“And there it is!” Asad said, pride in his voice. “The new home of Sand and Smoke.”
Liyah nodded absently. She’d thought that her new stepfather was just a little too slimy, but who was she to judge? She, Liyah, was getting married for an insane amount of money just so her lover could build some silly condos. Maybe her mother was happy, and the only villain in this story was Liyah.
“Where are you?” Asad asked softly after the plane had landed.
She met his beautiful green eyes and tried to smile. Would things be different if she just told him how she felt? “Thinking of home.”
He searched her eyes for a moment, and his face hardened. He withdrew slightly. “Well, you’ll be there soon enough.”
Liyah had no idea where she would be in six months. She wasn’t entirely sure she could go home, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to stay in the city if it meant that she might see him again.
They sat quietly through the descent, and he immediately instructed Ori to drop her off with a tour guide.
“Tour guide? I thought you were going to show me around!”
“I’ll meet you afterwards,” he said tightly. Then, without even saying goodbye, he walked away.
13
After abandoning her to the tour guide, Asad met up with her again at the resort, and there was no trace of anger in his face. In fact, he was in a wonderful mood. He talked about the plans he had for the condo, while she stared out the window. The resort was breathtaking. Candles illuminated the walkways around the three pools tiled in luxurious Arabian
patterns. Triangular arches opened into entertainment and dining areas that were draped in variations of heavy to translucent fabrics, fairytale-stone lights forming the chandeliers. If that wasn’t enough, the pool ran right up to their door in a private and enclosed entrance. It was a marvel of design, and she desperately wished that she was here under different circumstances.
Joining her at the window, Asad began to undress her.
She didn’t refuse him as the light by the pool in the highest dome mingled with the night streaming in through the windows. Enchanted and mesmerized, she asked herself what she was doing, knowing she was inching deeper into the dangerous unpredictability of him. Laying herself out to be consumed by this man whose hands turned women to putty.
His eyes seared through her possessively. There was no mistaking the look.
And though it did not seem an act, she couldn’t help but feel too vulnerable for comfort.
He seemed to sense this and lifted her up in his arms. "You enchant me."
Eyes pricking with emotion, she blinked it away as best she could. "You don't have to charm me. There are no cameras here."
Grinning, he tilted his head, eyes searing through her. "All the more reason for you to know my words are true."
Sitting her along the edge of the pool, he dove into the water and came up for air right between her legs. Dropping back on her elbows, she let him devour her until there was no more room for guilt, and no remorse. There was just this, the passionate sex that she’d never known existed, and the man who had taken possession of her heart and soul.
When he finally drew her into the pool with him, he wasn’t gentle or easy. Their panting moans echoed off the walls, but she didn’t care who might hear. She just wanted to lose herself in the sensations and pretend that this was all she needed. Skin-to-skin contact. His lips on her throat. His teeth tugging her nipples. His cock sliding all the way in, until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
When it was over, his cocky attitude was all but gone, and he carried her silently to the bed, where she fell into dreamless sleep.
They returned to the suite the next day, and he almost never relinquished her hand. They played and cuddled, and he acted like the most attentive lover. “I told my friends about you,” he whispered in her ear. “Not just the investors, but my oldest and closest friends. They want to meet you before the wedding.”
“What did you tell them?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the words.
“Not the truth,” he admitted. “But as close to the truth as I could possibly get. I told them that my relationship with you has surprised even me, changed me, and that I was going to spend our entire marriage doing my best to make you happy.”
Pushing herself up, she turned her head and gazed down at him. His eyes were open, and she thought she could detect some vulnerability in them. “All six months?”
“I know that you’re making a sacrifice,” he said as he pressed his hands over her heart. “But I will do whatever it takes to make sure you don’t regret it. In that, you can believe that my vows will be true.”
Heartfelt. Sweet. Sincere. For the first time since she’d entered this damning agreement, Liyah felt her hopes rise. Maybe, just maybe, Asad was falling in love with her, as well. And maybe, this sham of a marriage would turn out to be the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to her.
She could barely sleep that night. Even after he’d made sweet love to her body, she’d ended up standing on the terrace and staring at the city below. Home. This really could be her home, but she knew what she had to do. She had to confess to Asad that she loved him, and see if he felt the same. Even if he didn’t, the constant questioning, the masks—they were driving her insane, and she just couldn’t live like this any longer.
Liyah would go through with the marriage, no matter what. She’d already resolved to do that, but at least she would know what to expect.