The Prince's Resistant Lover (7 page)

“You have the girl still?” Jabril asked as they walked through the tree lined courtyard together.

“She’s still here,” he confirmed. Wyndi had been here for the past week. They bantered back and forth, both of them trying to oust the other from their positions. He was surprised at how tenacious she could be, day after day. But the nights! Yes, the nights were the best. He didn’t mind seducing her every night. He enjoyed her struggles to resist him because every time he touched her, every time she tried to resist the magic they shared, she lost. They both came out the victor but, frustratingly, no matter how many nights he held her in his arms and made her delirious with desire, she still wouldn’t give him any information.

They had spirited debates over meals and he was finding that he didn’t like to be away from her. He told his security team that he would do the interrogations, but he was starting to suspect that he simply enjoyed debating with her.

“But she hasn’t revealed what she sold or to whom,” Jabril stated, not asking. If any information had been obtained, Jabril knew that his cousin would have relayed it already.

“Perhaps I can be of assistance,” Jabril offered, smiling gently when his wife Laila walked up to him. His arm automatically went around her waist, holding her close despite her protruding stomach that was nurturing their unborn child.

Tamar considered his cousin carefully, not liking the idea of what Jabril might suggest. “I can handle this,” he said firmly.

“Are you talking about Wyndi?” Laila asked, looking up at her husband of less than a year. She still couldn’t believe how much she loved this man, even though she’d fought hard against that dangerous emotion.

Both men looked down at her, startled that she even knew the name. “How do you know about Wyndi?” Tamar asked. He liked Laila and was glad that she was happy with his cousin. Jabril deserved all the happiness he could find and needed this woman who pulled him away from his duties, ensuring that he rested more than in the past. She was good for Jabril. And good for Surisia. It was hard to look at the two of them though. They were so much in love and Tamar knew that he would never have that kind of relationship with a woman.

A picture of the blond temptress that had been driving him slowly insane over the last week came to mind. But he mercilessly pushed her image away. She was a criminal and definitely wouldn’t be a good candidate for his wife. Nor would he even contemplate such a move. He was only holding her here to get information out of her. Information that was becoming more elusive the harder everyone looked.

“I met her when I was coming in a moment ago. She’s a lovely woman, Tamar. I’m glad you’ve finally found someone who loves you like that.”

Tamar stared at the dark haired beauty as if she’d just grown another head. “Love?” he spat out. “I don’t think so.”

Laila blinked, surprised by the vehemence in Tamar’s normally calm voice. Tamar was a good man, but he tended to dismiss the ladies a bit too easily. She’d struggled with her marriage to Jabril because she’d thought that her then-fiancé was maintaining a mistress in both Paris and New York. In the end, it turned out that those apartments, and the mistresses that resided in both, were maintained by Tamar now that Jabril was the leader of Surisia.

That didn’t bode well for the incredible beauty she’d just met. The sadness in that woman’s eyes was….well, Laila looked up into Tamar’s frustrated countenance and something clicked. The expressions in both their eyes told her everything she needed to know.

“Let’s have dinner together. Just the four of us,” she announced.

Jabril looked down at her, worried at the idea of her dining with a criminal, especially someone who might have committed treason against Surisia. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, my love.”

“Nonsense. We all have to eat. And she’s obviously being treated as more of a guest than a prisoner.” She watched the guilty flush steal over Tamar’s handsome features. “So why not all eat together?”

Tamar started to say something but was interrupted by Jabril. Both of them were protesting, but Laila simply waved their objections aside. “I’ll go arrange it.” And with that decree, she moved away from the two tall, dynamic men as quickly and gracefully as her six month pregnancy would allow.

“Is it safe?” Jabril asked, staring at the door through which his wife had disappeared.

Tamar was surprised at the question. “Wyndi is very kind and gentle. She’s not violent,” he explained, knowing exactly what his cousin was asking.

Jabril looked at Tamar, stunned by the adamant defense of the woman that could be facing prison time. There was something…he looked back where his wife had gone, then at Tamar, a smile breaking out on his face. He smacked his cousin’s shoulder as he chuckled softly. “I think tonight’s dinner is going to be quite revealing.” And with that, he walked away to find his wife once again.

Several hours later, Tamar entered the formal dining room where Wyndi was already waiting. “You look lovely,” he said, surveying her light blue cocktail dress with interest. He’d ordered new clothes to be delivered to her earlier in the week, tired of seeing her in the same old jeans and tee-shirt. It was amazing what an experienced seamstress could do for a woman’s figure, he thought, his eyes moving over her tiny waist and full breasts, subtly displayed in the gown.

Wyndi spun around, ready to take on the next step in their seemingly never ending battle. But she was struck by how handsome he looked in his tuxedo. “Goodness,” she breathed, in awe of his looks. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

Which is how Laila found them, her hand tucked onto her husband’s arm with a huge grin on her face. “Good evening, Wyndi. I’m so glad you could join us for dinner tonight.”

Wyndi tore her eyes away from Tamar to look at the lush beauty that she’d met earlier today. The woman was quite stunning with her lovely brown eyes and rose tinted skin. She was now standing next to a very tall, very intimidating man. Wyndi wanted to shrink backwards but she wasn’t sure why. When she felt Tamar’s hand move around her waist protectively, she felt safer, leaning into his hard strength and oblivious to her actions.

But Laila noticed. And her smile brightened as she took in the couple. She was so thrilled that Tamar had found a love that might be as strong as what she’d found with her husband!

“So, tell me about yourself,” Laila urged, sitting down in the chair her husband held out for her.

Wyndi also took a seat, sitting across from the lovely woman, feeling washed out and bland next to her exotic loveliness. “There isn’t really much to tell,” she replied carefully. Was this yet another trick where Tamar tried to get her to reveal her secrets? She was growing wary of their constant battles. But she also knew that she couldn’t tell Tamar everything. There was just something holding her back that she couldn’t define.

“What do your parents do?” she prompted.

Whatever wariness she felt around Tamar didn’t apply to the beauty across the table from her. She was sweet and kind, gentle in her questions, and Wyndi simply wouldn’t believe that she was trying to get information out of her. And after a week of hostile or cajoling Tamar, she wasn’t able to stop herself from telling this woman about her past.

Looking down at her plate, she fiddled with her fork, unable to watch Tamar for his reaction. “My parents died when I was six years old.”

There was a stunned silence after that little bombshell.

“What happened?” Laila asked gently.

Wyndi might have been able to withstand Tamar’s orders or his questions while he drove her insane with sexual need, but she couldn’t suppress the sadness that crept throughout her body as she explained her past to this kind woman. “They were driving over to a party. My brother was babysitting me.” She looked up, then down again as she fought the tears welling in her eyes. “He’s ten years older than I am so he was doing his homework when the police arrived at the door to tell us about the accident.” She took a deep breath. “He was wonderful though. He fought so hard to keep us together. He got a job after school, even tried to drop out of school to support me. But in the end, he couldn’t make enough money as a high school student to provide food and maintain the payments on the house.” She straightened her shoulders as she took a sip of her water. “When child protective services arrived, he tried to carry me away. I was sobbing, which only made it harder for him,” she told the group softly. “But I was put into foster care. He was too, but he kept running away, trying to find me and take care of me.”

“What happened to him?” Jabril prompted.

Wyndi wiped the tear from her cheek, then hid her trembling hands underneath the linen covered tablecloth. “I don’t know.” She looked over at Tamar, daring him to call her a liar. “That’s what the code is for. I’m not stealing any information,” she told him without any inflection in her voice. “I’m searching through any database I can get into, trying to find his name so I can find him.”

She sat there in the silence, not sure what to say now that she’d demolished the mood for the night. She breathed deeply and looked up, forcing a smile on her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t sell any information to anyone, I don’t have any contacts with nefarious people who are trying to bring down your government,” she said to both Tamar and Jabril. “I just need to find my brother. If you let me use my computer, I can show you all of the data, all the places I’ve gone, all the companies I’ve searched through to prove that I haven’t done anything other than sift through the names of the employees.”

She stood up and walked away with as much dignity as she could under the circumstances. She braced herself, afraid Tamar might call out for her to stop, but she couldn’t stop. She had to get away, she had to find a place where she could hide, to get her emotions under control. She was almost running by the time she reached his bedroom and she burst into it, slamming the door closed behind her as she sobbed out her anguish over her lost family.

She sat down in the comfortable chair that she’d used almost every day while waiting for Tamar’s next interrogation or battle of wills, whatever he wanted to call it. She couldn’t believe she’d actually told him all of that. She’d fought so hard to keep it her own secret and she didn’t want anyone to know, not until she’d found her brother. But it was out now. And Tamar could believe her or not.

Tamar watched her leave, something inside of him aching painfully. He’d listened to her story and he had no doubt that she was telling him the truth. In fact, now that he knew what she was doing, a lot of what his tech team had found finally made sense. As well as the reason why they hadn’t found any stolen information on her computer, no contacts, not even her co-workers or friends in college.

He suddenly realized that her whole world was about finding her brother and he’d taken a week away from her, abusing her trust and her soul in the process.

He stood up, not even excusing himself to his cousin or his wife as he hurried to follow her. He had no concerns that she would run away from him. He knew her well enough now, knew exactly where he would find her.

Sure enough, as soon as he opened the doors to his bedroom, he spotted her sitting stiffly on her favorite chair. His favorite chair too. It was the chair he used late at night when he wanted to review information privately. And every night, he’d found her in that chair, her slender legs tucked up underneath her as she read through his library.

As he looked down at her, he knew that she was fighting an internal battle with every fiber of her being. He couldn’t allow that. It would tear her up, make her sick. So he bent down low, lifting her into his arms and sat down with her in his lap. “I’m sorry,” he said. The simple words, spoken with intense honesty, broke through her control and she shuddered, leaning her head against him. She cried out her frustration on not making any progress finding her brother, her anger over his distrust of her and life in general. And the whole time, he simply held her in his arms.

When the storm had finally died out, he looked down at her, his eyes searching hers but he wasn’t sure what for. “Will you let me help you?” he asked softly.

That question startled her. “Why would you help me?”

He leaned back, bringing her with him so she was almost laying against his chest. “Because I need to.”

She definitely didn’t like the sound of that. “I don’t need your pity,” she told him forcefully, trying to sit up but he simply held her close again, kissing the top of her head.

“This has nothing to do with pity. I can’t explain it though. But I need to help you.”

She wiggled in his arms, not sure what he was saying. And at this point, she was too exhausted to try to figure anything out. “This is my personal mission, Tamar.”

“You want to find your brother. I have more resources than you do and I can get this task done more quickly.”

She wanted to laugh at his arrogance. “You don’t even know if you can find him,” she replied back. Her eyes were fluttering, the wave of emotions draining her.

“You’re going to have to trust me on this,” he told her, not missing the irony of his command.

She laughed, but she was already more than halfway asleep.

When he knew she was fully asleep, he lifted her up and undressed her carefully, laying her in the bed and pulling the covers over her. He would be back, but he had things to do before he could hold her.

An hour later, he was back and she’d barely stirred. He stripped off his own clothes and got into bed beside her, pulling her against him. It took him a long time to finally get to sleep, but in the end, she was just too soft and warm. Her heat lulled him to sleep and he held her close to him throughout the night.

Wyndi looked around, feeling completely relaxed for the first time in a long time. She shifted her head on the pillows and noticed Tamar sleeping next to her. She couldn’t believe that she’d finally told him everything last night. Maybe now he would let her get back to New York so she could renew her search. Would he let her keep her laptop? She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to purchase a new one if he confiscated the other. She smiled at the idea that he might keep it just so she couldn’t use her code to get in and out of companies’ databases. She would let him continue to think she wouldn’t be able to recreate it. It might take her a couple of days, but she remembered the way she’d developed the program before. It wouldn’t take her nearly as long this time around.

“You’re awake,” he grumbled beside her.

Wyndi’s eyes snapped up to his, feeling his body react.

“You’re going to let me go now, right?” she asked, worried that he might not believe her in the morning light.

He shifted against her, pulling her underneath him. “I’m afraid I don’t think I can ever let you go,” he said a moment before he captured her lips with his. He’d been tormenting her sexually for a week now, but as he touched her and made her crazy this time, it was different. The chemistry was still there, more powerful actually. But there was an intensity that hadn’t been there before. She was breathless, crazed and desperate by the time he finally slid into her heat. And she welcomed him, needing him more than she ever had in the past. When she finally found her release, she didn’t realize that her hands were gripping his arms as if she were afraid he might disappear.

She didn’t realize what she was doing, but Tamar did. And he felt the same way. It was as if he needed to brand her with his touch, to show her with his caresses what he couldn’t quite figure out with words. And when it was all over and they were laying in each other’s arms trying to catch their breath, he suddenly knew what he had to do. Convincing her might be an issue, but he knew that his plan was essential to both of their futures.

“Come with me,” he said and took her hand, pulling her into the shower. They quickly soaped and rinsed, Tamar washing her hair simply because he liked running his fingers through her curly blond locks. She pulled on an elegant pair of black slacks and a sunny, lemon yellow sweater with short, puffy sleeves that should have made her skin look sallow, but instead, it imbued her complexion with a warmth that she wasn’t used to.

“This way,” he said and pulled her down the long hallway.

Wyndi had no idea what he was doing or where they were going, but he was a different man today. It was like the previous lover she’d had back in New York had returned. She was thrilled, but also very confused.

When he opened another door, she was stunned to step into what appeared to be a black room filled with about ten or more enormous monitors. On each one, something was happening. But it wasn’t there that Tamar directed her attention. There were three men sitting at a table, each one with a computer in front of them and they were clicking through the keys.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her eyes taking in all the details. Some of the information was in English, some in other languages and even more with letters she couldn’t even identify.

“They have several leads on your brother,” Tamar explained, leaning down to survey the information already accumulated. “We found the foster home that he’d originally been placed into. But since he was a runaway, he was a risk factor so he quickly worked his way through all the possible foster homes. He was placed in a group home and had some legal problems, but someone, we’re not sure who, took care of him. He finally graduated high school with honors, then moved on to college where he graduated magna cum laude in business administration. We’ve lost him there, but there are some strong possibilities that Jeremy is following up with.”

Wyndi’s eyes were wide with amazement. “Jeremy?” she prompted.

A man sitting at one of the computers raised his hand, but quickly went back to focusing on his screen, his finger flying over the keyboard.

“I see,” she said, overwhelmed by all of this. She looked up at Tamar’s face, unable to see his eyes because they were so dark and the room was even darker. But she could feel him, feel something in his look that struck a chord deep down inside of her. “You did all this, discovered all of this information just since I told you about my brother last night?” she asked, barely speaking above a whisper.

He took her hands, needing to touch her, to feel her since he couldn’t read the expression in those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. “Are you mad at me?” he asked, not really sure.

She tried to speak, but she was just so filled with gratitude and a strange, not very comfortable emotion that she couldn’t really define. “I love you!” she gasped, then covered her mouth, shocked that those words had just burst out of her. “I mean…”

“No,” he said and pulled her closer, “I won’t let you take them back.” He pulled her away, out of the dark room and back into the sun-filled courtyard that hadn’t heated up yet as it would later in the day. “I love you too, Wyndi. I don’t understand how it happened, but you got through all of my defenses. And I treated you abominably. My only excuse is, from the first moment we met, you were different, love. I didn’t understand it, I didn’t even want to feel it. So when I found something about you that would alleviate this confusion, I grasped onto it. I called you a liar and a cheat, a criminal and all I wanted to do the whole time was to pull you into my arms and make sure you were kept safe. That’s why I brought you here instead of to Jabril once I discovered you were the one who had been hacking into government databases. I wanted to protect you but I didn’t really know how or what I was protecting you from.”

She covered her mouth as his words sunk in. “I know,” she whispered, her hand slowly moving away from her mouth. “I hated you so much for what you did, but whenever you left me, whenever you weren’t there to argue with these past few days, I felt like a part of me was missing.”

He let out a rush of air as he pulled her against his chest, his hands diving into her hair to tangle in her blond curls. “What have we done to each other?” he asked softly, kissing her head, her ears and her neck. “I promise I’ll make it up to you, love. I’ll make sure you never cry again. I’ll find your brother and, no matter what news we discover, I’ll be right there, helping you through it all.”

“I love you,” she burst out again, wrapping her arms around his lean waist, squeezing him with all of the emotions she was feeling and didn’t understand how to handle. “I love you so much. And I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I’m sorry I was breaking into your company files illegally. And I promise I didn’t do anything to hurt Surisia. I never sold any information to anyone, nor has anyone ever approached me to do anything like that.”

“I know love. I know it all.” He kissed her again, trying to soothe her but soothing himself as well. “Hush,” he urged when she started crying. “I don’t want to make you sad.” He bent down, trying to see into her eyes. “Why are you sad now? I promise I’ll make everything better if you’ll just tell me what’s wrong.”

She laughed and pulled him closer, her cheek resting against his chest so she could hear his wonderful heart. “I know. And I love you. I’m not sad. I’m happy. You’ve made me so happy I don’t know how to deal with it.”

He hugged her closer once again. “Well, that’s not something I know how to fix.” He leaned back and pulled something out of his pocket. “There’s just one more thing I need to know.”

She blinked, trying to focus on his wonderful face but it was still blurry from her tears. “What’s that? I’ll tell you anything you need to know.”

“Will you marry me?” he asked, holding a stunning, gorgeous ring between his thumb and forefinger.

When her eyes finally were able to focus on the sparkle, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. Her mouth fell open, not because of the enormous size of the diamond, but because this was the absolute last thing she’d expected from him.

She glanced up into his eyes, then back at his hand. “Yes,” she finally said, a whisper of a smile starting to form on her face as she realized what he was asking of her. “Yes!” she said with more force. And with that, she threw her arms around his neck, loving the way he picked her up, squeezing her so tightly, she almost couldn’t breathe. She didn’t care. Not one little bit as long as he was holding her.