And she was leaning toward taking him up on his offer.
Would she accept his offer or would she turn it down?
That question ran through Rasheed’s mind as he took a sip of his wine and glanced across the room at Johari as she stood at the window deep in thought.
As the future king of Mowaiti, his expectations for his future bride would be for her to turn it down. She had already violated protocol by even being alone with him, allowing him to kiss her not once but twice and being anywhere unchaperoned and without a bodyguard. However, he had an unsettling notion that she would accept. It seemed that she had no problem being rebellious, breaking rules and placing herself in situations he could only define as inappropriate.
But then on the other hand, a part of him, the part that was deeply attracted to her beauty and was lusting after her body, hoped that she would fly away with him. He was more than ready to introduce her to all those things he would have taught her anyway after they’d gotten married. Her defiant behavior as well as his intense desire for her made waiting for the wedding no longer an option.
He wanted her in his bed now.
“Monty?”
He glanced over at Johari again. Met her gaze. Felt her heat. Could almost taste it. He wanted to taste it. Intended to taste it. “Yes, Jo?”
He watched her breath in deeply. Watched how her breasts moved as she did so. An image popped into his mind of those breasts, uncovered, exposed, bare, and ready to be claimed, tormented and devoured by his mouth.
“I’ll go with you but only on one condition.”
He stared at her, slightly annoyed that she thought she could set stipulations. “And what condition is that?” he asked, taking another sip of his wine.
“That you teach me how to please a man.”
He cleared his throat after nearly choking on his wine. “What did you say?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. He figured she was trying to get past what was probably a shocked look on his face. “I said that I will go with you if you promise to teach me how to please a man.”
He swallowed. That’s what he thought she’d said. He had planned to do that anyway, but to hear her suggest it was sort of unnerving. Women groomed to be wives didn’t ask such things. They didn’t even think it. “Why?” he asked, slowly crossing the room to her, needing to look in her face when she explained herself.
He came to a stop in front of her. Her eyes were as bright as the sun rising over the Persian Gulf and as serious as a heat wave in the Sahara. “I will be getting married soon.”
He nodded, thinking that he of all people knew that. “And?”
She looked away briefly and then directed her eyes to him. “And the more I know, the more my husband will appreciate me.”
His brows rose. “And why wouldn’t he appreciate you? You will be his wife.”
She hesitated before giving him an answer, and he figured she was trying to decide how much information to share with him. “It will be an arranged marriage, which is not uncommon in my country. The man I am to marry will be allowed to have a mistress, as many as he wants. Although it is our way, I’m too possessive to accept something like that. I thought I would be able to, however, I know I won’t and unfortunately, it will cause problems with my marriage.”
Yes, it will cause problems, he thought. It was on the tip of his tongue to suggest she get over it because he would have a mistress. In fact he would have more than one. No wife could compete with a mistress when it came to bedroom skills and shouldn’t even try. Everyone had their roles. A wife was a wife and a mistress was a mistress. A man would not expect his wife to behave like a mistress.
“Do you want to cause problems in your marriage?” he decided to ask.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “But I can’t settle for anything less than a man who will be faithful to me. That is why I want to learn everything I can.”
He felt he needed her to understand. She was setting herself up for failure. “Even if I agree to what you’re asking, you will never learn everything, Jo.”
A determined look settled on her face. “As long as I know what’s important to him. It shouldn’t be hard to keep him happy because of his age. He’s old.”
Rasheed raised a brow. “He’s old?”
“Yes, he’s fifteen years older than me, so I would expect most of his good days are gone already, over and done with. So I wouldn’t have to know a whole lot to keep him happy. Just the right stuff.”
Rasheed didn’t say anything. He hadn’t recovered from what she’d said about his age. “How old is he?” He knew the answer but asked anyway.
“Thirty-nine.”
He shrugged. “I don’t think that’s old.”
Johari wrinkled her nose. “I disagree,” she said, as if she had made up her mind about it and it wouldn’t be changed.
“If he’s had mistresses for as long as I’ve heard he’s had them,” she went on, “then he’s probably well worn-out by now, although I’m sure he probably doesn’t think so. I need to convince him that he is and from now on, I will be enough for him. But I’ll need to back up that claim with knowledge of the things a man would like.”
Her voice had gotten stronger. Was filled with more conviction, he thought. He tried to keep the hard line from forming on his lips, but more than anything he needed to make her see reason. He had no problems teaching her anything she wanted to learn, but he didn’t want her to be disillusioned and think for one minute it would matter in the bedroom. The bottom line was that he intended to keep his mistresses.
He pulled in a deep breath. It seemed that Johari was going to be more trouble than he originally thought. What she was thinking was utter nonsense, a waste of good time and energy…on her part but not on his. He would enjoy every moment teaching her things. But in essence it wouldn’t change a thing, although she assumed she could wrap him in so much pleasure that he’d be convinced he only needed a wife and no one else. He shook his head. For the love of Allah, there wasn’t that much pleasure in the world.
That realization played on his conscience. Could he let her believe that? He looked at her and decided, yes, he could. It would be a hard lesson but one she deserved for not returning home to plan their wedding. Had she done the right thing, neither of them would be here now.
“So that is my condition, Monty. Will you take it?”
Rasheed felt it was time he taught his rebellious fiancée a few important lessons and he would enjoy doing so. In the end, when he revealed his true identity to her, she would see just what a mistake she had made in thinking she was clever enough to outwit her family and outsmart him.
He met her eyes and saw the soft, innocent plea in their dark depths. She had no idea what she was asking for. He had to be certain. “And you’re sure that is what you want?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
He waited for a few moments and then he said, “In that case, my driver and I will take you back to the hotel. I suggest you pack up your belongings and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll come to the hotel in the morning to pick you up at eight o’clock. We will fly out of New York by nine.”
She nodded. “Where are we going?”
A smile touched his lips. “First stop is to my private villa near Brazil. And your lessons will start tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
He blinked. She had actually thanked him. Did she not understand the seriousness of what she had agreed to do? What she had asked of him? He inclined his head. Out of curiosity, he decided to ask, “Won’t your fiancé expect you to come to him on your wedding night a virgin?”
She shrugged. “Probably. But I’m hoping he will prefer pleasure over innocence. Wouldn’t you?”
An easy smile curved his lips. “I refrain from giving my opinion.”
And he thought, for her sake, that was a good idea.
Chapter 7
“Are your comfortable, Jo?”
Johari glanced over at Monty, who was sitting acros
s from her in his private jet. She had flown in a private plane a number of other times since both her father and brother owned them. But there was something about Monty’s jet that was unique in that it was larger and had a lot more amenities than any she’d ever flown in. When she had mentioned it to him he’d explained it was due to the amount of time he spent in the air.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
She broke eye contact with him and glanced out the window, trying to recall every single detail of last night after they had agreed to have an affair. The thought made shivers run up her spine. She had just gotten kissed for the very first time two days ago and already she was looking forward to something more.
Johari turned back toward Monty and saw he was browsing through a stack of papers he had taken out of his briefcase. She could only vaguely remember leaving his condo to return to her hotel last night. He had walked her inside the hotel as far as her room door and then, doing nothing more than placing a soft kiss on her cheek, he had made sure she had gotten safely inside before leaving.
She settled back in the soft cushions of the leather seat and nervously licked her lips, thinking this was the day her lessons were to begin, but he had not yet shown any interest in starting them. He had picked her up at the hotel at exactly eight that morning. Before he had arrived she had taken time to make a call to Cel. Although her friend was out on international waters, Johari had left a message letting her know she was on her way to Brazil with Monty. In a way she was glad she had not spoken to Cel. Her friend would have berated her for acting so impulsively and going off with a total stranger. But for a reason Johari didn’t understand and couldn’t explain, she felt safe with Monty.
She had taken more time with her appearance this morning, deciding to wear a white sundress and, from the look he’d given her, she knew she had made the right choice. But that was all she had gotten from him so far—a look and several smiles. She wasn’t sure exactly what she had expected, but to be ignored hadn’t been it. Maybe she had counted on too much too soon or maybe she was just a little too anxious for her lessons to start.
She glanced back out the window as she tried to blot out of her mind an incident she had heard about from the whisperings of her parents’ household staff. A sheikh who was to marry one of the daughters of a neighboring sheikhdom had ordered his bride-to-be to undergo a physical examination before the wedding to verify she was still a virgin.
When the examination showed she was not, the sheikh had called off the wedding and taken extreme measures to humiliate the woman before demanding that she be banished to Siberia. What if the same thing were to happen to her? What if Sheikh Valdemon got wind of the fact she had not returned to Tahran as expected and believed he’d been compromised by her behavior and ordered such an examination for her?
She didn’t want to think about such a thing happening. She was depending on him not finding out anything until their wedding night, and hopefully, by then once she showered him with all the things she had been taught, she would be able to convince him that the loss of her virginity didn’t matter. She wanted to believe that her future husband would appreciate a wife with exemplary bedroom skills. But still…
She drew in a deep breath, realizing it was too late to have second thoughts now since they were probably already halfway to Brazil. The sky was a beautiful blue and they were flying high above the clouds. A few moments ago the pilot had announced their altitude but she hadn’t been paying much attention. Her focus had been on the man sitting across from her.
And speaking of Monty…
She glanced quickly over to where he sat to find him looking at her. She swallowed and tried to control the deep pounding of her heart. He was looking at her the same way he had last night, just moments before he kissed her.
“Come here, Jo.”
His voice was deep, throaty, and she wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “You want me to come over there?”
A sexy smile touched his lips. “Yes, I want you over here.” He patted his lap. “Right here.”
She swallowed tightly as she unfastened her seat belt. The plane had leveled off, which made getting out of her seat and walking the distance to him safe and easy. He unsnapped his own seat belt and then proceeded to shrug off his jacket and toss it aside. When she was within arm’s reach, he placed his hands around her waist and tugged her down to him, snuggling her into his lap with her head resting against his chest.
The only time she recalled being held this way by a man was when she had nearly cried her eyes out as a child of three when Jamal had left home to attend school in France. Jamal had been her hero. Her protector. The brother she adored. She had thought her world had come to an end and her father had held her tenderly while she shed all her tears. And now she was in the arms of a man who definitely wasn’t her father. In his tight embrace, she could feel the outline of his taut muscles. Hard. Firm. Masculine.
“Ready for your first lesson, Jo?”
The warmth of his breath fanned against her ear and she lifted her head off his chest to meet his eyes. “Here? Now?”
“Yes,” he said, curling his fingers gently in her hair, guiding her face closer to his. His lips tugged into a sensuous smile. “And this is how.”
Johari wasn’t sure what to expect, but she didn’t anticipate having her mouth made love to in such a way that turned her to complete mush in his lap. They had kissed before, but never like this. First he took the tip of his tongue and traced all around her lips, causing a sizzling sensation to stir throughout her entire body. Holding her mouth in place with his fingers resting on her cheekbones, with agonizing slowness he continued the process. His featherlight caresses were sending heated desire circulating all through her.
And when her lips parted on a moan, he inserted his tongue and curled it around hers, slowly and methodically taking a hold of it in a firm grasp. He began sucking on her tongue with a voraciousness that had her reaching out to clutch his shoulders when an incredible ache erupted inside of her. Dead center between her thighs. Waves of longing she had never felt before took over her senses and she could easily feel the engorged erection beneath her bottom and the solid hard chest pressed against her breasts
The muscles in his shoulders felt firm and hard beneath the grip of her fingers and she could only savor his taste while the mastery of his kiss rippled through her, stirred an absolute ache within her.
He slowly pulled his mouth away and murmured against her moist lips in a low, throaty tone, “A woman lets a man know how much she appreciates him by the way she kisses him. The most important elements in a kiss are taste and feel. Use your tongue to do both with the sole purpose of building a craving inside of him that is strictly for you.”
“Strictly for me?”
Another sensuous smile formed on his lips. “Yes. Go ahead, Jo, and try it.”
She wondered how he could entice her to do such a thing when so many sensations and emotions were running through her. Ninety percent of her body felt overheated and there was a throb in her center that seemed to have taken on a life of its own.
“I’m here to teach you everything you need to know,” he said assuredly, as the warmth of his breath came in contact with her ear, sending a sensuous shiver through her.
She breathed in deeply. “What if I don’t do it right?” she whispered in a soft voice.
“You will do it right because there is no right or wrong way. Just continue to grip my shoulders, lean close and go for my mouth the same way I went for yours. Feel me and taste me. Build a craving inside of me that is strictly for you.”
She focused on his lips and her heart began racing in her chest all over again. The tips of her breasts felt tight and achy and sensations were swirling around in her stomach. Her hands left his shoulders and clenched the front of his shirt instead. And then she leaned forward.
It took everything within Rasheed to just be a participant in the kiss and let her take control, be in control. His lips thro
bbed beneath the tip of her tongue as she traced his mouth from corner to corner with the lightest of strokes. The same way he had done hers. Johari was a quick study. She was also one very sexy woman. And the dress she was wearing looked stunningly feminine on her. There was just something sensual about white against brown skin.
A shudder rumbled through him. He could actually feel perspiration forming on his brow, and the erection behind the zipper of his pants felt helplessly engorged. There was nothing like being savored by a woman, having her tongue roam over your mouth, tasting you, feeling you, and destroying your ability to think straight. To think at all. When he parted his lips on a groan, she inserted her tongue to taste and feel some more, and when she did so he drew her tighter into his arms at the same time Johari deepened the kiss.
Desire answered the call of their mating lesson and he felt like a primitive animal being overpowered. Taken. He was the one being seduced. She was effortlessly sweeping him into a stream of heated lust and, when she sank her mouth deeper into his, he couldn’t help the fingers that went through her hair to hold her mouth steady while images of what went beyond kissing filled his mind. This was pleasure as gratifying as it could get and he had been the one to show her how it was done.
“Please get ready for landing, Your—Mr. Madaris.”
Rasheed was glad Johari was so focused on what she was doing that she missed the almost-slipup by his pilot. She slowly pulled her mouth away, but not before taking the tip of her tongue for one final flick.
Oh, Allah. He breathed in deeply. His student had been extra, extra thorough, eliciting a response from him that he had felt all the way to his toes. A knot formed in his throat when she lifted her eyes to meet his. He was finding it a challenge to maintain control. The lust running through his body was about to kill him.
“I need to go back to my seat now, Monty. How did I do?”
He let out the breath he was holding. “If you do any better I won’t be able to handle it.”
Wrapped In Pleasure Page 23