Page 24 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
The tension from Amare’s face disappeared, as if reassured by the confusion he read in hers. He reached out, gently lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze once more. “I know you cannot deny it, any more than you can stop breathing. Maybe it’s too soon. But know this, Janey, you will accept the truth of what I say, and then nothing will stop us from being together.”
Before she could do anything, he leaned in, closing the distance between them, and pressed his lips to hers once more. Except this was an entirely different kiss. This was a kiss of command, of passion, of ownership. A branding. She instinctively recognized all these things as his mouth took control of hers for a few long seconds, sending shivers down her spine and a rush of moisture to her sex. Then the kiss ended as suddenly as it had begun and Amare’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her close, and she couldn’t help but melt into his embrace.
As they pulled away, Amare looked at her with a mix of passion and tenderness. “I know it’s hard. But nothing worthwhile is easy. I’ve found out that to my cost. And so will you.” He stepped away, and she could see the strength of willpower it took for him to do it, in the set of his mouth, the cooling control in his eyes. But he kept hold of her hand tightly. He was respecting her choice for now, but she realized he had no intention of letting go. That much was clear by his firm grip on her hand.
It wasn’t far to her room, but there was no repeat of the kiss. Instead, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her with all the tenderness she’d previously felt against her lips.
“Goodnight, Janey,” he said in a deep, husky voice which spoke to all the magic he could perform if he’d only step into her bedroom. And for a moment, she wavered. But the prosaic sound of a trolley, clattering over the uneven path nearby, broke her indecision. Life went on. And she knew she’d have to face the consequences the next day.
Instead, she withdrew her hand.
“Goodnight, Amare. And thank you.” She opened the door.
“For what?” he asked.
She turned, clinging to the doorway, as if it would help her hold on to her resolve.
“For respecting my decision. For giving me the space to decide.”
“Habibti,” he said, the tenderness clear in his words. “I’ve never not respected you. My mistake was not understanding you. But I’m beginning to.”
With that, he turned and walked away. She watched him for a while before shivering as a draft of cool night air hit her shoulders. She went inside, shut the door firmly, and closed her eyes as she leaned back against it.
If he’d made a mistake, so had she. Her mistake was underestimating him. And that, she realized as she pushed herself away from the door and began to undress, she’d do at her peril.
CHAPTER11
With an early breakfast behind her, and dressed in the kind of suit she wore not to be intimated by the Oxford dons, Janey made her way to the harem, cellphone map in hand. She reasoned that the guards would have been debriefed, and that whoever was on duty there would know who she was now, and that she had permission to access the harem. They wouldn’t know, she hoped, that the Crown Prince required his presence to be there.
Despite her focus, she couldn’t help but be distracted by the beauty of the morning. Drops of dew—like rows of pearls—glistened in the early morning sunshine, revealing the delicate threads of the spiders’ webs. Gardeners were already hard at work and palace staff made short-cuts across the gardens despite the early hour. So much for getting ahead of everyone, she thought. She just hoped that Amare kept to European hours.
It surprised her to see the guards at the entrance, almost as if they’d been expecting her. They didn’t show in the least bit of surprise, nor did they question her. They merely greeted her, punched in the codes, and she was inside. It was easier than she’d imagined, she thought, as the door clunked close behind her. And, for the first time, she was alone in this place she’d only read about.
She looked around in awe as her eyes slowly became accustomed to the unlit shadows of the anteroom where she’d been the night before with Amare. The adornment was more intimate here, the scale less large, but she could tell no expense had been spared. There was no doubting that this was a place for seduction.
She imagined the women, dripping in precious stones—diamonds, sapphires and rubies—which matched the embroidery which adorned their clothes. She’d seen photos of other royal harems where women wore fabulous diamond tiaras. No doubt they had similar jewels here, and what better place to hide the famed Bahr Al Noor diamond than amongst other diamonds? But, unlike Rosana, she didn’t believe they would find the diamond amongst the other treasures of the harem. She believed it to be hidden, and she had her own theory as to where.
She cast her eyes around the fabulous ante room, but didn’t linger. She wanted to go further, into the heart of the harem, to see for herself the place she’d only heard ancient tales of.
She walked with care, not wanting to disturb anything, aware of the soft slide of her leather sandals on the ancient tiled floor. Dust motes spun as she moved in stray beams of sunlight, which caught cut stones in the decorations, glinting, teasing as to the treasures which lurked there. And she’d examine them, just not yet. For now, while she was alone, she wanted to go, not to test her theory as to the whereabouts of the diamond, but to the women’s inner chambers, the subject of her work.
Quietly, she turned the handle, half-wondering whether an alarm would ring out. The guards hadn’t warned her of any additional alarms, so she thought she’d try. To her surprise, the door opened. She stood for a moment, half-expecting guards to come running, but nothing happened. She could still hear the splash of water from somewhere within, and birds outside shrieking, and the sudden call to prayer. She closed her eyes, breathing in the dry dusty air, hardly believing she was here. It was so foreign and yet so familiar from her research. Suddenly she heard a door opening from somewhere ahead of her, deep inside the harem, and she opened her eyes with a start.
“Janey!” Amare said, entering the room, sunlight streaming in from behind him. The door obviously opened up onto an inner harem garden. “You’re later than I thought. We may have to order more coffee.”
Janey opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Of course he was here. Of course, he was one step ahead of her. She hid her frustration with a smile instead.
“You’re here bright and early,” she said.
“Yes, well, I knew you’d like an early start, and I also knew I couldn’t rely on you to contact me first, as I’d suggested.”
Her smile became sweeter still. “I didn’t want to put you out.”
He stepped toward her. “Habibti,” he said in a low, seductive voice, reaching out for her hand and kissing it, sending shivers down her arm and elsewhere. “You have no idea how much the thought of being put out by you thrills me.”
If it was anything like the thrill his kiss sent through her body, she thought she probably did.
She cleared her throat. “Right,” she said, twisting away from him. He released her hand with a rueful purse of the lips. She tried to suppress a smile, but her lips twisted into one, anyway. Amare was incorrigible. Despite beating her to the harem, she couldn’t help see the funny side. “Well, it’s good you’re here. We can get started. Maybe you could tell me what it is your grandmother told you.” She withdrew her laptop from her bag and held it up. “I can record you.”
