by Mel Teshco
"The fort has great significance to my people. Pilgrims come from all over the country to pay homage here. It would have great importance to our people if you restored this part of the fort. What happened in the past is a stain on their consciousness. You can heal this."
"That is a hideous responsibility." She leapt over several fallen rocks like a gazelle and moved further down the hill finally stopping at the fortified wall. She pulled herself up onto the parapet and peered over it to the city below.
He followed her. "You can fulfill your dreams here, Lilly. There is so much work to do. This is your heritage." Jamal put his arms around her hips, pulling her back from the wall, worried about her intention. His heart thudded heavily. He, too, needed to wipe the stain of the memory of the crypt away.
He needed her.
She turned in his arms to face him. "I want love from a husband, Jamal. You were born to this greatness but you have to understand, this is a shock for me. I had no idea of my background or why you chose me, until now. Surely there must be others who would want this honored position?"
Her rejection was a slap to the face. He bit down his anger. "I don't want anyone else, Lilly. You are my choice. There were so many times I wanted to take you in my arms in London, talk to you and plan our future together."
Her eyes narrowed and blazed, the pupils like pinpoints in her startling blue irises. "Maybe you should have. Maybe you should have let things develop naturally instead of using trickery."
"Would you have welcomed me?"
"Jamal, I could have easily fallen for you but I thought you had a fiancée. We're interested in the same things. I'd love to have a big family; you want children too. I looked forward to seeing you every day. I was jealous that your fiancée had such a wonderful man and you were so kind to my granny despite all her insults. I enjoyed the way we worked together so well and I was so excited about this project." Her mouth wobbled. "That month we spent together in London was heaven."
He stared down at her, moving a lock of her hair from her face. "I thought you had feelings for me. I could see it in your eyes."
A tear ran down her cheek and she wiped it away. "You are capable of deep treachery, Jamal. How can you possibly expect me to feel anything for you now? Let me go."
Her voice was so miserable it hit him hard. He swallowed, determined to steel himself against her pain. The right thing to do would be to let this beautiful young woman go. He was to be the sheikh. He couldn't afford weakness. His people depended on him. "You will learn to forgive me, princess."
He bent and kissed her, held her so tightly, she couldn't escape. He wanted to take her, to get a son on her and enjoy taming her willful spirit. The way her blue eyes flashed, enthralled him. This spirit. This fury.
To his surprise Lilly kissed him back. She opened her lips and took his tongue into her mouth, pressing her torso against his as if she wanted him. Her tongue toyed with his, meeting and playing. A jolt of lust surged through him. He'd waited to bed this woman a good month. Part of him stayed on alert, expecting the bite, the punch or a kick and yet her body remained pliant. Accepting.
The real Lilly Jones had wild blood. Passion.
Why was she suddenly compliant?
***
Escape required fuel, Lilly told herself when servants brought the banquet to her apartment that evening. She'd barely eaten all day. From the quick inspection Jamal had allowed her, the wall down to the city wasn't insurmountable. It was so old there were enough hand and toe holds for her to make her way down to the bottom. She'd climbed worse on her university holidays with her pals, admittedly she'd worn the correct gear on Mont Blanc but she'd be damned if she'd let that stop her. What she needed was a flashlight and Jamal had a powerful one lying on the floor. If she could distract him and get him to fall asleep, she would find a way to steal it.
Washed and bathed by servants after her ordeal in the crypt, she sat in her apartment cross-legged near Jamal as the servants placed the meze in front of them on a large ornate silver tray.
"You look quite the princess," Jamal said, his hot gaze appraising her tiny silk top with no bra, harem pants and elaborate gauzy veil.
"It isn't as if I had a choice. My suitcase seems to have disappeared." A ripple of pleasure sizzled down her spine. Even now, even after his betrayal, her body still responded to this gorgeous prince. What could one night with him hurt?
"I prefer you in the silk harem pants. The ornate headdress suits you, too. Highlights the exotic blue of your eyes. You're very beautiful, Lilly Jones."
She smiled knowing it was so easy to fall back in to the attraction they held for each other after a month of working together in London. The way he looked at her made her toes curl with excitement. He was so different to the London lads she did her sports with. "I'm not surprised you like it seeing as it's almost see through. The silk is so light, I feel like I'm wearing nothing at all." Everything had gone, her make up, her underwear, all her Western clothes and her handbag with her phone. Instead she had a wardrobe that would make a princess from the Arabian Nights proud. At least she still had the long black coat, scarf and dark sunglasses, she'd worn today and she wasn't letting them out of her sight.
"I thought it a suitable choice for our wedding night." Jamal picked up a piece of pita bread, placed some eggplant on it and handed it to her.
"You would. I'm almost naked."
His eyes gleamed.
Lilly took the food and ate it, savoring the smoky flavor. She needed Jamal well sated with food, alcohol and sex if she were to escape. If he wanted a wedding night, she'd give him one that they'd both remember for the rest of their lives. She would tell it as a tale for her children and grandchildren how she nearly became Queen of Qutum.
"Have you eaten Middle Eastern food before?" Jamal asked her.
"Yes. At university, I discovered I had a passion for it. It seemed so exotic. Different." She raised the glass of milky liquid to her lips and drank. Fire hit her stomach and she coughed as her eyes watered.
"Go slowly, Lilly. I don't want a comatose bride in my bed tonight."
"I haven't drunk this. What is it?"
"Aragh Sagi made from our own dates." He poured her a glass of water from a silver jug and handed it to her.
She gulped it down gratefully. "I thought it was milk."
"It's highly alcoholic and while it will make you easier to seduce, I don't want you drunk. In fact, I want you very much awake for the things I have planned for you."
She put her hand to her throat to feel her pulse fluttering because her whole body was electrified with need for him, though she wasn't under the illusion that this was anything other than lust. "I have a high tolerance for alcohol. I won a sculling competition at university once. Surprised the hell out of the lads I was on the climbing team with."
"I'm sure you'd be good at a great many things. You have fire in your blood. A zest for life, which is exactly what I want in my queen." His gaze moved over her in an appreciative manner, his eyes shining with pride and pleasure.
"Currently, the fire is in my belly. That drink was strong." Her nipples pebbled in anticipation and she wondered how she'd ever thought he was English when he was so clearly an Arab prince.
"Soon it will be between your legs. I want you to enjoy every thing I do to you."
"To one night in heaven." She raised her glass and toasted him then took another, smaller sip of the Aragh Sagi, this time prepared for the heat of it.
"To our continued happiness." Jamal lifted his glass to his lips, all the while staring at her. She doubted anyone had ever refused him anything.
The man was so sure of himself, so sexy and commanding. He rose to his feet and took her hand, helping her to hers. Anticipation and a little fear quivered inside her. She'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit she'd been wanting to go to bed with him from the moment she'd met him and although she understood the seriousness of his reason for marriage, she could never forgive him. She'd enjoy tonight ev
en if it hurt the first time.
By tomorrow, she'd be gone.
Perhaps the alcohol made her tongue loose, she wasn't sure but she had to ask a question about something that was bothering her before he bedded her. "Tell me, Jamal, do you have a harem waiting for you once you have done your duty and bedded me?"
Something flickered across his eyes. Memories. Pain. "A man can have more than one wife in Qutum, however, my father only married once and many follow in his footsteps. My mother was fourteen, young, innocent and he adored her. Worshipped her. She had three sons in quick succession and passed away."
"I'm sorry. That must have been terrible for you."
"It has been hard on my brother Zafar. Worse for my youngest brother, Tariq. He feels responsible."
"I see."
"I don't want another wife, Lilly. I want this to work. I want you and I want a son."
"One son."
"That is all I require and if you are unhappy you can leave."
"What? Leave my baby?"
"Unlike your grandmother you would have done your duty. You will be free to come and go as you please. I don't want you as a prisoner, Lilly. I want you to be free. I want you to stay because you care for me."
She did care, that was the trouble but the whole arrangement was ridiculous in this modern age. "And if I have a daughter?"
"I need a son."
"I could be in your bed forever." Oh dear, the Aragh Sagi had just hit home and along with it, the traitorous desire that had simmered for him in London, burst into flame.
His smile lit his eyes, making him irresistible. "That could be arranged." He stood and held out his hand. "You may find you like it there."
She didn't doubt it.
Instead of leading her by the hand to the sumptuous bed he swept her up into his arms and strode to it. He threw aside the red silk covers and assembly of cushions and placed her on it. Sitting beside her, his lips curved upwards in anticipation as he gently removed her silver ornate headdress with its stunning gauzy veil. His hands were sure and gentle as he pulled out the pins from her hair until it fell down her back. "Did you know you were chosen for me by our Grand Vizier?"
"How could that be?"
"I was shown your picture." He studied her face. "I wanted you from the moment I saw you."
"I knew that when I met you in the office." Although this marriage was no more than an alliance, his honeyed words warmed her blood. He was so serious, so attentive. So utterly wedded to doing his duty as a good prince should be and his desire for her couldn't be faked. She could see his erection tenting his thobe.
He fiddled with the tiny gold buttons on the front of her silk top, his fingers seeming large and clumsy. A frown creased his brow as a scowl of frustration marked his face.
"Here let me." She undid the buttons with deft fingers, exposing her breasts, unable to wait for his touch.
"You have no fear, Lilly Jones."
"Should I have?"
His hands moved to undoing her pants and he removed them, leaving her naked to his gaze. "No. I enjoy it that you're not afraid of me. I think you're perfect as you are. Brave and utterly beautiful."
She lay back, aware the alcohol had made her woozy and relaxed in spite of what she'd told him about her ability to absorb it, she'd never drunk anything like Arak before.
Jamal's hand moved lightly over her body before finally settling on her fine blond pubic hair as if he couldn't quite believe he had her in his bed. His forefinger explored between her legs, right along her slit, and craving his touch, she opened them more to let him stroke her.
He bent and licked her nipples, exploring them with his tongue, licking gently around the areole, first one and then the other, until they formed stiff peaks becoming hot beads of pleasure.
The anticipation of him made her wet. It was amazing that she could forgive him enough to enjoy him but the truth was that she had been thinking of this moment since she'd met him. He slid his fingers between her inner lips, sliding up and down until circling her clitoris so that a deep groan escaped her lips. Impossible little waves of pleasure started in her core and flittered over her body until she began to move to his touch. The prince seemed to know exactly what to do to make her respond to him.
He kept up a steady slippery pace, moving up and down until his fingers were slick with her juices. Her eyelids became hooded and she couldn't believe the intensity of the sensation. She'd never wanted to let any man touch her but Jamal was different. This was like a wicked fairytale.
"I wanted to savor you from the moment I encountered you in your office. You have no idea how much restraint I had to summon."
Persuasive words. Smooth and silky. No doubt he was used to using them on women and had done so many times, but this was the first time she'd heard it. And it was wonderful.
She reached up and stroked him back, running her fingers over his shoulders and arms, enjoying the rippling strength of his body. He had a light spread of dark hair on his chest and tanned flat nipples. In a pleasured daze, she reached up and pinched them, rolling the tip between her finger and thumb.
Jamal was mind-numbingly sexy.
"Have you ever had an orgasm, Lilly?"
"I...um...just by myself. No one has ever touched me like this."
"This is only the beginning." He moved down her body and placed himself between her legs.
At first she wasn't sure. She knew what he intended. She'd heard her university girlfriends whispering about this and giggling but she wasn't sure she'd ever want a man to taste her there. Every resistant thought fled her mind the moment his tongue touched her. She groaned and her hips jacknifed off the bed.
Even if she'd wanted to pull away, she couldn’t, not while he licked her up and down, not while he had his hard body pressed against her thighs, keeping them open. Not while she squirmed and moaned as he tormented her, sometimes stroking over the top of her clitoris so that little pre-orgasmic zings of ecstasy fired up her spine and exploded in her brain.
The pleasure was so intoxicating; she was trapped by it.
Jamal sucked her nub into his mouth and oscillated his tongue over the top. She couldn’t think. She could barely catch her breath.
He increased the intensity and she came with such a rush she saw stars. Her back arched and she screamed out her pleasure. She couldn’t think of anything else except what he was doing to her. She cried out, again and again as he took over her body. Another orgasm slammed into her, closely following the first until finally she became boneless.
On seeing her moment of ecstasy, he moved up her body, placing himself between her legs, his hand holding onto the thick head of his penis. Jamal's cock was big and she was fully exposed to him.
He thrust into her.
It hurt. Her whole body stiffened in pain and she wanted to push him off, but he pinioned her hands over her head. The pain was new and startling as she stretched to receive him but there was pleasure too. He stared down at her, his dark eyes merciless. But as he moved into her, his hips rocked in a slow rhythm and an entirely different sensation took over. Eyes closed, she groaned and shook her head from side to side as enjoyment swamped her shock of being taken. He nipped and sucked on her throat and his breath grew uneven. She seemed to have lost her will to push him off and wrapped her legs around him instead.
Every beat, every thrust took her higher until she came again, her cries echoing around the room. Her fingernails dug into his hands until she thought she would draw blood, so intense were the feelings she experienced.
“You’re mine,” he groaned, letting her hands go to clench her hips as he thrust again and again into her before shuddering his release.
For a moment they remained joined. Until finally, he pulled himself out of her but continued to hold her tight as if she were precious. His chest was heaving but he reached over to the side of the bed to take some tissues and wiped a smear of blood from her thighs and off his cock. "That was wonderful, little princess. I pray we make a son.
"
Oh God, she hadn't even thought about that. What would she do if she fell pregnant? All she remembered was that her period was due in a week and she had no idea whether this was a fertile or unfertile time. She stretched and wiggled out of his grasp.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, seemingly genuinely concerned.
"No. It's fine. I'm sure I'll survive. I need to go to the bathroom and wash. I think there's more blood." She didn't want to tell him how good it was because it would be so easy to fall for him and that would be foolish.
"Leave it for the servants to find on the sheets," he said, lying back amused.
"What? And become talk of the fort? No way."
Jamal laughed. He picked up the bloodied tissues and threw then in the garbage bin. "It is important that my people know you are a virgin, little princess."
"Ugh!" She flew to the bathroom in horror at the thought of something so private being talked about. Trying to get her wits together she sat on the toilet and peed, grimacing as her muscles below contracted. Suddenly she felt very, very tired, the plane journey, the shock of discovering Jamal was a prince, the crypt and its bloody heritage. Every thing hit her at once. She wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep for hours, but she couldn't. Jamal would become addictive if she didn't plan her escape. After being bedded by him, she realized that any other man would pale in experience after Jamal.
No man would ever come close.
Chapter Seven
Jamal awoke in a haze of pleasure, looking forward to taking his bride again. Her response to his lovemaking had pleased him more than he could ever have imagined. He could soon imagine her beautiful body ripe with his child. He turned onto his side to take her in his arms to find the unexpected.
She was gone.
He leapt out of bed to search the apartments. Empty. Wrapping his robe around himself he picked up his phone and pressed a button. "Summon my head of security."
"Certainly, Your Highness," a disembodied voice responded.
What a fool he was to think that Lilly Jones could be so compliant, so loving. She'd seemed willing last night. Surely her untutored responses couldn't have been an act? Part of him, the part that was so enamored by his beautiful bride, didn't want to concede that she didn't care for him. His heart thudded with misery and he cursed himself as he quickly washed and dressed. He and his men would hunt her down and then what? In the old days his ancestors would have had a princess caned for such insubordinate behavior. But only an animal would do that.