“My pleasure, and I mean that most sincerely.”
She leaned against the sofa and smiled at him. “This has been a good day. One of my best ever. You made my first time perfect.”
“I wanted to.”
She believed him. She knew that he’d been concerned about her while they’d made love. She liked that about him, along with other things.
Who was this man who made love with her so wonderfully? How could she have worked for him for two years and never noticed his goodness and humor and how incredibly sexy he was?
“You don’t go back to Lucia-Serrat very often,” she said.
He looked at her. “An interesting change in subject.”
“I was thinking that you’ve been little more than a boss to me until very recently. I never allowed myself to see the actual man inside the suit. Now I have and it changes things.”
He nodded. “I don’t go back to the island much. In time it will be important to me to live there permanently. But not yet. My father runs the country well. He is busy with that and with his wife and family.”
Kiley tried to remember all she knew about Lucia-Serrat and its ruler. “His wife is American, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Phoebe grew up mostly in Florida. They met when she was on vacation. They fell in love very quickly and have been married nearly twelve years. They have two daughters.”
“I know. The half sisters you refuse to shop for. You’re better about your brothers.”
“That’s because they’re boys and I know what they want.”
“Do you stay away to give them a chance to be a family?” she asked.
He shrugged. “In part. I would be expected to move into the prince’s residence.
While the girls are so young, it is better that they have their father’s attention.”
She snuggled close and rested her head on his shoulder. “Tell me about the island.”
“It’s very beautiful. There are beaches and a rain forest. One of the world’s largest banyan trees is there. And, of course, the famous Lucia-Serrat meerkats.”
“I love meerkats.”
“Most women do.”
“They look like little bandits. So cute. Do you miss your home?”
“Sometimes.”
And yet he stayed away because it was the right thing to do. Talk about a tough act to follow. He was going to make falling in love with someone else a bit of a challenge.
She raised her head and sipped her champagne. “Do you know who you’re going to marry?”
He stiffened slightly. “Why do you ask?”
“Don’t panic,” she said with a grin. “I’m not hinting. I’m asking. You’re going to have to marry and have heirs. Do you know who it is? Have you picked out some innocent schoolgirl who will be raised in proper princess fashion?”
“Not yet. I may choose as I like or have my father arrange a match.”
“That will never happen,” she told him. “You’re too stubborn to let someone else pick your wife. You might want to stay away from Carmen, though. She had quite the temper.”
“I remember.”
The nature of their conversation surprised Rafiq. He braced himself for the not-so-subtle hints indicating that Kiley would make the perfect wife, but they never came. Now that he thought about it, she had never mentioned extending their affair or talked about the future at all.
“You need someone tall,” she said. “A lot taller than me.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “Because, she’ll look better in her clothes and therefore in all the pictures. There’s a reason fashion models are so tall. Make sure she’s smart and funny. You’d hate it if she was dull. But not too skinny. Look for childbearing hips.”
“I find it disconcerting to discuss my future wife with my current mistress.”
She looked surprised. “But we’ve seen each other naked. You deflowered me. I wouldn’t have thought there were any topics off-limits. I guess I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”
“I’m not sensitive,” he said with a growl.
She patted his arm. “Of course. My prince, a delicate flower. Who would have known?”
He took her glass and set it on the coffee table next to his own. He then grabbed her and pressed her back into the sofa.
“You dare to defy me?” he asked in mock anger.
“Pretty much every chance I get. Is that a problem?”
Her hair was mussed, her eyes the color of midnight velvet. His stubble had rubbed a raw spot on her chin, and the robe she wore was two or three sizes too large. She was possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“You are mine now,” he told her. “I have been your first and you will always remember that.”
“I know.” She smiled and pressed her fingers to his mouth. “I guess neither of us is going to forget, huh?”
He hadn’t considered that. Not forgetting. But she was right. Kiley would be with him, always.
“Come live with me,” he said, speaking almost before the thought formed.
She blinked. “What? You mean move in with you?”
He understood her surprise. He’d never asked a woman to do that before. He hadn’t felt the need to spend that much time with one of them before. But Kiley was different. He wanted her in his bed every night. He wanted to see her in the morning and late in the evening. He wanted her there when he returned home from work.