“Wait,” she said breathlessly, “don’t we need to talk about things? Like why you’re back here out of the blue, for instance?”
“Later. We can talk later. I have to have you now, I have to. I’ll die if I can’t feel you completely, Bethany. I know it.”
Hearing those words coming out of his mouth was entirely intoxicating and even though Beth knew they should talk things through before they did anything like this, she couldn’t stop him. She didn’t want to. Because she knew exactly what he meant. All she wanted in the whole world was to feel his body on top of hers, to let him take her to the edge of sanity with his body. She had dreamed about it so many times. She simply didn’t have the will to put it off any longer. She nodded, letting him know that, for now, this was enough. She wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.
“Take this off” he said with a voice caught in the back of his throat, “it’s beautiful, but take it off.”
He tugged insistently at the hem of her shirt, practically ripping it in the process. She helped him along and very soon she was standing with her breasts exposed, nipples hard and begging for his rough tongue. Next it was his turn and he happily obliged, peeling his shirt off, stepping out of his designer slacks. He stood in front of her completely exposed, his excitement clear with the massive, rising erection. He moved towards her then, every muscle in his body rippling with anticipation. He picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all and carried her to the bed they had spent almost all of their time in in those first few months of passion and giddy expectation. It felt familiar, but at the same time it felt like nothing at all was the same. So much had transpired between the two of them and she had no idea what was to come next. But for now, for now there was only this naked man she loved pulling her slinky jeans down her long legs, spreading them apart and kneeling between them. His hands slid across the soft skin on the insides of her thighs, tracing along them so lightly it was almost as if he wasn’t touching her at all. But he was, oh god, he was, and every inch of her quivered. She needed more of it, more of him, and her back arched up towards him in an invitation to take her completely. He did not disappoint. He leaned into her desperately beating heart, took those nipples in his mouth and ran his tongue across them until she cried out in pleasure so intense it almost felt like pain. Her hands shot down, finding that member that throbbed for her and taking it in her hand, running her fingers up and down in a slow rhythmic motion that made him throw his head back and moan in pleasure. His hips began to rock slowly in time with the motion of her hand, his muscles flexing and his body aching for more of her. But he wouldn’t take her, not without her telling him to, not after everything they had been through. Bethany could sense it in him. He needed to know that she still wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
“Aasif” she cried out, her body writhing beneath his touch.
“Tell me, Beth. Tell me what you want.”
“You. I want you. I want to feel you inside of me.”
Then she was guiding him inside of her, filling her insides with the most delicious pleasure and moving slowly at first, fluidly deeper and deeper inside of her until she let out a scream that sounded foreign to her own ears. The sound of her voice only spurred him on and his movements became faster as her legs wrapped around his waist, locking behind the backs of his thighs to help push him even deeper. Her hands moved up to his hair, plunging in and pulling it with a forcefulness she hadn’t known she possessed. She wanted to touch him everywhere, her hands slid down to his back, her nails digging into his back and scratching down his supple dark skin. He nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck and she bit down on his shoulder to keep from crying out so loudly that the neighbors would wonder what was wrong. She could feel it coming now, building deep in the center of herself and making even her toes tingle. With every thrust he made, she felt the tingling spread, rise up her limbs and take hold of her so completely that she couldn’t see straight. She cried out one final time as her body was taken over by the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced, a blinding pleasure that felt like it would never end. Dimly, through the ringing in her own ears, Bethany could feel Aasif’s motion become more erratic and heard him let out a cry of his own that let her know that he was joining her in this ultimate pleasure. It felt like an eternity that they stayed locked there in that shared orgasm, and another eternity after that while they lay there together, wrapped in each other’s embrace. Finally Aasif pulled back, kissing her eyelids, the tip of her nose. He looked her in the eyes and smiled so sweetly that she couldn’t imagine ever having him leave her side again.
“What is it, Beth? What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. I just remembered something I forgot to tell you. Welcome home.”
Chapter Seven
“Wait, wait, wait, I don’t know about this, Aasif. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Beth, I understand your hesitation, but it might be a little bit late to change your mind. We’ve travelled a pretty long way and it’s going to be a long trip back if we just turn right around and go back to Cambridge.”
Beth laughed nervously and clinged to Aasif’s hand. He squeezed it with all of the strength he could without actually hurting her. He couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling right now. Everything that had happened since his coming back to find her had taken place so quickly, in such a whirlwind. After all, she had packed up and left her home with nothing but a couple of suitcases practically overnight. She had gone with him, flown to his home without knowing much of anything about it, nothing aside from the fact that his family wasn’t all that interested in meeting her. On that matter, Aasif shared at least a little bit of her hesitation.
“So tell me again, Aasif. Tell me that everything is going to be ok.”
“It is, Beth. Everything is going to be perfectly alright.”
“But how do you know?”
Interesting question. How did he know? When he had last spoken to his family, they hadn’t exactly been overjoyed to hear from him. Far from it, actually. Thinking about it now still gave him a little shiver of displeasure. He could still hear his phone ringing with that phone call, the day of reckoning that he now knew was always going to take place between him and his father.
“Aasif? Aasif?! Are you there? If you’re there, say something!”
“Yes, father. I’m here. I’m safe, there’s no need to worry.”
“No need to worry? Are you out of your mind? You just vanished! Just took off without telling a soul! Do you know how worried we’ve been? You’re mother has been crying non-stop. We thought someone took you, that they were holding you, for money, for god knows what. Tell me it isn’t that, will you? Tell me that you’re safe, at least.”
“I just told you, I’m safe. You aren’t listening to me.”
That was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. His father wasn’t a fan of being talked back to under the best of circumstances and these were most certainly not those. What he had just done was the most treacherous of betrayals and something his father would not take lightly. Where Aasif came from a father was to be respected, obeyed, and the fact that his father was a Sheikh made it even more serious.
“Oh, is that so? I’m not listening to you? Well let me be very clear, let me be very sure that you are listening to me. You will come home, and you will come home now. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, and I am.”
“What?”
“I am coming home. I’m just bringing someone with me.”
“Shit,” his father spat out in disgust, “not this nonsense again. I told you, forget the barbie doll. You are betrothed, and have been since you were born.”
“Enough!”
His father was silent at least, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. In all of his life, Aasif had never yelled at his father, not full out, use all of the air in your lungs yelled. For a moment he felt like he might just throw up right there, but that simply wasn’t an option. He wasn’t just doing
this for himself now. He was doing it for Beth, and for her he could do anything.
“Father, I need you to listen to me. Please, I need you to hear me with your head as well as your heart, just this once.”
“Alright, then speak, why don’t you.”
“Alright. I know this isn’t what you wanted. I know this isn’t how you wanted things to go. I know you wanted me to come home and be a good son, fall into line and accept my duty. That’s what I expected, too. But I didn’t stop being a person when you sent me to the states, father. I found a person who changed my life and I love her. Haven’t you ever loved someone before? I mean really loved them?”
“This isn’t about me.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. I’m coming home, but only if Beth comes with me. I need to know that you’ll be kind to her, or at least hospitable. You have to promise me that much.”
And he had. His stubborn father whose will never bent for anyone had promised to treat Beth with a marginal level of respect and Aasif had gotten them on the plane. Beth had been mostly silent during the trip, her hesitation and fear obvious. He knew that some of it was just the strange circumstances she now found herself in, but he had a feeling that there was more to it than that. He waited until the two of them were safely in his car, the private driver he had become so fond of at the helm where he belonged, and Aasif felt like it was safe to talk. It was most likely the safest it was going to be, anyway, and once they got to his family home there wasn’t a shot in hell that they would ever be able to talk alone again.
“So Beth, I understand your hesitation at meeting my family. I didn’t exactly paint them in the best light. But there’s something else, isn’t there? I can feel it on you. You’re not sure you should be here. Or maybe it’s that you aren’t sure that you want to be here.”
“No, it isn’t that. It’s just, well. What if you don’t really want me to be here?”
“Why would you ever think a thing like that?”
“Because,” she said, her eyes filling up with tears Aasif would have given his life to take away, “because I was so easy to leave. Look, I know you have important family obligations, but you just left me and it didn’t seem like it was all that hard for you. What’s to say you don’t just do it again? I don’t think I can take something like that again. You got really close to breaking my heart, Aasif. I don’t want to let you do it all over.”
“Beth. I wouldn’t. I won’t. I love you. The thing about my family is that I’m the next in line to be the Sheikh. That’s what my father is and that’s what I will be. Have you ever heard of a thing like that? Do you know what I’m talking about?”
“Yes,” she said with a look of stunned shock, “I do. But I had no idea! I had no idea you were that powerful, that you had that much responsibility.”
“I know. I’ve been warned, and warned frequently, that people would only want me for my wealth and my title. I never told you because I wanted you to love me for me. I realize that sounds unbelievably corny, but it’s the truth. I was afraid.”
“You? Afraid?”
“Yes. I wanted you. But for you to want me for the right reasons.”
“But if you’re that important, then you won’t be able to be with me, will you? You’ll have to be with someone as important as you are. I should never have come with you. I can’t believe we’re on the way to meet a family that will hate me as much as your’s will! I won’t be good enough for them. I can’t be.”
Now the tears were slipping down her face and he reached out with one slightly trembling thumb to wipe them away. So that was it, as unbelievable as it seemed. She was worried that she wouldn’t be good enough, that he would cast her off because she wasn’t from as impressive a bloodline as his.
“Goodness, Beth, is that all?”
“What?” she asked, looking both confused and annoyed at the same time, “I’m sorry, but don’t you think that’s enough? It certainly seems like enough to me.”
“But the thing is, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The most prized thing I have. I would give up all the rest, just to know that we could be together for as long as we’re able. So in keeping with that train of thought.”
Aasif fumbled around in his pocket, astounded by how nervous he felt. He had always been told just exactly who it was that he was going to marry so the idea of having to actually ask a woman a question like this one. He had never considered the possibility of being turned down. It was an unpleasant feeling, but it was also reassuring. Whatever her answer, it would be real. He could know that for sure. He pulled out the little ring he had purchased from an antique shop before ever returning home. It wasn’t the fanciest thing he could have bought her. Hell, he could have gotten her the hope diamond if he thought she wanted it, but he knew her. This ring? This ring was perfect for her. It was exactly the right thing to give her.
“What are you doing? Aasif?”
“Something I should have done a long time ago. Beth, I love you more than anyone I could ever love, and there’s only one thing that makes sense when you realize that.”
“And what’s that?” she said in a shaky voice barely above a whisper.
“It’s simple. All I have to do is ask you one question. Will you marry me, Beth? Please tell me that you will. It will be the thing that completes my whole life.”
He slid the ring onto her trembling finger, praying that she didn’t decide to take it right back off again. She looked down at it, dumbfounded, before looking back at him with the widest grin he had ever seen.
“Is that a yes, then?”
“Yes! I’ve actually had dreams about this, Aasif, but I never thought it would really happen. So yes. My answer is yes.”
Being a man who arguably had everything and had for his entire life, Aasif hadn’t known he could feel this kind of joy. His heart felt bigger than he had known possible and he knew that there was nothing else that he would need like he needed her. He could be who he was supposed to be now. He could be the Sheikh, just so long as she was there beside him.
“There’s only one problem,” Beth said with a look that showed a renewed level of concern.
“And what’s that?” he asked, curious as to what could possibly be troubling her now.
“Now we’ve got to tell your folks.”
Oh, right. There was still that.
“Just follow my lead, alright? It’ll all be ok, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”
Beth looked at him like he was absolutely nuts, which he couldn’t really be surprised about. After all, he had thoroughly briefed her on his family and their lofty expectations after she accepted his proposal, and consequently she wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to meet them. But if she was going to be a part of his family, she would have to be a part of the whole family. He was going to have to find a way to blend these two parts of his life unless he wanted to give one of them up, which wasn’t something he was anxious to do. He wanted to offer her more reassurance than he already had, but there was no time. They were already pulling up to the front of his family's palace and she was going to meet them whether she liked it or not. As soon as the driver stopped, Aasif jumped out of the car and ran around to the other side, opened the door and took Beth’s hand to help her out of the car. She took it, her big, beautiful eyes full of hesitation and fear. She was getting out, though, which was a good sign. It was the first step. He led her up the steps and into the palace where he knew his whole family would be waiting. What would happen from there, he could not say.
“Aasif!”
His father strode towards him and slung his arm around his shoulder, practically knocking Beth over in the process. That definitely wasn’t the best greeting, but Aasif wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t expected a man like his father to just fold. It wasn’t his style.
“Hello, father. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Is it? Well, what an interesting greeting. Come, we’ve many things to talk about, things to work out. There isn’t
any time to spare.”
“You’re right, we should talk. But first, I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Beth, my fiancé.”
Aasif’s father dropped his arm instantly and took an angry step back. He looked at Aasif as if he had been stabbed, looked at Beth as if she had done something even worse. Aasif could see that this wasn’t going well, but he wasn’t going to back down. He was through with that.
“Your fiancé? You already have a fiancé. You have since birth. If you think for one minute that I’m going to let you just walk out on your responsibilities, you are sadly mistaken. I will strip you of everything before I see you do this thing.”
Enough!”
The great entryway of the lavish palace went deadly silent. All eyes, and there were a lot, seeing as his entire family was waiting to greet him, turned to see who the voice that dared interfere between father and son. As astounding as it was, it was his mother. He had seen her speak up every now and again, but never like this. She was outright defying his father now, something none of them had ever expected.
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