Page 16 of Sheikh's Unexpected Triplet Babies

"More graphic..."

At first she had no idea what he meant, but then her mind filled in the blanks. Bedelia's hands flew up to cover her mouth, and she gazed at Jahin wide-eyed.

"Surely not!" she said, and he laughed at her. She could imagine how unworldly and prim she looked then, and she hadn't thought that she would be able to blush harder, but yet here she was.

"Perhaps not," he relented, "but I think you were studying the history of this festival, no?"

"I was," she said indignantly. "It had nothing to do with...with public displays..."

"So what was it really about?" he asked with amusement

"Why, fertility, and growth...and...and..." Bedelia trailed off before making a face. "Oh, that was obvious, wasn't it?"

"It was," he said with assurance. "Those are the old ways, and I'm sure no one would have done anything. However, I do believe that some things are hardwired into people. There are some things which simply feel right, and once upon a time, the people of the mountains watched as their great lord took a young girl's virginity on the night of the full moon."

Bedelia shivered. It was all too easy to imagine. She had danced the village dances, she had laughed and eaten and caught the eye of the great lord. The kiss was the innocent ghost of a much older tradition, one with a very dark shadow.

"And now?" she found herself asking.

"This is a place that my family came to every year," he said. "My mother and father before they died, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and I, we would all marvel at the past here. Do you want to see my favorite spot?"

"I would like that very much," she said softly.

He took her by the hand again and led her through the open foyer and up a long, wide flight of stairs. Through what felt like a maze of rooms, he led her through the dim corridors, and then as he opened one door, he led her into moonlight.

It was a terrace, one high up in the sky, and it was completely open to the stars and the enormous, honey-gold moon far above. There were small benches scattered here and there, and most lovely of all, a small garden growing lush and green along one side.

"What a beautiful place," she murmured, looking around in wonder. "Did you come up here often?"

"I did," he said. "At night, as we are coming now, and often I found myself looking up into the sky, gazing at the moon and wondering at all the people who would look up at it after me, and all those who had come before."

"And here we are," Bedelia said.

"Yes," Jahin agreed. "Here we are."

When he turned her so that she faced him and bent down to her, it felt like fate and magic. She tilted her chin up to meet him, and this time, their kiss was almost solemn, gentle and quiet. Instead of the ravishment that had occurred earlier in front of the shouting crowd, this kiss was exploratory. Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, his tongue pressed between her lips, sliding into the warmth of her mouth and stroking against hers. Bedelia had never understood before how someone could find this gesture so erotic, but now, hanging on to him so she didn't fall over, a pulse of heat ringing through her body, she understood completely.

"I want you."

Bedelia was a little surprised to realize that the words had come from her. They were breathed so quietly that he might have missed them, even standing as close as he was, but she knew right away he had heard them, because his body tightened. For a moment, Jahin held her almost crushingly tight, but then he regained enough control to look at her.

"Are you sure?" he asked roughly. "That is not a good thing to tempt a man with, not when you are all alone."

"I know what I want," she said, her voice trembling a little. "And I am not scared of you."

His laugh was dark and rueful. "What a beautiful little puzzle you are, my darling. Perhaps it is time for us to see if we can unravel you completely..."

She started to make a retort to that, but then his mouth was back on hers. His kiss had a dark edge to it, something ancient and modern and male and all him. It beckoned her to the dark places, it told her that there was more than this pleasure open to her if she would just open, if she would just trust...

The kiss went on and on, and when it was over, Jahin scooped her up in his arms. She tilted her head back as her carried her, seeing the great arc of sky and stars overhead. The moon had sailed higher; it looked smaller now, but still one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Bedelia looked up into Jahin's copper eyes that seemed so warm that surely they could melt her where she stood. It seemed to be a night for beautiful things.

He walked her straight to the edge of the terrace, where there was a tall stone ledge all the way around.

"I want..." He paused for a moment, his voice rough. "I want you. Do you trust me?"

There was no answer she could give besides a murmured and breathless “yes.” It was the answer that her body needed, that she demanded. It was the only one possible.

"Good," he said, and he reached for her clothes.

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