Tagan's Child (28 page)

Desperate to
feel him in my hands, I pushed his boxers down. I gently held him,
my fingertips not quite touching as they encircled him. His mouth
momentarily stilled on my breast and I felt his exhalation on my
skin. He said something in Ramian. What it was? I had no idea, but
the way he said it spurred me on and so I began to run my hand up
and down. He rocked his hips harmoniously with the movement of my
hand. For a few delicious moments I pleasured him with tantalising
strokes before he stilled and withdrew himself from my grip.

“I’m going to
come before you if you continue like that,” he warned, his voice
strained.

He slipped his
hand into my panties. It was like he had lit the touch paper that
would cause the not so slow burn to my climax. I wriggled out of my
underwear. His lips found mine. Our breath was coming hard and fast
mingling in our mouths as our hands roamed over each other’s
bodies.

He throbbed
impatiently in my palm. Knowing he was so close caused the
exquisite tension that had been building within me to reach the
point where it was ready to explode. My hand echoed the luxuriant
strokes he was pleasuring me with and I tried to hold back so that
we would reach that blissful moment together but I couldn’t hold
off any longer, my flesh was so sensitised to his touch that I
cascaded around him, my breath leaving my body in an intense rush
as wave after wave crashed through me. My hand stilled as I became
lost in my release and he thrust urgently against my grip spilling
himself in response and groaning out his own pleasure.

I’m not sure
how long we lay side by side, not speaking, just languishing in the
delicious aftermath. I wondered how it could possibly feel any
better. None of my previous sexual experiences even came close.

We lay there
until our breathing had evened out. Eventually, Ahran got up and I
wondered where he was going until he returned with some tissue. I
was touched by his attentiveness.

“Are you
getting cold?” he asked.

“Yes, a little
now.”

He reached down
and pulled the sheet and blankets over us both as he climbed back
in. I welcomed the return of his warmth as I daringly slid my leg
between his. He leant up on one elbow and kissed my nose. By the
glow of the log burner, I could just about make out his beautiful
features; his strong brow and gorgeous eyes, the straight masculine
nose and those devastating lips. I didn’t know what to say, all the
things I wanted to say just sounded trite in my head. His jaw was
stubbly and I could still feel the tingle of his mouth on my body.
I gazed at him in the subdued light, and marvelled at how it was
even possible that I was here lying with him.

“You need to
get some sleep,” he said softly as he stroked the side of my cheek
with the back of his hand.

I nodded, not
quite trusting my voice. Whether it was the emotion I felt from
what we had just done or whether it was the feelings I had hitherto
dammed up finally breaking free, I wasn’t sure, but I was scared to
go to sleep in case I woke up in the morning to find the spell had
broken.

He pulled me
towards him so that I was in the crook of his arm. It felt the most
perfect place to be.

“You never
cease to surprise and amaze me,” he said, his voice quietly
rumbling through his chest.

“In a good
way?” I asked.

He chuckled.
“Yes, in a good way.”

He was stroking
my hair and for now I was content as I watched the dying embers of
the fire. Whatever happened in the morning, I would deal with it.
Such brave thoughts.

*****

Behind my
closed eyelids I could tell the morning light was streaming through
the windows of the hut. I was lying on my side and Ahran’s body was
moulded to mine, his breath warm on the back of my neck as he
slept. His arm was draped over my waist and I welcomed the weight
of it. I was worried that if I moved or even opened my eyes the
languid contentment I felt would disappear. I lay there thinking
about what we had done and waited for guilt to rear its ugly head,
but it didn’t even show a whisker. How could I feel guilty when
what we had done had felt so right? We were drawn to one another
like iron filings to a magnet and I knew I would be lying if I said
I wasn’t falling for him.

It was a
bittersweet relief to admit it. I had tried to prevent it from
happening but I had lost the increasingly futile battle. Did he
feel the same? Or was I just a warm body substitute for Talina?
There was a heavy, uncomfortable sensation in my chest. I had
allowed myself to get in too deep. So much for getting him out of
my system. What we had shared last night had only served to make me
fall even further. How did Bennie manage to have her fun and walk
away unscathed? When it came to Ahran it was becoming clear that I
would struggle to take even one step away from him.

Did he still
feel the same about me in the cold light of day? His kisses and
touch had been so tender and it had been my name he had whispered,
it was hard to believe that he had wished he was here with anyone
else but me.

So many
insecurities.

It was
difficult not to feel them knowing my fragile heart was now at his
mercy. The realisation made me feel exposed and vulnerable. If I
looked at his face maybe I would find the answers I was looking
for. I gently turned over trying not to wake him. As I moved, his
arm tightened around my waist preventing me from moving any
further.

“Sophie, are
you okay?” he asked sleepily.

“Yes, I’m fine
but I’ve got to move, I’ve been lying in one position for too
long.” If I could just look into his eyes.

He relaxed his
arm and I rolled over. He raised his eyelids half-mast.

“Morning.” His
voice was husky with sleep. I rested my head on my hand so that I
could look at him more easily.

“Morning.” I
was taken aback by the tenderness of his expression and the
contented smile on his lips. They had to be good signs.

“You look
pleased with yourself,” I observed.

“I am,” he
replied. “I have just spent the night with the most beautiful woman
I have ever had the good fortune to lay my eyes and hands on.”

Better.
Although I seriously doubted how that could be true.

“Oh really?” I
said, feeling buoyed.

“Yes really.”
My heart hummed its own little merry tune.

“And I may just
have to do this.”

He propped
himself up on his elbow and his eyes closed as he gently kissed my
lips. The memory of his kisses from last night came flooding
back.

“Mmm, just as
good as I remembered,” he said distractedly.

“You don’t
regret what we did last night?” I had to ask.

He began to
plant little kisses across my jawline. “Not one bit,” he replied
between kisses.

He pulled away.
“Do you?” he said, his eyes searching mine.

“No,” I said
simply. “But what about Talina?” I don’t know why I had to raise
this now and spoil the moment but I needed his reassurance.

“Talina is the
last person on my mind,” he replied.

“But you
cheated on her last night.” I sat up and pulled the sheet over my
nakedness.

“Sophie, can’t
you see?” he said patiently. “My relationship with Talina is over.
Meeting you only confirmed that.”

“It’s over?
Does she know that?” I couldn’t quite believe what I was
hearing.

“She has a fair
idea.”

“When did you
tell her?” I asked incredulously.

“When she came
to the palace just before we left. I told her that when I got back
we needed to talk.”

“And she was
happy to leave it like that?” I couldn’t imagine I would have let
him go so easily.

“No, she was
pretty pissed but she can’t have been surprised. Things haven’t
exactly been going well between us recently.”

“But you are
engaged to be married?”

“We’ve known
each other since we were children and I thought I would grow to
love her in time, but I began to realise that I could never love
her and that it would be wrong to carry on and let her think
otherwise.”

“But she was
all over you when we were at the palace?” I was struggling to take
any of this in.

“She knew
things weren’t right between us but was having a hard time
accepting it.”

“Does anyone
else know? Oh my God! Do your parents know?” The questions kept
coming as the impact of what he was saying sunk in.

“I have talked
to my mother about it.”

“And what did
she say?”

“She suspected
something had been wrong for a while.”

“And your
father?”

“He doesn’t
know anything about it yet.”

“How will he
take you breaking off your engagement?”

“Like he does
everything else, he’ll lose his temper and tell me how much I’m
letting my family down,” he said dismissively.

“I’m sorry.” I
felt I was to blame.

“You have no
need to apologise, if anything, I have you to thank. Talina and I
would never have been happy, we want completely different things
out of life.”

I was unable to
comprehend what implications this might have for me.

“Do you think
your father will come round?”

I couldn’t help
thinking that I could potentially be the reason Ahran would never
make amends with his father.

“Let’s not talk
about this now,” he said, shutting me out.

I knew that by
his response he wasn’t completely unaffected by the thought of how
his father might react. I leant forward and kissed him. I wanted to
offer him my support but didn’t quite know how to verbalise it
without it sounding like a cliché. I had unwittingly been the
catalyst for Ahran’s decision and whilst it thrilled me and sent my
head into a spin, it didn’t guarantee anything. In spite of this, I
wanted to be there for him, be someone he could lean on and share
his troubles with, but judging by his reaction to the subject of
his father, we were some way off of this.

He kissed me
back and pulled me into his arms. I put my arms around him and lay
my head on his chest. I listened to the slow, steady beat of his
heart.

My mind was
whirring with all this new information. Ahran, for all intents and
purposes was no longer engaged, a free agent and he had just
admitted that after meeting me he knew he didn’t want to be with
Talina. Suddenly, a relationship with him didn’t seem quite so
impossible and for the first time I felt that maybe, just maybe we
had a chance of being together.

Ahran kissed my
forehead.

“Even though I
would like to spend the morning getting to know each other a little
better,” he said, his words heavily laden with innuendo, “it’s
getting late and we need to move on.”

“What time is
it?” I asked

“It’s time the
shepherd is likely to be doing his daily check on his sheep.”

“Really?!” I
said, scrambling out of bed in a panic. I couldn’t face the
embarrassment of someone finding us here like this.

I picked my
clothes up off the floor and hurriedly put on my panties and jeans
but couldn’t find my bra. I realised Ahran hadn’t moved.

“Aren’t you
going to get dressed?” I asked, looking over at him.

“Just admiring
the view,” he said, my bra casually hooked over his finger.

I snatched it
off him and turned around feeling a flush of embarrassment as I put
it on. I wasn’t entirely comfortable standing half naked in front
of him in broad daylight.

He laughed a
deep rumbling laugh. It was a sound I hadn’t heard nearly enough
of.

I turned around
just in time to see him getting out of bed. I tried not to stare at
his magnificent body. Sensing his eyes on me, I made a fumbling
effort at putting my t-shirt and sweater back on.

“Now that is a
real shame,” he said as he pulled his jeans up over his hips.

“What?” I asked
feeling a little more comfortable now that I was dressed.

“Covering up
that delectable body.”

He stood behind
me and encased me in his arms before kissing my neck. I leant back
into him. If I didn’t pull away now, I doubted whether either of us
would be able to show the restraint we had exercised last night,
especially now we both knew the promise of what our bodies were
capable of together. It had been mind-blowing and I was seriously
beginning to doubt whether I would be able to cope with sex with
Ahran without dissolving into an ecstatic mess. He had become like
a drug to me and now that I’d had a taste of him weaning myself off
was going to take my own superhuman effort. I doubted whether my
poor, ordinary self was up to it.

I stepped away
from his kisses in an attempt to demonstrate to myself that I did
still have some willpower left.

“Ah Sophie, you
are killing me,” he said with a pained expression on his face.

I laughed and
fought the desperate urge to throw myself into his arms. I started
to search through the cupboards to distract myself. “Is it likely
that I might find a toothbrush anywhere?” I asked crouching down
and looking into the cupboard. Other than a couple of plates and
some dusty glasses there didn’t appear to be anything else in
there.

“I doubt it,”
Ahran said, confirming my suspicions. He reached into his jean
pocket and for a moment I thought he was about to miraculously
produce a toothbrush. “This is the best I can do,” he said,
offering me a piece of chewing gum and by the look on his face
seemed genuinely upset that he couldn’t offer me what I had asked
for.

“Thanks,” I
said and popped it in my mouth, pleased that if he kissed me again,
my mouth would be a little more minty fresh.

He finished
dressing. I folded up the bed clothes and put them back in the box.
I tried to put everything back as it was. “Whoever uses this place
is going to know someone has been here,” I said, feeling a smidgen
of guilt.