Oh, please, she thought as he continued to move higher and higher. She couldn’t think about their kissing, couldn’t respond to anything but his touch. Closer…closer…
His hand closed over her left breast. He cupped the virgin curve, holding it gently. Pleasure rippled through her with an intensity that nearly made her weep. She hadn’t known touching like this could be so incredible. Without thinking she clamped her lips around his tongue and sucked. Jamal responded by taking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, then gently rubbing the tight bud.
A small explosion of intense perfect pleasure filled her chest. Between her legs she felt a sudden spurt of wetness. This couldn’t be really happening to her. Why hadn’t she known all this was possible? She was drowning, and it was the best experience of her life.
Jamal pulled his hand away and broke their kiss. She wanted to grab his fingers and put them back on her, but she wasn’t sure that was allowed.
“Thank you,” he said.
“What?”
Before she realized what he was doing, he’d helped her up into a sitting position, then eased her off his lap.
“I don’t understand,” she said, sitting next to him rather than risking a standing position. Between her quivering thighs and her high heels, she was a fall waiting to happen.
He cupped her face, then briefly kissed her mouth. “I need to get back to the palace,” he said.
“You’re leaving?” He was leaving? But…but…weren’t they going to kiss anymore? Although she wasn’t about to ask that question. “Um, what about lunch?”
“I didn’t come here for lunch,” he told her as he got to his feet. “I came here to see you.”
“Oh.” What on earth was she supposed to say to that? “Will I see you again?”
“Of course.” He kissed her forehead, then rose to his feet. Before she knew what was happening, he was gone.
Heidi stared after him, then kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling windows. From there she could see the street below. Several minutes later a silver Lamborghini pulled out and started moving in the direction of the palace.
“Now what?” she asked herself, more confused than ever.
The plan was working. Jamal was attracted to Honey—his kiss proved that. And what a kiss! She pressed her fingers to her lips, which were still swollen. He’d made her feel things she’d never felt before. He’d touched her in ways no one else ever had—and she’d liked it. She’d wanted more.
Except…
Heidi sighed and turned away from the windows. Except Jamal was interested in a woman who wasn’t his wife. Sort of. She was the other woman, but he didn’t know that, so he was cheating on her…with her.
“I can’t figure out if I’ve made progress or messed up the entire process,” Heidi said to herself as she headed for the bedroom where she would change back into her normal clothes.
Still, his passionate response gave her hope. He wasn’t completely caught up in the past. At least she hoped he wasn’t. Maybe he’d been faking the whole thing. Maybe—
“Stop it,” she said aloud as she moved into the large marble bath off the master bedroom. “He kissed you, you liked it. End of story.”
For now she would stop speculating, at least until she had more information. One thing was sure—this secret-life stuff sure made for an interesting afternoon, she thought with a smile. And she’d married a man who knew how to kiss. All in all, it had been a very nice day.
Three days later Heidi sat on her bed in the palace and studied the papers in front of her. Usually she was able to concentrate on her work with no problem, but lately she was having a little trouble. She wasn’t sure how much of the cause was her new location and how much was her changing relationship with her husband.
She put down her copies of the ancient documents. She hadn’t wanted to carry the fragile papers across the palace and keep them in her room. But her current situation didn’t let her work in her office. After all, she wanted to be available to talk with Jamal if he called “Honey,” and the private phone Fatima had arranged only rang in her dressing room. They’d discussed putting an extension in her office, but Heidi had been afraid there would be too many questions. After all, why would her work require a private line that didn’t go through the office receptionist?
So here she was, working on her bed instead. She felt as if she was back in high school waiting for a boy she had a crush on to call. Well, she’d never had a crush on a boy in high school, mostly because she hadn’t known many. Her all-girls boarding school had been strict with its policy of fraternization between the genders. But she imagined this is how it must have been for other women living through that time. She had trouble concentrating on anything but the call. When the phone rang, she got all fluttery inside, and after he called, she couldn’t stop smiling.
At least Jamal had been playing into her fantasies by phoning every day. And they had another lunch date at the end of the week. This time he’d promised to actually stay and eat food. Although the way her nerves were firing at the thought of being with him again and maybe kissing him, she wasn’t sure she would be able to choke down a meal. But he hadn’t called yet that day, so she was stuck working in her bedroom.
One nice thing that had happened out of all this was that she’d learned to—
“What are you doing here?”