‘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.
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘AS WE’VE DISCUSSED, arrangements have been made to keep your mother safe.’
‘Thank you.’
‘However,’ he continued, brushing off her gratitude, ‘until I receive certain reassurances, you will stay in Qalala.’ Tadj’s stare was penetrating. ‘I understand that you had to get away, and would do anything—use anyone—to make sure that happened.’
‘Please don’t look at me like that. I never set out to get pregnant, but I’m glad that I am.’
‘Can I believe you?’
‘You must,’ she insisted softly.
‘For the sake of our child?’
Tadj suggested. ‘I suppose I’ll never know what you were thinking three months ago. I can only make plans going forward from now.’
Anger surged inside her. They were both in the wrong, and she had no intention of being painted as the only sinner. ‘How do you think I feel, when you ask me to be your mistress, to satisfy your sexual urges?’
‘My sexual urges?’ Tadj laughed out loud. ‘That’s rich, coming from you. Bottom line,’ he snapped, before Lucy had chance to speak, ‘you’re under my protection, and there you will stay—and that includes you, your mother, and the baby.’