“There’s nothing to worry about. If we really have a baby on the way, I’ll take care of both of you.”
Minutes later, when the car parks in front of my palace, I tell the driver to leave.
Madeline turns to face me. “What’s wrong?”
“We have an agreement.”
“I don’t think we should . . .” she starts, but I can see in her eyes that, despite all the craziness our lives might turn into very soon, the desire hasn’t vanished.
“If you’re pregnant, you’ll be mine forever. Otherwise, I only have today and tomorrow. I won’t give that up.”
I expect her to protest. Instead, she unbuckles her own seatbelt and surprises me by straddling my lap. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know, but you want me as much as I want you.”
“Yes, but if you want me to uphold my end of the agreement, you’ll have to uphold yours: once we get back to London, and until I’m sure whether I’m pregnant or not, you can’t touch me. I don’t want to fall in love with you, Kamal. But you’re right about today. Take me as you wish, as many times as you want. I won’t deny you anything.”
Chapter 22
After I get out of the car, he scoops me up in his arms, ignoring the fact that we aren’t alone. Without saying another word, he takes me up the stairs of the palace.
In the bedroom, he doesn’t turn on the lights, as if he doesn’t want to waste time on anything other than having his hands on me, but the moonlit night allows me to see the outline of his body and his face.
In a way I can’t explain, the dusk makes it more intimate. It makes it more romantic than just sex, an unrestrained hunger.
It’s as if in the darkness we shed our armor.
We are not a Sheikh and his assistant but a man and a woman driven by desire.
He sets me down on the floor on my feet, and we stand still for a while, staring at each other. Even without the benefit of the light, I can see the sparkle in his eyes.
“You told me I could have you however I wanted, Madeline. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to offer yourself like that to a starving man like me?”
A shiver runs through me. “Still? I thought after everything we’ve done, the novelty of the passion would have diminished.”
“It was you who imposed such a short deadline on us. I want so much more.”
His words piss me off.
“Yes, of course you do. I broke your rules, didn’t I? I would have to stay with you for a month for you to be fully satiated.” I walk to the balcony, trying to escape from myself. From what I’m feeling.
It was supposed to be just sex. Why should I care that he tried to label me as just another woman or label me at all, as he’s done with so many others before me?
I don’t need to turn around to feel him approaching. Kamal’s body heat always surrounds me.
“Do you want to fight, Madeline?”
I turn to face him, now able to see his full expression. He doesn’t look angry, just relentless. As if my not surrendering so easily excites him.
The way he looks at me makes my heart beat so hard it’s almost painful. Kamal manages to set my entire body on fire without even touching me. Memories of us come flooding back uncontrollably.
He takes a step forward, almost close enough to touch me, and I shudder in anticipation. He tilts his face to mine, provocative. As if he knows I can’t control my own body when he’s so close.
“Answer me. Do you want to fight, or do you want me to pleasure you?”
I swallow hard, but I refuse to give in. “I thought it was a two-way street. Was I mistaken to think you enjoyed it as much as I did, my Sheikh?”
He doesn’t reply. He puts his hands on my waist, pulling me against his muscular body, and without giving me time to think, he kisses me.
