Desert Rogues Part 2 (81 page)

He took her glass and set it on the coffee table next to his own. He then grabbed her and pressed her back into the sofa.

“You dare to defy me?” he asked in mock anger.

“Pretty much every chance I get. Is that a problem?”

Her hair was mussed, her eyes the color of midnight velvet. His stubble had rubbed a raw spot on her chin, and the robe she wore was two or three sizes too large. She was possibly the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

“You are mine now,” he told her. “I have been your first and you will always remember that.”

“I know.” She smiled and pressed her fingers to his mouth. “I guess neither of us is going to forget, huh?”

He hadn't considered that. Not forgetting. But she was right. Kiley would be with him, always.

“Come live with me,” he said, speaking almost before the thought formed.

She blinked. “What? You mean move in with you?”

He understood her surprise. He'd never asked a woman to do that before. He hadn't felt the need to spend that much time with one of them before. But Kiley was different. He wanted her in his bed every night. He wanted to see her in the morning and late in the evening. He wanted her there when he returned home from work.

“Until our time is up,” he told her. “Come live with me.”

She stared at him, but he had no idea what she was thinking.

“Are you offended?” he asked.

“No. Of course not. A little shocked, maybe. I didn't expect you to ask. What if you get tired of me?”

“I won't.” He couldn't imagine it.

She nodded slowly. “I'd need to keep my apartment. I don't want to have to move my stuff into storage for three months and then move it back. I guess I could temporarily forward my mail. It's not like I have a dog or anything to worry about.”

Always practical, he thought with a smile.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

“It is. If you'd like me to, I'll move in.”

“Good.”

He bent down and kissed her. As he pressed his mouth to hers, he tugged at the robe until it pulled open, exposing her naked body to his touch.

She reached one arm around him and pushed the other between them.

“Two can play at that game,” she whispered as she reached for him.

He was already hard and he relished the feel of her hand on his erection.

“I want to please you,” she said.

He heard the hesitation in her voice. “You're sore.”

“A little. So I was thinking about all the really interesting stuff you did to me. Could I do that to you?”

His interest quickened. “If you would like to.”

Her answer was to push him until he was seated on the sofa. She slid onto the floor and moved between his knees. After taking him in her hands, she licked the tip of his arousal and then smiled.

“Tell me what to do.”

K
iley walked through her apartment one last time before heading out to Rafiq's place. It was sort of sad to think she'd lived here for three years and had never done anything to make the place her own. Sure, she'd hung pictures and she'd sewn curtains for the eating nook by the kitchen, but she'd never checked with the manager about painting or bought any furniture she really loved. She'd decorated in early hand-me-down because she'd always planned to buy real furniture after she and Eric were married.

How much of her life had been on hold for those three years? How many things had she put off, waiting for the day she would get married and her life would change forever? Since she'd always wanted to be a wife and mother, she'd allowed that desire to reduce the rest of her life to a giant waiting game. In the end, she'd lost her dream and Eric—although that was turning out to be much less of a loss than she'd realized—and the time.

Where would she be if she hadn't expected to marry Eric and become a wife and mother? Although she loved working for Rafiq, in truth she would never have gone looking for a job she considered temporary. She would have looked until she found something that challenged her. Something that made her grow and gave her room for advancement. She would have looked for a career.

Talk about being foolish, she thought sadly as she picked up a picture of her family and tucked it in her tote bag. She'd given up too much for a man who wasn't worth it.

So what was she going to do now? What would she do differently? What changes did she want in her life?

Kiley stood in the center of her living room and turned in a slow circle. When her affair with Rafiq was over, she would start looking for another job. In truth, now that they were lovers, she knew she could never go back to being just his secretary. She couldn't stand to take calls from other women, knowing he was doing to them what he'd done to her. She wouldn't want to make reservations, buy gifts, watching from the fringes.

But expecting him to want to continue things past the three months was just plain crazy. He was a foreign prince and she was just some middle-class American girl. Sure, she was smart and funny and had a lot to offer. But a prince? On what planet?

No, this time she was going to keep her eyes open. This time she wasn't going to be a foolish dreamer. For the next two-plus months she was going to experience a world she knew very little about—everything from drinking champagne while eating a hamburger to living in a stunning home in Malibu. When the time was up, she would return to her regular world and build a life she could be proud of. There wouldn't be any looking back.

That decided, she locked the front door and walked to her car. As she started the engine, she thought about working out a plan with her parents. One in which she paid them back over time so she could buy a condo and have a place of her own. Maybe she would even get a dog.

But in the meantime she needed to get to Malibu. She wanted to see Rafiq, hold him and have him hold her. She wanted to see his smile and make love.

Thirty minutes later she drove down his driveway and stopped in front of the garage. As she stepped out, she looked at her aging but sensible car and started to laugh.

“What's so funny?” Rafiq asked as he walked out of the house toward her.

She grinned. “My car. It's not exactly fitting in with the neighborhood. Quick, get me a remote control for the garage door so I can hide it. Otherwise you'll get complaints from the neighbors.”

He crossed to her and pulled her close. “Do you think I care what they think?”

“Not even a little. But it
is
important to build relationships in the community.”

“Always the middle child,” he said as he brushed his mouth against hers.

She let herself relax against him, enjoying the feel of his hard body so close to her own. She parted her lips and he swept inside. At the first brush of his tongue, tingles raced through her and made her toes curl. Funny how every time he touched her, she only wanted him more.

Trouble, she knew, even as she held on tight. At the end of this, he would walk away and look for his next conquest, and she…well, she wasn't sure what she would do. She had a feeling that getting over Rafiq was going to be more difficult than getting over Eric. Perhaps a smarter woman would have been able to resist Rafiq's considerable charms. Or a more-experienced one. But she didn't know how and now it was too late.

A once-in-a-lifetime event, she reminded herself. That's what this was. If the price was pain at the end, then so be it. She was strong and she would recover.

“Come inside,” he said, stepping back and taking her hand in his.

She smiled. “Are you about to use me for sex, because if that's the case, I have to tell you, I won't protest.”

He led her to the front door, then waited for her to step inside.

“I had wondered if you being so innocent would make things more difficult,” he said.

She stared through to the living room where the ocean stretched out before her. It was as if she could see to the ends of the earth.

She turned back to him. “What was your concern? That I might be shy and afraid of intimacy?”

“It crossed my mind.”

“I guess.” She shrugged. “To be honest, I have a lot of time to make up for. I guess you'll just get stuck with that.”

“I'll do my best to survive.”

“How manly of you.”

He wrapped his arm around her. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”

“Are you offering to cook?”

He moved her toward the kitchen. “No, but I have a very efficient housekeeper who keeps my refrigerator filled with items that need only be heated.”

They walked into the large, open kitchen. Kiley crossed to the smooth granite countertops and ran her hands against the cool surface. She stared at the six-burner stove, the warming drawer and did her best to hold in a moan.

“Will she mind if I cook in here?” she asked.

“Sana would be happy to share.”

Kiley looked at him. “Are you sure? Women can be very possessive about their kitchens.”

“Sana would be delighted if I dated someone who knew how to make toast, let alone an entire meal. I assure you, she will not be offended.”

Kiley had to admit she couldn't imagine the very beautiful, albeit short-tempered, Carmen knowing her way around much more than an espresso machine or an ice bucket.

“I'll have to come up with a menu,” she said. “Then I'll dazzle you.”

“You already do.”

His words made her whole body sigh.

“Come,” he said, holding out his hand. “I know I gave you a tour the first time you were here, but I suspect you were too nervous to remember very much. There is also the matter of where you will be sleeping.”

“Didn't we already have this conversation at the hotel?” she asked, walking to him and letting him capture her fingers.

“That was for a single night. This is for more than two months.” His dark gaze studied her face. “You have made many changes in the past few weeks. I don't want you to feel you're being pushed into something you're not ready for.”

He was sweet. Funny how she'd never realized that before. Sweet and kind and handsome and charming. Talk about a winner.

She stepped close enough for their bodies to touch. With her free hand, she rubbed his chest.

“I'm here for the sex,” she said in a low voice. “I want to be perfectly clear about that. Being in different rooms is going to make that difficult. Unless we do it on the phone, and, honestly, I'm not ready for that.”

His reply was a kiss that took her breath away. He claimed her passionately, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as if he would never let her go.

“Then we will share a room,” he said when they both came up for air.

She had a sudden thought and winced. “Oh, no. Were you trying to tell me that
you
wanted separate rooms?”

He rubbed against her, pushing his erection into her belly and turning her thigh muscles to mush.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She smiled. “I would say you've got yourself a roommate.”

 

Sunlight and the sound of running water woke Rafiq. He'd forgotten to set the alarm and had slept later than usual. Perhaps because he'd gone to sleep so early this morning.

He stretched, then placed his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. It
had
been a late night. Every time he'd tried to roll over and go to sleep, he would feel Kiley in the bed. She would move or sigh or even just breathe and then he would want her again. Wanting her, he would reach for her. She always welcomed his touch, joining him eagerly in whatever game he wished to play.

While he knew intellectually that she had been a virgin, he would never have guessed how quickly and easily she would discover the pleasures of making love. He barely had to touch her to make her swollen and ready. She raced toward her climax with an eagerness that only made him want to please her more.

The shower turned off. Instantly he pictured her wet and naked. His erection was instant, but he held back. No doubt she was already sore from their previous night. Better to give her a few hours' rest before claiming her again.

He thought about his meetings planned for the day and the weekly teleconference with the parliament leader back on Lucia-Serrat. About twenty minutes later, Kiley opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom.

She was dressed in her usual skirt and blouse. Her short, spiky hair was slightly damp, her makeup fresh. Tiny gold studs decorated her earlobes. She looked prim and proper and it was all he could do not to rip the clothes from her body and take her right there.

“Morning,” she said with a shy smile.

Rafiq smiled back. “How are you feeling?”

“God. This is kind of a first for me. A sleep-over. Although, we did at the hotel, so I guess not technically. Maybe it's the whole workday thing. Plus, I'm tired. We didn't get much sleep either night. Not that I'm complaining. So, how are you?”

“Well. Did you want to rethink our living arrangement?”

“What? No. Of course not. I like being here.”

“But you are not comfortable.”

“I will be. Just give me some time. It's not every day a girl signs up to be the love slave of a prince. Ohh, maybe they'll make a cable movie about my life. What do you think?”

That she charmed him. That he wanted her in more than his bed, he wanted her in his life.

The realization surprised him, and not in a pleasant way. He knew about commitments, what they meant and what happened when people grew tired of them. He knew that love didn't exist, and whatever feelings people claimed in the heat of the moment faded over time.

“Go eat breakfast,” he said as he sat up. “I will join you shortly.”

She smiled and left the bedroom while he considered why Kiley had the ability to make him wish that things were different, that marriages could be happy and long lasting.

Perhaps it was her family, he thought. They embodied what most people aspired to. But how much of it was real? Did Kiley's sisters' husbands really stay faithful to their wives? Did they love them through childbirth and teething and job losses?

He doubted it. In his world, love was a convenient word used to manipulate. His father had claimed to love him and then had disappeared for months on end. His mother had claimed she hadn't wanted to leave him all those years ago. It wasn't her fault—the money was too good. And the women who moved in and out of his life—how many of them claimed to love him? And when it was over, how quickly did they take up with someone else?

Even Kiley, who was soft-hearted and inherently honest, had forgotten about her fiancé quickly enough. Although, in that case, he was willing to believe she hadn't loved the other man in some time.

No, this was better, he told himself. Taking for the moment. Better to have her leave while he could still think of her fondly than to have things end badly with recriminations on both sides.

He showered and dressed quickly, then found Kiley in the kitchen, eating breakfast and chatting with Sana, his housekeeper.

The tiny, dark-haired woman nodded approvingly as he walked in.

“This one appreciates my cooking,” she said, pointing at Kiley's plate of pancakes and fresh fruit. “Not like the others who only want coffee. As if their skinny hips would appeal to any man.”

“You've made a friend,” he told Kiley, accepting the cup of coffee Sana handed him.

“I love her cooking, and she's telling me all of your secrets. What's not to like?”

He raised his eyebrows, but his housekeeper only shrugged. “I am an old woman. You won't throw me out, so I can do what I like, hey?”

Kiley grinned. “And she likes to talk.”