The Royal Wager

by Kristi Gold

  “I know and that’s why we can’t go to our rooms. If they happen to find out we’ve left, we only have to say we went for a midnight drive. And that’s if we care what they think, which I don’t. I only care about being with you. It’s been two days and it seems like twenty. I’ve missed you.”

  He had missed her, as well. Ached for her, in fact. “I am still questioning the wisdom in this plan.”

  Her smile was sultry, fueling a searing heat deep within Dharr. “Let’s do something daring, Dharr Halim. Let’s get out of here and leave all our responsibility to family behind. Let’s make love in the desert.”

  He lowered his head and took her mouth, an overture to the pleasure he would surely give her in answer to her fantasy. “You are very difficult to refuse.”

  “Then don’t refuse me.”

  Dharr left Raina at the bedroom door with a brief kiss and instructions to meet him on the first floor as soon as she’d changed. She made quick work of shrugging on her jeans and pulling on her sneakers. She wasn’t quite so fast when she fumbled with the buttons on the oversize oxford shirt. On afterthought, she retrieved the condoms from the drawer where she’d hidden them away, a guarantee he wouldn’t have any excuse not to follow through. It took all of ten minutes, tops, before she was sprinting down the stairs on the way to her late-night rendezvous.

  She pulled up short when she found Dharr standing at the bottom landing, wearing his own pair of faded jeans, an equally washed-out crimson Harvard T-shirt pulled tight against his chest and a pair of brown lace up hiking boots. His dark hair was ruffled, probably from his own haste to dress, and he looked as if he’d morphed from premiere prince to college man. The effect was so devastating on Raina’s composure that she almost suggested they march back up the stairs to a bedroom so she could peel every article of clothing away from his killer body.

  Instead she hopped down the final steps and said, “I’m ready.”

  “As am I.”

  Following a quick, chaste kiss, Dharr took her by the elbow and guided her through a labyrinth of hallways until they reached a door that opened to several concrete stairs leading downward. At the bottom, Dharr pounded out a code, opened another heavy door and led her into an underground concrete garage housing several vehicles.

  Once there, they came upon two men chatting it up in the corner near the hood of one sedan. When they noticed Dharr, they immediately came to attention in a military stance. Dharr made his request in Arabic for the keys to a Jeep. Amused, Raina watched the men practically falling all over themselves to retrieve them from the safe recessed into the wall.

  Dharr told Raina to follow him to a black and beige Jeep parked in the corner among more sedans. He opened the door for her then rounded the hood to position himself behind the wheel. In a matter of moments, they were racing through the garage to the exit where a solid steel gate rose like the entrance to a mystical cave, revealing the magical night.

  They maneuvered the lengthy drive at a speed Raina decided was well beyond the limits of safety before Dharr stopped at the guard station to address the sentry, saying little more than they were going for a drive. The man did not look at all pleased when Dharr insisted he did not need an escort, nor did he want one. But at least the guard opened the gate without further argument aside from some under-the-breath mutterings Raina couldn’t quite distinguish.

  Soon they worked their way through the silent streets of Tomar at a fast clip until Dharr reached the place where pavement turned to dirt. Then he stopped the vehicle, put it in park and turned to Raina.

  He reached over and sifted her hair through his fingertips without speaking.

  “What are we waiting for?” Raina asked.

  “Before the road becomes rough, I wanted to do this.”

  Cupping her jaw in his palm, he leaned over and kissed her deeply, providing a perfect lead up to what she hoped would come later. He broke the kiss, frowned then following a rough sigh, slapped his palm against the steering wheel. “We have to go back.”

  He’d changed his mind, exactly what Raina had feared. “Why?”

  “I have forgotten something again.”

  Straightening her legs as far as they would go, she fished through her pocket, pulled out two condoms and dangled them from her fingertips. “Do you mean these?”

  His smile formed slowly, seductively. “Then I suppose we are ready.”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  He rested his hand on her thigh. “But I promise I will.”

  “Good. And before we head out again, can you take the top off?”

  He grinned. “You wish me to undress you now?”

  Raina laughed, prompted by his show of humor and a lightness of being so welcome after the tumultuous meeting with her family. “That’s a thought, but I meant the top on the Jeep.”

  “Whatever you wish, I will gladly accommodate you.” Before she could say more, Dharr slid from the seat and commenced unzipping and folding back the covering, revealing the inky sky. Looking upward, she took in the glorious sight, realizing she’d lived so long in the city, she’d forgotten how brilliant a host of stars could be. How the desert during the day could be unrelenting, but at night it took on a life of its own—mysterious and seductive, like the man whose company she craved.

  Dharr returned to the driver’s seat, put the Jeep in gear and took off. They scaled the bumpy scrap of road, climbing upward through the mountainous terrain, heading toward a heaven of their own making. Fifteen minutes later, they turned off the main road and stopped at a circular clearing facing the valley below. Dharr left the vehicle while Raina simply stared at the spattering of city lights, knowing that most everyone was preparing for sleep while she was wide awake and wired. The view was breathtaking, but then so was her escort as he held out his hand for her to take.

  To Raina, he was an integral part of the panorama—dark, mystifying and somewhat dangerous. Not in the sense that he made her afraid, but he was a huge threat to her heart. He’d already won a good part of it. Tonight he might claim it all.

  Guided by the light of the near-full moon, hand in hand they ascended a rock-strewn path, taking them higher into the elevations above Tomar. Although Raina hadn’t been to this particular place in over a decade, she had no trouble recognizing the diamond-shaped rocks pointing upward and to her right, the base of the mountain known as Galal—majestic—and very fitting. But it couldn’t compare to Dharr Halim, equally magnificent and strong. And all hers tonight.

  Giddy could best describe her current mood. And drunk with the freedom of being there with him, alone, knowing that anything she asked of him, he would try to give to her. She planned to return the favor.

  “Come with me over here,” he told her, his voice low and controlled, toxic to her senses.

  She followed him to one steep embankment where he released her then began to climb. At the top, once more he held out his hand to her. “You must see this view.”

  “What’s on the other side?”

  “Flat rock that leads to the cliff.”

  Raina didn’t mind heights as long as she was in a protected environment, with the exception of airplanes. But she wasn’t feeling too confident about standing on weather-worn stone where one false move could send her over the edge.

  When she hesitated, Dharr said, “It is safe. I will not let you fall.”

  Oh, but she already had—for him.

  Clasping his large hand, she allowed him to pull her up. He turned her around to face the valley, his arms wrapped firmly around her and his chin resting atop her head. “This is the place I would come when I wanted to escape. I would view the city laid out before me, knowing it served as a reminder of why I accept my duty without question. I have vowed to see it thrive.”

  “Azzril is very much a part of you.”

  “And you, Raina.”

  She shook her head. “Not anymore. Too many bad memories.”

  “More than the good?”

  She could
n’t lay claim to that. “I guess I do have quite a few good.”

  “Except for your parents’ disagreements.”

  After thinking a moment, she said, “You know, I only heard them fight one time, not long before I left with my mother. Maybe that’s why it all came as such a shock. Maybe they just didn’t want me to know how miserable they both were, although for the life of me, I can’t remember anything but their love for each other. I have no idea what changed, but I guess I’ll never know.”

  He tightened his hold and whispered, “We will make our own memories tonight. Good ones to replace the bad. Beginning now.”

  Remaining behind her, Dharr began to work the buttons on Raina’s shirt until he had the placket completely parted. He held it open, allowing the breeze to flow over her bare breasts, tightening her flesh from the cool draft of air. Yet Dharr warmed her with his palms, playing her gently, thoroughly, until she grew winded with the same helpless need for him.

  But then he dropped his arms and left her with only a whispered, “Wait here.”

  Raina had no intention of going anywhere without him. She sat on the rock opposite the view to watch Dharr as he strode to the Jeep. He pulled out a blanket and came back to her, spreading the multicolored woven throw over the stone surface. Obviously he was more prepared than she’d thought.

  She took his offered hand and he drew her up into his arms, against the solid wall of his chest. He held her for a long moment before he stepped back, pushed the blouse completely away from her shoulders then tugged his own shirt over his head. They discarded the rest of their clothing in haste, piling the shirts and jeans onto the blanket to provide more cushion. They embraced again, holding each other closely, exploring with their hands in places they had touched before, yet the intimacy took on a dreamlike quality.

  In her mind’s eyes, Raina could imagine how they would appear from below—two lovers silhouetted against the night, insignificant compared to the imposing surroundings, yet important to each other, at least for now. She took the image and mentally filed it away, knowing that some day she would put it on canvas, immortalizing them both captured in this precious moment.

  Dharr laid her down gently on the blanket then kissed her much the same—a meaningful kiss that soon turned evocative, exciting. He moved his warm lips to her neck, toying with her hair as he continued his downward journey to her breasts, drawing one nipple deep into his mouth, then the other. Lower he traveled, his lips drifting over her abdomen before coming to rest between her thighs, creating a barrage of thrilling sensations in Raina.

  She slid her fingers through his thick hair while he continued to encourage her to completely let go, using his tongue and lips and hands, washing away all uncertainty of her feelings for him. The stars above her fell out of focus and the wind picked up, bringing with it a mélange of scents and sensations. Time seemed to suspend as her body trembled with impending climax until she could do nothing more than give in to its force. She felt weak, boneless, the ground beneath her unforgiving, yet she didn’t care. She only cared about him.

  Intent on proving exactly how much she cared, after Dharr worked his way up her body with more open mouth kisses, she nudged him onto his back and took the same path down his torso as he had with hers, tracking the trail of dark hair with her lips until she reached her goal. He hissed out a sharp breath when she took him into her mouth. A murmured word of pleasure followed, then her name drifting on the breeze with a reverence that made her heart ache with longing.

  She remained unrelenting in her movements, even when he asked her to stop because he could no longer hold on. She didn’t stop until he pleaded with her, then told her how greatly he needed to be inside her. Now.

  She smiled as she took a condom and sheathed him, and he smiled back when she straddled his hips and guided him inside her. But his smile disappeared as she set the pace, slowly at first then more frantic. Watching his face grow taut, his eyes grow hazy, was magical, and admittedly powerful, knowing that she could take him exactly where he had taken her. He clasped her hips as his body surged up with his own climax, sending Raina remarkably over the edge again. She collapsed against his chest, gasping for air, grasping for a hold on her runaway emotions. She was totally lost when Dharr kissed her again with profound tenderness.

  How could she want him so much? How could she be so completely consumed by a man that she honestly didn’t care if she ever returned to reality? Or ever returned to California, for that matter.

  Despite her need to be cautious, she craved being close to the fire he’d continually created in her. Only stolen moments, she tried to tell herself but quickly banished those thoughts. She would pretend it was forever, even if it was only for tonight.

  Dharr Halim had always been pragmatic. Analyzing numbers, not emotions, had been his forte. He had an aptitude for finance, never feelings. He admired art yet he could never imagine putting paint to paper. And creating poetry had not once entered his mind…until now.

  With Raina next to him, cast in the first signs of dawn, he felt as if he could quite possibly write a sonnet.

  At the moment they were seated on the hood of the Jeep, the blanket their only cover, their arms providing shelter from the morning cold. For hours they had talked, then touched, culminating in more lovemaking as intense as the first. He’d made it his mission to know as much as he could about her, both body and mind. She had done the same. He had never known a more willing lover, and he had never revealed as much of himself to any woman. Yet one part of him she did not know—his heart.

  He felt no need to open old injuries only to bleed some more. He chose to cherish this time with her without discussing past mistakes, realizing these moments could be their last.

  “I guess we should go now,” she said, both her tone and her eyes laden with regret.

  “Yes, we should.”

  “Which means we have to get dressed.”

  “True.”

  “Unless we want to drive back to town naked, although I’m not sure that would be good for your image.”

  If he thought for a moment they could do that without discovery, he certainly would. He would touch her on their return until he had given her more pleasure, just so he could watch her face. “I suppose you are right.”

  Yet neither of them made a move other than toward each other, their lips uniting again in a kiss that had Dharr reconsidering his need to return to his responsibility.

  “Dharr,” Raina murmured against his mouth. “We really do need to leave now.”

  He reluctantly pulled away and groaned. “If we must.”

  “We must.”

  They gathered their clothes and dressed on opposite sides of the vehicle at Raina’s insistence. A good idea, Dharr decided considering he was on the verge of making love to her again despite his pending duties.

  They traveled back to the palace without speaking, their fingers entwined, resting on his thigh. In the garage, they walked past the guards who averted their eyes, as if he and Raina were invisible. Once they reentered the palace, Dharr maintained his distance until they reached the staircase leading to the upper floor. Absent of restraint, he grabbed Raina’s hand and turned her into his arms before she could scale the first step.

  He kissed her again, stroked her hair, held her close as if he could not have enough of her. Raina proved to have the most presence of mind when she broke the kiss and said, “Someone is going to see us.”

  He lowered his lips to her throat. “I do not care.”

  She bracketed his face and forced him to look at her. “You say that now, but you would care if my father happened down the stairs. He’s an early riser.”

  Dharr pressed against her. “And so am I.”

  “You’re incorrigible, too.” She backed away from him and climbed the first two stairs without turning around. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  When he started toward her, she pointed a finger. “Stay right there until I get a good head start.”

  He pro
pped an elbow on the banister and smiled. “And if I do not?”

  “Then I won’t be responsible when I lose it and tackle you on the landing, tearing off your clothes while shouting ‘Take me now,’ which will undoubtedly wake the entire household.”

  With that, she spun and sprinted up the stairs, leaving Dharr to watch her until she disappeared.

  He decided to return to his office before retiring to his room to change. If not, he would be tempted to join her in bed for the rest of the day. He had too much to accomplish to be distracted, but as he began to review his schedule, he could not banish the images of Raina—her face flushed with heat when he’d made love to her and again with cold in the morning light. A face he would welcome waking up to each and every morning.

  To continue considering such a thing would prove to be unfavorable to his plans. He would not marry in the near future. Not until his father insisted it was time to produce an heir. Only then would he choose a woman who was like him. A woman who possessed a certain amount of independence. Who enjoyed art. Who had a passion for life and a propensity for adventure.

  Dharr realized he had just described Raina Kahlil—a woman who would be gone in a matter of days.

  After Raina left the shower and crawled beneath the covers to grab a few hours’ sleep, someone knocked on the door. Since Badya never came around this time of morning, she suspected she knew who that someone might be.

  She grabbed the handle and said, “You are one stubborn guy,” only to find her mother, not the sheikh, standing on the other side.

  Raina tugged on the hem of her gown and bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood. “Why are you up so early, Mom?”

  “I’ve been visiting with your father.” Without an invitation, Carolyn pushed into the room then spun around. “Where were you last night?”

  Oh, joy. “How do you know I wasn’t right here?”

  “Because I came up to say good-night and you weren’t anywhere to be found.”