The Sheik's Reluctant Lover (17 page)

She sighed, bracing her hands against the sides of the shower stall.  “She’s very happy in the throes of passion but when that subsides,
a self
-consciousness emerges that is hard to ignore.”

He laughed and pulled her against him.  “So what can I do to help you get over this
self-consciousness
?”

She turned and looked over her shoulder.  “Give me clothes?”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Won’t they get wet?”

She laughed and threw her
washcloth at him.  Missing of course and then he had to grab her around the waist.  “Did you just toss this at me?” he asked with an evil tone. 

Rachel couldn’t help it.  Playful
Rais
was just too new to her.  They used to laugh and tease each other, but because she’d avoided him for so many years, she’d forgotten this side of him.  “I don’t think I did,” she muffled, and then screamed out because he smacked her on the bottom, not hard but enough to sting and get her attention.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him.  “Did you just spank me?” she asked, not sure if she should be horrified or turned on. 

He smiled smugly down at her.  Before he responded, he grabbed her wrists in each of his hands.  “I think I did.  What are you going to do about it?” he challenged, his eyes alight with mischief. 

She licked her lips and shook her head.  “Why don’t you let my hands go and I’ll show you.”

He laughed softly and shook his head.  “I don’t think that would be a very good idea.  You threw your washcloth at me, madam.  That’s tantamount to treason in
Dunari
.”

She shrugged but she was trying hard to smother her own laughter. 
“So what?
  I’m not afraid of you.”

That answer caused his eyes to widen.  “I think you should be afraid,” he cautioned. 

She tried to yank her hands free, but he had a very good grip on her hands.  She thought quickly.  “So are you going to condition my hair?  Since you’ve already washed it, I mean.”

He looked surprised by her apparent change of subject.  “Condition?” he asked, stupefied by her request.  He glanced down at the second bottle sitting next to the shampoo.  “Is that it?” he asked and glanced back up at her. 

“Yes,” she replied, trying very hard to look innocent. 

He put both of her hands in one of his before he reached down for the conditioner.  He knew something was up, but he couldn’t figure it out.  He took the bottle and squeezed some into her hair.  When he realized what he needed to do, that he would need both hands, he spun her around easily, pressed her back against the tiles and pinned her in place.  “You’re up to something,” he said with his husky voice.  “But for the life of me, I can’t figure it out.”

She continued to keep her face straight and all the amusement out of her eyes while he massaged her scalp with his hands once again.  He was completely missing the point of the conditioner, but to win this battle, she was more than willing to sacrifice today.  “
MMmmm
…that feels really good,” she said, closing her eyes so he wouldn’t see her intent.  “And you know what’s best?” she asked, rolling her head to the side. 

“What?” he asked and she could hear the suspicion in his voice. 

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with wide eyes, her smile growing slowly.  She waited until he knew she was up to something before she said, “You’re hands aren’t going to be able to hold me now,” she said and slipped out of his grasp and spraying the water right at him. 

Unfortunately, she had severely underestimated her opponent.  His hands might not be able to stop her, but his arms were incredibly strong and he had years of military training on his side.  She only got away with the initial sting of success before he hand her flipped around and repined once again, using more of his legs than anything else.  To make it worse, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t put up a fight, or even hold him away from her as he held her in place and tickled her mercilessly, his fingers made more nimble by the conditioner that helped them slide over her skin. 

“I give up!” she cried out, gas
ping for air.  “I promise to be
have!” she begged. 

He stopped and looked down at her, one eyebrow raised in challenge.  “Who says I want you to behave?”

Her surprise was only for a moment before she started laughing once again, charmed by this side of him that she’d missed so much. 

“So what do you want?” she asked, not sure she actually wanted him to answer.

“
H
mmm….that’s a loaded question.  I want you,
naked,
all weekend, in my bed without any interruptions.” 

Her smile grew broader as he finished his description and her whole body tingled with excitement.  “Is that what will happen next weekend?”

He kissed her gently.  “Hopefully it will happen this weekend as soon as tonight’s event is finished.”

“I thought you had that embassy thing tomorrow.  Isn’t that why you bought me the second dress?”

He sighed and leaned his head back.  “I hate those parties.  They are the most tedious few hours in existence.”  He brought his head down and looked at her with an intensity that had her gasping for breath.  “But you’ll be there tomorrow and I don’t have to let you out of bed after that, right?”

She couldn’t help but agree, nodding her head enthusiastically.  “Well, except for riding,” she clarified.

“Okay, one ride.”

“And maybe dinner with my dad?” she asked.

He sighed.  “Lunch!” he contradicted. 

“Deal.”

“And you’re naked t
he entire rest of the weekend,” he commanded.

She sighed and tilted her head to the side as if considering his request. 

Before she could say anything, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her
up,
twisting so he could rinse out her hair.  “You act like this is up for debate, my beauty.  It isn’t.”  He lifted his arms and moved her hair around so the conditioner would rinse out. 

“So I’m to be restrained if I don’t obey?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows as he shut off the water.

He stilled, a wolfish grin spreading across his face.  “I think you are a brilliant woman.”  He lifted her once again, carrying her out of the shower stall and setting her down on the soft carpet.  He grabbed a towel and gently dried her off. 

“I think I might have stumbled into something out of my league,” she replied, putting her hand on his head to balance
herself
. 

“Ah, but you won’t know until I have you completely at my mercy.” 

He stood up and looked down at her with that special intensity that never failed to melt her bones.  She reached up her hand, touching him gently on the cheek with her fingertips.  “Does that mean you’ll be at my mercy?” she asked softly, bending her knee slightly so she could lean against him, the towel hanging uselessly by his side.  She should feel cold with the cooler air from her apartment hitting her wet skin.  But with
Rais
looking at her with that kind of promise in his eyes, she felt nothing but heat, feeling almost uncomfortably warm. 

“Absolutely,” he almost whispered, pulling her close and kissing her gently. 

When he released her, she almost skipped into her bedroom to dress, feeling as if her world was perfect now that he had come back here early.  The whole ‘love’ and ‘end of relationship’ issues were not going to intrude for the next seventy-two hours, she told herself firmly. 

She glanced at the clock as she pulled on her slacks and a silk blouse.  “What are you doing today?” she asked, her mind already going through her own schedule.  She had last minute inspections at his house and was going out to supervise all of the last minute setups.  Everything needed to be finished and in place by five o’clock, she’d told everyone so she could go to her father’s place and get herself ready. 

“I have meetings downtown,” he commented, walking to her closet and pulling out a suit.  He winked at her as she blinked at his use of her space. 

She was so surprised, and that silly, bubbly feeling in her stomach started up again as she thought of how domestic the two of them seemed to be right now.  Waking up, showering, getting dressed…it was nice, she thought.

“Coffee?” she asked and added a bit of mascara to her lashes, then tossed all her makeup into a bag to take with her for the night. 

“Please.  Are you ready to go?” he asked, coming out of her bedroom after her, straightening his tie which he’d just knotted into a perfect knot. 

She looked around, glancing at the boxes that she’d set on the sofa earlier.  “I think so,” she replied warily. 

“W
hat are you wearing?” he asked, noting the boxes and her nervous glance back to him. 

She bit her lip, trying to make up her mind.  “I’ll wear the black lace tonight,” she said softly and was rewarded by his triumphant grin. 

“Does this mean I can send you other presents and you’ll accept them more easily?”

“No!” she replied firmly, shaking her head.  Give him and inch and he would take a mile, she thought with exasperation. 

“Why not?
  If it gives me pleasure, would you deny me that?”

She laughed as she poured him a cup of coffee into a travel mug.  “I think you get too much pleasure as it is,” she replied, refusing to give in on this issue.

He accepted the
coffee but blocked her way.  “You know, you’re going to have to give in on some of the things I give you.”

She laughed and leaned back against her counter, holding her own coffee out to the side.  “And why would I do that?  I think I prefer keeping you on your toes.”

He leaned forward, forcing her to lean back slightly.  “I will win this one, Rachel.  You
will  eventually
be dressed only in the clothes I have bought for you and draped in jewels that I have given you.  And you will love every moment of it.”

“Will I?” she asked sarcastically.  “I don’t think so.  I prefer being independent.”

He looked down at her carefully, trying to calculate a way to get her to give in to his preferences.  “And what if you were in a position in my government that would require you to be dressed in a certain way?”

She considered that carefully.  “First of all, I wouldn’t accept a position in your government,” she replied.  “That wouldn’t be very ethical.  I’m already having a problem because we’re lovers and you’re also a client.  My boss is concerned as well,” she said as a side issue.  “But regardless of that,
I wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting gifts from a man.”

He grinned as if he had a secret.  “You’re going to get over that pretty quickly.”  He took her hand and lifted it to his mouth to kiss her knuckles.  “Your helicopter awaits,” he said and pulled her out the door.  “I heard that you weren’t utilizing that this past week.  Would you explain why?”

She grabbed her purse, her notes and the bag she’d been packing all
week in preparation for
this weekend.  “I need those boxes,” she said, pulling against his hand.

He opened the door and took her bag off of her shoulder, handing it to a man
who
was already standing outside of her apartment door. 

Rachel glanced back, grabbing the bag because she thought it was falling off of her shoulder.  When she saw the strange man with the dark, bulky suit, she stumbled slightly, only catching herself when she quickly put her foot behind her.  The man looked vaguely familiar but she was late and had to grab the boxes.

“Gerard will get that, Rachel,”
Rais
admonished patiently. 

She glanced up at him, at the guard then back to
Rais
.  “I don’t…”

“Come along,” he said and took her hand once again.  The guard waited until they were out the door before entering the apartment to pick up the boxes.  A moment later, he had the boxes in his arms and was following both of them down the hallway. 

The only uncomfortable moment was when she passed by
her neighbor’s door just as the older woman
was also leaving her own apartment.  The woman glared at Rachel, then up to
Rais
before sniffing and shaking her head. 

Rachel was mortified, completely understanding that the woman was irritated because of all the noise she and
Rais
had made overnight.  The apartments weren’t the best in the city and the walls weren’t very thick.  She’d suspected that their nocturnal activities had been overheard but having evidence of it so blatantly in front of her was unnerving and embarrassing. 

“What was all that about?”
Rais
asked when they were in the elevators alone. 

“That’s Margaret.  She has two kids and shares a wall with me.”

He immediately understood and almost laughed.  “And I suppose she didn’t get very much sleep last night either, eh?”

Rachel wanted to punch his arm, but she refrained since his body guard was in front of the two of them.  “I think her look explained that her REM sleep was deeply disturbed.”