Catherine would have to marry him very soon.
She would not demur at a simple civil ceremony, he was certain. She was too happy to be marrying him.
She loved him.
Though it was not necessary, it pleased him, it pleased his pride that his future wife loved him.
Her shock at his proposal underscored the reality that she had reached the age of twenty-four without once having had a serious relationship, or even a steady date. Or so her father had asserted and Hakim had no reason to disbelieve him.
Her virginity had been an important issue to Hakim’s uncle. According to the old man, no royal prince of Jawhar could marry a woman of uncertain morals. Hakim felt a certain primitive satisfaction in Catherine’s untouched state, but he hardly placed the importance on it that his uncle did.
After all, he’d been prepared to marry once before and the woman had not been a virgin. Undoubtedly his uncle would not have approved.
And right now, when he wanted very much to bury himself in the silken wetness of Catherine’s body, her innocence was more barrier to pleasure than benefit.
Reentering the bedroom, he found Catherine sitting up in the bed wearing a virginal, almost Victorian gown in white and her dark honey hair hanging over one shoulder in a thick braid. He smiled at her innocence.
As he got closer to the bed however, his smile slipped. He doubted very much that she realized it, but the gown was borderline sheer and the dark aureoles of her nipples were visible as well as the outline of her gorgeous breasts. He wished he’d left his slacks on as the benefits of the cold shower disappeared and the silk of his boxers shifted with his growing erection.
Catherine didn’t seem to notice. Her blue eyes were unfocused as she stared at something beyond his right shoulder. Her lips were slightly parted and he could see the sweet, pink, enticing interior of her mouth.
As he climbed into the bed beside her, she jumped as if startled.
“Hakim!”
“You were not expecting me?”
Soft color flooded her cheeks and she scooted down into the bed so that the quilted spread covered her to her neck. “I was thinking about something.”
”And I was this something?”
Expecting a shy affirmative, he was surprised and chagrined to see her shake her head in a jerky motion.
“What were you thinking of?”
She started. “Just, just a story that’s all.”
“A story?”
“Sometimes I like to tell stories in my head.”
“Our lovemaking was not enough to keep your mind occupied?” The fact his innocent fiancée had been able to dismiss their lovemaking from her thoughts when he had not irritated him.
“I didn’t want to think about it.”
Offended, he demanded, “Why not?”
And only realized as she pulled back that he was leaning over her in a most intimidating fashion. He did not move back however. He wanted an explanation.
“You said we couldn’t make love until we’re married.”
“Yes. That is true.”
“Well then what would be the point of letting myself get all worked up if you aren’t going to let anything happen?”
It was a good question. One he wished he could answer, but he had not been so successful in tamping down his own desires. He was rock hard and the only thing saving his pride were the blankets covering them both. Even so, had he not had his body tilted toward her, his erection would have tented the covers and given him away.
It shamed and frustrated him that his usual ice-cool restraint was letting him down. With all his training, she had more control over her desires than he did his. He did not like weakness, even that of a purely sexual nature.
“So you told a story in your head?” What sort of story would have been sufficient to take her mind off of the pleasure of their lovemaking?
“Yes.”
“And it was not about me.” He felt his irritation turn to irrational anger at the thought.
“That would defeat the purpose, wouldn’t it?” Her tone said her words should be obvious to even the simplest of minds.
He glared at her. “I thought you wanted me to stay with you tonight.”
Suddenly the pragmatic tilt to her mouth disappeared and searing vulnerability beamed at him from the startling blue of her eyes. “Yes. Are you going to leave because I was daydreaming?”
She had much to learn about him. “I made a commitment to stay. I will stay.”
She chewed her bottom lip, still red and full from his kisses. “Do you always keep your promises?”
“Always.” He repeated the word in his mind, reminding himself he had given her his word to wait until their marriage to receive the fit of her purity.
CHAPTER FOUR
In our marriage, you will always know that when I promise a thing, it will be done.”