Girl in the Bedouin Tent (8 page)

Frowning, she pulled herself higher. Pillows should be soft, shouldn’t they? No matter. This was deliciously warm and—’Cassie.’

She felt Amir’s voice rumble through her. How did he do that? ‘Hmm?’

‘I think you should move.’

She shook her head, burrowing closer into the spice-scented heat of the bed. She didn’t want to move. Didn’t want him to talk and wake her fully.

Lying here half dreaming was bliss.

‘Cassie.’ This time she felt the word like a purr passing through her torso.

‘No.’ Fretfully she turned her head, clinging to the remnants of sleep. She had nowhere to go, had she? He was the one who left this wonderful bed each morning to go out, leaving her prey to boredom and worry.

‘You need to move.’

‘Why?’ Just a few minutes more. Just—

‘Because …’ He muttered under his breath and Cassie felt the last vestiges of sleep slide away. ‘Because of this.’

Large hands settled on her upper arms and hauled her higher. Startled, she snapped open her mouth to protest, opening her eyes at the same time.

She had a moment’s confused impression of a heated black gaze and then something brushed her mouth. Something soft and warm and inviting.

Instantly realisation hit. She was in bed with Amir. Not
in bed,
safely curled on the far side of the wide mattress, but in bed, lying sprawled over him!

It was his bare chest beneath her that generated the heat she’d snuggled into.

His lips slid against hers again in a gentle caress. Her eyes
flickered shut as he slipped the tip of his tongue into her mouth in a light foray that made every sense leap.

She clung tight as he thrust further, bringing delight with every slow, lush move of his tongue against hers. Heat coiled inside as rivulets of sensation spread through her, merging and rising into a floodtide of pleasure.

She shouldn’t enjoy this. She shouldn’t respond. But she did. It was what she’d experienced in those fitful dreams these past few days, and so much more.

With a sigh she sank down into Amir, tilting her head to allow better access to her mouth, answering his kiss with her own demands.

His broad chest was beneath her own, his hot skin bare to her touch. She lay half across him, her right leg on his right, his bunched muscles exciting. The long cotton shirt she wore was no barrier between them. The sensation of skin on skin, of her softness against his hardness, incited a heady thrill she’d never experienced.

He moved, wrapped one arm around her waist, cupped her face in his splay-fingered hand, and she almost moaned her pleasure aloud. His touch was proprietorial and she revelled in it.

Of its own volition her mouth mimicked his, her tongue dipping into his mouth and discovering his delicious taste.

Deeper, deeper the kiss grew. Her senses swirled in heady delight as she fell into the sensuous give and take.

Cassie had been kissed before. On stage she’d scored more than her fair share of kisses, from quick pecks to lavish seductions. Away from the stage there’d been men too. Some she’d even encouraged as she’d tried to shake off her fears and her ingrained distaste. But it had never worked. No one had broken through the mental barriers she’d erected and strengthened with every passing year.

Those barriers had kept her from giving herself to a man.

No one had ever swept her away on a wave of pleasure
till her mind refused to engage and all she could do was feel. Until now.

Amir’s taste, spicy and dark and male, filled her senses. It mingled with the fresh, clean scent of his skin. Not like hers but intriguingly different and desirable. Unique.

His touch was tender but his body was hard, inciting a terrible longing that made Cassie shift restlessly and lean closer.

His hand moved up, threading through her hair, and she thought she’d die of pleasure. It was a massage so seductive, attuned to the deepening rhythm of their kiss and the rising need within her.

Cassie wanted more. She spread her hands over Amir’s shoulders, stroking the hot silk of his skin over rigid muscle and bone. She lifted a hand to his jaw, fascinated by the tiny abrasive film of stubble that felt so satisfyingly rough to her palm and tickled the corner of her mouth.

He shifted and the friction of his solid chest against her breasts notched tension within her. An urgency built, making her move fretfully, demanding more.

Amir gave it. In a single surge he gripped her close and rolled her onto her back. Cassie revelled in the sense of him propped half over her, blanketing out the world. His mouth worked magic, making her head spin.

His hand strayed to her jaw, her throat, and a delicate shudder ripped through her at his butterfly-light caress.

Her heart hammered to a new, urgent tattoo as she willed his hand lower, for the first time wanting,
needing
a man’s touch on her breast.

Her skin tingled and her blood roared. Deep inside something loosened: a tightness, a constriction she’d never noticed. Cassie felt free, wonderfully alive, breathless with anticipation.

‘Please,’ she whispered against his mouth, hardly knowing what she wanted except that it was
more.

A moment later his warm hand cupped her breast. Delicious heat shot through her. She moved restlessly and his
hold tightened. A deep growl of masculine pleasure vibrated through her and he shifted his weight.

His fingers flexed again, but this time Cassie felt no pleasure, only a sudden suffocating fog.

A flutter of unease stirred and her eyes snapped open. He loomed huge above her in the half-dark.

The tantalising pleasure of Amir’s kiss bled away. In its place erupted choking fear.

She was helpless against the strength of this big, powerful man. Abruptly, from the depths of her subconscious, came the memory of being pinioned to a door, fondled by the man who’d just emerged from her mother’s bedroom. She could almost hear his hoarse chuckle as she writhed in his hold.

Somehow the hot, clean scent of Amir’s skin was obliterated by the sour tang of sweat, wine and musky aftershave.

Bile rose and Cassie’s stomach cramped in fear.

She had to get out, draw breath. But she couldn’t break his hold.

A sob of terror rose in her throat as she shoved at those rigid shoulders. She kicked fruitlessly, hampered by the unyielding form above her.

Suddenly she was free. She scrambled to the far side of the bed, gasping desperate breaths as she pulled her knees high and wrapped her arms around them.

Finally, when the miasma lifted, she turned her head. Amir sat hunched on the other side of the bed, one hand thrust through his crisp dark hair. His shoulders rose and fell as he dragged in deep breaths and she spied tiny crimson marks there. Scratches where she’d dug her nails in as she’d frantically tried to shift him.

Cassie’s breath froze.

What had happened? One moment she’d been eager for Amir. The next, claustrophobic fear had risen and flung her into panicked resistance.

‘Are you all right?’

He’d swung round. Dark eyes full of concern held hers.

Silently she nodded, unable to find her voice.

She trembled all over, suddenly cold though seconds ago she’d been burning with desire and the heat of Amir’s body against hers.

‘I …’ His hand slashed through the air—in a gesture of frustration or anger? She couldn’t tell. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Cassie!’

He surged to his feet and strode across the dimly lit room away from her. A moment later he’d grabbed a long cloak and whirled it round his shoulders.

When he turned his face was set like stone, though his eyes held a febrile glitter.

‘I apologise.’ He took half a step towards her then stopped. ‘That won’t happen again. I thought you wanted—’ He shook his head. ‘You are safe.’

Guilt rose in Cassie. She
had
wanted. She’d wanted so badly.

‘It’s not your fault.’ Her voice emerged husky from her constricted throat. ‘I …’

The words died as he turned away, the cloak flaring around him.

‘Sleep now, Cassie. No one will disturb you.’ Then he marched from the room, barefoot but impossibly regal. Cassie was left alone with her thoughts. She’d never craved company more.

G
RAVEL
bit into his bare feet as he stalked across the dawn-lit compound but Amir barely registered the pain.

Instead it was the recollection of Cassie’s fear that gripped him. The glazed horror in her eyes when he’d broken their kiss had shocked him.

How had he got it so wrong?

Yes, she’d been barely awake when he’d tried to make her move.

Yes, he’d been aroused, and all too ready to let his body do the thinking as he’d lain, tormented, beneath her sumptuously feminine body.

Yes, he’d known he shouldn’t, but he’d been unable to resist kissing her, deepening the kiss as she’d responded.

He’d read her plea as an invitation to pleasure, believing she felt the same simmering desire that had short-circuited his brain. He’d deluded himself into thinking she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

How had he not heard instantly the desperation in her voice? How had he misinterpreted what must have been a plea for escape as a throaty-voiced request for seduction?

Bitter recriminations filled his head and guilt slashed a jagged slice through his belly.

He reached an outcrop of bare rock on the edge of camp and stood, watching the fingers of dawn light spread down from the mountain towards Tarakhar.

If only they were there now. Cassie would be cared for and
comfortable as she recuperated from her ordeals. She wouldn’t have to share accommodation with a man who, despite his vaunted control, had almost taken far more than he should have.

Amir was sick to his stomach at the thought of what he’d almost done.

He recalled Cassie’s desperation that first night. The fear in her voice as she’d related how she’d expected to be assaulted at any moment. How he’d reassured her she was safe with him.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

Safe?

The horror in her wide eyes moments ago told its own tale.

Two more days till their scheduled departure. Two days during which she’d fear he’d make a move on her. Two days in which he wouldn’t sleep for fear of waking again to a situation he couldn’t control.

He couldn’t do it.

He swung round and strode back across the camp. With a supreme effort he might just be able to finalise the work he’d come here to do in one day. Then they’d only have one night to get through. Surely one more night was possible?

Cassie lay in the massive bed, unable to sleep. She hadn’t seen Amir since dawn.

Now she heard laughter and music on the night air. There must be a feast in the main tent tonight. As guest of honour Amir would attend.

Why did it hurt so much that he’d avoided her all day?

She was frantic to explain he wasn’t to blame. To wipe away the guilt she’d read on his face as he’d looked at her with shock pinching his features.

The soft brush of his lips had been an invitation to pleasure, not a demand. It had been
her
plea for more that had galvanised him into action, as she’d thought she wanted.

Cassie pummelled the pillow. She needed to explain. She needed …

Cassie shied from the thought filling her head. Yet it wouldn’t disappear. She knew what she
wanted.
She wanted Amir.

Wanted him as she’d never wanted any man.

For days she’d tried to convince herself what she felt was an aberration caused by their bizarre circumstances. That, once she was free of this place, he’d lose his allure.

It wasn’t true. She’d been too scared to face the truth.

Why shouldn’t she desire him? He was strong, handsome and honourable. He respected her.

Then she forced herself to face another truth.

Her reaction this morning had been anything but normal. She’d wanted Amir, begged him for more. And when he’d obliged she’d frozen with terror at the memory of something that had happened in her teens.

Curtis Bevan hadn’t raped her all those years ago. But he’d made her feel unclean, tainted by his touch and his lascivious intentions. After that she’d been only too glad to return to boarding school, away from the man who thought that paying for her mother gave him rights to Cassie too.

Now she glimpsed the possibility that that event, coupled with the stigma of her mother’s way of life, had affected her more than she’d thought.

Was she celibate because she hadn’t met the right man? Or had her emotional scars made her afraid to give herself?

Cassie had thought herself a survivor. She’d withstood bullying and ostracism. She’d been strong in the face of her mother’s neglect and occasional vitriolic outbursts, her father’s avoidance. She’d carved a career through talent and hard work.

Cassie had scrimped and saved to make this trip even when supporting herself was a struggle.

When her mother died Cassie had given away her few valuables rather than accept anything bought by her mother’s keepers. Even the diamond brooch of which her mum had been so proud. How powerful Cassie had felt donating it to a
charity shop, walking out through the door into the sunshine and feeling free of her mother’s murky past. But she wasn’t free.

And she wanted to be. As much as she wanted Amir.

It was past midnight when Amir entered the sleeping chamber. He’d stayed as late as possible, though the entertainment hadn’t been to his taste. Yet a lamp burned, bathing the wide bed in golden light.

His gaze was riveted on the still form there, her blonde hair flaring on the pillow.

She was asleep. He wouldn’t have to face her anxiety.

Nevertheless, he didn’t trust himself to sleep with her. Not after that taste this morning had awakened such hunger. He could recall it now: the flavour of her ripe lips, the scent of her honeyed skin, the need he hadn’t been able to stop.

A tremor ripped through him and he clenched his hands.

He’d take the floor instead.

Quickly he disrobed and shoved his legs into light trousers. He hefted a bracing breath and reached for a pillow. ‘Don’t go.’

He froze, pillow in hand, as Cassie broke the silence. He whipped his head around to find her violet gaze on him. Instantly heat shimmered through him, an unholy combination of lust and remorse.

He straightened abruptly. ‘I didn’t mean to wake you.’

‘You didn’t.’

Of course she hadn’t been asleep. She was probably a bundle of nerves, anxious about sharing that bed.

‘Don’t worry.’ His attempt at a reassuring smile felt tight. ‘I’ll take the floor tonight.’

‘That’s not necessary.’ She propped herself on one elbow and the covers slid down a fraction.

Amir didn’t let his eyes drop to the shadow of her cleavage visible through the slit neck of his shirt. Yet every cell throbbed with awareness.

‘It’s better this way.’ He turned from the bed, loosening his watch. A man knew his limits and Amir had reached his! ‘No, Amir.’

Startled, he turned slowly.

Her face was flushed and her eyes glittered with an expression he couldn’t read.

‘I want to sleep with you,’ she said, a defiant note in her voice.

His body locked down as shock and desire tensed every muscle. He couldn’t be hearing what he thought he heard. He shook his head.

‘I’m sorry about this morning—’

He raised one hand. ‘You have nothing to apologise for.’

‘But I do.’ Cassie sat higher, her hair tumbling round her shoulders like a glossy invitation to touch. ‘You did nothing wrong. I wanted your kiss. I wanted more.’

Her eyes dipped and she drew an unsteady breath. Despite his best intentions Amir was transfixed by the sight of her unbound breasts rising tremulously against the fine fabric of his shirt. Her nipples peaked as he watched.

Heat poured over him. He clamped the pillow close to cover his arousal.

‘You changed your mind. That’s all right.’ Amir lifted his shoulders in a gesture of dismissal, but the movement was jerky and uncoordinated, as if his body didn’t function properly.

Determined to end this difficult conversation, he wrenched off his watch and reached over to put it on the bedside table.

The expensive timepiece fell from suddenly nerveless fingers with a clunk onto the inlaid surface.

‘I didn’t think you’d mind.’ Cassie’s words were rushed, slightly breathless. ‘I noticed them in your toiletries bag when I borrowed your comb.’

His eyes rounded in disbelief as he surveyed ‘them’.

A neatly stacked pile of condoms.

Amir’s heartbeat took up a new rhythm, like the gallop of
hooves across the desert. He stared, and still the sight didn’t make sense. He carried condoms like he carried soap or toothpaste. They’d stayed in the bag since his last trip. He certainly hadn’t expected to use them here. ‘Say something, Amir.’

Say what? That he couldn’t trust himself to stop if she changed her mind again? That he was a man of flesh and blood and all too real appetites?

‘This is a mistake, Cassie. You were terrified this morning.’

He turned to find she’d edged closer, her eyes solemn and huge. Then he made the mistake of looking at her mouth, the way her lips were parted as if in expectation, the sultry shape of them beckoning.

‘It wasn’t you. It was just that I suddenly remembered … ‘

‘I can guess.’ It must have been terrifying, the sense of helplessness when she’d been abducted. ‘But sex with me isn’t a cure for your fears.’

He couldn’t believe he was talking her out of this!

In dealing with women Amir’s allegiance had always been to Amir. Though he’d never consciously harm any woman, self-interest had always dictated his dealings.

Cassie was different. Vulnerable, yet so feisty and determined. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her, and want to protect her.

‘You know nothing about my fears!’ Typically, her chin angled high as she held his eyes, and he was struck again by the fierce independence in her. That strength of character drew him as much as her luscious body.

‘In the morning you’ll be relieved that we haven’t—’

‘I won’t!’ Her voice was strident. ‘I know what I want, Amir, even if I didn’t this morning. I want you.’

How many times had Amir heard those words, or others like them? How many times had women, silk-clad sirens or glamorous sophisticates, invited him to share their bed? Too many to count. Yet never before had he sensed the raw honesty he saw in Cassie’s eyes.

There was a gravity about her, a consciousness of herself and of him, that for a moment locked any words in his throat. She had such pride, such passion! And he wanted her so very badly.

His grip tightened on the pillow as he turned away. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, rejecting Cassie, but he couldn’t risk her changing her mind again. Clearly the kidnap still traumatised her. She probably didn’t know what she wanted. And if she pulled back from him again he didn’t know he had the strength to stop.

‘Don’t tempt me, Cassie.’

A small hand touched the back of his, lightly, but it was enough to stop him stepping away.

‘I
want
to tempt you. Don’t you understand? This isn’t like this morning. I know what I’m doing.’

Her fingers slid up to his wrist, delicately caressing, and he shuddered. It was all he could do not to move when his inner self screamed for him to pull her to him and finish what they’d begun this morning.

Before he could stop her she’d pulled the pillow from his slackening grip.

He watched as she looked down and caught her breath. She blinked, and her mouth rounded in an O of surprise that impossibly made him harden more.

He really had a thing for those sultry lips. Fire threaded his veins and exploded in his belly as he envisaged those lips on his body.

‘You
do
want me.’

‘Of course I want you!’ Wasn’t that the point? He wanted her too much to keep control.

Her mouth curved in the tiniest of satisfied smiles. An instant later she crossed her arms and tugged off the shirt she’d been wearing.

He was lost.

Strong as he was, no power on earth could save him now. Or her.

Amir swallowed hard, his throat dry as the arid mountains, his gaze anchored by her breasts.

In her dancer’s clothes she’d looked voluptuous, but it was surprising how much the satin had concealed. The natural tip-tilted lushness of firm breasts. The delicate rosy hue of nipples that puckered invitingly.

Amir’s palms itched with the need to touch. He longed to taste and savour.

A low groan filled his chest and spilled into the hushed silence. He stepped up to the edge of the bed and ripped back the covers.

Only the sight of her, fully uncovered, made him pause long enough to enjoy the view. Now he saw not only Cassie’s breasts, but her pale thighs, the inviting arc of her hips …

He eyed the dip of her waist where the hated slave chain glinted. Yet this time, in a flash of unrepentant masculine possessiveness, exhilaration sparked at the way it accentuated her feminine shape. At the way it signified she was
his
to possess.

A moment later he was in the bed, drawing her to him.

She came easily, sliding against him in a flurry of soft flesh so tantalising he almost winced at the pleasure of it. Pleasure so intense it bordered on pain.

Unerringly his lips caught hers, his hands slid over her pale, silken skin, learning texture and shape. He gathered her close, breast to chest, and the exquisite rightness of Cassie in his arms stole his breath.

This time her mouth was as hungry as his, urgent as she shaped her lips to him, sucked his tongue in deep and clamped his head between her hands.

She trembled all over, a tiny, delicate tremor that made his chest lurch in a tumble of rare emotion.

Amir forced his hands to slow as they swept her shoulders and back, replacing urgency with a weighted, deliberate caress. Cassie arched into him. Her budded nipples grazed him and sent blood rushing low.

He hooked one leg over hers, holding her in place against
him, and pushed his hips forward. The sensuous pleasure of her soft belly, the feel of skin on skin, shot stars through his vision.

‘You’re certain?’ he groaned, forcing himself to break the kiss and pull back enough to look at her.