Page 36 of Kismet

Chapter 10

She stared up at him, dumbfounded. She’d failed. Even at Madame Eugenie’s she’d never failed to seduce and influence even the most difficult of customers. She’d never used her talent for personal gain, but it had protected her from the occasional ill-tempered lover or the unsolicited advances of an inebriated peer. She’d badly miscalculated his ability to remain unaffected by her.

The knowledge left her badly shaken. Her skill at seduction had sustained her all these years in her determination to shape her own destiny. Was it possible her ability to hold a man’s attention, enthrall him, had been little more than an illusion too?

Her failure to persuade him to let her go undermined her confidence in a way nothing else could. Now she had nothing left with which to bargain. All she’d done was whet his appetite for more. And hers, too, if she were being honest. She’d enjoyed pleasuring him, seeing him caught up in the heat of passion. The entire time she was caressing him with her mouth she’d been tempted to straddle him and take him inside her. The powerful image still lingered in her head, making her wonder what it would be like to give in to him.

She immediately shut herself off to such a choice. Surrendering was not an option. She refused to do it. The only thing remaining of her shattered independence was her ability to say no. If he meant to keep her here, he’d find her unwilling. She held her body rigid beneath his hard, muscular frame, and with a small shake of her head, she glared up at him.

“I have no intention of sharing your bed.”

“Ah, but you’re already here, helwa jahannam meshsh.”

Dear God, there was a dark arousal in his voice that threatened to destroy all her resistance to him. It was the tone of a teasing lover. And whatever name he called her in the language of the Bedouins, it sounded almost affectionate. His thumb brushed over the peak of her breast. The nipple tightened at the pleasurable sensation, and she cursed the way her body reacted to the hot touch. Deliberately, she closed her mind off in the same way she’d done when she’d been with the men she’d serviced at Madame Eugenie’s.

“There is a difference between choice and necessity. Do not mistake a service performed for anything more than it was—a simple milking,” she said coldly.

Every hard muscle brushing against her body grew taut at her words. His amusement disappeared and a grim expression swept across his face. “And is the price I paid for you any less than what Shaftsbury and others have paid for your services?”

The words sliced deep. It made everything in her life sound cheap and sordid. And she didn’t believe that. She was simply a survivor. Her choices had been nonexistent at Madame Eugenie’s, and when the opportunity had come to change all of that, she’d taken it. Her mother might have sold her into whoredom, but she’d never allowed it to own her. She wouldn’t apologize to anyone for making the best of what life offered her.

Arthur had given her the world, and she refused to squander that gift. Her lovers might seek her out because of an illusion, but when she welcomed them into her bed, they received much more. She gave them her undivided attention. She soothed their frustrations, debated all manner of topics, eased their sorrows, satisfied their lust, and offered them her friendship.

In turn, they gave her independence. Something few women even dreamed of, let alone obtained. Being able to choose her lovers was the most precious thing she possessed. That was something this man didn’t understand or refused to see.

“Just because you gave Nassar your horse and a few pieces of gold for me, doesn’t mean you own me.” She shoved at his solid, muscular chest in a futile effort to free herself.

“Is the price I paid any different than the money and jewels your lovers give you?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I choose my lovers,” she said through clenched teeth. “They don’t buy me.”

“You didn’t answer my question, ma belle. Is what I paid any less than what others have paid?”

She glared at him in frustration. It was as if he was accusing her of something, some fault of character. And she was certain it didn’t matter how she answered him. His opinion of her would remain the same. His dark frown was a harsh reminder that she was still at his mercy.

“What you paid was the equivalent of perhaps two weeks of my undivided attention. No more,” she said flatly. She had no idea whether it was an accurate statement. Until now, she’d never tried to put a price on her time.

“Two weeks?” he mused as if thinking out loud. “The question now is whether it was a fair price to pay.”

She had no time to respond before his mouth captured hers. The unexpected shock of his lips heating hers stole her breath away. Pleasure danced across her skin, and she realized she wasn’t even attempting to put up a struggle. Her mind dismissed the thought like one might deflect an insect buzzing around one’s head. Instead, her mouth parted beneath his demanding kiss. Hot and tantalizing, his tongue mated with hers, circling, tempting, stroking the warm insides of her mouth with a skill none of her other lovers had possessed.

She couldn’t remember ever wanting to melt mindlessly in a man’s arms before, but she wanted to do exactly that right now. Every one of her senses was alive and crying out for more. From the earthy male scent teasing her nose to the warm spicy flavor of his mouth, her body craved more. Even the rough pad of his thumb scraping over her skin created a hunger for more of his touch.

A low growl rumbled in his chest, raw and primeval in nature. It tugged at her until her body arched up toward him like an instrument responding to a maestro’s touch. She had no doubt the primitive note was meant to brand her. And it made her hover on the fine line dividing exhilaration and fear. Part of her rejoiced in the exquisite sensations he aroused in her, while another, smaller part of her cried out a warning.

She fought to hear the admonition, but lost the battle the moment his mouth slid gently, tenderly along her bruised jaw and down the side of her throat. Molten heat wound its way through her veins as his firm lips lingered on the frantic beat of her pulse while his thumb abraded her nipple. Each caress stirred a fire in her belly that streaked its way downward to her nether regions.

With a languid move, he slid his body down hers until his mouth was over one breast. His tongue flicked out to lave the stiff peak in a white-hot caress that sent pleasure rippling through her. God, she was out of her mind to allow this to continue, and yet she didn’t want him to stop. Desire rocked through her at a blistering speed and she sucked in a quick breath of air.

The unique scent of him washed over her anew. Cedar with just a bite of licorice filled her senses. It was a tantalizing smell. All male and dangerously potent. His mouth burned a trail across her skin and she moaned softly. Sweet heaven, but the man was a master at manipulating her body until she wanted nothing more than to surrender to his fiery demands.

The moment the thought whirled through her head, she grew stiff with horror. Dear lord, how had she come to this moment—ready and willing to surrender her will to him? She couldn’t relinquish her independence, no matter how hypnotically tantalizing the man’s touch was. She’d given up too much already. The cold seeping into her made her shiver, and not even the warmth of his hands on her stomach penetrated the icy fear layering her skin.

He raised his head to look at her, and her mouth went dry at his expression. His features wore the look of a conqueror intent on showing mercy to a vanquished foe. It was evident he believed he’d won her surrender, and it deepened the fear winding its way through her. She didn’t have the physical strength to fight him even if it were possible to crush the desire he aroused in her, but she did have her wits. And words were her most powerful weapon at the moment.

“I take it my performance is meeting your expectations, my lord,” she said in a voice that expressed utter boredom. “I want to ensure you receive your money’s worth.”

Given how badly rattled she was by his caresses, it amazed her that she’d managed to make it sound as if her response to him had been nothing more than an exhibition of sexual skill. Almost instantly, the benign satisfaction on Shaheen’s face gave way to something dark and dangerous. The ferocity of his anger sent trepidation spiraling through her.