Читать книгу Red-Hot Desert Docs - Carol Marinelli, Amalie Berlin - Страница 18
ОглавлениеLEILA SEEMED MUCH better in the morning.
‘Look,’ she said to Adele when she came in to check on her.
They would not go to the healing baths today as the King and Queen were flying off and Leila was preparing for her trip.
She held out a small square of fabric to Adele. ‘I made this last night.’
There were tiny rows of gold and reds and above dark navy and dots of stars and there in the centre was a small silver heart.
‘Where the earth and sky meet.’ Adele smiled. ‘For Aafaq.’
‘It is beautiful, isn’t it?’ Leila said. ‘I put all my love into it.’
Her maid came in to dress her and Adele witnessed a very regal Leila. She wore a cream gown with a sash and when they went downstairs Fatiq was wearing a military uniform.
All the staff lined up to formally bid them farewell as it was official business they were leaving on.
‘I will be back on Monday morning,’ Leila said to Adele, ‘in time to say goodbye. You are to enjoy your days off. Do you have plans?’
‘I want to go to the souqs and to see the desert,’ Adele admitted.
‘Well, there is a driver at your disposal, just take some time for yourself.’
‘You do the same,’ Adele said.
* * *
Fatiq went to his office to say goodbye to his son. ‘You are now ruling.’
‘Not really,’ Zahir said. ‘If I make any changes over the weekend, you will simply veto them on your return.’
‘Then don’t make changes,’ Fatiq said, and turned to leave.
‘Father...’ Zahir called him back, not as a king but as a father. ‘Please go gently on my mother. She is recovering from surgery...’
‘She is recovering from an unnecessary procedure. She left the palace laughing and smiling, yet she has returned unable to climb the stairs unaided and she weeps each night. Now, with the help of the attar and the healing baths, she is slowly starting to recover. It does little to enamour me to your modern ways. However, I do think, on my return, we could consider plans for a birthing suite at the hospital.’
It was the tiniest concession but a possible step forward.
Zahir didn’t trust that it would transpire.
‘As well as that,’ the King said, ‘I think we should hold the selection ceremony soon. I was going to invite Princess Kumu...’
‘Don’t extend any invitations,’ Zahir said. ‘Not without my consent, for it would not look good if Princess Kumu and her family came to the palace and I was not here.’
Zahir had fired a warning shot and he watched the clench of his father’s jaw.
Yes, he was warning that he might leave.
The King did not respond to the threat from his son, just walked out of the office, and Zahir followed him.
They bade farewell and Zahir stood there as his parents were driven to the airstrip.
He watched them take off.
Zahir was now the ruler.
There was no point working on the hospital in his father’s absence, he knew that.
Yet change would be implemented.
‘Ask Adele to come and speak with me in my office,’ Zahir said to Bashir, a royal aide.
His office looked out over the desert and he put his hand deep in his pocket and felt the sand he had taken from his brother’s grave.
‘You asked to see me?’ Adele said, and the sound of her voice lifted his soul and he knew he was right to do what he was about to.
He nodded and turned.
‘How about I show you the desert?’
‘Is it allowed?’
‘I am the ruler,’ Zahir said. It didn’t fully answer the question. ‘If you want to call the nursing home and enquire about your mother, you should do so now, because there will be no reception out in the desert.’
‘How long will we be there?’
Zahir didn’t answer.
‘Should I bring anything?’
‘No.’
She called the nursing home and spoke to Annie. ‘How is she?’
‘She’s the same. When are you back?’
‘On Monday.’ Adele hesitated. ‘Annie, I’m going into the desert, I’m going to be out of range...’
And she thought of Zahir’s words and she told herself that she was simply moving forward, not pulling away.
‘We’ll take care of her, Adele,’ Annie said. ‘You go and have a wonderful trip. Time in the desert, out of range, sounds magical to me.’
It was the most exciting adventure of her life.
Adele sat next to Zahir in the helicopter and they put on headphones; she was lifted into the sky and for a moment felt as free as a bird.
The palace was on the edge of the desert and soon all that was beneath them were golden sands.
‘It’s amazing,’ Adele said into her mouthpiece. ‘Just miles and miles of nothing.’
‘No,’ Zahir said, ‘there is so much more to see.’
She just drank it in but Zahir was right—there was more.
The helicopter hovered and descended and she looked down at the sand dunes and saw a caravan of camels and their long shadows. It was truly mind-blowing to think that in this huge expanse there were people surviving and going about their business.
They flew over vast canyons and then the helicopter hovered as Adele took in a sight she had never thought she would—a desert oasis.
It was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen.
‘There is a hot spring there.’ Zahir’s voice came through the headphones. ‘Birds gather and drop seeds...’
It was magical.
Adele was starting to believe in magic again.
‘And people live there?’ she asked, because there was an array of white tents set beside the hot springs lake.
‘That is the royal desert abode. Would you like to see it from the ground?’
She nodded.
The closer they got the more Adele’s excitement grew.
The helicopter landed and they ran under the rotors but soon the sand gave way to a rich lush moss that surrounded the water.
It was nothing like she had ever seen or imagined.
She had thought the desert abode was a tent in the middle of nowhere; instead there were trees, delicate flowers and the lake was a dazzling azure.
It was paradise.
‘Do you miss coming here when you’re away?’
‘I do,’ Zahir admitted. ‘I miss home all the time, but not the politics.’
There was a herd of white Arab horses and they were magnificent.
‘Do you ride?’ Zahir asked.
‘Very well,’ Adele said, and then laughed at her own joke. ‘That’s a lie. I’ve never even been on a horse.’
He pointed to a large tent by the lake and told her it was the royal one.
‘So who lives in the other tents?’
‘There are maids and the horsemen and a falconer.’
‘Where’s your harem?’ Adele teased.
‘Over there.’ Zahir pointed as they walked towards the main tent. ‘There is a tunnel from their tent that leads to the royal suite.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes?’
‘And do you...?’
‘I came of age in the desert, Adele.’
She was sulking as they reached the royal abode. Or she was trying to, but it was so beautiful that she forgot to be cross as she removed her shoes. The floors were covered with Arabian rugs and the walls and ceilings were lined with cascading white silk.
She took out her phone and Zahir smiled.
‘Are you so bored on our date that you are checking your phone? I don’t think that’s a good sign.’
‘Did your mother tell you about my date with Paul?’ Adele laughed. ‘Well, I’m actually checking for reception.’
There was none.
And her phone didn’t tell her the time either.
‘There are no clocks...’
‘We go by the sun and the stars,’ Zahir explained. ‘The main reason for coming here is to get away from all things modern. I agree with my father on that point. Here is for introspection and to seek guidance. It is a haven from the modern world.’
‘It’s actually quite freeing,’ Adele admitted.
It was and she told him why.
‘You know, I always have this knot of dread—what if I miss a call and it’s about my mother? The first thing I do is check my phone, yet while I’ve been here...’ she shook her head unsure she could explain, ‘...it doesn’t matter.’
‘Tell me.’
‘Well, I’ve always put off having a holiday. I convinced myself I’d panic all the time in case something happened and I couldn’t get to her.’
‘You know, if there was any change then I would get you straight home.’
‘I know.’ Adele nodded. ‘But, rather than panicking, I’ve found...’ She didn’t know how best to explain it. ‘I’m ten hours away at best. It’s actually nice to know if something happens I won’t have to deal with it. I now understand why people kept suggesting that I take a proper break.’
‘Good for you.’
‘Anything could happen,’ Adele said, ‘and we wouldn’t know.’
And then she met his eyes and they told him that anything could happen and she wouldn’t mind at all.
She wandered around. There was the royal suite with cascades of crimson silk and on one wall a red velvet curtain. Above the bed was a velvet rope.
‘I doubt that summons breakfast,’ Adele said.
‘It doesn’t.’
‘Does that ring in the harem?’
‘It does,’ Zahir said.
She was tempted to pull it just to see some sultry beauty come through the curtain.
Adele did so and Zahir smiled and put her out of her misery. ‘The harem was disbanded before my parents married. I believe it was a condition she insisted upon when she attended the selection ceremony.’
And she remembered Leila tapping at her ruby and telling Adele that she had made demands of her own.
Now she understood the demands Leila had made had not been about keeping her in splendour.
‘Good for her.’ Adele smiled.
And she thought of Fatiq, who really loved his wife. She just wished she could help there, but knew that there was nothing she could do.
A maid served them some tea and pastries and they sat on cushions. They were alone, finally alone, and she never wanted it to end. ‘When do we have to go back?’
‘When we choose to,’ Zahir said. ‘Would you like to go riding? It will be sunset soon. I can have them prepare a gentle horse.’
‘That sounds amazing.’
It was.
They went on a slow walk along the dunes and a huge orange sun turned the sands and the sky to molten gold. The colours meant it was like being in the middle of a furnace, yet with the setting sun a soft wind circled them.
The sky darkened and the first stars started to appear as the air cooled. Adele wanted more of the desert.
She wanted more of Zahir.
‘Will Leila know...’ Adele asked ‘...if we stay here tonight?’
‘The staff are discreet. It might eventually filter back but you will be long gone by then. But I think she will understand when I tell her I have feelings for you. Deep ones.’ He was honest. ‘I can barely get my father to agree to an X-ray machine, I very much doubt he would allow you to be my bride.’
‘I could never leave my mother.’
‘I know,’ Zahir said. ‘So for now all we have is this time.’
‘For now?’
‘I told you, I have asked the desert for a solution.’
Which didn’t seem a lot to hang hope on, Adele thought.
Perhaps she’d sighed because Zahir looked at her and smiled.
They arrived back at the oasis and when she’d thought there could be no more surprises she watched the steam rise from the hot waters as it hit the cold night air.
‘Do you want to go in?’ Zahir asked.
Often, too often, Adele had wondered how it might happen—a kiss that grew out of hand, as had been the case on the plane, or he might sneak her to join him in the royal suite. Never had she envisaged the absolutely certain, almost calm way he dismounted and held out his hand to help her down.
And she knew this was it.
They had withheld and resisted but finally they were alone and there was nothing now that could stop them.
Though there was one thing perhaps, Adele thought as he lifted her down and for a slow, sensual moment her body slid over his.
If Adele told him this was her first time, she knew Zahir might well reconsider.
And she didn’t want that.
He held her against him and she could feel that muscular body and the roughness of his robe.
‘You’re sure?’ he checked.
‘Very.’
He turned her around and undid the zipper of her robe and it slipped to the ground.
A nearly full moon lit them and Adele could feel his eyes on her as she took off her underwear.
‘It’s cold,’ Adele said.
‘Then get into the warm water.’
The water came up to her shoulders and she stood and watched Zahir undress.
First he removed the scabbard that held his sword and dropped it to the ground, and then he disrobed and removed the leather straps from his feet. And then as he stood and she saw that magnificent body fully naked he strode with purpose to the waterside. She wondered if perhaps she ought to tell him.
No.
She lay on her back in the water and gave him full view of her body, and as he stared down she parted her legs and she felt her stomach tighten as he stared.
It was too late to be shy, she decided, and she would never regret this magical night in the desert.
He joined her in the water and Adele stood. They faced each other for a moment and then he reached over and she slid through the water to the demand of his hands.
The air was cold above the water but their kiss was warm and deep and his beard was rough and sexy.
His hands were over her skin, feeling her breasts, cupping them, and then teasing her nipples. Then down to her waist and then to her buttocks. All this as her arms wrapped around his neck. His mouth was so beautiful and she explored it. The steam had made their faces damp and their mouths slid easily.
She could feel him nudging at her stomach and one hand moved from his neck just to hold him again.
He lifted her so that her legs wrapped around his waist and she could feel the nudge of him at her centre and held him there. It made her kiss him harder as his hand slid to her sex and he felt her warm and slick.
And then they stopped kissing and she stared deep into his eyes, and they were back to their first meeting.
Somehow they had known even then that they were meant to be.
Their kiss was deep and her body pliant. Her arms were loose enough around his neck that he could guide her.
He positioned himself, one hand at the base of her spine and the other around himself so he could take her fast and deep, and she now stared into his eyes.
No kissing.
Just watching and waiting for him.
Yet he did not slide inside her easily, as he had planned to.
Adele made throaty noise at the bliss of intimate pain.
And Zahir realised that this was her first time as he seared into her, and though she moaned in pain she ground down in acceptance.
She was tight and the pleasure for him was intense. He felt her mouth bite his shoulder and he held her hips and thrust in hard. He knew from her moans that she gladly suffered an erotic mix of pain and bliss.
He was not gentle, he was rough, delivering the pleasure that made her thighs shake and her calves ache as they gripped him.
Her cold mouth came up to his and her tense lips were on his as he took her ever more deeply.
He angled himself and she stiffened at the new sensations he aroused and then she moaned because he stroked her inside so exquisitely.
They were surrounded by stars; they were there when she looked up and they were reflected on the water as she rested her head on his shoulder as he took her faster. They were bathing in the sky, that was how it felt; they were two stars locked now in eternal orbit.
Adele felt the swell and the hot rush of him deep inside and he moved her as she pulsed around him.
They were sweating in the cold air and heat below and she took every drop he delivered and then he stilled her with his hands and they kissed until she again rested her head on his shoulder.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ he asked, still inside her.
‘You might have said no.’
Zahir shook his head. ‘Never.’
