My Desert Rose (23 page)

"Is that
right," he teased back as he undid the buttons of her jeans.

"Uh huh," she
nodded whist raising her hips for him to roll down her jeans and
lace briefs.

Getting up to
pull them all the way off, Tariq dropped her jeans to the floor and
then looked back at her. She'd discarded her blouse and bra and now
lay there completely naked. Desire so powerful hit him in the gut
and his heart swelled with a knowing that she was here of her own
free will.

Katie watched
the intensity of longing in his gaze and it gave her the confidence
to reach out for what she wanted. Lifting herself up on her elbows,
she raised an eyebrow at him. "Take off all your clothes," she
instructed him.

Grinning in
response, he undid the buttons on his shirt and then let it fall to
the floor.

Observing him
through her half-hooded eyes, her mouth watered at the sight of his
olive-skinned muscular torso. "Hmmm, now for the pants. And make it
slow."

"You witch," he
said, laughing. Undoing the button and zip, he allowed his chino
pants to slowly slide down his muscular legs, knowing he was
commando underneath.

"Oh my," she
breathed, as his erect length came into view. Cocking her index
finger, she gave him a sexy, half smile, "Come to me, my desert
rose," she hummed in a sultry tone.

Not wasting a
second, he joined her on the bed and kissed her hard and
passionately, but she matched him with a desire-fuelled appetite of
her own. Now desperate to taste and lick every inch of her, he
moved downwards, nipping and sucking on her erogenous zones.
Finally, he found the ultra-sensitive nub that he was looking for
and he dived right in, bringing a cute little cry from that
delicious mouth of hers.

"Yes, right
there, Tariq." Katie was on fire. Little waves and tremors were
rocking through her body. If he so much as stopped right now she'd
commit blue murder. When she was just about at the level of not
being able to take much more, he stopped. "No, no, you can't stop,"
she squealed.

Rising up and
leaning over to the drawer, he pulled out a condom and sheathed
himself before covering his mouth over hers. "Desert roses are
supposed to be quiet and pliant," he replied with wicked
humour.

Lifting up her
hips towards him, she was now desperate. "Yep, that's me, pliant
all the way," she replied. "I'll do anything if you just carry on,"
she whimpered against his lips.

He readied
himself at her entrance and looked into her eyes. "Anything?" he
asked.

She nodded.

"Marry me," he
whispered.

"We're already
married." She was trying to urge him on by pushing against him, but
he was having none of it.

A little
flutter of shock rippled through him. "You didn't sign the
papers?"

"No," she
gasped. "Now please, I'm desperate here."

He let out a
little laugh, "Okay, marry me again?" He pressed in an inch and she
groaned in his ear. "Was that a yes?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes, damn it!
Yes!"

"I love a woman
who can make up her own mind." With that, he pushed in all the
way.

Katie felt an
absolute delicious wave of pleasure fill her from the inside out.
Holding on for dear life, she clawed at his back and kissed him
fiercely as he set the rhythm. Raising her hips to meet his every
stroke, the fire began to burn again in her belly. It flowed
unchecked up her spine before exploding inside of her mind, sending
her swirling into a world of colour and light, all whilst crying
out his name.

Tariq felt the
pulsing of her inner walls and it sent him over the edge. The
sensations were so powerful, he didn't know if he could take the
intensity. Every fibre of his being was morphed into such an acute
point, that it was almost painful. When his release came, it
brought up a wave of deep emotion, a sense of fulfilment so great
that he wondered how he'd ever lived without it before. How he'd
managed to live without her before.

Slick with
sweat and exhaustion, he dropped his weight onto her, needing a
moment to bring his breath back under control. A droplet of warm
wetness on his shoulder caused him to lift his face from her neck
and look at her. There were tears running down her face.

"Are you okay?"
he asked, now worried in case she regretted it.

"That was
incredible," she breathed. "Much better than just humpy pumpy."

He felt
relieved and so he smiled, "Better than funny business?"

"You bet!" she
replied, as she laughed through the tears.

Tariq dropped a
quick kiss on her forehead, then pulled away to discard the condom.
As he climbed back into bed he pulled her into the crook of his
arms.

A contented
silence filled the room.

"Tariq?"

"Hmmm," he was
drifting in a wonderful, peaceful state.

"What happened
with Amira?"

His eyes
snapped open. "She was caught in Somalia and deported back to her
family. Prince Saud will deal with her. It is said that she's been
sent into isolation where she will have to seek forgiveness for her
sins against Allah."

Katie sighed
heavily. "I'm so sorry. I'm especially sorry for your mother and
father losing a son and a daughter-in-law."

Tariq hugged
her more tightly to him. "It's been hard these last few weeks, but
what I do know is that they've missed you and they'll be happy that
they've gained their other daughter back."

"And perhaps
one day we can give them a grandchild?" she whispered. Never having
thought too deeply about having children with anyone in particular
before, all of a sudden there was a profound yearning to have
Tariq's.

Tariq moved to
look down at her and seek out her eyes. They were looking up at him
in joy and innocence, an endless ocean of blue. "Katarina Turan
el-Tayeb, why, I think you've just made me happier than I ever
believed possible."

Katie gave him
a shy little laugh. "Maybe we can have a few months' worth of
trying first though, just so that I get to have you all to myself
for a while."

He bent down to
kiss her and then he rolled her onto her back. "Oh, I think that
can be arranged, little moheet. Now please be quiet and pliant and
love me like I love you."

Epilogue

"Who is that?"
called out an excited April.

Katie looked
over to the bedroom window where April was standing with Annabelle,
pointing out to someone below. They'd been watching people arrive
at the house for the last thirty minutes. Both she and Miriam made
their way over. "Who?" she asked, whilst trying to rubberneck over
Annabelle's shoulder.

"That dark and
mysterious man over there with all the people milling around him?"
replied April, as she pointed out a man dressed in a white Arabian
outfit.

"Oh, that's
just Prince Saud," answered Miriam casually.

April stuck her
face to the glass in awe. "What, as in a real-life prince?"

Miriam
scrunched up her nose. "Yep, but he's not very warm. Kat calls him
a cool cucumber."

Katie laughed.
It was taking a while getting used to being called Kat. "Miriam,
honey, I said, 'He's as cool as a cucumber.'"

"Oh..."

Katie was about
to move away when someone driving a car into the makeshift carpark
at the back of the house caught her eye. "Oh my God! I don't
believe it!" she exclaimed, as she watched the car pull up and a
man get out.

"What?" all
three replied in unison.

Katie shuffled
in closer to the window to get a better look, but with her silk
wedding dress, Annabelle's expanded belly, April stuck to the glass
and Miriam squeezing in, she couldn't get a proper nosey. "Can't
you move that great big herd of cows you're carrying over to the
side a bit?"

Annabelle
shifted the weight of her nearly nine-month pregnant belly to the
other foot, bumping Miriam. "Sorry."

Miriam patted
it affectionately.

Katie was
gobsmacked. Wait until she got her hands on Tariq. "I told him I
wanted to do the photography and look at what he's gone and
done!"

Annabelle burst
out laughing. "No way, is that Jeremy?"

Miriam sighed
at the tall athletic figure getting his camera equipment out of the
boot of the car. "Oh, he's so hot chilli."

Katie shook her
head. "Miriam, honey, it's 'he's as hot as chilli.'"

"That's what I
meant." She pouted.

Katie exchanged
smiles with Annabelle before turning away from the window. "Right,
I'm off to find Tariq and give him what for! He promised me he
wouldn't manipulate anything or make decisions without consulting
with me first and bringing Jeremy of all people to photograph my
wedding, well..."

Annabelle
grabbed her hand. "Kat, sweetie, I'll just point out the obvious,
okay? You can't exactly take pictures of yourself in the wedding
dress while saying your vows?"

"Humph! Still,
he needs a little word in his ear."

"It's unlucky
to see the groom before the wedding," piped up April.

Katie tickled
her under the chin. "We're already married, so it doesn't count."
Then she left the room before a heaving Annabelle could even take a
step forward to stop her.

Tariq had been
camping out in the room down the corridor and when she reached his
door, she rapped her knuckles hard on it. Tristan opened it, taking
the wind out of her sails.

"Is something
the matter? Is it Annabelle?" He'd gone as white as a sheet.

"Huh?" Katie
then realised that he thought she was knocking because there was
something wrong with his wife. They'd flown over on his jet
especially for the wedding, armed with a medical team. Tristan
wasn't taking any chances with Annabelle or their precious cargo.
Shaking her head, she put her hand on his arm in comfort. "No, no,
Annabelle's fine."

"Okay, but I
think I'll go and check for myself." Tristan brushed past her. "You
look lovely by the way," he called at her as he strode down the
corridor.

"Exquisite,
actually."

A warm voice
whispered the words in her ear and she turned slowly to look at
Tariq. A big smile lit up her face at the sight of him, he looked
strikingly gorgeous. "I've come to tell you off," she said softly,
as she fingered the lapels of his white silk suit. To complement
her dress, he'd had the same gold embroidered on his jacket and he
was wearing a matching gold tie.

Tariq raised an
eyebrow at the stunning woman standing before him. "You have?"

"Uh huh," she
replied sweetly, licking her favourite pink blush from her lips.
They hadn't seen each other properly for the last three days and
now she was so hungry for him, she could eat him all up. "But now I
can't seem to remember why."

"I can help you
with that," he murmured seductively.

"You can?"

Tariq smiled
and bent to kiss her.

Katie
immediately yielded and gave a little sigh. The feel of him against
her sent little pulses zooming all over her body. Standing in just
the sheath part of her wedding outfit, goose pimples broke out all
over her skin and she wanted more. Was it always going to be like
this between them? A little jolt shot through her stomach as he
nibbled on her bottom lip. Hell, yeah!

Dragging his
lips away, he pulled out a box from behind his back and gave it to
her. "I have a gift for you."

Katie opened it
to find a pure golden rose hairpin with tiny rubies on the tips of
the petals. "Oh, it's so beautiful, thank you."

He took it out
and pinned it in the side of her hair, which was half-up and
half-down with ringlets falling like waterfalls around her
shoulders. "Now go, before I pull you in here and ravish you," he
playfully admonished.

She laughed as
he smacked her rump when she turned to walk away.

****

After much
debate and discussion, in the end they'd decided on an afternoon
ceremony in the garden rather than the midnight one Katie had
originally agreed to. Keeping a heavily pregnant Annabelle up until
the small hours of the morning hadn't felt right. It was to be a
mix of both their Muslim and Christian cultures, combining the
whole family together in a mix of English, Italian, Turkish and
Yemeni history. Chairs had been set out in rows under a white
muslin canopy and its hanging drapes had been tied to poles with
strips of gold silk ribbon. The bride and groom were to stand in
front of the congregation under another canopy of gold silk, which
complemented their wedding attire. Both the imam and a vicar would
be reciting religious passages for the blessing.

Katie could see
Tariq waiting for her at the end of the aisle. They'd come far in
these last four months and it was a testament to their deepening
love. It may have started off on the wrong foot, but since finding
him at his beach house, they'd grown and blossomed together more
each day. It wasn't always easy. Tariq was used to making decisions
without consulting anyone and she didn't like being told what to
do, but the making up was always explosive. There were quiet times
too, watching the ocean together or just reading curled up with
each other on the sofa.

Tariq had asked
her countless times what she wanted to do with her photography
business and where she wanted her full-time base to be. This
decision had been agony, but just last night she'd finally made up
her mind and today she was going to tell him.

Waiting to walk
down the aisle on her father's arm nearly caused her heart to burst
with joy. Having him here in this moment was the fulfilment of a
lifelong dream. Over the last few months, they'd built up an
amazingly close relationship. She'd even met his wife of fourteen
years and found that she had two siblings, a younger brother and a
sister, whom she'd struck up a great friendship with. They were all
sitting at the back of the congregation. Turning their way, she
gave them a smile and a little wave.