Final Vow (22 page)

“Now that’s an order I don’t mind following.”

Bridget stood nervously behind him as he pushed open the large door to her suite of rooms. The golden room glowed in the low light of the lamps. The sheer fabric covering the windows glittered as she followed Ahmed across the open living area to the bed.

A light gold bedsprea
d covered the massive bed. Pillows in every shade, from ivory to dark gold, were piled against the arched headboard. The bed seemed to float like a cloud above the rest of the room. Ahmed took one of the three steps to the bed and stopped. Bridget swallowed hard when she saw him looking down at her. Love shone from his eyes, but so did something else. He dropped her hand.

“Wait here.” He climbed the remaining steps and sat
slightly above her on the edge of the bed. She felt her breathing become shallow as need filled his eyes. “Let your hair tumble down,” he said in a rough-edged voice.

Bridget reached up
to release the clips and shook out her hair as pins fell to the floor. Ahmed’s dark eyes blazed with desire as he shifted on the edge of the bed. She was doing this to him. “The dress. I want it off,” his voice rumbled.

A
heady feeling of womanly power gave her confidence as she watched him restrain his arousal. He may not be moving to touch her, but the hunger in his eyes was clear. Bridget reached to her side and unzipped the dress slowly. She held it in place with one arm across her chest and tossed him a teasing look of disobedience.

“
I said I wanted it off,” he demanded as his jaw tightened.

“Jacket and tie. O
ff,” she ordered. Bridget grinned at the surprised expression on his face.

Ahmed
relented, though, and his eyes darkened even more. He stood and shrugged out of the jacket while never taking his eyes from her. He pulled the bow tie from his neck and looked at it, then to her with a smile. “Drop the dress, my dear.”

Bridget dropped her arms to the side and allowed the dress to pool at her feet, leaving her standing in her
red strapless bra, matching panties, and nude silk stockings.

“Shirt.”
Bridget licked her lips as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it from his arms. His broad chest melded into rippled abs and an impressive erection straining against his pants. She felt her face flush and tried not to stare.

“
Bra and panties. Slowly remove them,” he ordered.

She reached behind her and unclasped the bra
. She felt his eyes raking her body, taking in every small movement. Her breasts swelled with excitement and her nipples hardened in anticipation of his hands on them. When his strong jaw clenched, she dropped the bra to the floor.

Ahmed tried to take a deep breath but couldn’t. He’d wanted to control her. H
e’d wanted to prove he still had power in his life when he felt it being taking away by the king, but it was clear she had other plans. They were partners in the field, in life, and in the bedroom. Sharing the power with her was exhilarating. The excitement of her pushing him just as he was doing to her had ignited his desire even further.

“Panties.” His voice was so rough he hardly recognized it. He sat back down and wa
tched her hook her thumbs into the waistband of the red silk. She moved her hips seductively as she slowly peeled them off.

“Stockings?” s
he asked as she stepped from her panties.

“No, leave them on.” He had ideas for them.
He stood up, no longer being able to wait to touch her. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in her.

“Stop,” s
he held up her hand and took a step closer to him. He looked down at her head as she dropped to her knees in front of him. Ahmed was drawn to the valley between her breasts and ran a finger down the silken path before she stopped him. “Pants. Off.”

He throbbed as she slid his pants from his hips. Ahmed felt her warm breath on him a moment before she took all control a
way from him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ahmed placed her bag on the floor
and gave Bridget a tight smile. It felt odd being back in Keeneston knowing he wasn’t able to stay. Marko, however, was thrilled to be home as he ran from room to room making sure nothing had changed since he was last there.

“I’m sorry I’m going to be busy for a while. I need to meet with Mo and
I have some things to do for the king. I’ll call, but it may be a couple days until I can see you again.”

Bridget smiled at him. She could tell
something was wrong. After their scorching night together, he’d started to withdraw. “Okay. Do whatever it is you need to do and then come back to me. Understand?”

Ahmed felt his smile tighten.
If only she knew he could never come back to her. “Of course. I love you.” He bent and kissed her cheek. Oh, how he loved her. Then he did the most painful thing he’d ever done—he left.

* * *

“My father ordered what?” Mo yelled so loudly Dani rushed into the office with a concerned look on her face.

“I
s everything all right?” she asked, full of worry.

“No
,” Mo yelled as he slammed his fist on the ornate desk.

Ahmed sat quietly in the chair across from Mo and didn’t say a word. He knew
his best friend would be angry. Neither of them could ever dream the king would order him back to Rahmi.

“My father has ordered Ahmed back to Rahmi to
share chief of security duties with his brother,” Mo said agitatedly. “He’s taking my best security officer and my best friend from me to serve him and my eldest brother.”

“How can he do that? Why would he do that?” Dani asked
, astonished, as she dropped into the chair next to Ahmed.

“Because Ahmed is part of the
Royal Guard and, as king, my father’s orders must be obeyed. He probably thinks this is an honor after what happened eighteen years ago,” Mo said without thought. Ahmed closed his eyes. Mo was so angry he had lost his ability to filter his thoughts.

“What happened eighteen years ago?” Dani asked.

“When Sergei killed Ahmed’s wife and newborn, then almost killed Ahmed. My father let Ahmed leave the country with me after that because he embarrassed his fam . . .” Mo stopped mid-rant and snapped his eyes to Ahmed’s. “I am so sorry, my friend. I wasn’t thinking.”

“What?” Dani jumped up. “And you didn’t tell me this?”

“I’m sorry, but it was, and is, none of your business,” Ahmed said quietly.

“
Well, now everything makes sense. You got your revenge, found new love, and now the king is taking it away from you thinking he’s doing you a favor,” Dani recapped more for herself than for him.

“That’s right. I need to
meet with Nabi and review some things before I leave,” Ahmed stood up. He had accepted his fate. He just didn’t know if he could live with it.

“No
,” Mo and Dani cried at the same time.

“Sit down and give me a minute,” Dani ordered. She
started pacing the room while mumbling to herself. “How much money do you have?” she asked after a minute. “I mean, I always see you in fancy cars. But do they belong to you or to us?”

“Me, why?”

“How can you afford them?” Dani asked, not really trying to hide her bluntness.

“It pays well to keep the
prince of Rahmi and his family safe,” Ahmed said with a bit of annoyed sarcasm. “Besides, I have no expenses. I live here on the farm. Eat most of my meals here. I don’t have anything to spend my salary on. So, I might have bought a couple nice cars and a couple of Mo’s racehorses. But that’s all.”

“
You like racehorses?” Dani smiled and looked between a confused Ahmed and Mo.

“Yes,” Ahmed answered hesitantly. “Mo got me hooked when we lived in England.”

“He’s great with the stud books, too,” Mo put in. “I always get his advice on breedings. Why?”

“
Because I have a way for Ahmed to stay in Keeneston,” Dani grinned.

* * *

It was almost done. Bridget put her hands on her hips and looked up at the structure taking shape on her property against the twilight sky. The training facility was framed and the roof had just gone on the apartment above the kennel. By next week, the cement walls would be up and painted. Then the kennels could be installed.

Her butt started to vibrate and
Bridget pulled out her cell phone hoping it was Ahmed. It had been two days since she talked to him and she was missing him terribly. She recognized the number and smiled. “Hi, Daddy.”

“How you doing, pumpkin?”
her dad’s deep voice asked over the phone.

“Good. My kennel is almost done,” Bridget said proudly.

“That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to see it. Your mother and I will have to make a trip out there soon. We are actually going to discuss it when we sit down to dinner in a minute.”

“That
would be nice,” Bridget said as she waved to Pierce and Tammy who pulled their truck to a stop in front of her.

“It would be nice to see the guys again,” her dad started to say.

“Look, Daddy, Pierce and Tammy just . . . what's up, guys?” Bridget interrupted herself.

“Hey, pumpkin, someone’s at the door. I gotta go.”

“Me, too. Pierce and Tammy are here. Talk to you soon. Give Mom my love.”

“What about me?”
her father joked.

“You
, too. Bye.” Bridget hung up the phone and waited for Pierce to help Tammy out of the truck. “Hey, guys. What are you all doing here?”

“I wanted to see how the kennels were coming,” Pierce said as he looked at the progress.

“And I’m here to invite you to dinner at the Davies. Marcy wants to hear all about Rahmi. I think we all do,” Tammy said excitedly.

“
Sure. I’ll be there.”

The house smelled great. Aromas from fresh breads, pork chops, and key lime pie filled the air and made Bridget’s stomach rumble as she told the Davies women about Rahmi. When she was finished, the women were all determined to go visit.

“Oh! Did you hear the latest about Miss Lily and John?” Paige ask
ed in a conspiratorial whisper.

“No. What’s happened now?” Morgan asked as sh
e put her feet up on the couch.

“Well,
after the Roger Burns incident, apparently Miss Daisy and Miss Violet confronted Miss Lily. You know they’ve all had a thing for John at one point or another,” Paige told them.

“That’s right. For the longest time we all thought he’d end up wi
th Daisy Mae,” Marcy explained.

“Well, he might still. Miss Lily broke down
and told them she couldn’t move on from the past.”

“That’s so s
ad. Poor John,” Tammy sniffled.

“Don’t feel too bad. I don’t think he’ll be lonely for long,” Paige continued. “Apparently there was a pitcher of ice tea involved and Miss Daisy
declared that her sister was an idiot.”

The
women gasped.

“
What happened next?” Gemma asked as she scribbled down notes. There was no doubt that this story was going in the
Keeneston Journal
next week.

“
Miss Lily started to cry and said she was scared. The heartbreak she suffered all those years ago was too much to get over.”

“I’m stunned,” Katelyn said as she swaye
d with baby Sydney in her arms.

“Wait,
what heartbreak?” Gemma asked.

“
It’s very sad. All the Rose sisters had someone special in their lives when they were younger. I don’t know the specifics about Miss Violet. I know something happened, but no one ever knew what it was. However, Miss Daisy’s high school beau joined the Army and Miss Lily was involved with her neighbor. They were very serious and then suddenly he was gone. The family moved and she never saw him again,” Marcy told them.

“So, what i
s Miss Lily going to do?” Annie asked her sister-in-law.

“She’s trying to win him back
.”

“Oh, this should be
very interesting,” Gemma muttered as she finished taking notes.

“I thought you all could use some food to go with your gossip.” Jake set down a bow
l of cheese dip and tortilla chips.

Bridget watched as Gemma’s eyes went wide and she quickly placed her notebook down. Her face turned a slight greenish color and her hand cove
red her mouth. She shot up and dashed to the bathroom.

“Cyland
,” his mother yelled with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, M
a?” Cy asked as he joined them.

“I'm
finally able to die happy and you keep it a secret from me? Your own mother? Oh, Jake, we’re going to have another grandbaby!”

“Geez
, Ma, you’re a walking pregnancy test,” Cy said with a roll of his eyes, but the huge grin on his face showed how excited he was.

Gemma walke
d from the bathroom with a half-smile on her face. “Sorry, I guess I ate something that didn’t agree with me.”

Marcy gave a hiccupped sob and embraced he
r in a tight hug.

“The gig
’s up, babe. You might as well tell them everything.” Cy slipped his arm around Gemma and they suddenly had the whole family’s attention.

“Well, we’re ten weeks along. Due
at the end of May, but I probably won’t make it that far.”

Cy gave her a squeeze and Jake wrapped a supportive arm around Marcy.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Jake asked.

“I’ve been told to expect . . .
” Gemma paused and took a deep breath. “I’ve been told to expect an early arrival since we’re having twins.”

The women were all
happy for Gemma and Cy, but it was nothing compared to the happy and shocked sobs coming from Marcy. Everyone laughed as Jake, much to his embarrassment, got misty-eyed at the news.

“We’re going to have eight grandbabies, honey.” Jake hugged his wife and then his daughter-in-law before wrapping Cy up in a great big bear hug.

“At least eight,” Cole said as he wrapped his arm around Paige. “We have grand plans for the future.”

“Well, we
can’t be outdone by them,” Marshall teased.

“Oh, Jake
. Why do you keep talking about dying happy? We have too many grandbabies to play with to think about that,” Marcy cried as she wrapped her family up in a huge group hug.

Bridget suddenly felt like she was intruding. She also felt lonely. She checked her phone. Nothing.
After falling so hard in love, Bridget was worried she’d never have this. Ahmed was clearly putting up walls and retreating again. She had the horrible feeling she wouldn’t have the happily-ever-after that her friends had.

* * *

Ahmed stopped in front of the large rectangular house and swallowed hard. He had to do this. It was the right thing to do, he told himself. He opened the door to the sports car he had driven from Kentucky and got out. He buttoned his black suit coat and shut the door.

His footsteps echoed through the sleepy neighborhood as he walked up the dimly lit sidewalk to the front door. It
was dinnertime, almost six at night, and Ahmed hoped that the light spilling into the yard meant he was home. Ahmed wrapped his fingers around the brass knocker and banged it against the navy-blue door.

He dropped his hands to his side
and took a deep breath. He heard voices behind the door and tensed for battle. The door unlocked and the knob turned. Ahmed tried to put a smile on his face to appear less frightening but decided it would look insincere.

The door opened and
Ahmed felt his mouth drop open.

“You,” t
hey both said at the same time.

There was no hiding his shock. All the training he’d received had not prepared him for this. He didn’t bother to hold out his hand. Ahmed knew
the gesture would be ignored.

“Oh my goodness,” the soft voice said from
inside the house. Ahmed glanced into the hall and saw a woman with dark-blonde hair cut short wearing an apron over her tan slacks and standing with her hand on her heart. “Are you here to kill us?” she asked.

“No, ma’am.” Ahmed looked at
the tall, dark red-haired man in front of him dressed in full military attire, and more importantly, at the four stars across each shoulder. “I’m here to ask permission to marry your daughter.”