“So you could get in touch with me?”
“Of course. And to get you over here on my own turf and make sure that you stayed put. I didn’t want you running off while I was trying to convince you to stay here with me.”
Her whole body was starting to tingle with excitement. “And why would you want me to stay here with you?”
He took her hand and turned it so that her palm was up while his finger trailed tantalizing circles over the surface. The movement caused shivers to run up her arm and down her spine. “Because you’re an incredibly beautiful woman. And what we started in England by that creek seemed pretty special. I didn’t want to lose it.”
She felt that silly grin form on her face. The one she’d been wearing that whole week after she’d arrived back from England. “I thought it was pretty special too. But when I didn’t hear from you, I thought I had just been….” She didn’t want to put a name to what she’d thought, so she left the sentence dangling.
“You thought I’d left to avoid saying goodbye.”
Sidra nodded sadly.
“And you thought that I’d only used you for a quick conquest,” he suggested, watching her carefully to try and discern the truth.
Again, she nodded and looked back up at him.
He took her hands and held them firmly in his. “I couldn’t get away but I tried to find you.”
She smiled broadly. “Your sisters said you were pretty angry over the past three weeks.”
“I’ve been furious. I thought you’d gone ahead and left, just using me as your first lover and moved on to other men. When I saw you at the hotel after finally tracking you down, you were with another man and I just about lost it right then and there. And then when you wouldn’t come back to my suite to discuss the issue with me, that only seemed to confirm the issue.”
She pulled her hand out of his and placed it in the center of his chest, the space quickly becoming her favorite spot because she could feel his muscles, the heat of his body and the incredible heartbeat that told her so much about what he was feeling. “I didn’t leave with Tom.”
“Are you in love with him?”
Sidra shook her head to reassure him. “No. Definitely not in love with him. In fact, that night was the first time I’d even met him. I was on a blind date because my friends were becoming worried.”
“Why were they worried?”
She smiled shyly and looked down, her fingers moving slowly across his chest, feeling him move as she touched different spots that either tickled or felt good. “Because I’d started avoiding everyone, becoming a recluse.” She moved slightly closer and looked up at his eyes, trying to determine if he might be receptive to what she was about to say. When she noticed the same hidden hope in his eyes that she was feeling, she decided to go ahead and take the plunge. “You see, I’d met this guy and fell in love with him, as crazy as that sounds. He rode this enormous horse…” she tried to finish but Rashid had already pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his, kissing her like there was no tomorrow.
She was pressed tightly against him, her mind more than just a little relieved that she was back in his arms. She gave as good as she got, kissing him back, pouring her whole heart into the kiss to show him how she felt since he wouldn’t let her say it.
“I’ve missed you so much!” he growled and swung her back up into his arms.
Sidra laughed as she wound her arms around his neck, happy to be anywhere he was at this point. “Are you going to carry me everywhere?”
He shouldered his way out of the dining room and walked briskly down the hallway, uncaring of the two burly men following behind them. “I just might do that if it helps me to keep track of you. I don’t ever want to feel that way again!”
He pushed into his private suite and Sidra was relieved when the two men stopped at the doors there, not following them into the suite. “Do those guards follow you everywhere?”
Rashid tensed as he let her feet drop to the floor. “Sidra, that’s one of the down sides to being married to me. You’ll have to be protected at all times.”
Her eyes widened slightly, but