“Until our time is up,” he told her. “Come live with me.”
She stared at him, but he had no idea what she was thinking.
“Are you offended?” he asked.
“No. Of course not. A little shocked, maybe. I didn’t expect you to ask. What if you get tired of me?”
“I won’t.” He couldn’t imagine it.
She nodded slowly. “I’d need to keep my apartment. I don’t want to have to move my stuff into storage for three months and then move it back. I guess I could temporarily forward my mail. It’s not like I have a dog or anything to worry about.”
Always practical, he thought with a smile.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“It is. If you’d like me to, I’ll move in.”
“Good.”
He bent down and kissed her. As he pressed his mouth to hers, he tugged at the robe until it pulled open, exposing her naked body to his touch.
She reached one arm around him and pushed the other between them.
“Two can play at that game,” she whispered as she reached for him.
He was already hard and he relished the feel of her hand on his erection.
“I want to please you,” she said.
He heard the hesitation in her voice. “You’re sore.”
“A little. So I was thinking about all the really interesting stuff you did to me. Could I do that to you?”
His interest quickened. “If you would like to.”
Her answer was to push him until he was seated on the sofa. She slid onto the floor and moved between his knees. After taking him in her hands, she licked the tip of his arousal and then smiled.
“Tell me what to do.”
Chapter 10
Kiley walked through her apartment one last time before heading out to Rafiq’s place. It was sort of sad to think she’d lived here for three years and had never done anything to make the place her own. Sure, she’d hung pictures and she’d sewn curtains for the eating nook by the kitchen, but she’d never checked with the manager about painting or bought any furniture she really loved. She’d decorated in early hand-me-down because she’d always planned to buy real furniture after she and Eric were married.
How much of her life had been on hold for those three years? How many things had she put off, waiting for the day she would get married and her life would change forever? Since she’d always wanted to be a wife and mother, she’d allowed that desire to reduce the rest of her life to a giant waiting game. In the end, she’d lost her dream and Eric—although that was turning out to be much less of a loss than she’d realized—and the time.
Where would she be if she hadn’t expected to marry Eric and become a wife and mother? Although she loved working for Rafiq, in truth she would never have gone looking for a job she considered temporary. She would have looked until she found something that challenged her. Something that made her grow and gave her room for advancement. She would have looked for a career.
Talk about being foolish, she thought sadly as she picked up a picture of her family and tucked it in her tote bag. She’d given up too much for a man who wasn’t worth it.
So what was she going to do now? What would she do differently? What changes did she want in her life?
Kiley stood in the center of her living room and turned in a slow circle. When her affair with Rafiq was over, she would start looking for another job. In truth, now that they were lovers, she knew she could never go back to being just his secretary. She couldn’t stand to take calls from other women, knowing he was doing to them what he’d done to her. She wouldn’t want to make reservations, buy gifts, watching from the fringes.
But expecting him to want to continue things past the three months was just plain crazy. He was a foreign prince and she was just some middle-class American girl. Sure, she was smart and funny and had a lot to offer. But a prince? On what planet?
No, this time she was going to keep her eyes open. This time she wasn’t going to be a foolish dreamer. For the next two-plus months she was going to experience a world she knew very little about—everything from drinking champagne while eating a hamburger to living in a stunning home in Malibu. When the time was up, she would return to her regular world and build a life she could be proud of. There wouldn’t be any looking back.
That decided, she locked the front door and walked to her car. As she started the engine, she thought about working out a plan with her parents. One in which she paid them back over time so she could buy a condo and have a place of her own. Maybe she would even get a dog.
But in the meantime she needed to get to Malibu. She wanted to see Rafiq, hold him and have him hold her. She wanted to see his smile and make love.
Thirty minutes later she drove down his driveway and stopped in front of the garage. As she stepped out, she looked at her aging but sensible car and started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Rafiq asked as he walked out of the house toward her.
She grinned. “My car. It’s not exactly fitting in with the neighborhood. Quick, get me a remote control for the garage door so I can hide it. Otherwise you’ll get complaints from the neighbors.”
He crossed to her and pulled her close. “Do you think I care what they think?”
“Not even a little. But it is important to build relationships in the community.”
“Always the middle child,” he said as he brushed his mouth against hers.
She let herself relax against him, enjoying the feel of his hard body so close to her own. She parted her lips and he swept inside. At the first brush of his tongue, tingles raced through her and made her toes curl. Funny how every time he touched her, she only wanted him more.