Page 41 of Dalla's Royal Guards
“This is different. We were both young, and Monique was?—”
“—a manipulative bitch twelve years older and a lot more experienced than both of us combined. We were her fantasy. Dalla is different. I don’t know what it is about her, but… I don’twant to hurt her,” Nasser said, his voice filled with frustration and longing.
“Then we won’t,” he replied. He put a reassuring hand on Nasser’s shoulder.
“She said she wanted everything, Musad, and I don’t think she meant just sex. You’ve never been interested in giving everything.”
“I am now,” Musad declared, certain like he had never been before.
Nasser smiled with surprise and hope and looked past him to the area they had just left. But Musad knew his brother was still worried. They were both strong-willed and demanding. It was one reason they had never tried to find another woman after Monique, even though there had been something that seemed right about the arrangement.
“We let her lead. Take it slow,” Musad murmured.
“This is going to kill me,” Nasser muttered.
Musad released a low, strained chuckle. It was going to be a challenge for both of them, but if they wanted this to work, they had to build trust and be patient.
“What if—?” Nasser began.
Musad knew exactly what his brother was thinking and cut him short. He’d had the same thought. What if they were destined to love Dalla only to lose her to whatever fate held her captive in its grasp?
“We keep her safe. Having two of us and knowing what has happened before gives us an advantage. One or both of us willbe with her. We get her back to Narva and add Donovan and the others to her security.”
“Discreetly. Something tells me that she wouldn’t enjoy being in a golden cage,” Nasser warned.
“I suspect you are right.”
Dalla stayed under the water as long as she could. It had been impulsive of her to open her heart again. Her offer had been made without thinking.
It wasn’t like she was inlovewith Musad and Nasser. She hadn’t known them long enough to feel that depth of emotion. They were notPascal and Gerold. These men had led different lives, had different memories. They were not the men she had known before.
And yet… she’d had an immediate physical response to them. And she could not help a few moments here and there where it felt exactly like these were her men, only changed by what they had learned before—except of course that they didn’t remember before. A few hours in their company had quickly taught her that she was drawn to all the differences in them that she saw.
She wanted Musad and Nasser.
And she was even more hopeful now than she had been in her past life. Gerold and Pascal had been products of their time and culture. Even after she’d saved them from their attackers, they’d wanted to confine her to a life hidden behind the high walls of their palaces simply because she was a woman. Perhaps they allcould have found a solution that would make them happy. But perhaps not.
Her burning lungs forced her to the surface. Her gasp of air doubled when Musad and Nasser emerged into the light of the torch. Musad was unbuttoning his shirt. Nasser had already removed his and was tossing it aside.
The cool air of the cavern caused Nasser’s nipples to harden. It was strange that her eyes were focused on the darker buds visible through the matting of black hair that covered his chest. She blinked when his hands moved to the buttons of his trousers.
“I wish we had soap.”
“Moss. There is a fragrant moss that smells like mint. It grows along the edge of the pool. Hakeem told me about it. When crushed, it creates a liquid,” she murmured in response to Nasser’s wistful comment, though she was fully focused on his body as he removed his trousers.
“Show me.” She pulled her gaze away from Nasser to Musad and immediately forgot all about answering his demand.
He was standing in front of her in all his glory. She released a breathless chuckle. He raised his eyebrow at her and stepped into the pool. She grinned at him.
“I enjoy seeing you like this,” she said.
“The feeling is more than mutual,” he said heatedly. He came closer, and for a few wonderful seconds, she got to feel his body against hers in the water as their lips touched in a sweet, open-mouthed kiss. Then he murmured, “Back in a moment,” and moved to the moss at the far side of the pool.
She blinked and turned to look questioningly at Nasser with a pout.
Nasser laughed ruefully and admitted, “We are trying to go slow.”
She laughed incredulously. “Do you like slow or do you thinkIneed slow? Because I assure you, I have had plenty of time. Centuries of it,” she replied.
