by C. J. Miller
As guests began to arrive, the dark gave him the perfect hiding place. Citronella tiki torches burned and netting draped around the tent kept out mosquitoes that would be drawn to the lights.
Sarah joined him several minutes later. “This is the part I enjoy the most. If I’ve done my job well and everyone does what they’re supposed to do, this wedding will be beautiful.”
With the guests’ eyes on the bride, Saafir held Sarah’s hand during the ceremony. Her eyes misted as the couple exchanged vows. Saafir thought of Alaina Faris, waiting for him in Qamsar. His arranged marriage was being negotiated. He wouldn’t have a great love affair with Alaina. The passion and attraction he had to Sarah was once in a lifetime.
Thinking of marrying another woman while he had feelings for Sarah felt like a betrayal to both women. Though Mikhail had been sending infrequent messages about their negotiations with Alaina’s father, she didn’t seem real to Saafir. She was a name on a piece of paper. Duty demanded he marry her.
Yet he couldn’t stop thinking of being with Sarah. She had so many qualities he wanted in a partner. Devoted, loyal, generous of spirit and kind. Qualities that would have served her well as the emir’s wife.
“What are you brooding about?” Sarah asked.
“I’m not brooding. I’m thinking.”
Sarah squeezed his hand and released it, then stood and walked in the direction of a woman in a tuxedo shirt who was signaling to her.
Sarah’s posture tensed and he recognized the signs of a problem. He strode to join them. No unnecessary stress on Sarah tonight.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Can he do it?” the other woman asked, gesturing at Saafir.
“Do what?” Saafir asked.
“He can’t. He’s a friend,” Sarah said firmly.
“A friend who can help you.”
Sarah looked at Saafir and winced. “We’re short one server and one bartender. Two of the staff decided not to show up and the caterer doesn’t have anyone else who can be here in time for the cocktail hour. We need someone in ten minutes.”
“I can be a waiter,” Saafir said. Though he’d never been a waiter, he’d dined in enough restaurants to understand the gist of it. He could mimic the other servers.
Sarah mumbled something under her breath about a royal screw-up. Saafir pulled her to the side and motioned to the other woman to give them a minute.
“I’m here to help you, Sarah. Let me pass out a few plates. No one will recognize me.”
“I suppose I could tend bar,” she said. “Once dinner is served, the waitstaff goes home and the caterer can have someone take over the bar for me.”
In short order, Saafir alerted his guards to the situation and changed into a shirt similar to one the other woman had been wearing. Sarah was at the bar, pouring drinks for the guests and laughing. It was her job to make sure the people around her had fun, but Saafir knew it was an act. Her pitch was too high, too strained, and her movements were jerky and tight.
“You look so familiar. Have we met?” a woman asked as he circulated with a tray of hors d’oeuvres.
“I don’t think so,” Saafir said. He smiled and extended the tray to her. He didn’t want to steal focus from the bride and groom. Although to him, Sarah was the show-stealer. She was enchanting and she drew Saafir’s attention again and again.
When his tray was empty and Sarah had someone take over for her at the bar, he met Sarah behind the kitchen.
“Thank you, Saafir. You covered for me and I needed that,” Sarah said. “With everything going on with my other job, it’s that much more important this one go well. Did anyone recognize you?”
“I don’t think so. A few people said I looked familiar,” he said.
Sarah threw her arms around his neck. “Can you imagine if someone knew they had been served by the emir of Qamsar?”
Saafir laughed and slipped his arms around her waist. “I was happy to help you.” She relaxed against him. “When can we leave?” he asked. He wanted to have her alone, give her a massage or talk or watch a movie or do whatever would help her relax.
“I need to stick around until everyone’s gone, including the clean-up crew, but we can take a walk around the grounds. This is a botanical garden and the path through it winds for over a quarter of a mile.” Many of the wedding guests had already left and the party was dying down. She took his hand and led him to a path illuminated along the ground by small white lights. Saafir motioned to his guards to give him space. They wouldn’t stay away, but they wouldn’t follow on his heels.
Though he was surrounded by nature’s beauty, nothing held a candle to Sarah. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Music from the wedding floated through the air. It was a soft, romantic melody. “Dance with me,” he said.
Sarah paused, smiled shyly and stepped into his arms. “Gladly.”
As they danced on the path, Saafir reveled in holding her against him, the easy way she moved with him and the light, fresh scent of her hair.
“Where did you learn to dance?” she asked.
“My brother and I were required to take Western dance lessons. We sometimes entertained European dignitaries and the skill was useful.” He was glad he’d had the lessons. When he didn’t have to think too hard about the steps, he could concentrate on the woman in his arms.
Sarah’s hands moved from his lower back to his hips. Her body brushed against the evidence of how turned on he was by her.
“It was a bad week,” she said.
“Yes, it was,” he said. He sensed she was ready to talk and on the verge of opening up to him. He waited, moving with her. Tonight was about her. He was hers to command.
“How many more people will be hurt before this stops?” she asked. The words sounded strangled as they left her mouth.
“I hope no one else is hurt. My team is looking into how we can stop Rabah Wasam.”
“Have you heard from Adham?” Sarah asked. She had stopped moving and was biting her lip nervously.
“Adham sent me a text about an hour ago that your friend, Molly, is looking after him.”
“Molly?” Sarah asked. “She didn’t say anything when I stopped by to borrow this dress.”
“They’ve been texting over the last several days,” Saafir said.
Sarah appeared to think about that for a few moments. “Adham couldn’t ask for a better woman to take care of him. Molly is sweet and warm, and she’ll do anything for the people she cares about.”
“That’s something you have in common,” Saafir said. “You’ve been there for me, for your ex-husband and for Owen. None of us deserve you and you ask little in return. Is there something I can do for you?” He would keep trying things and keep asking until he found the key to unlock her happiness.
“I do have a request,” she said.
“Anything,” he said. If it was in his power, he would find a way to get it. And if it was out of reach, he’d just work that much harder.
“Please, just hold me for a little while.”
“That’s easy. Holding you is what I most want to do.” He put his arms around Sarah. Her body felt small and fragile against his and he never wanted to let go.
* * *
Sarah inhaled the scent of Saafir’s shirt, spicy and male, and heat pooled between her legs. The energy to shore up her defenses against him was gone. Pretending she could stay away from him was a sham.
Sarah wanted this man as desperately as she had the first time she’d met him, when she had laid eyes on him in the darkened bar, when he had been a gorgeous man who she wanted to sleep with. She’d had no intention of getting to know him and she’d planned to have a one-night fling with him.
Now he was the man who’d been by her side throughout some of the most dangerous and i
ntense days of her life.
“Are your guards watching us?” she asked.
“They are close, yes, but they will give us privacy if you need to talk,” he said. “You can tell me anything and it will stay between the two of us.”
A confidante. A lover. He’d offered those roles to her. She could offer the same. His words cemented her decision to tell Owen nothing should she learn anything about the trade agreement. If Owen was angry with her about it in the future, then she’d face his wrath. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All I can think about is you and being with you. I’m very aware that you’ll return to Qamsar and I may never see you again.” The deeper she fell for him, the more likely she’d be hurt when he left.
“How do you feel about that?”
Sarah sensed he was waiting for her to say something critical or maybe waiting for her to have another breakdown. “I feel like every moment is important. I feel like I want to fold myself into your arms and show you how I feel for you.”
She touched him in a way that left no question what she had in mind.
Saafir’s eyes darkened. “You’ve been through an ordeal today. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
“You’re not taking advantage. I need this. I need you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, goddess,” he said.
She knew the events of the day would catch up to her at the worst possible time. Jeff, Thomas, Khoury and Alec’s faces flashed through her mind. She couldn’t handle heavy, difficult topics right now. “Before this happened, I was worried about my career. It was all I had left in my life. When I ended things with Alec, I lost passion and love and companionship and fun. But then I found you and I realized I missed those things. I miss being with a man. I miss being in his arms and being held.” Saafir couldn’t offer her forever and she wouldn’t ask it of him. “This is still a one-night affair,” she said. “It’s just one more night. Don’t hold back. Don’t act like I’m glass that can be broken. Don’t let what happened today ruin what we have.”
Saafir anchored her to him. He ran his hand down her dress, lifting it at the end. His fingers stroked her bare thigh. The touch was just shy of rough and a shiver of desire piped through her. Hard and hot and fast was what she needed.
“Yes. More,” she said, encouraging him. Saafir could be gentle and calm, but she had seen the wild, erotically charged side of him. She wanted passion and excitement tonight.
He lightly slapped her bottom and deep, carnal sensations swept over her. He led her to stand beside a wooden bench away from the pathway lights. Long branches extended over the bench, giving the illusion of semi-privacy.
Saafir bent to the ground and kissed her ankle, her calf and her knee. “My goddess. So strong and passionate.” He was kneeling at her feet and a surge of power rolled through her. This man, this strong, sexy, intelligent, powerful man wanted her as much as she wanted him.
He lifted her foot, setting it on the bench. He kissed higher to where her dress met her thighs and then higher still. When he pressed a kiss to the apex of her thighs, she moved her hips responsively. She should stop him. But passion was sharp and consuming. She could no more stop this than she could slow it down.
This was exactly what she needed. Her problems seemed to drift away on a cloud of desire.
Saafir kissed to her outer leg and moved his lips to her hand. Kissing each fingertip, he pressed her hand to the back of the bench. “Hold here,” he said. “Hold tight.”
Sarah gripped the back of the bench, her thighs parted in a way that made her feel exposed and undeniably turned on. She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do, but she wanted him to do it fast. Anything to release the pent-up lust winding inside her, tighter and tighter.
Saafir moved behind her. She heard a zipper and the crinkle of foil. He pulled aside her thong and then he was rubbing against her center. She was wet and ready for him. She arched her back, beckoning to him to take what she was offering and give her what she needed.
He entered her slowly, drawing the moment out. It was difficult to move in her current position, but she flicked her hips, taking him deeper. He let out a groan and it touched something inside her, throwing lighter fluid on the desire, scorching her.
His lips came to her ear. “I’m going to take you hard.”
Buried inside her, he stilled for a moment, reaching around to touch her, and moved his fingers in a small circle. His arm went across her chest, both controlling her motions and providing friction against her aching breasts.
He worked his hips, almost lifting her off the ground with the power of his thrusts. Sarah gripped the bench, her nails grasping for traction. Saafir seemed to know what she needed. As he had from those first moments, he understood her.
He increased his speed and his power and Sarah was helpless to do anything except feel and ride the torrent of sensations. When it came to Saafir, she had no control.
She’d tried to keep her distance from him. She had wanted to pretend that first night together had been enough to satisfy her. But whenever she was near Saafir, whenever she thought of him, longing rebuilt and she craved him again. He made her feel special and needed and part of something bigger than herself.
She breathed his name on a sigh. His fingers moved across the tight bundle of nerves at her center and she shattered as an explosive orgasm rocked her. Saafir jerked into her and she felt his release as he joined her in incredible completion.
Saafir tugged her dress down and used a handkerchief to clean up. He pulled her into his lap and they sat on the wooden bench, exchanging kisses and soft caresses.
It was a long time before Sarah remembered where she was and what she was doing. “This could be the most fun I’ve had at an event I coordinated. Lucky that no one’s come looking for me.”
He ran his nose along her jaw. “I’m sure everything is fine. You’re good at what you do.”
Even so, she had professional standards. Despite having sex with Saafir—outside—she was working. “I should get back,” she said. “Do you think everyone will know what we were doing?”
He rubbed his finger across her lips. “A little beard burn may give you away.” He helped her to her feet and extended his elbow. “I’ll escort you.”
The night was perfect. Cool without being cold, the stars and moon casting light and the soft sounds of the wedding band’s music drifting from the party.
“Why can’t it be like this all the time?” Sarah asked, leaning her head on Saafir’s shoulder.
“We’ll enjoy it for now,” Saafir said. “The rest of the world waits for us.”
Sarah heard shouting and alarm zipped through her. She and Saafir exchanged a look and their stroll turned into a run.
Chapter 8
Sarah and Saafir arrived at the white wedding tent. The bride and groom were standing on the far side of the dance floor, the groom’s arm around his bride, matching looks of shock on their faces.
Sarah scanned for the source of the problem. When her eyes landed on her ex-husband, humiliation and anger tumbled through her. Not tonight. Not while she was working. Not after a day that had been absolutely, horrifyingly scary. She was using every weapon in her arsenal to hold it together. She couldn’t deal with more.
Alec had intruded on the party, and in typical Alec-style, he was creating a scene, talking loudly and greeting the people around him with effusive hellos as if they were old friends. He had to be under the influence. Her heart clenched at the realization. A few days out of rehab and Alec had relapsed.
She rushed forward, hoping she could steer Alec away from the party. She was responsible for this wedding and its success or failure rested with her. “Alec, what are you doing here?” She kept her voice quiet.
Though Saafir wasn’t directly behind her, she sensed he was close. He was letting her handle
this and Sarah was grateful. If Alec saw Saafir and got jealous, the situation would escalate further.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Alec said. His speech was slurred and his pupils dilated.
Sarah could feel the accusing stares of the people around her. “Please, let’s take a walk and talk.”
“Now you want to be reasonable? Am I embarrassing you? When I called you earlier, you said you didn’t want to talk to me,” Alec said. He swore. “I want to talk to you so here I am.”
He was putting her professional reputation in jeopardy. “This is not the time and place to create a scene.”
For a moment, she thought he would let her lead him away. Alec looked around and Sarah’s heart fell when his expression morphed from surprise to anger. He’d spotted Saafir.
“You’re here with the emir of Qamsar?” Alec asked. His posture changed. He puffed out his chest and stood straighter.
Interested murmurs floated around her and Sarah wished she could disappear. Saafir stepped forward and though he didn’t touch her, the message was clear. He was with Sarah and he was standing by her.
“You’re sleeping with my wife!” Alec shouted. “Who do you think you are, some leader of some two-bit country in the middle of nowhere? Get off my land and go home! Leave my wife alone.”
“Alec, stop this,” Sarah said. Rationalizing with him wouldn’t help. She needed him to be quiet and leave.
“I go to the hospital and when I come out my wife is sleeping with another man.”
A skewed take on the events. Alec had a way of making her sound perfectly awful. “We’ll talk about this.”
Sarah pulled Alec out of the tent, beyond the netting. Saafir’s guards appeared. She didn’t want them to hurt Alec. “Alec, you don’t want to get involved with security.”
Alec shook her off and charged at Saafir, swinging at him. Saafir ducked the blows and he didn’t retaliate. But the action was enough to bring Saafir’s guards closing in. They took Alec under his arms and dragged him away.