The Sheikh's Troublesome Bride Read online

  The bottom half of the suit sat so low upon her hips, she was glad she had visited the spa the day before her departure for a complete Brazilian wax. The suit left little to the imagination and stopped several inches above her pelvic bone in front, and rode the base of her spine in the back.

  The tanning beds had helped give a healthy glow to her normally pale white skin, and she carried with her a strong sunscreen, not wanting to begin her stay in Jawhara with a nasty sunburn.

  Kale made a circling motion with his hand and she dutifully complied, turning slowly on her bare feet in the sand to give him a complete view of her body. She felt her nipples tighten at his frank appraisal and felt her own desire start to heat up from the low simmer it had been maintaining.

  While she had changed, Kale had donned a pair of board shorts, which rode low on his hips, and removed his shirt. She gazed with longing at the thin line of hair that bisected his pecs and travelled down his stomach, disappearing beneath the waistband of his shorts. His body was magnificent, all hard muscles and smooth skin. She took a step towards him, reaching out to place her hand upon his chest and letting her fingers dig into the muscles there.

  Kale hissed out a breath at her first touch; at this rate, she would never touch the water. Control! He needed to maintain his control just a little longer.

  Grasping at whatever he could to distract himself, he took the bottle of sunscreen from her and looked at the bottle before shaking his head. There was no way he could maintain his control if he had to put his hands upon all of that wonderful bare skin!

  Seeing him shaking his head, Shira reached for her sunscreen, “What?”

  “I have other sunscreen that is much better.” And it comes in an aerosol spray can. No touching or rubbing required!

  Shira shook her head, “I’ll just use this one. I’m allergic to most other sunscreens. The PABA in them causes a red rash to break out on my skin that itches and burns worse than any sunburn. This one comes from my dermatologist’s office and doesn’t make me break out.”

  Kale bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. So much for keeping his hands to himself! He quickly realized that his plans for showing her his country, feeding her well and then taking her to bed needed to be readjusted. Once he got his hands on her, there would be no holding back the chemistry between them.

  “Why don’t you pick a lounge chair and get settled? I need to speak to the staff for a few minutes and then I will join you.”

  “Will you help me put my sunscreen on?” Shira asked, knowing that she was asking for much more and liking the heat that flared brighter in his gaze as he nodded is assent. “Good.”

  Kale closed his eyes and struggled to keep from hauling her off her feet and taking her right there in the sand. Once he had control, he said something in Arabic and two uniformed palace employees presented themselves. He quickly gave orders for a meal to be prepared and left in the cabana for them. He then dismissed them, telling them not to return again until tomorrow morning, and to bring breakfast when they came.

  His informed his bodyguards that he would be spending the night in the cabana and that he did not wish for any interruptions. They nodded in understanding and soon had disappeared from sight.

  He turned back and watched as Shira settled herself upon one of the chaise lounges. She had chosen one receiving full sun and he shook his head at her. She wasn’t used to the harsh sun that beat down upon Jawhara, and even with her special sunscreen, her skin would look like a boiled lobster if she spent too long lying in it.

  Chapter 8

  Approaching her on silent feet, he grinned when she jumped at the touch of his cool hand upon her shoulder. Looking down into her upturned face, he couldn’t resist dropping to his knees and taking her mouth with his own. After devouring her for several minutes, he encouraged her to lie the chaise down and turn over to lie on her stomach.

  Shira rolled over once the back of the lounger had been lowered, cradling her cheek against her hands and trying to relax. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the waves rolling in, the seagulls chattering in the distance, and then she heard the sunscreen lid snap open.

  She tried to relax her muscles, but the anticipation of finally having Kale’s hands upon her bare skin was too much and when he placed both hands high on her shoulders, she couldn’t help the reflective shiver that travelled through her.

  As she felt his hands begin to massage her muscles, she relaxed into his caress, floating in a state of mindlessness.

  Kale felt her relax beneath his hands and continued to massage her shoulders and upper back until she melted beneath his touch. Placing more sunscreen in his palms, he let his hands move down her spine, pushing lightly along each side, smiling at her moan of pleasure when he reached her low back. He used his thumbs to push along the waistband of her too small bottoms, and only when she began to squirm beneath his touch, did he let his thumbs push beneath the band - seeking out the dimples he knew he would find where her spine ended.

  Shira was in heaven. Kale’s touch having sent her there. She wanted to insist he move his hands a little lower, and when he finally did, she sighed in pleasure and then moaned as her desire climbed another notch. She could feel the moisture pooling in her center and hoped that she wasn’t completely soaking the bottom of the suit.

  Kale leaned over her back and could smell her arousal. Using his large hands, he molded the curves of her ass, squeezing once before allowing his hands to skim down the length of her legs. The muscles were a testament to the level of activity she normally kept and he made a mental note to show her the palace gym when they returned. He had also been informed of her running activities. That was not an activity his countrymen normally engaged in and he would have to discuss the issue with Kamal to find a solution. He wanted his woman to be happy and not feel like she was giving up things in order to remain in Jawhara.

  When he reached her feet, he took them in his hands separately, using his thumbs to press against the soles and arch of each foot. Shira had started to pull her feet away from him, ticklish and not wanting to disrupt the chemistry between them by giggling, but when his sure touch only brought forth more pleasure, she couldn’t stop the loud groan from leaving her mouth.

  “You like?” he asked.

  “Yes. Who knew my feet could…,” she trailed off as another wave of lust clouded her thinking.

  “The feet are very sensitive and one of the body’s erogenous zones. Many people do not know this.”

  “I’m so glad you do,” she murmured, longing to feel his caress on other parts of her body. She was so turned on and he had yet to touch her breasts or her center.

  “Turn over,” he instructed her, gathering more sunscreen in his palms.

  Shira took a breath and then rolled over, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun. Kale saw her squint, reached up, and placed a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes. “Better?”

  “Yes,” she said, giving him a grateful smile and looking up at him. She watched his face as he began to apply the lotion to her arms. He appeared to be fascinated with his task and she had never felt so cared for in that moment. Kale moved to the front of her legs next, making short work of rubbing the lotion in. When he reached her upper thighs, he brushed lotion on her skin before gently pushing her legs apart and letting his fingertips skim her inner thighs. Shira wanted him to continue but before she could say anything, his hands were on her stomach.

  Kale was so hard he could pound nails and the longer he touched her, the harder controlling his basic urges was becoming. When his fingertips skimmed the underside of her breasts, he looked up to see her watching him beneath half-closed eyes.

  Wiping his hands on the towel nearby, he placed a hand on either side of her head and leaned over her, kissing her gently at first. When she instantly responded by licking his bottom lip, his control broke and he devoured her with his mouth. Imitating with his tongue what he soon intended to do with his body, he traced her teeth, the inside of
her cheek and the roof of her mouth.

  Chapter 9

  Shira was on fire. Never had someone made love to her mouth like Kale. Each touch of his tongue ramped her passion up and she found her arms gripping his shoulders, trying to pull him closer to her.

  Kale let his mouth explore her chin and her cheeks, making note of the spots that elicited more response. When his mouth trailed down her neck, reaching the spot where shoulders and neck met, he bit gently into the muscle and heard her breath catch. Doing the same thing on the other side, he felt her hands grasp at him in response. He used a free hand to skim down her chest, tracing first her collarbone and then moving downward until it cupped a cloth-covered breast. When she pushed her body into his palm, he squeezed and began to rub her distended nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

  Shira needed more and leaning up, skimmed her lips against his neck, gently biting his earlobe. At his low growl, she became more adventurous and using her hands, rubbed them over his torso, memorizing the contour of his muscled chest.

  He was murmuring to her in Arabic, the sound lyrical and tender sounding and she found it didn’t matter that she couldn’t understand what he was saying. As long as his lips didn’t stop tracing a path across her body, he could speak whatever language he wanted to.

  Kale gently untied her bikini top, baring her to his eyes and feasting on the sight. Her breasts fit nicely into his hands and he palmed them for several minutes before dropping his head and learning her taste.

  When she arched into his touch, he tightened his grip and then reached lower on her stomach with his free hand. He could feel the heat pouring off her and when her small hands began to pull at his hips, he lifted himself over her, making a place for himself between her spread thighs.

  Lowering his body over hers, he closed his eyes at the feeling that swamped his senses. He had been on fire for her since the night he had been called back to Jawhara and their daily phone calls had done nothing but fan the flames of his desire.

  He was pleased to see that Shira was in no better shape. She twisted and arched into his touch, murmuring pleas for him to continue his onslaught. He was happy to oblige that particular wish and lifted himself away from her only long enough to remove his swim trunks.

  Returning to her, he quickly pulled her bikini bottoms off and flung them to the sand before resettling himself against her, luxuriating in the first touch of hot center against his hardness.

  “Kale, hurry,” Shira begged, she was desperate for him. She had felt desire before, but never like this. Never to the extent that her next breath depended upon him finally making them one.

  Kale wanted nothing more than to answer her plea, but common sense broke through the haze of lust and he held himself away from her, murmuring, “Shira, are you…?”

  “Protected?” Shira finished for him.

  At his quick nod, she smiled at him and answered quickly, “Yes. I’m on the pill to help regulate my cycle.”

  Kale exhaled and lowered himself back over her, taking her lips in a searing kiss at the same time he gently made them one. It was like finding the missing part of himself. He continued to mold her lips beneath his own, and then started the climb up the hill of paradise, casting them both off the edge and into oblivion for several moments.

  Shira fell off the edge, clinging to Kale as she heard herself vocalize her pleasure. When she finally landed, she found herself surrounded by Kale’s arms, his head resting on the pillow of her breasts while he tried to keep the fullness of his weight from crushing her.

  When Khalil felt Shira move her hands to run her fingers through the hair at his nape, he lifted his head and met her gaze. After ascertaining that she was feeling as good as he was, he grinned at her, pleased to see her return it.

  “Wow!” Shira knew she was probably smiling like a fool, but what she and Kale had just shared was remarkable and earth shattering. It had also ruined her for any other man! “Wow!” she said again, no other words coming to mind.

  “I agree. Nooro hyati.” Kale kissed her nose.

  “What does that mean?” Shira asked, wishing she understood just a little bit of Arabic.

  “It means ‘light of my life’ roughly,” Khalil explained, “There are many phrases you Americans use that are not used in Jawhara. I know we’ve only known each other a short while, but I feel things for you that I’ve never felt before.”

  Shira nodded, unable to put into words exactly what she was feeling. She felt attached to Kale in ways that went against everything she had ever thought about love and falling in love. “I never felt this way before.”

  “Good. It is only right that you should reserve such strong emotions for the one you are destined to spend eternity with.”

  “Eternity? Don’t you think we might be rushing things a little bit. I’m only here for a few weeks…”

  “Not just a few weeks. I forget that your bosses did not tell you about the change in plans.” Levering himself away from her, he grabbed a nearby towel, helping her adjust the back of the lounger so she could sit up. When she covered herself with the towel, he wanted to insist she remove it, but decided that he didn’t want to push her too hard. He had discovered that American women had strange notions regarding their bodies and used clothing as a means of self-protection and as emotional walls.

  “The Addams Group has accepted my brother’s generous offer to open a branch office in Jawhara. After much discussion, it was decided that you would be the best candidate for the position and I am to help you set your office this coming week and hire competent help from my own countrymen to assist you in your work.”

  Shira sputtered, “But…Rick and Damon didn’t say anything to me… they expect me to move to Jawhara?”

  “Will living in close proximity to me, be such a hardship then, habibiti?” Kale asked.

  “What does that word mean?”

  “It is a term of endearment. Much like your young men would use the term ‘sweetheart’.”

  “I can’t just move around the world…”

  “Why not? Are you so tied to your life in Washington D.C. that you would be giving up a lot?”

  Shira shook her head, “This is all happening too fast. I only got here yesterday, and already I’m expected to agree to move here?”

  Kale watched her and then decided that serious discussions had long passed. Holding out his hand, he invited her to join him, “Come. Let us enjoy the rest of the day. The ocean is warm and you have been in the sun for long enough. Let us cool off and then we will see what the servants have left us to eat.”

  Shira smiled, eager to enter the ocean and feel the waves crashing against her body. She quickly located her suit and shook the sand from it. Sliding her bottom back into place, and then her top, she looked up to find Kale watching her with the heat in his eyes once again.

  Stepping around the lounger, she took several steps towards the water and then hollered over her shoulder as she began to sprint for the water’s edge, “Race you!”

  Kale laughed as he saw her attempt to gain a head start. He flung his towel into the sand and lunged after her, finding it difficult to catch her as she was very quick. She made the mistake of stopping once she reached the water’s edge and he took advantage of that fact. Coming up behind her quickly, he picked her up, holding her above his head and then tossed her into the incoming surf, laughing as she sputtered and rose to the surface.

  They spent the next twenty minutes cooling off and taking turns trying to dunk each other under the waves. Anyone watching them would have thought they were watching a couple of teenagers play in the waves. No one would have guessed that they had just shared an intimacy some waited all their lives to find, only to realize it would never be found.

  Chapter 10

  After rinsing the salt water from their bodies at the outside shower, Kale led her to a small table where a luscious meal of fresh meats, cheeses, and fruit awaited them. A sweetened tea was also in abundance and soon they were both full and
ready to rest.

  Kale looked at the pink already beginning to form on Shira’s exposed skin and knew that anymore exposure to the sun’s hateful rays and she would be a very miserable young woman. “You are becoming sunburned.”

  Shira looked at her arm, pushing a finger into her bicep and noticing that it immediately turned white and then faded back to a gentle pink, looking up at him she nodded, “You’re right. The sun seems much stronger here than what we get at home.”

  “It is. No more sun for you.” While the sun had already begun to sink in the sky, there were still several hours until daylight would give way to the moon and stars. “Tomorrow, I thought we could take a camel ride into the desert.”

  “Really?!” Shira asked, “I can’t wait. You’ll ride with me, right?”

  Kale chuckled, “Of course! I wouldn’t want you to fall off.”

  “Good!” Shira exhaled. “So, is it hard to stay on them? And do they really spit?”

  Kale laughed outright, “Yes! They do spit! And they will be saddled. The foolish tourists who try to ride a camel without the benefit of a saddle deserve to find themselves sitting in the sand.”

  Shira laughed with him, “You know, when I found out I was coming over here, I watched some YouTube videos of soldiers in Afghanistan trying to ride camels, and every one of them made a fool of themselves while the natives looked on. I kind of felt sorry for them.”

  “I too have seen some of those videos. In Jawhara, no one would consider treating an American in such a fashion. It would be dishonorable to allow one’s friend to humiliate themselves so.”

  “So, are there no bad people in Jawhara, then?” Shira asked.

  “Not many, no. Jawhara is a very small country with very strict laws. Honor and protocol are taught to our children almost from the time they are born. We have interacted with the Americans for years, and every experience has been pleasant. They have no reason to wish harm to your people.”