“The desert is the real world.” He paused, so she could hear the silence of the night. “It’s just a very quiet and lonely part of it. I kept my hands off you at the wedding because you wanted to keep what happened between us secret.”
“I wonder if you’ll ever find out who the pilot was.”
He shook his head. “I will.” He kissed her forehead. “It pains me that someone who tried to hurt you—even if it was because they wanted to kill me—is still out there. I’ll find them and bring them to justice.”
His powerful embrace held her close. She felt so safe in his arms—which didn’t make any sense. “I hope so. I hate to think that someone out there might still want to hurt you.” She brushed kisses over his face, realizing that she’d wanted to do this but denied herself the chance to even think about it. Zadir was too tempting, too desirable, too dangerously handsome—she hadn’t allowed herself to dream that anything more than a fling could happen between them.
She denied herself that thought even now. She had no idea where this was going, except possibly between the covers of that luxurious cushioned bed behind her. “I’m surprised you had time to think about me. You have a country to run.”
“I’m not king yet.” He slanted a kiss across her mouth, which made her lips part, then he thrust in his tongue. Heat rushed through her and her knees grew weak. Her arms around his neck held her up.
He’d only become king once he married.
She didn’t want to ask about that. She did want to kiss him, and run her hands all over his hard body. Her fingers were already creeping under the hem of his T-shirt and exploring the warm skin of his back.
His responded by creeping under her crop top. His fingertips touched the underside of her breast through her bra, and she shivered with pleasure. Zadir made her whole body feel like an erogenous zone.
“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed, his lips tracing her neck. “And I love that you’re so intelligent and thoughtful. Everything about you excites me.” Kneeling in front of her, he pressed his mouth to her belly button, which produced an intense sensation that ricocheted through her. She clung to his shoulders, trying not to lose her balance as her legs threatened to give way.
Already he’d unzipped her pants and pressed his hot mouth to her panties. When she felt his tongue against her, she let out a tiny cry of pleasure.
Fingers pushed into his hair, she tried to hold steady as he sucked her hungrily. Her belly quivered and tremors of desire rushed along her limbs. She was almost ready to beg him to stop—in case she should explode into flames—when he climbed to his feet, swept her up into his arms, and carried her to the low bed.
He laid her down so gently that she felt like a precious object. His dark hair hung in his eyes, which sparkled in the semidarkness. The flickering lantern on the floor was the only source of light as he carefully peeled away her clothes. Her nipples stood to attention and her belly was a tight knot of desire.
Impatient, she tugged his T-shirt off over his head and pressed her mouth to the thick, tempting pecs that had taunted her through it all day. “You…” She looked him in the eyes. “Are dangerously handsome. It’s really not fair. I was trying to be sensible but I don’t stand a chance around you.”
He chuckled, writhing slightly as she flicked her tongue down the center of his chest toward the hard erection pressing against his pants. Together they eased the rest of his clothes off until they were kneeling face to face, totally naked, on the soft covers. She gripped his impressive biceps, shaking her head at how gorgeous he was.
“I wish my intellect had seduced you, but if my biceps work better, I’m okay with that.”
She laughed. “You’re smart enough to know that I like you. Don’t flatter yourself by fishing for compliments.”
He kissed her hard, until her breath came in shallow gasps. Then he sucked each of her nipples in turn, and flicked his tongue over her sex until her body was shuddering with involuntary movements. It would be embarrassing if she wasn’t so incredibly aroused.
She kissed him and pressed her body against his, enjoying his hardness against her softness and allowing desire to build inside her until she was in danger of exploding. “Oh my goodness, I hope you have a condom.”
He smiled and appeared to whip one out of thin air. Of course he’d known he was going to need it. He was Zadir Al Kilanjar and women probably fell at his feet everywhere he went. He rolled it on with practiced ease that did nothing to dim her desire.
She stretched herself out on the covers, anticipation pulsing through her as he climbed over her. He flicked his tongue over her sex, making her buck, then licked each of her tight nipples in turn before entering her very slowly.
Her back arched as she took him deep. He felt so good inside her. They fit together perfectly, and she could feel every tiny movement of his erection against her hypersensitive tissues.
She kissed all over his face as he moved in a slow rhythm that stirred her arousal to a fever pitch. She grazed her lips over his stubbled chin, enjoying the sheer masculinity of him. Then she thrust her tongue in his mouth and licked his lips. Their hips danced together and she wrapped her legs around him, holding him close and drawing him deeper.
How could this feel so good? She’d told herself to stay away from Zadir because he had a hypnotic effect on her. One look from those warm blue eyes and she started to lose her grip on reality. The embrace of those big arms made common sense fly out the window. Sex with him felt so good, so right. How could it possibly be a mistake?
She heard a gentle moan and realized they’d both made the sound together, each caught up in their joint bliss. They didn’t even have time to change positions before she felt her orgasm ripple through her, starting at her core and working its way up through her body. Zadir climaxed with a violent shudder and grabbed her to his chest. Then he eased gently to one side and lay next to her, still deep inside her and holding her in his arms.
“I have a confession to make,” he breathed, after they’d had a moment to drift back to earth.
“What?” Anxiety pricked her.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since I picked you up at the gala on Friday night.”
“I suspect you’ve been wanting to do it a lot longer than that.” She ran a finger along his jaw. “Since you’ve already admitted to arranging the gala to get me here.” She felt so confident right now, like she could say anything to him. “Tell me the truth. Which was more important in your mind, bringing me here to talk about designing your house or bringing me here to sleep with me?”
“I can’t tell a lie.” He narrowed his eyes and snuggled close. “I wanted to hold you again, to kiss you, to make love with you. It’s true that I want you to design my house as well, and a lot more besides, but having you in my arms was my main goal.”
“You seem to have achieved it.” She tried to sound scolding. It was hard because she was so happy to be here herself.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.” She smiled. “Maybe I needed some sense kissed into me.”
He chuckled, and his chest rocked against hers. “Then I’m glad to have obliged. I can’t believe you intended to avoid me for the rest of your life.”
“I was trying to protect myself.” She sighed against his cheek.
“From what?”
“From getting my heart broken.” She couldn’t believe she was admitting this to him. But right now she felt so intimate, and they’d shared so much—what could it hurt to tell the truth?
“That’s the last thing I’d want to do.”
“I don’t think you’d want to. Breaking a heart is the kind of thing that happens by accident. Collateral damage.”
“I have no intention of hurting any part of you.”
“I know, but you live in Ubar and I live in the U.S., so it’s not like there’s much of a future between us.”
He stroked her cheek. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Will we? Once I get back there I�
�ll be so busy I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you next.”
“I’ll make sure it happens. You won’t escape from me again.” His words sounded menacing, but his teasing tone made them a promise rather than a threat. “And there’s a life’s work for you here in Ubar if you get tired of dealing with American building codes and inspectors.”
“Are you trying to tell me there are no building codes in Ubar?”
“Not a one.”
She pretended to look astonished. “That is tempting. So I could build a house out of twigs like a nest and no one would need to see engineering calculations for the footing?”
He shrugged. “No one that I know of.”
“I could create a roof out of spiderwebs and no one would need to know the wind rating?”
“No one except the spider.” He grinned. “Am I sensing that there’s a law breaker inside you?”
“Not at all. I pride myself on obeying all the rules, no matter how ridiculous they seem. Maybe that’s why the idea of not having any rules seems so compelling.”
“Don’t you think we might need some building codes to protect our people?” He lifted a brow. “If economic growth spurs development we might get some shady characters throwing up buildings on the cheap.”
“Like tents?” She lifted a brow.
He laughed. “I guess that would be ideal. But you’re making me think about things I hadn’t even considered.”
“As much as I get annoyed by having to comply with building codes, I do think they protect both the builder and the occupant. So I suppose I do prefer practicality over fantasy.” She was smiling. She could tell the whole discussion intrigued him. “Sorry to be so unromantic.”
“Not at all. I can see how much I need you in my life.”
Her heart ached a tiny bit when he said that. She couldn’t be in his life, except for stolen moments like this, any more than he could be in her life in Washington, D.C., He was hardly going to abandon his ancestral throne to come live in the spacious and airy loft she loved so much.
And, the truth was, she wasn’t going to abandon her home and career and her office and all the contacts she’d made to come weave spiderwebs in Ubar. The world didn’t work like that. Not if you were sensible, anyway. Her mother had thrown away a promising singing career to follow her ambitious father on luxury business trips and be available for dinners out instead of singing in a club.
When he’d traded her in for a newer model, her career was over and she’d never got it back. She’d been living on alimony and bemoaning her fate—in relative luxury, thank goodness—ever since. Ronnie had no intention of following in her footsteps.
Don’t give up your life for a man, her mom had confided, one night after a few glasses of wine. Love won’t last, but regret will.
Zadir stroked her cheek. His smile had faded, and he could tell she was thinking since she’d gone silent. “Don’t worry about the details. Not yet.” He ran his thumb gently over her mouth, and her lips parted. “We can sort them out later. Right now the important thing is for us to enjoy each other’s company.”
Why? So we can miss each other all the more when we inevitably part? It seemed cruel to ask the question. If he was really crazy enough to be thinking about marrying her—and making her his queen—he was destined for disappointment.
And so was she. Because she wasn’t likely to meet a man like Zadir again.
She leaned in and kissed him softly on the mouth. “Let’s make love again.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Zadir could not believe how well this was going. Ronnie lay asleep and very satisfied in his arms, after they’d climaxed together more times than he could remember. He’d never met a woman whose touch and glance aroused him so much. If she awoke and wanted to make love again—right now—he was cocked and ready.
The thought made him chuckle. He hadn’t dared to assume that they’d sleep together. Naturally, being a guy, he’d hoped they would, but he didn’t want to scare Ronnie off by coming on too strong. He hated to admit it, but his brothers were right. When he backed off and acted like this was a business trip, she actually grew more interested.
Women were hard to figure out, but—in this case—worth it. He hated to wake her and end this peaceful bliss where everything seemed just as it should be. But he wanted plenty of time to eat a leisurely breakfast and look at any aspects of the site she wanted to revisit before they headed back to the airstrip. He fully intended to put her on a plane today and let her go, in the hope that by doing so she’d see that he respected her and trusted her not to blow him off again.
A sweet smile crossed her pretty mouth and he hoped she was dreaming about him. He’d love to wake her with a kiss and propose to her right now, but he knew that would be too much, too soon. She’d say they didn’t know each other well enough, that she was too busy…. Better to woo her slowly until the fabric of their lives started to mesh together and she’d see marriage as a natural evolution of their relationship.
Marriage! What a thought. He hadn’t even contemplated it until he unexpectedly inherited a kingdom, and couldn’t assume the throne until he married. In the meantime he was planning the country’s future with his brothers. Yes there were certain noisy factions who might get quieter once they were all crowned king and their succession was a fait accompli, but all would settle down in time. The key was not to get impatient and try to rush things—either his relationship with Ronnie or the gradual process of change in Ubar.
She stirred a little, and her lashes fluttered. His heart squeezed at the sight of her, stirring to wakefulness in his arms. He’d imagined this moment and it was so much sweeter than he’d dared to hope.
“Morning,” she whispered. “At least I think it is. The blue tent is starting to glow.”
He pressed a warm kiss to her lips. “Morning precious. The sun is creeping up behind the mountains, though I wish it would slow down because I want to keep you here in my arms as long as possible.”
She sighed softly. “Me too. What a night.”
Their athletic exploits had left him energized rather than exhausted. “It was incredible. We’ll have to schedule a repeat performance.”
“I do have to fly home today.” Her eyes snapped open suddenly. “My big meeting is in two days.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I have no intention of keeping you here against your will.”
She smiled. “Just checking. It’s hard to figure out someone’s motives when they buy you for a weekend.”
He pressed his cheek to hers, enjoying the soft scent of her skin. “Desperate times called for desperate measures.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry I was so hard to get. And so expensive.”
“You’re worth it.” He kissed her and felt her body relax in his arms.
After breakfast they walked the site one more time, while the men packed away the tents and equipment, and Ronnie took some pictures. Zadir insisted that she take the camera and other equipment with her. If she felt the need to return them, that just gave her one more reason to see him again.
She looked breathtaking in a simple pale-gray blouse and pants. Her eyes shone and her skin glowed, evidence that last night’s intimacies had left her feeling as good as he did.
He could tell she loved this rugged and empty country, and appreciated its minimalist beauty. Now all he had to do was convince her to move here. But not today. One step at a time.
“Do you think you’re going to win the presidential library commission?” He felt conflicted about it. He wanted her to succeed and be happy, but didn’t want her so preoccupied that she didn’t have time for him. His younger brother Amahd, who by tradition had to wait until Zadir married first, was not likely to be willing to twiddle his thumbs for a year or more while Ronnie devoted all her time to the project.
“I think I have a fairly good shot. The lot chosen for the library is in an ex-urban area, near an airport. The buildings around it include hangars and warehouses and the outlying build
ings of a nearby university. They have plans for an extensive park and walking trails, so the area will be changing, but my sleek, modern building actually fits right in and is a nice transitional piece from industrial to academic.”
Zadir felt a pinch of sadness as he held the car door for Ronnie. Last night had been so wonderful—so perfect!—he hated for it to end. She’d met his family and they liked her, and so far as he could tell, she liked them. Everything was so well on track it was almost ridiculous. What could go wrong now?
They put down the windows and sunroof to enjoy the fresh morning air as they drove across the plane back toward the mountains, flanked by his staff. They chatted about the ideal lifestyle out here, rising with the sun, living with the subtle flow of the seasons, and he could picture them drinking coffee together on a sleek balcony cantilevered over the lovely hidden valley.
They talked about books as they ascended the mountains. He could tell the steep inclines made her nervous, but she grew more relaxed as she could see the car—and its driver—were unfazed by the rugged terrain. When they descended the other side she was laughing and pointing out little landmarks in the distance, and seemed to be enjoying the adventure. Hopefully her happiness didn’t have too much to do with the fact that she’d soon be on a plane on her way back home.
A curl of smoke in the distance caught his attention. It was unusually black and didn’t look like typical cooking-fire smoke. He called one of his men in the car in front and asked them to find out what it was.
He didn’t say anything to Ronnie. If this were another act of sabotage, he’d prefer for her to leave Ubar without knowing or worrying about it. He wanted her to remember his country for its beauty and warm welcome, not its small cadre of crazies.
His phone buzzed and he answered.
“There’s a fire at the airstrip.” Amahd’s voice burst out of the phone so loud that Ronnie must have heard it.
“What’s burning?” He snuck a glance at Ronnie. Sure enough, she stared at him with panic in her eyes.
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