Pretty Things (The Pretty Trilogy #3)

by Donna Alam

  Kai is embraced again in the midst of muttered congratulations and, ‘Oh, my lovely dears!’ Then she lifts her head and asks, ‘When?’

  ‘One month.’

  ‘A month!’ We repeat at the same time, Mishael’s gaze making a darting triangle between my face and my waistline, darting back to Kai’s.

  ‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ he answers, amused. ‘History isn’t repeating itself.’

  ‘I didn’t mean . . .’ Her words trail off, her face still pink, her expression now discomforted. ‘But so soon,’ she says, her voice gaining strength. ‘It’s very short notice.’

  ‘Does that mean you aren’t up to the challenge?’

  This time she swats his shoulder, telling him she’d have done better throttling him at birth. She leaves him then and I stand as she approaches the sofa, stepping into her open arms.

  She envelops me in her embrace with words of love and congratulations before pulling back and looking over her shoulder. She exclaims, ‘Kai! You must call Phillippe, beg him to help.’ He groans, bringing a hand to his head as she adds, ‘Of course, he’ll be heartbroken not to be the bride. He always did promise you he’d look exquisite in white.’

  My bare legs and I make it home unmolested, at least by the gardening team’s gaze, catching a ride with Mishael’s driver with a sweaty Kai accompanying me in the backseat.

  Our conversation is bland, and when I venture to bring up last night’s visa issues, Kai quietens me with a light squeeze of my hand. I try to bring up the topic again once we’re out of the car and away from the ears of the driver, but before the front door is even closed, we’re met in the hallway by Martha.

  This should be interesting.

  Kai introduces me, in English, don’t you know, as his wife. And Martha looks like she’s just swallowed a great bitter pill. One approximately the size of a goose egg.

  ‘Most sorry, madam, for brush.’ Her words are halting and disjointed and I hope she’s also sorry for spitting, but I leave it at that. A vain hope, because the look on her face isn’t one of contrition. Nope. She looks decidedly pissed off. ‘But I am seeing you with my own eyes and I am fearing in my heart!’ At this, she pounds the corresponding muscle with her fist. ‘Paining most hurtfully!’

  It will if you thump it, drama llama. ‘Oh.’ It’s all I can think of to say that isn’t inflammatory. Like piss off. ‘I gave you a shock?’ Not quite as bad as the one she gave me, I’ll bet. Did I come at her with a broom and a demonic gleam? No, just an armful of dirty laundry.

  ‘Yes, madam,’ she continues, her voice gaining in force and volume. ‘You are paining my heart. Also my foot-finger!’ And at this, she thrusts out a massively bandaged foot.

  ‘I’m sorry?’ My bemused gaze catches Kai’s amused one before sliding to, what must be, by the amount of bandages, a partially severed foot. ‘What happened to your . . . foot?’

  ‘Madam is paining my foot-finger!’ she adds, adamant and aggrieved. And stamping her supposedly damaged foot.

  ‘She told me you caught her foot-fin—her toes, in the door. Upon your escape.’ Kai’s clarification of her grievance is made with a masterly effort at not laughing his head off.

  ‘Did I?’ Did I fuck. The door was definitely shut. Her toes would’ve been sliced off, the way I’d slammed it closed, and I see no bloody footprints on the floor. Or toe stumps.

  ‘Never mind,’ Kai slickly interjects as Martha begins to huff and puff. Resting his arms on her shoulders, he turns her. ‘You should go and rest. You know, if you hadn’t been cleaning the floors, you wouldn’t have been in the house. And therefore, none of this would’ve happened.’

  She hisses something low and Kai chokes on a laugh.

  ‘Martha would like to know if you’d like some tea before she goes.’ Which is strange because I know chai is pretty much universal for tea. Pretty sure I didn’t recognise the word from the ones spat from the side of her mouth.

  ‘Did she?’ I ask dryly. ‘Tell her no thanks.’

  ‘Nonsense! Martha is famous on the compound for her chai, aren’t you?’

  She responds with one of those head-wobble things, where her head appears to move independently of her neck. It’s one of those social clues that leaves me, well, clueless. What does it mean? Yes? No? Maybe? I just farted silently? Though in this instance, I bet I could guess. Oh, Mister Kai, you are too kind. Certainly I will make the chai for you, my favourite one. Hers I will certainly gob in.

  ‘Yeah, no. Think I’ll give it a miss, thanks anyway.’

  Martha shuffles away, leaving us in the hall.

  ‘I hear you’ve been entertaining the gardeners.’ His voice is low, his tone almost chiding as he turns to face me.

  ‘Where’ve you been?’

  ‘For a run.’

  His answer is accompanied by a dangerous looking smile as he moves toward me, though stalk might be a better description. He’s the big cat and I’m the breakfast gazelle.

  A shaft of light from the mezzanine above gives him a halo, touching his dark locks with amber and gold. But it isn’t an angelic look by any stretch. It just highlights the animal.

  Wasn’t he the one who said a little pussy never hurt anyone?

  ‘I can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I?’ he purrs, eyes alight. ‘You’re like a magnet for trouble.’

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t leave me then?’ The words sound like a challenge, even as I begin to back away. ‘It’s hardly my fault your maid’s a psycho.’

  ‘I was referring to the gardeners, habibti. The show you gave and how the whole estate now knows.’

  My butt hits the table as his hands reach for my hips.

  ‘Knows what?’

  ‘That my wife has gorgeous legs.’ One hand dips under the shirt. ‘And fabulous—’

  I squeak as his fingers find my nipple, trailing off into a hum as he begins to pinch. ‘Ohhh,’ I breathe, leaning into him. ‘The fan dance I did with the palm fronds?’

  His chest rumbles against my own as he pulls me towards him, kissing me. Pulling away, the lingering scent of his cologne mixed with musk and sweat—yes sweat!—makes me want to crawl into his chest.

  ‘Minx,’ he rasps, his mouth hovering above mine, just out of reach.

  ‘Tease,’ I counter, leaning into him and trying to make our mouths meet.

  ‘You don’t know the half of it.’ His lips ghosts my cheek, briefly grasping the soft flesh of my ear between his teeth, that small twinge making my stomach heat and my knees weak. His fingers begin pulling at the buttons of my, or rather his, shirt. ‘You’ve only touched the surface.’

  ‘Are you hiding things from me?’ I ask breathlessly.

  ‘I prefer revealing my dark secrets in increments.’

  ‘What about Martha?’ I lay my hand over his, stilling his progress. He looks momentarily confused.

  ‘What?’ Kai lifts his hand and mine falls away.

  ‘What happens if she comes back in?’

  ‘Then I expect she’ll be so shocked at the depths of our depravity, she’ll be forced to move back to India. Finally.’

  ‘Depths of depravity?’ I repeat, the pulse between my legs ignited by the obvious presence of his hard shaft.

  ‘I’m going to fuck you so deep you’ll be feeling me all week.’ Pulling the shirt from my shoulders, he slips his index fingers into the waistband of his boxer briefs—the boxer briefs I’m currently wearing.

  ‘Really?’

  He doesn’t look up, sliding the material to my feet. ‘Hmm?’

  I step from the pool of material and use my index finger to tip his chin. Hello, up here! ‘You want me to be out of action all week?’ And for once, I sound passably coquettish.

  Kai’s expression morphs from confused to cunning, then worryingly, settles on hesitant.

  ‘What is it?’ I ask, curling my fingers in his half-open shirt.

  ‘I’ve got to travel again.’

  All of a sudden I feel stupidly exposed, whic
h of course, I am, as I’m standing naked in the entrance hall. I feel vulnerable, disappointed, and very close to tears. But I knew this would happen, of course I did. Kai travels for business frequently, but the knowing and the experiencing aren’t the same.

  ‘Sweetheart.’ Just one quiet word as he pulls me into his arms. ‘I’m sorry it’s so soon. And that it’s going to be for so long.’

  One lone tear trickles down my face as I lift my gaze to his. ‘When? How long?’ I’m sad and feel pathetic. I must look so, too, if Kai’s expression is anything to go by.

  ‘A few weeks,’ he answers sadly. ‘I’m not sure exactly. A couple of our bigger projects are under threat and I won’t know how big the issues are until I’m on the ground.’ Taking my face in both his hands, he wipes my tears with his thumbs. ‘And I have to leave today. I’m so sorry.’

  My lips tremble under the effort of supressing how I feel, of keeping it all in. This is shit and it just isn’t fair. Words, when I’m finally able to form them, come out in a teary bubble. ‘Where are you going? Why didn’t you tell me before?’

  ‘South America, to begin with,’ he answers solemnly. ‘A whole host of countries after that. And I’ve only just found out. I saw Faris while I was out on my run.’

  If this news didn’t douse our ardour, this revelation surely will . . . I feel like I’ve been drenched in cold water as I begin rubbing my arms. ‘What did he say?’

  Kai doesn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulls the shirt from the table and drapes it across my shoulders before he kisses my temple. ‘Come on, we’ll talk about it upstairs.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  Heading straight for the bathroom, Kai flicks on the shower as I follow him in. Having threaded my arms through my shirt sleeves, I fold them across my chest.

  ‘What did he say?’ I repeat.

  ‘That it wasn’t him.’ Kai’s back is still to me as he says this. I’m not sure if his position is conscious; to hide his expression. Turning, his gaze is on mine as he grasps the hem of his black T-shirt, pulling it over his head. This could be a tactical move, but I’m not swayed.

  ‘And you believed him?’ Incredulous, I already know the answer. ‘What, all of it?’

  As he speaks, he runs a tell-tale hand across his scalp. ‘I must give him the benefit of the doubt, habibti. We spoke of what happened at the hotel—your reasons for leaving,’ he adds quickly. ‘And I’m sure that wasn’t his doing.’

  ‘So it was her?’ I can’t bring myself to say her name, preferring to grind my molars into dust. ‘And Essam?’

  ‘It wasn’t Faris. Of that I’m sure.’

  ‘What about the rest?’

  He blinks slowly, his gaze intent on my own. ‘The reason your visa was cancelled. That was him.’

  ‘Why, the conniving . . . butt-hole!’ Bastard. Arsehole. Twat!

  ‘He admitted to offering you money.’ I feel my face twist, my body turning from him. ‘He said it was a test, which is bullshit, of course. It was his strong hope.’ Stepping closer, he threads his arms around me, pulling me closer, so we’re skin to skin. ‘He doesn’t know you like I do, but he will.’

  ‘I doubt that.’

  ‘Obviously, he discovered you’d left the country quickly, and cancelled your visa.’

  Just as quick, the opportunistic bastard.

  ‘And the Riyadh bullshit?’ Kai’s supposed arranged marriage to a Saudi princess, no less. Well, that was the plan in Faris’ head, at least. He’d told me Kai was stringing me along. That I could never be more to him that just a piece of ass. Then later the same evening—to top the experience—I’d gone to Kai’s hotel, where a naked Sofia sat on her knees. That she was sitting before Essam rather than Kai, I couldn’t comprehend. Not with Faris’ words ringing in my ears. And utterly crushed, I’d ran.

  ‘Ah, well. We spoke about it.’ There’s a strange lilt to his voice. Sounds like trouble. ‘We won’t have any ongoing issues on that score.’

  ‘But my visa? Is he going to fix it?’

  ‘I have people working on it already. It’s complicated, and but for our marriage, you’d have been on the first plane back to Brisbane.’

  I push my palms against the hardness of his chest and step away. ‘This money he offered me to leave, he thought he’d won, so he screwed—’ Kai’s brows pull together ‘—I mean he double crossed me, didn’t he?’

  ‘Why, have you changed your mind?’ If possible, his brow furrows further, his gaze hardening.

  ‘It’s just another demonstration of how untrustworthy he is. He stitched me up, didn’t he?’ Promised me money to leave, not that I’d wanted it, or that I’d even have taken it, but it just goes to show what a ratbag he is.

  ‘It’s in your local bank account. In dirhams.’ Kai’s tone is arctic.

  ‘Oh.’ Oh, shit.

  ‘You get to keep it now, obviously.’

  ‘I don’t fucking want it!’ I yell, twisting from his grasp as his hand clasps my wrists.

  ‘Give it to a charity, but it’s yours, nonetheless. He’ll pay for hurting you.’

  ‘It’s a drop in the ocean to him,’ I spit viciously.

  ‘It is,’ he agrees. ‘But I’m not yet done.’

  His fingers uncurl, releasing me, but I don’t want to leave. Not yet. I also don’t want to admit this. Compromising, I perch my butt on the side of the bath. I’m so tired of all this bullshit, but I suppose if I’m honest, I’d hoped Kai would’ve found it to be all Faris’ fault. Maybe then I’d never have to see him again.

  ‘Sweetheart, this isn’t how I planned for our future to begin; our first day back. Please, let’s not fight. I have to leave in a few hours, and believe me, it’s not by choice. But I must.’

  ‘I know,’ I mumble, holding out my hand to him. He takes it, lowering himself beside me and I rest my head on his arm. ‘You’re wasting water,’ I say referring to the still-running shower.

  ‘We could get in?’

  ‘You just want to see my boobs.’

  ‘And if I said I did . . .’

  His words are left in the air as I stand and slip the shirt from my arms. Turning to look over my shoulder, I tell him if he loses the shorts, he can even help wash them.

  There’s something about kissing . . . something sort of mysterious. An unthinking symbiosis where lips meet. Soft, like petals rubbing, each not wanting to bruise the delicate bloom, each keeping pace, almost like it’s been choreographed.

  Until it peaks.

  Things get frantic for a moment, mouths and teeth clashing, hands grasping as though to overpower, to conquer, to crush.

  Water falls in a torrent around us, Kai’s body shielding me from the brunt of its force. My fingers are tight on his arse as his cock strains between us.

  ‘Not in here,’ Kai gasps, as I wriggle against him, trying to work him lower. I’m impatient and feeling a bit desperate. I’ve heard of spoiled orgasms, and while I’m pretty sure this isn’t one, so far this morning we’ve already buggered this up once.

  I need him inside me. Stat.

  ‘What happened to making me sore,’ I tease. ‘Though I have heard water can do that to you.’ Create drag. My words end in a giggle. God, I kill sexy. And not in a good way.

  The noise from his chest sounds more derisive than amused as he half turns to stem the flow. Turning back, he pulls me from the glass enclosure.

  ‘I’d say that all depends on what you use for lubrication.’ He throws me the tiniest towel, and it lands against my head. As I peel it back, the first thing I see is his smirk. The second is how he’s holding himself in his hand. Stroking, once . . . twice. Running his fingers over the tight head.

  My hand reaches out unbidden as I stare at the one thing guaranteed to make me wet.

  ‘No touching. Not yet.’ His voice is like a warm caress as he takes my hand, leading me from the bathroom. ‘Go lay on the bed.’

  Not that I’m eager or anything, but I’m probably there before the words are even out of
his mouth.

  ‘Keep still.’ His voice is a low growl, almost a warning.

  My fingers still from tapping nervously on the bedding as he towers over me, his nakedness, his rock-hard cock and abs making it difficult to concentrate.

  ‘I’m going to be gone for a while.’ His voice is almost a whisper—and without a hint of apology—his gaze intent on my own. ‘So I’m going to need you to do a few things for me.’ Somehow I can tell it isn’t laundry. ‘Take care of a few things for me.’

  His tone drips with innuendo and I can’t help the wide smile I find I’m suddenly wearing. Without really thinking about it, my hand creeps over my hip, fingers inching lower still.

  ‘Oh, kitty-kat, I didn’t mean that,’ he adds, part tease, part reprimand as his liquor-lustre blaze stares down. ‘In fact, I meant quite the opposite.’

  ‘What—’ I begin when he turns and walks away.

  Balanced on my elbows, I’m confused. Even more so as he opens a drawer. Coming back to the bed he has something black and lacy hanging from one crooked index finger.

  ‘Recognise these?’

  ‘They’re mine!’ Black lacy knickers, last seen on the floor after my first night with Kai. He’d said they hadn’t returned from the laundry service the next day, replacing them with expensive lingerie. Come to think of it, he also tied my hands together with them not long after that, holding me up against the door. I’d never seen them again after that. ‘You’re a dirty knicker thief.’

  Funny how this sounds more like an encouragement than a reprimand.

  His lips curl into a smile that could only be described as wicked.

  ‘Guilty as charged, for being dirty, at least.’ With this, he throws the scrap of underwear onto the bed. ‘But you knew that before you married me. Put them on.’

  What? ‘Hang on, I thought we—’

  ‘Put them on, habibti,’ he purrs dangerously.

  Why the hell am I covering the place I need him to fill? Seems redundant. Unfair, ffs! With a small huff, I wiggle my feet into the legs, shimmying the material up my hips, snapping the elastic against my skin once it’s in place.