Delaney's Desert Sheikh (16 page)

“Are you okay, My Princess?”

“Yes,” she replied weakly. At some point they had arrived at their destination when she noted he had brought the car to a complete stop in front of a massive group of elegant buildings. As she met his gaze, his lips tilted into an intense sexual smile. He slowly leaned over and placed a light, yet passionate kiss on her lips. “No matter how real my dreams seemed at night, whenever I woke up I could never conjure this.”

“What?” she asked softly, barely able to speak.

“The scent of you having a climax. It's a scent that is purely you, private, individual and totally sensual. I wish like hell I could bottle it.” He leaned over and kissed her again. “Stay put. I'm coming around the car to get you,” he said when he finally released her lips.

She watched as he got out of the car and came around to her side and opened the door. Undoing her seat belt he scooped her up into his arms and, as if she was a precious bundle, he held her gently to him and carried her inside his home.

 

Jamal took Delaney straight to the bedroom and placed her on his bed. “I'll be right back. I need to lock the door.”

Delaney nodded, closing her eyes, feeling blissful yet totally drained. Moments later she slowly reopened her eyes and glanced around. The bedroom was huge, probably big enough to fit two of her bedrooms in. She had noticed the same thing about the other parts of the house when he carried her through to the bedroom. She sat up, and when she noted her dress had risen up past her hips, tried tugging it back down.

“There's no need to pull it down since I'll be taking it completely off you in a second.”

Heat filled Delaney's cheeks when she met Jamal's gaze across the room. He was standing in the doorway removing his jacket, which was followed by his tie. Her gaze stayed glued to him, while she watched him undress. She continued to look at him, thinking he was such a fine specimen of a man and that he was hers.

“Jamal?”

“Yes?”

“How soon do you want to get married?”

He smiled as he pulled the belt out of his pants. “Is tonight soon enough?”

She returned his smile. “Yes, but I'd like you to meet my parents first.”

He nodded. “Only if you won't let them talk you out of marrying me.”

Delaney didn't blink, not once when she said, “No one could do that. I love you too much.”

Jamal had taken off all his clothes except for his pants. She remembered the first time she had seen him without a shirt and how her body had responded to the sheer masculinity of him. And her body was responding to him now.

He walked over to where she sat in the middle of the bed. “And I love you, too. I hadn't realized just how much until I had to leave you. Being without you was hard on me. You totally consumed my every thought. There were days when I wondered if I would make it without you.”

Delaney looked at Jamal. She knew an admission like that had probably been hard for him to make. “I will make you a good princess, Jamal.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and reached out and pulled her into his lap. “Mmm, will you, Delaney?” he asked, smiling. “Are you willing to salaam me each and every time you see me?”

She lifted a dark brow at him. “No.”

“Well then, are you willing to always walk two paces behind me?”

“No. Nor will I hide my face behind some veil,” she decided to add.

Jamal couldn't keep the amusement out of his gaze. “You won't?”

“No, I won't.”

“Mmm. Then will you be obedient and do
everything
that I say?”

She didn't give that question much thought, either, before quickly shaking her head. “No.”

He chuckled as he looked at her. “All right, Delaney, then what
will
you do to make me a good princess?”

She shifted positions in his lap so that she was sitting facing him, straddling his hips. She placed her arms around his neck and met his gaze intently. “On the day I become your desert princess, you will become my desert sheikh. And I will love you more than any woman has ever loved you before. I will honor you and be by your side to do what I can for your people who will become
my
people. I will obey you to a point, but I will retain my right to disagree and make my own decisions about things, always respecting your customs when I do so.”

Her gaze became intense when she added, “And I will give you sons and daughters who will honor you and respect you and who will grow up strong in our love and the love of their people. They will share two cultures and two countries, and I believe they will always love and appreciate both.”

She inhaled deeply when she added, “And last but not least, I will be your wife
and
your mistress. I will take care of
all
your needs and make sure that you stay extremely happy and never regret making me your princess.”

For the longest moment Jamal didn't say anything. Then he kissed her. First softly, then tenderly and finally hotly as his mouth slanted over hers, tasting her fully. He broke off the kiss and slowly stood with her in his arms, her legs still wrapped around his waist.

Placing her on her feet, he pulled her dress over her head, leaving her bare, except for her panty hose and chemise which he quickly removed. When she stood before him completely naked, he removed his pants and boxer shorts, desperately wanting to be inside of her, with his body stroking hers.

Gathering her into his arms, he placed her back in the middle of the bed and joined her there. “How soon can I meet your parents?” he asked her, pulling her into his arms.

“I'm scheduled to be off this weekend so we can go to Atlanta then. I plan on calling them in the morning and telling them our good news.”

“Even the news about the baby?”

“No, I want them to get used to the idea of me getting married and moving away before I tell them they will also become grandparents.”

Jamal nodded. “I told my father there was a possibility you were carrying my heir.”

Delaney raised a brow. “And what did he say?”

Jamal smiled. “Not much at the time but I could tell that the thought pleased him. He will enjoy being a grandfather as much as I'm going to enjoy being a father.”

He then placed his body on top of hers, supporting himself on his elbows. “But right now I want to hurry up and become a husband. Your husband, Delaney.”

He leaned down and kissed her, wanting to take their kiss to another level like he had that night in the cabin. After tasting her mouth for a few moments, he pulled back. “Stick out your tongue to me.”

She blinked, then did what he instructed, knowing what was coming.

“Don't worry,” he said huskily. “I won't let you pass out on me again.”

When he captured her tongue in his mouth, she gasped for breath with the intensity of his tongue mating so sensually with hers. She moaned with pleasure when he touched those certain places in her mouth that gave her the greatest sexual gratification. The pleasure was so intense, she began to writhe beneath him and he placed his hands on her hips to keep her still.

He finally let go of her mouth and went to her breasts and paid the same homage there, nibbling, sucking and laving her with his tongue.

“Oh, Jamal.”

The sound of his name from her lips was like an aphrodisiac, making him want to taste her everywhere. So he did. The scent of her spiraled him on to new heights, new territory and for both of them, a new adventure.

“I can't get enough of you, Delaney,” he whispered against her hot flesh before easing his body upward to enter her. The tightness of her surrounded him, stroking the already-blazing fire within him.

“My Princess,” he whispered softly as his body began pumping into her as he held her gaze, forcing her to look at him with each and every stroke into her body.

She wrapped her arms around him and targeted his mouth. “My Sheikh,” she whispered before thrusting her tongue inside, intent on taking ownership and making love to his mouth the same way and with the same rhythm that he was using on her body.

Delaney released his mouth to look at him. Each time he thrust into her, his neck strained and the tension etched in his face showed the degree of strength he had. Each time he pulled out her thighs trembled as flesh met flesh. Then suddenly he pushed deeper, nearly touching her womb, holding himself still inside of her, refusing to pull out.

He lowered his face to hers and came close to her lips and kissed her in such a way that made both their bodies simultaneously explode in ecstasy, as he filled her completely with the essence of his release making the three weeks they had spent apart well worth the reunion.

He strained forward, lifting her hips to receive him as their bodies exploded yet again, making them groan out when yet another climax struck.

And moments later, completely sated and totally pleasured, they collapsed in each other's arms.

 

A few hours later Jamal leaned forward over Delaney, breathed in deeply to inhale her scent, before kissing her awake.

He leaned back and watched as she opened her eyes slowly and smiled at him. “You can wake me up anytime, Your Highness.”

Jamal chuckled and ran a finger along her cheek. “It's time for me to take you home. I did promise your brothers that I would have you back at a reasonable hour.”

Delaney reached down and caressed him, and her smile widened. “And of course you will want to make love again before you take me home, right?”

“That had been my plan,” he grinned placing his body over hers. “I will love you forever, Delaney.”

“And I will love you forever, too. Who would have thought that what was supposed to be a secluded vacation would bring us together. And to think we didn't even like each other at first.”

Jamal leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly. “You know what they say, don't you?” he asked, tracing a path with his tongue down her throat.

“No,” Delaney whispered, just barely. “What do they say?”

He smiled down at her. “Things are not always as they seem to be.” He kissed her again, then said, “But the love that we share is everything we will ever want it to be and more.”

Six Weeks Later

“Another marriage ceremony?” Delaney asked Jamal as they captured some stolen moments in the palace courtyard. All around them, the atmosphere off the desert was hot and humid, yet the fragrance of jasmine and gardenias permeated the air, creating a seductive, erotic overtone. “This makes the fourth.”

Their first wedding had been a beautiful garden wedding on her parents' lawn three weeks ago in Atlanta. The second ceremony had taken place last week when they arrived at the palace, with the king, queen and other dignitaries and their wives present. The third had been in the town square, arranged by the people of Tahran as a way to welcome the prince and his chosen princess.

A smile tilted the corners of Jamal's lips. “But think of how much fun we have with the wedding nights that follow each one.”

Delaney reached out and placed her arms around her husband's neck, leaned up and kissed his lips. “Mmm, that is true.”

She then turned in his arms so her back pressed against his front while his hand splayed across her stomach where their child rested. She didn't think she could ever be as happy as she was now.

Upon her arrival at the palace last week, she was immediately summoned to hold a private meeting alone with Jamal's father, King Yasir. At first the king had presented himself as the fierce, dictatorial ruler, and had relentlessly interrogated her about her views and beliefs.

She had answered all of his questions, honestly, truthfully and respectfully. In the end he had told her that her sharp tongue and tough stance reminded him of Queen Fatimah, and that he knew she would have no problem being understood, respected and loved. He had hugged her and accepted her into the family.

Jamal's sisters, Johari and Arielle, had also made her feel welcome and said they did not consider her as their brother's wife but as their sister. But it was Queen Fatimah who had endeared herself to Delaney's heart forever by meeting with her and sharing some of the things she had come up against as a foreigner in her husband's land and how she had set about changing things, in a subtle way.

She had even suggested that Delaney give some thought to using her medical knowledge to educate the women of Tahran about childhood diseases and what they could do to prevent them. As well, she suggested Delaney could practice medicine in the hospital the two of them would convince the king he needed to build.

“Ready to go back inside, Princess?” Jamal asked, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Is there another dinner party we must attend tonight?” she asked, twisting around to face him, suddenly captured by his dark gaze. Her body began feeling achy, hot and hungry. She wondered if there would ever be a time she would not be sexually attracted to her husband.

“No. In fact I thought that we could spend a quiet evening in our apartment,” he said reaching down and tracing a finger along her cheek.

“That sounds wonderful, Jamal,” she said smiling. They hadn't found a lot of time to spend alone except at night when they finally went to bed. She enjoyed the nights he made love to her, reminding her over and over again just how much she meant to him and just how much she was loved. She would fall asleep in his arms at night and be kissed awake by him each morning.

“Everyone should fall in love, shouldn't they, Jamal?” she asked smiling.

He grinned. “Yes, but I bet you would never convince your brothers of that.”

She nodded, knowing that was true. “But they were happy for us, even Thorn, once he got used to the idea that I was indeed getting married.”

Jamal shook his head, grinning. Thorn Westmoreland had taken great pleasure in being a thorn in his side. “Yes, but look how long it took him to come around. I almost had to call him out a few times. I've never known anyone so stubborn, man or woman, and that even includes you. I don't envy the woman who tries to capture his heart. I doubt such a thing is possible.”

I wouldn't be too sure of that, Delaney thought. She couldn't help but recall how Thorn kept looking at Tara at her wedding when he thought no one was watching. Tara had been her maid of honor, and all her brothers had been openly friendly to her, treating her like a member of the family. But for some reason Thorn had kept his distance. She found that rather interesting.

“What are you thinking, sweetheart?”

“Oh, just that it wouldn't surprise me if there is a woman out there who can capture Thorn's heart. In fact, I have an idea who she is.”

Jamal raised a curious brow. “Really? Who?”

Her mouth curved into that smile that he adored. “Um, you'll find out soon enough.”

 

Later that night, after making love to his wife, Jamal slipped from the bed, leaving Delaney sleeping. Putting on his robe, he left the confines of their apartment and walked down the stairs to the courtyard to find a private place to give thanks.

A half hour later on his way back to his apartment he met Asalum lurking in the shadows, always on guard to protect his prince.

Asalum studied Jamal's features. “Is all well with you, Your Highness?”

Jamal nodded. “Yes, my trusted friend and companion, all is well.”

Silence filled the space between them, then a few moments later Jamal asked, “Do you know what I'm feeling now, Asalum?”

A smile curved the older man's lips. He had a good idea but asked anyway. “And what are you feeling, My Prince?”

Suddenly Jamal began to laugh. It was laughter of happiness, joy and contentment, and the rapturous sound punctured the silence of the night and echoed deep into the courtyard.

Moments later Jamal spoke when his laughter subsided. “Exultation.”