“Life isn’t fair. Anyone who tried to tell you otherwise was lying,” he said and moved to her ear lobe, giving it the same treatment.
Isla tried hard to get oxygen into her lungs but it was difficult when he was doing this to her ear and neck. She shivered, her hands unconsciously moving to his shoulders and her body pressing against his. She wasn’t aware of anything except the way his mouth made her feel so she was startled when he lifted his head and stepped back.
“Let’s eat,” he said, confusing her because she’d completely forgotten that he’d come to her rooms to have dinner with her.
He turned and, with a nod, the servants were allowed into her bedroom to set out the food in the courtyard where they could eat out in the moonlight.
When they were once again alone, he sat down and poured her some wine. “Tell me what you used to do during the days when you lived in Tasain.”
Isla sighed and leaned back in the comfortable, white iron chair with soft cushions to make the metal more comfortable, taking a long sip of her ice water to cool herself down. That interlude with Hussan so close had heated her up and fizzled her brain.
She needed to pull it together, to act just like he was doing and pretend that their intimacy of moments ago hadn’t affected her like it had. “What do you want to know?” she asked, putting her water down and picking up her wine, hoping it might relax her somewhat.
He shrugged and asked her questions, which she answered vaguely, wondering why he wanted to know so much about her daily activities. Even though he’d seen her out on the streets of one of his villages, she still didn’t want to talk about her secret team too much. They were hand selected for their skills and their discretion and she didn’t want them hurt because she’d given away their identities to a man she didn’t really trust.
The meal was adequate, but lacked any kind of creativity. She ate the healthy but bland food, wondering why a man in his position didn’t have a better chef.
“Why is the palace in such disrepair?” she finally got up the nerve to ask.
He finished off his chicken, wiped his mouth with the linen napkin and leaned back in his chair before answering her. “Because there are too many other things to fix.”
It was an abrupt answer, but she started to understand. “So why is this room so well decorated? And what’s with the gold faucets and silk bed covers?” She blushed when his eyebrow went up at her mention of the bed. She felt like a puppet and he the master as he pulled her sexual tension strings so easily.
“Perhaps I wanted you in a bed covered in silks.”
She couldn’t maintain his gaze when he said things like that. Her mind completely shifted away from the bullet holes in the walls and murals to picturing herself naked in a silk clad bed, moving underneath him just as she’d done earlier in the morning. She looked away as her breathing increased, trying to pretend the image didn’t affect her. “I suspect there is more to the story than what you’re trying to gloss over.”
“I can’t imagine why you would think there’s anything more significant than you being in a bed with me and silk. Your skin is better than silk,” he said smoothly, his eyes moving away from her face and down her bare arms but she didn’t know that since she refused to look back at him. He didn’t mind at this point. Her lack of observation gave him the freedom to let his eyes move over her at his pleasure. He saw the small points under her sleeveless blouse and the blush that covered not only her cheeks but her throat and chest as well. He liked that about her, her inability to hide things like that from him.
“Are you going to tell me what’s the significance or just torment me?”
“Why do you consider my words tormenting?” he asked softly. He was watching her eyes now, seeing the dark lashes laying delicately against her skin as she hid her eyes from him.
“Because you enjoy my discomfort.”
“Why are you so uncomfortable when talking about sex?”
“We aren’t talking about sex. We’re talking about….other things. Sex is much more….clinical.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “There won’t be anything clinical about what we do in that bed once I get you there next week.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head. “So what’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
He smiled slightly and looked over her across the small table. “Besides me trying to convince you to shorten our engagement?”
“Yes, besides you wasting your time with arguments that won’t make any difference on how I feel.”
He rubbed his lips with his thumb slightly, watching her carefully. “Who says I’ll be arguing?”
She glanced up at him, confused. “You just said…” and then she understood.
His grin widened at her confusion and he leaned forward, resting his arms on the side of the table. “If you say words aren’t effective, there are many other ways to show you that delaying the wedding might not be a good idea.”
She stared at him for a long moment until his meaning sunk into her preoccupied mind. It was odd that she hadn’t understood him instantly since her mind was in the same place as his. She nervously picked up her fork and played with the utensil, even though they’d finished their meal. She needed the fork only because she needed something to do with her hands as well as an excuse to avoid looking at him. Deciding that the current subject was too much of a mine field, she thought that changing the subject was the best plan of action instead of responding or arguing. “What are you doing tomorrow? Besides trying to convince me to move up the wedding?” she stated quickly.
He smiled, but accepted the change of subject and leaned back once again, relaxing against the colorful cushions. He mentioned several meetings, road inspections, a planning committee with the future hospital administrators and several other issues he had to deal with.
“That sounds like a very full day. When do you plan to sleep?”
He chuckled. “When I’m with you?”
Her breath was shaking once again. Why she was flustered by him suggesting they sleep together was a mystery. Perhaps because she suspected that he meant they wouldn’t be doing much sleeping? “Not gonna happen,” she finally said, only slightly breathless this time. Was she becoming inured to his teasing? Unfortunately, she knew he wasn’t really teasing.