she took another studied drink of champagne, buying time for her voice to steady. “I’ve told you. Do you think so little of your country to imagine I wouldn’t want to come here?”
“Not at all. But I do know my country is little known outside its immediate environs. I’m curious.”
She placed the glass on the table with slow deliberation. “I’m sure you’ve shown other westerners around, other people, women perhaps?”
“A few.”
Her heart was thumping. “What was it that intrigued them, what was it they wanted to see?”
“Not the night life, that’s for sure. My friends—some of them—wished to see the country I’d inherited: its history, the beauty of the shore and the natural wonders, such as the city of caves.”
“City of caves. I’ve not heard of that.”
“In the interior, not far from Sitra, is a mountainous area where the rock has formed natural caves. These caves have been excavated over millennia to provide homes for the Bedouin.”
“Sounds pretty basic.”
“Not so basic as you might imagine. I’ll take you there if you’re interested.”
“Definitely. The magazine I contribute to is always on the look out for unique articles.”
“I’ll make arrangements this week to take you.”
“Can you afford the time off?”
“As it happens, the next week or so is the last chance I have for some holiday. I’m fully committed after that.”
“Good timing, then.”
He lifted his glass. “Here’s to good timing.”
She raised her glass to his, the light catching the cut glass and showering it all around them. “May it bring us both what we want.” And Lucy could see exactly what Razeen wanted by the way his eyes darkened with desire.
He raised his glass. “To mutual satisfaction.” He lightly clinked his glass against hers. “Later, I will show you the attractions the Lodge offers after dark. But, for now, let’s eat.”
“Attractions after dark?” She raised an eyebrow. “That sounds…intriguing.”
His lips quirked in an ambiguous smile. “I don’t think I’ll tell you yet. I’ll let you dwell on it over dinner. But I’ll give you a hint—it’s a hobby of mine.”
Lucy blinked, confused. “I can’t say that reassures me.”
He grinned. “Perhaps I don’t wish you to be reassured, or comfortable.”
Lucy didn’t know if it was the way he was looking at her, or the alcohol in the champagne she’d drunk, but her whole body felt alive with anticipation.
“Well, you’re succeeding in that.”
“Good, now eat.”
“You know? Of all the things that had crossed my mind, this wasn’t one of them.”
Razeen laughed behind her as he slipped a hand on her shoulder and tilted the large telescope a little to the right.
“There, you will see a group of three stars—the Cyclades—they are the brightest they’ve been for twenty-five years. The interior and coastal area of Sitra are renowned for their dark skies and the brilliance of the stars.”
Lucy put her eye to the telescope and the stars came into sharp focus. “The detail is amazing.” She drew in a sharp breath as his hand covered hers in a brief caress before tilting it slightly in another direction.
“And that’s Venus, the brightest star in the evening. It was recently in transit over the moon. An amazing sight.”
Lucy didn’t say anything but she continued to look at the planet, whose terrain she felt she could reach out and touch. It was something so far away, something so distant from her, so unreachable and yet there it was, a pale gold, shimmering under the slight quiver of light and movement that lay between her and it.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
She pulled away from the telescope suddenly, turned from Razeen and gazed up at the three-quarters moon, so bright, even though it wasn’t yet full. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She cleared her throat, which suddenly sounded hoarse. The dark water shifted silently below them, the night breeze rustled the palm fronds. Lucy willed the warm night air to cool her heated cheeks. When she’d collected herself, s
he turned to face him. He’d moved and was leaning with his back to the wooden railings, arms crossed, watching her.
The light of the stars and moon highlighted his cheeks and the whites of his eyes but his dark clothing and skin made him seem not himself. For a moment she could forget he was the last person she knew who had seen her sister. He was just himself—as beguiling, as seductive as the stars.
“You, Lucy, are a most unusual woman.”
“No, I’m not.”
He reached out and swept a strand of hair back away from her face and traced a finger down her cheek, his expression concentrated, as if trying to work her out from the line of her face. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to repress her response to his touch. “So beautiful, so fiercely independent, so fearless. You’re like a wild bird soaring on the trade winds, being taken wherever the winds, or tides in your case, carry you. And now you’ve landed on my shore, I’d like to capture you for a short while.”
His face was so close to hers that she couldn’t see his features clearly. “Then you’d let me go?”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. “What a strange question. Do you think I’m in the habit of luring women to my palace, capturing them and never letting them go?”
He dropped his hand and walked back to the pool of light spilling out from the candlelit interior. His shape, form and details came into focus and Lucy saw him as the King once more. “I, I don’t know.” She twisted around uncomfortably before turning back to him again, nervously shrugging her shoulders.
He frowned suddenly and heavily, all humor gone. “No, Lucy, I’m not. You are the first woman I’ve brought to the Lodge. Since I’ve been in Sitra, I’ve not had a moment to myself. And that will continue. This time is a brief respite for me. Believe me.”
Relief surged through her and she dropped her gaze, focusing on the track her toe was making through the layer of fine sand that covered the deck. “I do believe you.”
God help her, she did. Whatever Maia had done, wherever she was, it wasn’t with Razeen. Suspicion slid from her mind like a weight and in its place her attraction bloomed loud and heavy. She walked over to him and he reached out for her hand and pulled her hard against him.
She gasped against his mouth as he first kissed her top lip, then her bottom lip, then touched the tip of her tongue with his. He groaned and slid his hands down and around her body, drawing her closer to him.
Part of her wanted to pull back, away from him. Not because she suspected him of being involved with Maia any longer, but because she’d never felt so attracted to a person before. It drew something from her that she always kept hidden. It felt new and dangerous. She wanted to travel the world light, she never wanted to leave anything behind. She never wanted to make herself vulnerable, like her mother had, like she herself had done once. But her body had other thoughts and she slipped her hands around his waist, her fingers finding and caressing the tight contours of his back and drawing him closer to her. The kiss deepened and when they eventually pulled apart, his mouth found her neck and she arched back, allowing the light of the moon to filter through her closed eyelids as she sank into sensation.
He slipped his hands to her bottom and caressed it before he pulled away. He rested his forehead against hers. “Lucy. Tell me if I am going to fast for you because if I had my way I would have you here and now. I seem to have forgotten the finer points of seduction when I’m with you.”
“Razeen,” she moved her thumb against his lips and he closed his eyes as his mouth drew her thumb inside. A tremor of wanting shivered through her body and settled low. She smiled. “Perhaps that’s something I can teach you.”
CHAPTER SIX
“We have all night, Razeen. And,” she grinned, filled with relief that her suspicions had proved groundless. “You promised me a swim.” She glanced at her loose shirt. “I have my bikini on underneath. I came prepared.” She watched him look down at the bikini that was just visible at the neckline and felt her nipples harden under his scrutiny.
“So you did.”
“Did you?”
“I’m always prepared.”
She walked toward the steps, cast a quick, teasing, glance behind her to see his eyes hadn’t left hers and then jumped onto the sand. “Prepared enough for a race?”
She heard him follow and her walk turned into a jog, that turned into a run as she heard him just a few paces behind her. At the water’s edge she quickly pulled off her clothes and ran into the sea until it was deep enough to dive into.
She turned, laughing, in time to see him toss his shirt on top of his trousers. Wearing only his shorts he dived into the sea and struck out strongly after her. She turned and continued to swim out to the pontoon that lay hardly moving in the mid-point of the bay. She’d only just placed her hands on the side of it when Razeen’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her away, dumping her back in the sea while he hauled himself up.
“I’d say I won that race.”
She laughed as she trod water. “I’d say you cheated.”
“I think calling the King a ‘cheat’ is a punishable offense.”
She swam up to the pontoon, placed her feet either side of his and quickly grabbed his ankles and pushed herself away from the side, pulling him into the water and submerging him. Laughing, she swam out of arm’s reach. “And what’s the offense for offending a King’s dignity?”
“I’ll show you when I get hold of you.”
She twisted around and swam along the column of moonlight, out deeper into the ocean. But within two strokes she was pulled up by his hands around her legs. He pulled her firmly toward him and she suddenly slammed back into his body. His lips were on her neck and his arms around her waist as he supported her by treading water. His erection was hard against her bottom and back and she moved against it with each rise and fall of the gentle waves.
Suddenly he’d brought her around and claimed her mouth with his own and she could do nothing but submit to his lips and his tongue. All rational thought fled; there was nothing but their two bodies in the element she’d always thought of as her own—water. She wrapped her legs around his hips and slammed intimately against him. His erection rubbing against her, hard and strong. She slid her arms around his neck, needing to deepen the kiss. The slight swell of the tide shifted their bodies, one against the other.
She pulled away and swam back to the pontoon where she hauled herself up onto its surface. He positioned himself between her legs and pushed himself up and kissed her nipples, one after the other, over the thin fabric of the bikini. She gasped and threw her head back, allowing him easier access to the nipples that ached to be touched. With a swift movement behind her he undid the tie that held her bikini top together and it fell away. He cupped her breasts and licked each one lazily. Deep inside her muscles clenched with pleasure, and moistened; her mind was drowsy with lust. He suckled her breasts, elongating the nipple, before raising his head to hers. She slipped forward so her sex met his on the side of the pontoon.
With another swift movement, he’d slipped off her bikini bottoms, dropped lower into the water and kissed her intimately. She fell back onto the pontoon and he slipped his hands under her bottom and pulled her to his mouth, the weathered wood abrading the sensitive skin of her back. White fire shot through her mind as his hard tongue moved upon her with precision, with regular thrusting movements, that sent her reeling over the edge. She cried out loud into the blank night and opened her eyes suddenly to see the stars, like a blanket above them both, silent witnesses to the all-consuming sensations that still surged and retreated within her.
Floating on the pontoon in the middle of the ocean, her body shot through with both sensation and satiation, she had the curious feeling she was floating, not on water, but on air, that she was disembodied and yet more alive than she’d ever felt before. She sat up and caressed his shoulders, her legs wrapping around his body as she slipped slowly back into the water, back around him.
&n
bsp; “Lucy. You drive me crazy with need. But I can’t be prepared in the middle of the ocean. Come with me to the beach where I can make love to you properly.”
She kissed him long and hard. Then she fell away from him and floated on her back for a few seconds while he watched her—naked, her body white under the pale moonlight. Then she turned, flicked her feet and splashed him. He made a grab for her feet but she laughed and swam away.
“Race you back to shore.”
“And you, Lucy, will win because your arousal doesn’t curtail your movements.”
But he was wrong. She didn’t want to win. She kicked only enough to be slightly ahead of him and when he pulled her foot toward him she didn’t pull away. And when the water became shallow and he pulled her to him and kissed her again, she didn’t pull away. It was Razeen who eventually pulled away. He walked up to his clothes, pulled out a package and returned to her, still lying in the shallows. He pulled off his shorts and threw them to land with the rest of his things. She ran her hand up his leg, along his silky length and cupped the weight of him in her hands. He groaned, rolled on the condom and dropped down on top of her. She wrapped her body around him with abandon and he slid into her immediately and held himself there, looking deep into her eyes.
“Razeen?” Her voice was hesitant.
He smoothed back the hair that lay plastered wetly across her face. “You are so beautiful, Lucy. So beautiful.”
She shook her head and was about to deny her comment when he slipped out and pushed into her fiercely, drowning out any rational thought. The gentle surf pooled around her and the sand shifted beneath her body as he sank himself repeatedly into her. She curled her legs around him and drove her heels into his bottom, urging him into her, harder and faster. They came together and she fell back, her hair trailing on the surface of the waves.
Despite the barrage of sensations—of the water, and of him inside her—she was still aware of his breath, hot against her cheek, his lips gently tasting her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, and his body deep inside hers, shifting slightly, setting her aflame with renewed desire.