The body guard looked back at her through the rear view mirror and nodded his head, but didn’t say anything. Isla sighed, wondering if these men ever took a break from their discipline. She suspected that the spur-of-the-moment assembly hadn’t been fun or entertaining for any of them but she still smiled as if she’d done something good today despite her thoughts of children and Hussan.
They didn’t ask her where she wanted to go next, but immediately took her back to the palace where they could more easily ensure her safety. Isla didn’t bother to ask if she could drive around the city any more. She suspected that she would be greeted with stoic faces and a negative reply. She sat back against the leather seats and concentrated on her moment of accomplishment instead of the man waiting back at the palace who was probably furious with her. On wobbly legs, she walked back inside the palace and the guards led her directly to the office she’d been in earlier that day. She didn’t ask, and wasn’t told why. But as soon as the door closed behind her, her happiness over the school visit evaporated and her nervousness returned.
Inside, she was alone once again, staring at the torn leather chairs and wondering what this room was used for. When Hussan walked in, she was surprised to find him angry.
He walked right up to her, surprising her so much by his outburst that she jumped and reached behind her for the large chair to steady her balance. “Where the hell have you been for the past several hours?” he demanded, stopping only when he was less than an inch from her and staring down into her expressive brown eyes.
She was so stunned, she didn’t have time to figure out why he was so angry. But his anger sparked her own temper and she straightened her shoulders, coming right back at him with all she had. “I wasn’t here so what do you care?” she snapped back at him.
Hussan took a deep breath and tried to calm down his raging temper. He’d never been this angry before and couldn’t believe that this tiny, angry woman could make him feel so out of control. He’d inquired about her activities about an hour ago and just about tore off a door when he blasted through it after hearing that his fiancée was out visiting the city, even traipsing through a school yard. “I care because you will be my wife. You didn’t ask to leave the palace and my guards told me you were out driving. I’ll ask again, where did you go?”
Isla was fed up. It had been a horrible day and she was tired of being pushed around by this man. Only a half hour ago, she’d felt as if she’d done something good in the world and here he was, standing there yelling at her as if she were some sort of recalcitrant child! There was no way she was putting up with that kind of treatment!
His fury instantly banished her nervousness and she was grateful for that release. She didn’t care how big or tall he was, she wasn’t going to take it from him. Poking him in the middle of the chest, she leaned forward to emphasize her point. “I went out. If you needed something from me, you failed to express that before you stormed out on me during our last irritating interlude.”
The fact that she was calling their kiss irritating just increased his ire. He pointed his finger towards the floor to emphasize his point. “Isla, you don’t leave this building unless you have my express permission! Do you understand me?”
She squared off. “I understand you’re being ridiculous! I refuse to clear my daily schedule with you of all people.” Not that she actually had a daily schedule she thought in the back of her mind. But that was besides the point! She wasn’t going to be a prisoner here in his palace. He was placing ridiculous restrictions on her for no reason.
He took several deep breaths in order to calm himself down. How she could rile him so quickly was beyond his understanding, but he was putting a stop to her spontaneous departures. There were too many people out there who wanted to hurt him and they weren’t above snatching her in order to do that. His mind shuddered at what could happen to her if his enemies got hold of her. “Me of all people is now your lord and master,” he said, gone was the blatant fury but it was replaced with something even more dangerous. His tone was more terrifying when it went low and growly like this. “And I will know where you’re going or I will ensure that you don’t sit down for a week to ensure that you don’t go anywhere!”
She gasped at his threat, outraged all over again. “Are you threatening to spank me?”
The smile that turned up his mouth wasn’t amusement, but something much more sinister. “I will do whatever is appropriate. If you act like a child, then you will be treated like one.”
She gasped in her fury and balled her fists by her side. “And you think I’m acting like a child simply because I won’t tell you where I spent the last several hours?”
“Yes!”
“Well…” she couldn’t even fathom what she could say to that and was so dumbfounded that she was actually speechless. “Go to hell!” she spat out, and was instantly ashamed that she’d resorted to foul language. She’d always considered the use of those kinds of words the result of a lazy vocabulary and she strove to be articulate and precise. But this man just brought out the worst in her!
He stopped and looked down at her, actually coming closer so she had to step back. He did it again and again, moving slowly forward until she was pressed back against the wall behind her and her mouth went dry at the fury in his eyes. She’d forgotten all of the things she knew he did to people, all the horrible, cruel torture. Was she about to be thrown into a prison? What kind of pain could he give out to her that wouldn’t show up at her wedding?
In the end, he didn’t toss her into jail, nor did he spank her. But the final action was just as terrifying in some ways. When he jerked her into his arms and lifted her high, possessing her mouth with his while his fingers slid into her hair, pulling her head back so he could deepen the kiss, she was stunned. And the reaction that came upon her at that moment was so intense, she couldn’t stop the wave of desire that slammed through her. She kissed him back, pushing against him just as he pressed her harder against the wall. She felt his hands on her hips, which then slid sensuously downward towards her bottom, she had no idea what he was doing. When he pulled her right knee higher, then her left knee while his opposite hand held her in place and then he pressed his erection against her softness, she didn’t even care about the lessons in propriety that had been drilled into her from such a young age. The sumptuous pressure was so perfect, so intense and she pressed herself against him, shifting ever so slightly so that she could feel that spark, that strange and glorious feeling once more. Then again she moved. Over and over again she pressed the lower half of her body against his groin, thrilled with the magic that he was doing to her while her hands tangled in his hair and pulled him closer so she could kiss him back.