Sheikh's Blackmailed Love

by Sophia Lynn

  Then, as quick as a flash, his hand landed in her thick brown hair, wrapping the fall of loose strands into his fist. With a cry, she tried to sit up, but then she found that she could not. Instead, he tightened his grip, holding her down to the bed. There was no pain in his grasp, but the sudden roughness made her moan.

  “I am a generous lord,” he whispered in her ear, “and I take very good care of the things that belong to me. And right now, beautiful gem, you are one of those things. When I saw you on the riverbank, I had to have you, and now that I have brought you here to my lands, there is no one that can contest me…”

  She whimpered a little at his words. All too clearly, she could imagine being taken from everything that she had known. Suddenly, her world became this small cave and the dark and terrifying man above her.

  “Do not fret… I will take good care of you. In return, all I ask for is your complete and utter obedience. If I have that, you will live as a queen.”

  She couldn’t help it. Something about the words woke a fire in her, both one to fight and one to be completely taken by. Without thinking about what she was doing, she thrashed suddenly, trying to get away as she thought a newly captive girl might.

  When Dario pinned her again, this time on her stomach, the heat inside her spiraled even higher. The need that she had been carrying for him for the last few weeks went up in a bonfire of heat and flame.

  “That was foolish,” he observed, sounding more amused than anything else. “However, I will warn you that a dark fate awaits those who would defy me…”

  She had to swallow twice before she could speak clearly.

  “What… what fate is that, my lord?”

  She heard him laugh a little at the honorific. One hand was still fisted in her hair, while the other one trailed down her back. She was acutely aware of how naked she was when his roving hand rubbed her bare rear.

  “Oh, I can be inventive when I wish,” he murmured. “Perhaps I will have my blacksmith hammer you out shackles that you would need to wear around your ankles for a month. Perhaps I would be so angry I would give you away to a distant tribe as a gift. Perhaps I would cut a green switch from the shores of the river and use it to make sure that you considered obedience every time you sat down for a week.”

  The words were barely out of his mouth before he brought his palm down smartly on her rear, making her yelp. The pain was a brief flash, there and gone, but a deeper heat remained, the sting warming her skin and sending a wave of desire straight between her thighs.

  “Oh!”

  Her hips bucked, but with his hand in her hair, she could barely move at all. Instead, Bailey could only wiggle with need, making Dario laugh.

  “Oh yes. For such a spirited prize as you, perhaps some time spent correcting you would be necessary. When a woman is as lovely and as stubborn as you, sometimes a small amount of pain can be a great teacher.”

  A rain of blows came down hard and fast over her rear, making her squeal with surprise and pain. Right behind that pain, however, was the blooming of a deeper pleasure, something warm and more intense than anything she had ever felt before.

  It took Bailey a moment to realize he had stopped. She could still hear the rain sheeting down outside, but her own breath sounded loud in her ears. She was conscious of her body in a way that she had never been before. There was the hot tingle where he had struck her, but there was an even deeper desire taking root inside her, a melting needy warmth that knew right away what would quench her.

  “Well?” he asked, his voice still amused. “Do you still want to rebel, little gem?”

  “No… no, my lord,” she whispered. The title came out of her mouth naturally. Somehow, Bailey could feel how it affected Dario, making him draw in his breath, making him intent and predatory in a way he hadn’t been before.

  “No? Are you sure? If you want to fight some more, perhaps I could go get my horse whip. I could tie you down and make sure that that beautiful ass of yours was red and welted…”

  She groaned, burying her face in the pallet underneath her. She shook her head hard.

  “No? Are you read to do as you are told, then?”

  “Yes, my lord,” she whispered. Her heart was beating as fast as if she had run a mile through the rain.

  “Good. Now stand up and let me see you.”

  He released his grasp on her hair, and after a moment she rose, trembling, and did as he said. He had examined her earlier, but that was nothing compared to what he did now. As unconcerned as a lion about his own nudity, he circled her, touching her where he pleased. He raked his fingers through her damp hair, letting it fall down around her shoulders. He touched her breasts, squeezing them gently before rolling her nipples gently between his fingers.

  She thought she would die of embarrassment when he nudged her legs apart, but then his clever fingers ran along the furrow between, making her almost faint with need. He chuckled at the desperate sound she made, and then his fingers found her clit. Bailey gasped, her eyes flying up to meet his, but his expression was cool, even amused.

  “Are you going to disobey again, little gem?” he asked. “Do you think that I will not bend you over and discipline you again?”

  “I don’t want to disobey,” she gasped, “But you’re… you’re touching my…”

  “I am touching something that belongs to me,” he corrected her. “This here, on you? It belongs to me.”

  As he spoke those words, his fingers slid against her clit, making her moan. He started to stroke her there at her most sensitive spot, making her hips rock and her fists clench.

  She had to be good. She had to bear this. Bailey knew they were just pretending, but the edge of imaginary fear there made her hotter than she had ever been before.

  “Oh… my lord, my lord, I’m going to…!”

  If anything, his fingers became more insistent, more demanding. She couldn’t leave her hands at her sides anymore. She reached up to cling to his shoulders, and he allowed her to do so. Her sharp nails dug into his arms as wave after wave of desire broke over her. His fingers seemed to know her body better than she knew it herself. She hadn’t thought that she could feel this kind of pleasure. She hadn’t thought that she would be able to climax standing up. In both cases, she was wrong.

  His fingers kept up their strong and steady rhythm until she cried out wildly, every muscle in her body tensing before releasing in an explosion of pleasure that made her shout. She clung to him, her legs shaking, her face buried in his chest, as her orgasm swept over her. It seemed to go on far longer than she had thought possible, but finally, when the pleasure receded enough that she was able to think, she looked up at Dario, her eyes wide.

  “I… I’ve never felt like that before…”

  His eyes were dark with desire as he smiled at her. “You will feel many things that you have never felt before while you are with me,” he promised her. “Now come…”

  He lay down on the pallet, stretching out to his full length on his back. When she made to lie down next to him, he shook his head.

  “The bag in the corner there,” he said. “You need what’s in the front pocket.”

  She went to the bag hesitantly, understanding when she saw the condoms there. She brought one back to find that he was watching her, his hand lazily stroking along his cock. She was unnerved by how arousing she found the sight of him simply pleasuring himself. She couldn’t keep her eyes from his cock, how large and hard it looked in his hand.

  She started to hand him the condom, but he shook his head again.

  “Put it on me, little gem.”

  Her hands shaking, Bailey knelt naked by the side of the man that she needed like breathing. Trying to control her nervousness, she removed the condom from the packet. When she slid the latex sheath down over Dario’s cock, she felt that dark desire inside her spark again, making her whimper. She couldn’t resist squeezing that hard flesh in her hands, and then when he groaned, she di
d it again. She started to stroke him, but then he grabbed her wrist.

  “If you keep that up, I’ll spill,” he said, “and tonight, I have no intention of spilling anywhere except in that delectable body of yours, do you understand?”

  She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. Dario studied her, and then something must have pleased him because his eyes softened.

  “Most beautiful gem in all my kingdom…”

  Bailey made a noise of surprise when he took her by the arms and dragged her on top of him. Straddling his thighs, her hands braced on his powerful shoulders, she felt another surge of desire thrum through her.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, almost formally.

  “Yes, my lord,” she whispered.

  The only warning she got was his dark hands tightening on her hips. In a matter of moments, he had lifted her slightly, his cock positioned at her opening. Then he pressed her down on him, drawing a long and startled cry from her.

  Dario stilled immediately, and when he looked up at her, she knew that he was no desert lord, no despot, but only a man who wanted her pleasure.

  “Bailey? Are you all right?”

  “Yes… yes,” she murmured, taking a deep breath. “Only… it has been a little while for me.”

  She thought she caught a look of triumph in his eyes as he nodded.

  “Then I will be gentle.”

  He lifted her with his hands slightly, and now he had the room to roll his hips up toward her. The motion, as elemental and ancient as the desert itself, sent another blaze of heat through her. There was still a hint of soreness and discomfort, but it was being quickly forgotten in the heat of what was happening.

  The rhythm he set was slow, but there was a power behind it that made her feel faint. She leaned down to brace herself on his shoulders, so that he could thrust up into her even more powerfully, even more hungrily.

  Soon, she couldn’t bear it. She had to press herself down on top of him. She had to have more of him, and she had to have the pleasure he promised her again.

  She could feel Dario’s surprise at her motions, but it only lasted a moment before he grinned savagely and began to push up inside her. The hunger that had taken over when they first came to this cave reasserted itself. There was no play now. There was nothing between them but the desire they had for each other, and now they took and gave in equal measure.

  Bailey was distantly aware she was shouting with need, her eyes shut tight and her legs trembling. The pleasure that had coursed through her before appeared again, and this time, it was even stronger. She froze as it poured through her, her mouth open in a cry of wild sensation.

  At almost the same moment, Dario’s hands tightened on her hips, bringing her down on him one last time. She could almost feel for herself the pleasure that struck him like lightning, that made him shout his need for her in his native Arabic.

  For several long moments, they were still except for the harshness of their breath, the in and out of their panting. Finally, though, the aftermath of the most intense pleasure of her life had to end. Dario pulled away from her with a slight groan, leaving her lying on the bed.

  She watched through half-lidded eyes as he went to dispose of the condom, and then he returned with a dampened cloth.

  “Spread your legs, Bailey.”

  Now that the heat of their desire had faded, Bailey blushed, squeezing her legs together more tightly.

  “I… why?”

  He smiled at her, a little wry. There was nothing of an ancient tyrant about him now. Instead, he was the kind man that she had grown to like and desire so very much.

  “Because I want to make sure that I did not hurt you, darling. When I first thrust up into you…”

  She blushed a little at his blunt words.

  “I’m fine,” she muttered, not looking at him. “It’s only been a little while for me, that’s all.”

  He reached up to brush her hair away from her eyes, a gesture so sweet it made her smile.

  “That’s fine, but I would still feel better if you allowed me to do this.”

  She could hear the thread of worry in his voice, so with a sigh, she lay back on the bed, spreading her legs slightly for him.

  “Thank you.”

  She gasped a little when he spread them wider, but then when he ran the cloth dampened with warm water over her intimate flesh she sighed. This was no clinical examination or cleansing; instead it was sensuous, warming those bare embers of pleasure again. She could feel the rough texture of the towel against her slick flesh, and then when he nudged her clit, she whimpered.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “No… not at all,” she said on a sigh, and he laughed.

  “You look fine,” he said, coming to lie down next to her. “How do you feel?”

  “Good,” she said, and then a little more shyly, “Tired. Like I could sleep out the week.”

  Dario laughed.

  “Well, I think I am going to take that as a compliment, though in all fairness, you hauled tarps for a few hours in the rain beforehand, so I likely shouldn’t pat myself on the back just yet.”

  Bailey frowned. She had nearly forgotten the frantic events that led them up to this little cave.

  “Do you think the dig is going to be okay?” she asked.

  Dario nodded firmly.

  “I do not believe that things happen for no reason. Priceless treasures of my country’s history do not appear simply to be washed from the face of the land. I believe—I hope that they will be fine.”

  “You truly do care about Jabal, don’t you?” she asked softly. “Not just the people, but the country, the history, all of it.”

  “It is me,” he said holding her a little more closely. “Sometimes, it is hard to tell where the country ends and the man begins. This was what I was raised to do. It is my life, and I would not want any other.”

  She snuggled into him, relishing the heat of him as he covered them with a thick warm blanket. Now that the heat of their lovemaking had receded, she was realizing how very cold it was with the rain pelting down outside.

  “What is this place?” she asked. “Where are we?”

  “I found this place when I was overseeing the setup of the excavation site,” he said. “I love being around the team. I had only a week or so to find the people that I wanted, and these were the best. I am paying them a great deal, but I know they are passionate enough about the history to come for nothing at all. Still, sometimes I find company wearying. I found this place, and I spend time up here regularly. It allows me to be alone, to collect my thoughts.”

  “And now you have shown it to me.” She had meant for it to come out teasing, but there was something more awestricken about it.

  “I have,” he said simply. “At the site, I feel the weight of who I am very clearly. I am the sheikh of Jabal, the First Among Ten Thousand. I lead my people in war and peace, prosperity and famine, and they look to me.

  “Here… I can be who I really am. That is a special thing, and I want to share it with you.”

  There were a thousand things that Bailey wanted to say, but it was too much. Instead, she only cuddled closer to Dario, hoping he understood how much this all meant to her.

  “I’m glad you have a place where you can be yourself,” she said softly. “I’m also so glad that you have decided to share that with me.”

  He might have had a response to that, but the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with her. The warmth of his body and her own fatigue allowed her to slip straight into a warm and dreamless sleep, a gentle smile on her face.

  *

  Dario stayed up far later than Bailey did. He smiled when she yawned and dropped off to sleep as easily as a child. In the dimness of the cave, he could no longer see her face, but instead, he could use the very tips of his fingers to trace the width of her brow, the contour of her cheek. What man in his right mind could look at her and think she was plain? With her diminutiv
e height and her perfect face, she made him think of the desert spirits, the ones that stood just out of reach of the caravan fires and could bring great blessings to those they met… or great curses as well.

  There were so many facets to this woman. He remembered her clear gray eyes on the day she had begged him for help, and he remembered the pale girl in the hospital bed who had looked so fragile. Then she had turned the tables on him by turning into a spitting virago, accusing him of blackmail while standing up to him in a way that few soldiers could do. Now she showed him another side, the tender lover, and each one conspired to bring him a little closer to her, a little more wrapped in her embrace.

  Dario sighed, turning on his back to look up at the rough stone ceiling. This cave had existed just as it was for thousands of years, and there was no telling how many people had sheltered inside it. He wondered who they had been and what they had wanted. Had they cared for each other and loved each other, or were they simply brought together through happenstance and chance, soon to be torn apart? Had their lives been as complicated as his and Bailey’s?

  The feelings he had for Bailey were intense, the most powerful things he had ever felt. Since he was a child, he had understood that the power of the Nejem line lay in its passion, but that was where their downfall came from as well. The sheikhs of the past had raced after glory and power, their ambitions carrying them to great heights before dropping them to their deepest depths. Some of them were undone by war, others by greed. Some were undone by women.

  “It is a poor idea, I think, to give you a grasp on my heart,” he whispered to her. Even as he said the words, however, he had an inkling that it was already too late.

  Wherever she was, no matter what she was doing, he was drawn to her. It was as if he were a compass that had found its true north. There was something in him that had seen Bailey and immediately decided that this was the woman, the one he wanted above all others.

  He pushed the thought away. It was too soon, far too soon for anything like that. He needed to put up boundaries now, before things got out of hand.

  Even as he thought of doing so, however, Dario flinched. She lay as trustingly in his arms as an angel, perfect and lovely. The idea of pulling away from her in any sense of the world made him feel a pang of pain.