The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress (4 page)

But his aide was incorrect. Dharr"s mind was picturing her in a red thong and red lace bra. No, he changed his mind, knowing that the woman didn"t seem right wearing red. Pink? No, too soft. Although she"d worn a pink suit today, he doubted she"d wear pink underwear. She would probably consider that color a weakness. Black? Did she have that kind of courage? He hoped so.

“Yes, sire. We tried calling her house but her grandmother said she"d left for your meeting with plenty of time. Having received that information, we called her guards who assured me that she"d shown up for the meeting. It seemed odd, their response.”

Dharr didn"t care what was odd about the irritating ward so he didn"t reply. Blue? Perhaps. Yes, the more he considered it, he suspected she"d wear blue. It would look perfect with her long hair tangling across his pillow, high heels and a garter belt. He"d leave those on, he thought. But nothing else.

“Inform the chef I"ll be having a guest for dinner,” he said, his body hardening with the mental image he"d formed in his mind.

Chapter 3

Electra dialed the number one more time, praying she"d reach someone this time. “Hello?” she said when an efficient sounding gentleman answered the phone. “Yes, this is Electra Knight. I was supposed to meet with King Abbas this afternoon,” she explained, her whole body tense as she waited for the response. When there was none, she continued on. “Well, anyway, I"m afraid something came up and I was unable to make that appointment. When would be the next available time?” she asked, holding her breath as she waited for a time slot a year in advance. Please let it be sooner, she prayed.

She was horrified by the response. The man"s schedule was booked up completely for the foreseeable future? “Never? I"m sorry, that"s just not possible. Either I have to speak with the man or you have to pull these guards off my duty,” she demanded, her whole body tensing with the answer. “That"s not possible! Please, just give him the message that I called and tell him I"ll meet him anywhere in the world at his convenience. It doesn"t have to be London. I"ll even be on standby for him somewhere.”

She waited, fighting the tears that threatened to drop over her la shes. “You"ll consult his calendar?” she repeated. “That"s fine. Please…thank you very much. I promise, I won"t miss the next meeting, no matter where or when,” she said.

She smiled tentatively as Gerrard got into the car beside her and fastened his seat belt. She didn"t want to talk to him, being the least favorite of her guards, but she didn"t want to create any suspicions about her evening plans. “I have to go shopping,” she said, thinking about the possible stores she would investigate. She had to find the perfect outfit for tonight. Something that shouted “sophisticated” but nothing garish. She almost smiled at the memory of their conversation regarding her career. A prostitute! Good grief, what had she been thinking?

As usual, Gerrard said nothing but for the rest of the afternoon, he followed her through several stores, standing outside the dressing rooms as she tried on clothes. She was no longer embarrassed by him, or one of the other two guards, being stationed so close and she even had the ability to laugh at the reactions of some of the store owners. This time, she was too busy trying to find something sophisticated to wear for her dinner with Dharr to concern herself with anyone"s reaction, even Gerrard"s. She heard him talk on his cell phone once or twice, but since he spoke in Arabic, she had no idea what he was discussing. As she picked up a simple black dress, she absently thought that it might have been a good idea to have learned Arabic. But it never interested her, probably a throwback to her silly rebellion. She didn"t want to have anything in common with that irritating king what"s-his-name. Learning his language might have given him too much in their battle of wills, even if he never knew that she"d acquired the skill. Well, her battle of will. He probably didn"t know she existed.

In the fifth shop, she found exactly what she was looking for. The strapless green cocktail dress fit straight across her breasts with a pretty silver, beaded scalloped edge. The rest of the dress hugged her figure all the way down to her knees. The look suggested sophistication and invitation. Exactly the right message, she thought. She found the perfect pair of sandals that gave her added height which, in her mind, translated into confidence.

Biting her lower lip as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she considered buying pretty new underwear. The dress required a strapless bra so it was pretty much a given if she was going to buy this dress.

Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed the fact that Gerrard would have to follow her into the lingerie store to the back of her mind. If he wanted to follow her in, he"d have to deal with the issue himself. She didn"t want him there, so he could stand outside if he was too uncomfortable.

She quickly changed back into her own clothes and purchased the dress, then strolled down the street until she came to the perfect store. Smiling with delight, she opened the store door and started inside. She was almost through the door when she felt the firm hand on her arm. Glancing upwards, she saw the shocked expression on Gerrard"s face. “You can"t go in there,” he said, horror etching every inch of his face.

He might be her least favorite, but he was still a very nice gentleman. She felt a small amount of guilt at what she was putting the man through but pushed that to the back of her mind and shook her head. “I need to buy something in here. You can either stand outside or come in. It is up to you,” she said as confidently as she could, daring the man to stop her.

The indecision was obvious and he struggled for several seconds before he managed to shake his head. “No. There"s nothing in this store that you need,” he said firmly.

Electralaughed. “Yes. There definitely is,” she said and slipped out of his grasp before he could say anything else.

Walking quickly through the store, she headed for the back, determined to avoid Gerrard"s furious gaze and the probable humiliation when he worked up the nerve to follow her into the store and drag her out.

Luckily, she quickly found exactly what she needed and made her purchase. Walking out, she smiled brightly at a glaring Gerrard, acting as if nothing was amiss. Which, in her mind, there wasn"t although she knew he didn"t see it quite the same way.

She was just getting into her car when her cell phone rang. Looking at the number, her heart froze, then went into overdrive when she realized that this was an unknown number.

“Hello?” she answered the phone with as much co nfidence as her racing heart would allow. Unfortunately, it wasn"t Dharr but one of his aides, giving her directions to Dharr"s address.
She wrote down the time and address with both terror and excitement. This was it, she thought as she hung up the phone. She could do this, she told herself and took a long, deep breath.

“I"m going to this address tonight,” she said, handing the piece of paper to Gerrard defiantly. “And you"re not coming in.”

Gerrard looked at the address, then nodded. “Fine,” handing the piece of paper back to her without looking at her face.

There was a grim look on his face she hadn"t ever seen before. As Electra drove the car home, she reflected what she"d seen in his expression, not sure how exactly to describe it. It bothered her, but as soon as she walked into the house, the excitement of the upcoming evening overrode every other consideration.

She showered, then pulled her hair up on top of her head in a sophisticated twist. Pulling on her new dress, she surveyed her reflection in the mirror as she fastened dangling earrings to her ears. They were not real diamonds, but who would ever know? Cubic Zirconium were great fakes, she told herself.

Walking into the lobby of the luxurious apartment complex, she smiled tremulously to the doorman. Micha followed slightly behind her but he held back when she stepped into the elevators. She didn"t understand why, this night of all nights, he was willing to leave her alone. Maybe the wealth of the building or perhaps it was the way she was dressed, obviously ready for her evening liaison. Whatever the reason, she was thrilled when the elevator doors closed with her alone. A shiver of anticipation traveled through her body and she could hardly wait to see Dharr once again. Had it only been six hours, she wondered?It seemed like weeks since she"d left him in the hotel restaurant.

The elevator doors opened and, instead of a hallway filled with different doors, she found herself stepping into an opulently decorated foyer. The elevator was obviously a private one that led directly to what appeared to be the penthouse of the building. Electra was struck by the view of London laid out in front of her through the floor to ceiling windows.

She was still standing there, looking stunned and feeling extremely nervous when a deep voice chuckled. “I know the view is nice, but I didn"t know it would stun people to immobility. At least, it never has before,” he explained and moved forward, reaching out to lift her hand to his mouth. She shivered again when his mouth touched her fingers. But that was nothing compared to the feeling of desire that sparked through her body when he turned her hand over and kissed the soft side of her wrist, his knowing eyes taking in the frantic beat of her heart against her skin. “It is hard to believe but you look more beautiful than this afternoon,” he said, looking down into her green eyes. Electra neededto take a deep breath but her lungs wouldn"t cooperate. They could only pull in small gasps of air as her eyes adjusted to the lower lighting and the immense power of his presence.

“That"s an invitation I simply can"t refuse,” he said, referring to her slightly open mouth. He bent down and gently caressed her lips with his. It was only a brief kiss but since it was Electra"s first, she could not contain the surprise in her eyes or the shiver of amazement at how wonderful the feeling was.

Breathing in a deep, shuddering breath, her eyes still closed, she whispered, “Would you please do that again?”

She heard the “With pleasure,” response but couldn"t think beyond his mouth, his lips, the feel of muscles underneath his tailored suit as her fingers touched his chest to steady her swaying body. The feelings were wonderful and intense and unlike anything she could have imagined. The sweet desire coursed through her, leaving her weak and defenseless, aching for more as her body stepped closer to his. When she felt his hard planes against her softer ones, she couldn"t stop the sigh of pleasure that escaped her mouth only to be captured by his own as he covered her mouth once again, this time with more feeling, more passion, his tongue invading, demanding that her own mate with his as his hands slid down her back, pulling her hips so they were flush with his own.

Electra gasped when she felt his erection against her stomach but it only took her a moment of fear before the desire intensified. Her hand slid up the wool of his suit to dive into the silk of his hair, her fingers touching his hair, his neck, his ears, anything that she could, needing to feel more of him.

Finally, he pulled his head away and Electra almost cried out at the absence of his lips on hers. Her eyes looked up to his, questioning why he had stopped something that seemed to be absolutely perfect.

His chuckle was like a bucket of cold water on her rampaging desire but his words soothed her worried mind. “That"s the best greeting I"ve had all day.” He stepped back and took her hand in his, guiding her into thepenthouse. “How was your afternoon?” he asked, leading her out onto the terrace that was covered with trees and flowers in both pots and seeming to be planted in the ground. Looking around, the terrace looked like a regular garden. If it weren"t for the lights of London twinkling down beneath them, one would never know that they were more than fifty stories above the street.

“My afternoon was exciting but only because I was waiting for your call. Thanks for breaking through the mundane,” she smiled up at him.

“Did you fix your meeting?” he asked.

Electra grimaced. “No. But I"ll get it straightened out soon enough,” she said, her voice determined and emphatic.
“What was the meeting about?” he asked as he led her through the subtly lit trees and shrubs of the roof garden.

Electra waved her hand airily, “Nothing too important. Just someone I was trying to convince to back off,” she said.

He stopped and turned her toward him. “Is there something I can do to help?” he asked, his eyes hard andunyielding. “If someone is bothering you, I want to know about it.” He didn"t question the reason why he would interfere in a situation regarding someone he"d met only six hours ago. This woman was different and he couldn"t figure her out. Until he did, he wanted all of her attention on him so he could get to the bottom of the mystery. Even her kiss was intriguing. Initially, he would have sworn that she was inexperienced, but the way she"d stepped forward, melting into him and mimicking every movement he made showed that she was much more experienced than he"d initially thought. Just the memory of their kiss and the way she"d felt, fitting so perfectly into him and her body yielding to his, made him throb in areas he"d always had control of before. He pushed the desire to the back of his mind, enjoying the pain, using it to add focus to the night. Anticipation was more than half the reward, wasn"t it? Women, after the first encounter, turned predictable and mundane, he found. He planned on spreading this feeling of anticipation out for the whole night, enjoying the feeling of conquer and control.

Electra shied away from him ever knowing about her circumstances. She wanted to be normal and telling him she was the ward of a king would not be a normal issue. “No, don"t worry about this. It"s nothing I can"t handle,” she said and moved away from him to lift a soft, white flower to her nose. “This smells wonderful. What is it?” she asked.

He allowed the subject change, simply because her movements pulled her dress tighter across her derriere and allowed him a better view of a very nice part of her anatomy. “Gardenia?” he suggested, unsure of the flora and fauna of this region. “I have no idea,” he said softly, his eyes not even looking at the flower but more on the expression of joy on her lovely face.