Читать книгу Modern Romance December Books 5-8 - Дженнифер Хейворд - Страница 22

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FLYING IN A helicopter was more fun than she’d expected, though it took a moment before Lucy got used to seeing the ground dropping away beneath her feet through the clear bubble. She wasn’t frightened with Tadj in control. He was a font of calm—when he wasn’t driving her crazy in any number of imaginative ways. As the black aircraft, with its wolf, fangs bared, Tadj’s insignia, emblazoned on the side in gold, soared away from the ground at an acute angle, she wondered if she’d ever seen anyone so focused, so sexy and confident, or so utterly and completely in control.

It was just a pity she couldn’t read his mind. In the three months they’d been apart, they’d both changed. The man she’d thought such fun, and so dangerously easy to know, had turned out to be the hard-bitten ruler of a powerful country, while she was the woman expecting his child, a fact that had made her more stubbornly determined than ever to do the right thing for her baby, whatever that cost her in personal terms. She did miss the sexy, teasing guy in the coffee shop and couldn’t help wondering what life would have been like with him.

‘Okay?’ Tadj demanded, his voice metallic and impersonal in her headphones.

‘Fine,’ she fired back.

She reassured herself that his insignia might be a wolf with its fangs bared, but Tadj cared deeply for his country and its people, and even if she were a passing novelty for the Emir of Qalala, and one he might dispense with once their child was born, she believed there was nothing to fear from him. He wasn’t evil like her stepfather, a man whose wealth and power had been tainted by the misery he’d caused.

* * *

‘Are you warmer?’ he asked.

Did he care, or was he just being polite? ‘I’m very comfortable,’ she said honestly. She was looking forward to the adventure ahead.

They didn’t speak again until the golden carpet of the desert gave way to a rough dun scrubland. The foothills of the mountains where the mines were located, Lucy guessed. Tadj confirmed this when she asked him if they were getting close.

‘I have a project for you,’ he added to Lucy’s surprise.

‘A project?’ She followed his gaze through the floor to the rough terrain beneath them, and then flashed a questioning gaze across the flight deck.

‘Your final assessment at college just took on a new and exciting slant,’ he said, clearly loving the mystery he was causing.

‘Did it?’ Lucy frowned.

‘Combining business with pleasure should be a bonus for you.’

What did that statement mean?

‘Your stepfather’s activities have prompted me to take certain steps.’

‘Really?’ Ice shot through Lucy at Tadj’s mention of a man who could inspire terror inside her like no one else. Besides, what more could he do? He’d already arranged for her mother to stay in a safe house and there was no way her stepfather’s reach could extend to Qalala, was there?

Tadj’s profile was fierce. This was the Warrior King. She could accept that the Emir of Qalala must protect his country, but what was this project he’d mentioned?

‘Can I ask about the project?’

Her voice was tinny in his ear. Even so, he heard a quaver. ‘Not now.’ Preparations for landing took precedence.

Planning ahead was crucial. He was a forward-thinking man whose success drove the revival of Qalala. No one was allowed to disrupt his plans, not even the mother of his unborn child.

‘Who are all these people?’ Lucy asked with surprise, as the size of the crowd waiting to greet them became apparent.

‘My team at the mine and their families,’ he explained as he brought the aircraft down in a steady descent. ‘Any excuse for a party,’ he murmured dryly. His mood took an upturn as he spotted many familiar faces.

‘They’re very pleased to see you,’ Lucy commented as she stared down.

He had brought Lucy here to the sapphire mines in Qalala, not so she could gauge his popularity, but so she could see the scope of his work, and appreciate the heritage their child would one day enjoy. There was no question that his heir, boy or girl, would experience a childhood away from Qalala. He was excited at the prospect of sharing all his desert lore, and introducing his child to their people, and to the glories of his beautiful country. Of course, as his mistress Lucy could be part of that. He wanted to keep her close. On a professional front, she’d be a positive asset, and he was a respecter of talent, who nurtured it wherever he found it. With the best cutters and polishers and jewellery designers working for him, he was keen to encourage new ideas when it came to displaying the jeweller’s art. Lucy had recently won a prestigious prize at her college for work on the various exhibitions she’d arranged, making her an ideal candidate for him to draft into the team.

‘We’ll be staying here for the next few days,’ he informed her. ‘Roughing it,’ he explained, ‘so you’ll get a chance to know the business—and me,’ he added dryly. ‘That is what you want, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ she admitted, turning to stare at him.

Even allowing for the restrictions of the sound transmission on board, he detected tension in her voice, and by the time the aircraft had settled on its skids, silence was well established between them.

* * *

It was exciting to be here. There was a gritty reality about everything surrounding her, and, whatever project Tadj had in mind, she could only take things one step at a time. She had to make the most of this amazing opportunity to tour a sapphire mine with someone who could answer all her questions. That might not be Tadj, but, if nothing else, this trip would add gravitas to her CV. She had travelled to the source of the precious gems and was about to follow that journey through. With her baby’s future to think about, there was no better building block for her career.

And her heart? Would have to take a back seat for now.

Tadj had talked about roughing it, Lucy remembered, smiling ruefully as she looked around. If this was roughing it, she wasn’t the only one who needed to get real. Tadj could certainly do with a reality check. This particular shelter, situated on the fringe of a city of tents, was as well equipped as any hotel. There was even a screened-off area at the back, where she could swim in a rock-shielded part of the lagoon. The biggest natural bathroom in the world, Lucy concluded wryly as she pulled back the hanging dividing tent from lagoon to peer outside.

‘Do you like your new quarters?’

Her hand flew to her mouth as Tadj strode into the pavilion. ‘Don’t you knock?’

He almost smiled. ‘Fist on canvas is pretty useless.’

‘You gave me a shock,’ she admitted, straightening up as she turned to face him.

‘Don’t slip and fall into the water,’ he cautioned.

She could hear music in the distance, and its catchy rhythm only seemed to highlight the tension in the tent. ‘There’s feasting and dancing tonight,’ Tadj explained. ‘At the wish of my people, I’ll be attending, and I expect you to be there too.’

Expect, she thought. What else did the Emir of Qalala expect?

‘I’d love to come along,’ she said, determined not to be overwhelmed by Tadj’s majesty at any point.

He shrugged, stinging her with his careless attitude. She ached inside, missing the friendship that had sprung up so easily between them on that first night. She missed the camaraderie and banter they’d shared, but had no intention of grovelling to try to reclaim Tadj’s favour. He might be like a mountain, towering and inflexible, but he had to move too.

‘I’ll bathe first,’ she said, glancing in the direction of the lagoon. The chance to refresh her mind as well as her body was well overdue.

‘I’ll bathe with you,’ Tadj informed her. ‘You should have someone with you when you swim.’

‘I’m a strong swimmer,’ Lucy protested as her pulse began to race off the scale.

‘And pregnant,’ Tadj said flatly. ‘All open water holds risks.’

So much for solitude and time to think, but why antagonise him? She could shrug too, and, turning her back, she stripped down to her underwear. One good thing about growing up in gangland luxury was the unlimited use of a heated indoor pool at home, as well as a tennis court, and access to a string of ponies. When Lucy’s father had been alive, the same property had been a simple hill farm where Lucy’s parents had scratched a living. But they’d been such happy, uncomplicated times. When her father had died all that had changed. Lucy’s mother had thought it a dream come true when a handsome stranger had whisked her off her feet, but that fairy tale had soon turned into a nightmare, and the simple hill farm had been transformed into a fortress, guarded by grim-faced men with automatic weapons.

‘Lucy?’

The sharp note in Tadj’s voice jolted her back to the present. Crossing her arms over her chest, as if he didn’t know every inch of her body already, she glanced at him, wishing things could be different. Shielded by the tent, and by the towering mountain behind it, she had thought about swimming naked, but having Tadj join her in the black boxers he’d stripped down to was danger enough. She gasped when he put an arm around her waist. ‘Sharps rocks,’ he warned. ‘Lean on me.’

The water was frigid with ice-melt from the mountains, but as they swam alongside each other Tadj steered her towards the cliff face where a waterfall was crashing down. What? She turned to look at him midstroke. If this was his idea of safety, she didn’t think much of it. She should have known he’d guide her through to the other side of the pounding cascade where they were completely shielded from the outside world. Holding her in place with his hard, wet body pinning her against the smooth rock, he remarked, ‘You swim well.’

Resting his forearms above her head, he made sure she wasn’t going anywhere. ‘And so do you,’ she conceded, staring at him levelly.

She wanted this more than anything, and yet dreaded the moment when Tadj broke down the emotional barriers dividing them, because that meant laying her heart on the line for the Emir of Qalala to trample. Tadj lost no time in claiming his reward. As the freezing torrent thundered around them, he drove his mouth down on hers.

Tadj was a madness she could never refuse—never wanted to lose—and she responded with matching passion. He was as vital to her existence as air to breathe, food to eat, and the heat of his body, together with the chill of the icy water, created a force that went way beyond caution. Upping the stakes, she wrapped her legs around his waist. She gasped, knowing she would never get used to the passion between them. This might not be how she’d planned the immediate future to pan out, but if sex was all they had...

Tadj soon removed her bra and thong, and it was his turn to groan with pleasure as he mapped her naked body. ‘Yes!’ he hissed between his teeth, taking her firmly with one smooth thrust of his hips. From there it was a crazy race to the finish, while she worked with him, matching his force. They couldn’t get enough of each other, so no sooner was one violent release achieved, than they were pursuing the next. Some wild force had possessed them, and as Tadj raked his sharp black stubble against her neck, she bit his shoulder, urging him on with words she barely recognised. They were like two animals in the prime of life, mating fiercely and unaware of anything else.

‘Yes!’ she screamed, not even trying to hold back when each shattering release had her in its grip. Sometimes sensation could be enough, and this was one of those times. Tadj had always been the consummate lover, and even here in the lagoon, with water crashing around them, he made sure that he extracted every available pulse of pleasure, and when she was quiet again, he teased her into awareness, by moving steadily and carefully, until her weary little bud had sparked back to life again.

‘Oh, yes,’ Lucy crooned as Tadj maintained a dependable and steady rhythm. Nestling her head against his chest, she let him do all the work, while she rested, floating in the water, concentrating on the place that had become the centre of her universe. He knew just what to do, how to stimulate and encourage, and it wasn’t long before she was on the edge again.

‘Now,’ he instructed in a whisper against her ear.

‘Oh, yes,’ she groaned thankfully, as he pushed her over the edge into pleasure with a few firm thrusts.

‘Once more, I think,’ he said when she rested, gasping for breath.

‘No, I’m done,’ she said groggily, glad of his hands supporting her buttocks as she hung replete in his arms.

‘I don’t think so,’ Tadj argued. ‘I know you, and there’s more. Shall I prove it to you?’

‘Please,’ she begged, loving the way his big hands tightened on her buttocks.

‘You don’t have to do anything, except experience pleasure,’ he murmured in a low, husky tone.

How many lovers had used these cooling waters to sate their heated passion? She and Tadj were part of the lagoon’s history now. That was Lucy’s last thought before pleasure invaded her mind, and, for now, pleasure was enough.

They left the lagoon swimming side by side with long, leisurely strokes. Lucy’s limbs felt heavy, and she felt sated. It was almost as if neither of them was in a hurry to return to dry land, where reality ruled. That sense of reality was challenged as soon as she climbed out of the water and spotted a pile of fresh towels left ready for them on the bank. This wasn’t her usual reality, Lucy concluded as she wrapped a towel around her body, and the towels only emphasised the point that the Emir of Qalala was never completely alone; nor would his private life remain private for long.

But whatever else happened today, she had this to remember, she thought as Tadj secured a towel around his washboard waist.

Back in the tent, Lucy was surprised to find a silk tunic with matching silk trousers, in a soft shade of cerulean blue, waiting for her on the bed. It was the same style she’d noticed the Qalalan women wearing. Their fashions had intrigued her, as they were more active wear than purely decorative.

‘Do you like them?’ Tadj asked. ‘It’s a perfect outfit for the party,’ he said, skimming a glance over the outfit.

‘The party?’ Lucy queried. ‘I thought we’d get chance to talk. After all, we’ve got a lot to sort out...’

Tadj’s stare was cool. He’d switched to Emir in an instant. Well, if he thought she was a candidate for his harem, he could think again.

‘If my people organise a party to welcome me back, that takes precedence over everything else.’

Gritting her teeth, she reminded herself not to lose her cool. This was Tadj’s kingdom, and she was his guest. ‘Of course. I’ll be proud to be your guest.’

‘You’ll be attending as my mistress,’ Tadj rapped out.

‘Do you intend to make an official announcement to that effect?’ Lucy exclaimed with frustration. She’d never tacitly agreed that she would become his mistress. In fact she’d hoped he wouldn’t hold her to that now everything about her stepfather was out in the open and he’d already put plans into place to deal with him.

Besides, she didn’t fit the brief of any man’s mistress, especially not the Emir of Qalala’s. She was far too independent to be locked away in a fort awaiting His Majesty’s pleasure—not to mention the fact that she’d been spared the flamboyant good looks she imagined must be necessary to hold down the post of official mistress. She didn’t possess the sophistication, or the class to mix in high society. She was happiest with her friends at the laundry, or with her student chums at college, where she dressed as they did, in cheap tops and jeans. Above and beyond all that, she was about to become a mother, and with a child to support, as well as a career to plan, she didn’t have time to waste swanning about.

‘I won’t need to announce anything,’ Tadj informed her with a relaxed shrug, with about as much emotion as if they’d been discussing the weather. ‘And, rest assured, I’ve no intention of embarrassing you.’

‘Your people will guess when they see me at your side?’ Lucy supposed.

‘Correct,’ he agreed.