Page 11 of At the Sheikh's Command
She strode across the room and flung open her windows. She needed the evening breeze to cool her heated cheeks. She leaned over the sill and breathed in the fragrant air. Below her, lights shone onto the sparkling waters of a fountain. Climbing plants had reached her first-floor window, bringing with them fragrances which were made richer, more pervasive, by the moist air which wafted up from the water below. It was a place for senses, a place for seduction. God help her. It seemed everything was designed to get her into his bed. Even the gardens.
She was about to turn away when she heard something. Someone was in the garden below her. She looked down and saw Darrius walk to the terrace wall, below which a sheer drop plunged to the city and plain below. In the distance, the dark, jagged line of the mountain range was silhouetted against the purple sky, and it was this to which he looked. He stood still, but with an autocratic air which left the observer in no doubt that he controlled every inch of the country he surveyed. Power emanated from him. And yet, somehow, she doubted whether he was standing there thinking about power. Power had meant nothing to him in his youth, and now there was a suggestion of some other quality revealed by the set of his shoulders and the tilt of his head as he gazed outward. She could only think of one word to describe it—yearning.
He turned suddenly, and she stepped away from the window, not wanting to be seen. But it wasn’t her he was looking at. She heard his vizier address him and Darrius respond. She couldn’t hear what was being said but knew that Darrius was annoyed about something—his peace being interrupted most likely. With one last look at the view, he went inside. It was as if he were chained up. Darrius should be outside, with the wind in his hair and the sun in his eyes. He was a man who should be free of the confines of buildings, free to exist in a world where he could truly be himself. Instead, he was forcing himself to be a person he was not, because he was born to be king. Long ago, he’d confided in her he was not looking forward to taking over as king after his father, but that he would not shirk his duties. It hadn’t surprised her. He was too honorable a man for that.
She returned to her room and tugged off her scarf. Something inside of her had changed. She still felt intensely aroused, but the scene she’d just witnessed had altered everything. It had weakened her defenses, and made her want to reach out to him—and more. But there was still something holding her back. Her brain still told her she shouldn’t go to him, that it would be stupid, not what she came for. Ridiculous! But, it seemed, there was a part of her brain which was prepared to argue with the stubborn part.
Would it be stupid to go to him tonight, she wondered as she undressed and switched on the shower? She stepped under the warm jets of water and closed her eyes as she imagined Darrius’s lips touching her most private places like the water which ran in rivulets over her stomach and lower. She pressed her palm against her sex and opened her eyes suddenly. Would it be stupid to go to him? Hardly stupid, she decided. More like a very rational response for an aroused body seeking satisfaction.
Would it be ridiculous, she thought as she stepped out of the shower and dried herself slowly on the plush towel? Her first tactic had failed spectacularly. Just seeing him wasn’t enough to destroy the mirage of desire which had consumed her every day and night of these past eight years. Multiple lovers hadn’t fixed it, nor had hard work and focus on her research. Would it be so ridiculous to spend the night with him? After all, there was always a place for empirical research in a scholar’s toolkit.
As she hung up the towels, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and was shocked. She could see the effect of his kiss in her eyes—dark, aroused eyes. And that arousal was echoed in her body with her peaked nipples and flushed skin. She looked like a woman who wanted sex. Her lips slowly curled into a knowing smile, which did nothing to undermine her first impression.
No, she thought. Going to bed with Darrius would be neither stupid nor ridiculous. She placed her hands on her flat stomach. It would be exactly the right thing to do.
Instead of getting into bed naked, she plucked the ivory silk robe off the back of a chair, slid in her arms, and loosely tied the belt. She squirted on a little perfume, touched up her makeup and drew in a deep breath. She could do this. She nodded to her reflection, encouraging herself. She didn’t think she’d ever desired someone so much, nor been so nervous about taking that first step, in all her life. Her blood pulsed loudly in her ears. Just this one thing, she said to herself, would clear the way to her future, and put her in control of her life. She nodded again, more decisively this time.
She opened the door quietly and peered out into the silent corridor. There was no one around. Next to hers was the bedroom which she knew to be Darrius’s. She glanced down the corridor to where Darrius’s old room had been. When she’d sneaked in there eight years ago, he’d drawn her a plan to ensure she hadn’t gone into the wrong room. No, this one was definitely the king’s bedroom.
She stood listening for a few moments, but there was no sound, no lights, except from her own room. As soon as she closed her door, the corridor was plunged into darkness and a shiver of nerves tracked along her spine. What if someone should come? What if the old Grand Vizier was lurking, determined to protect his king from women who might lead him astray? She strained her ears, listening for any sound, anything out of place, but there was nothing. She was sure they were alone in this wing of the palace.
In bare feet, she padded across the cool marble floor to Darrius’s room. She slid her hands on the handle, gripped it and suddenly froze. What if it was alarmed? He was king after all. What if she turned the handle and a siren blared and a host of security descended on her? It was a risk she had to take. She released the handle and the door suddenly flew open.
“Nora,” he said calmly, as if had been in no doubt that she would show up at his door.
“Darrius!” She tried not to look at his naked chest which peeped out from the loose robe he wore but, as it was at eye level and a thing of beauty, she failed. “I…”
Her words trailed away into silence as her thoughts scattered. All she knew was that she had an urgent need to touch him. Before she could, he grabbed her hand and tugged her inside his room and slammed the door closed behind them.
“You what?” he asked impatiently, his eyes roving over her. “You lost your way?”
She shook her head.
“You were hungry?”
She was about to deny it, but then realized he was right. She nodded, and from the look in his eyes, he immediately understood.
With one swift motion, he pulled on the tie of her robe and it slithered free, opening her robe to reveal her nakedness. He pushed down the material from her shoulders and gripped it tight over her chest. Her arms were trapped beneath the restraint as he pulled her to him.
For one brief moment, he searched her eyes, as if unsure. She opened her mouth—whether to speak, to tell him why she was here, or to kiss him, she hardly knew. What she did know was the moment he looked sure. His eyes widened and showed an answering need. His lips weren’t gentle as he claimed hers with a kiss, nor were his hands, which gripped the stuff of her robe tight.
As his lips moved over hers, her desire shot sky high and she kissed him right back. Turned out they were hungry for the same thing and both demanded satisfaction from the other. His tongue in her mouth, seeking hers, his breath against her face, his heart pounding as he pressed his chest against her breasts—it all sent shockwaves through her body, settling into a swelling heat and warmth between her legs.
Eventually he released her robe to cup her cheeks with both hands as he continued to kiss her, his groan traveling through her body, as she pushed closer to him, intent on feeling every inch of his muscled chest and arms and hips against her body. She snaked her hands around his neck. She wanted to become one with him, to bridge that gap between her imagination and reality which had taunted her every day of these past eight years. She gasped under his mouth as his erection pressed into her stomach. He was hungry for her, all right. And the kiss only made him hungrier.
He stepped away from her suddenly and she felt bereft, tried to keep her grip on his neck, but he pulled away. It was clear this was going to be on his terms, or not at all.
Before she could react further, he ripped off her robe, and it fell to the floor, leaving her standing naked before him. The only light which entered the room came through the window, a delicate blend of starlight and a sliver of a new moon. Never in her life had she felt so vulnerable. For one moment, she wondered if he truly wanted her like she wanted him, or whether all he wanted was to punish her, to take her and use her as he believed she’d used him. Was that what he was thinking? That he wanted her was beyond doubt. But his dark eyes gave away none of his thoughts as they roved hungrily over her body.
Then he looked up and met her gaze and suddenly she knew she didn’t care how he wanted her, because she wanted whatever he would give her.
CHAPTER6
Darrius couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was more beautiful now than she’d been before and he hadn’t thought that was possible. But she’d matured. Her petite figure had filled out with the kind of curves which invited touch. He wanted to devour her, with his eyes, with his body, with his mind, with everything. He allowed his gaze to move down from that beautiful face with the smoky eyes and bruised lips to her breasts. He didn’t touch them, but still her nipples peaked under his searching eyes.
Then he looked lower, past her flat stomach to the apex of her legs. She was naked there, stripped of hair, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so erotic. She’d prepared herself for him, which made her even sexier in his eyes, knowing she wanted him, and had anticipated this moment all along. He clasped her hand and took a step back, tugging her toward him. And she came, like someone drugged. He smiled, knowing he could command her to do what he liked. And he would. He wanted everything from her. Her body, her mind, her soul, and, more than anything else, he wanted to punish her for leaving him.
“Lie on the bed,” he growled.
