My Desert Rose (8 page)

Tariq was known
everywhere. People called to him, waved and brought him gifts for
his family. Seeing their respect of him, Katie knew that he cared
deeply about these people and they returned that care to him.

Nearly ready to
drop, Tariq had taken her arm and led her back to the car and then
he drove to a point not far from the house. Now they were walking
towards a deserted beach. Katie couldn’t recall the last time she’d
felt this relaxed and happy. Swinging her shoes as she walked, she
felt the warmth of the sand as it seeped through her toes. Tariq
walked at the side of her, carrying the picnic basket and straw
bag. They chose a spot and Tariq plonked everything down and pulled
out the blanket.

Katie longed to
feel the cool waters of the ocean on her dusty skin. Knowing the
laws on Muslim women and bare skin, she asked, "Do you think it’ll
be okay to take a dip?"

"Sure, this is
our family’s private beach. Besides, there's only us two here and
there are some towels in the bag."

She gave him a
sidelong glance. "I’m not wearing a bikini though, so my underwear
will have to do, but no looking, okay?" The grin he gave her wasn’t
exactly comforting. His eyes were covered with mirrored shades, but
she'd bet that behind them they were laughing at her. "I mean it,"
she warned.

"But honey," he
drawled. "The feel of them this morning has left little to the
imagination, so please, don’t worry about me if you'd prefer to go
skinny dipping?"

She swiped
playfully at his shoulder.

He laughed as
he dodged her.

Not wanting to
give him the pleasure of seeing her blush as she took off her
clothes, she picked up a towel and ambled down to the water’s
edge.

Watching her as
she began to strip made him feel guilty as hell, but surely her
being his wife gave him the right? Who was he kidding? It gave him
nothing but agony. It was like being a child, presented with the
most luscious cream cake in front of you, yet you were denied a
piece. The torture of wondering what that sugary treat tasted like
would be forever imprinted on your mind.

The blue linens
now lay in a heap on the sand, revealing her white lace underwear.
The temperature of the air just got hotter. Creamy skin covered her
athletic, yet curvy form and full breasts were being hugged by the
flimsy material. Holding back a grin, he noted her quick glance
towards him to check that he wasn’t looking, which of course he was
through his shades. Turning her perfect butt cheeks his way, she
then dived into the ocean and disappeared under its swells. Before
she could even come up for a breath, he’d stripped off while
jogging to the water’s edge and jumped in.

Katie wallowed
in the coolness of the water. She was a strong underwater swimmer
and she stretched her arms and legs, slicing through the water.
Needing a breath, she swam to the surface and filled her lungs with
oxygen. As she treaded the deep waters, she looked back to where
she’d left Tariq, but the blanket lay empty. Where had he gone?
Before she could scan the beach a head popped up next to her and
Tariq’s wet face was grinning from ear to ear. She couldn’t help
but laugh. "I’ll race you to the shore," she challenged.

He wasn't given
any time to respond as she moved off by a stroke. Having been
raised by the ocean Tariq was no weak swimmer, so he easily kept
pace with her. Halfway back, he let her get slightly ahead of him
until he could reach her ankle and tug on it, drawing her back. She
emerged spluttering and laughing. Using that moment of distraction,
he set off in front of her, but she retaliated by jumping on his
back and dunking him in the water. Doing a smooth underwater roll
to release her grasp, he then grabbed her around the waist and
pulled her to him as he reached the surface. The water was still
deep, so he treaded it to keep them both afloat.

Sparkling blue
eyes full of mischief ground into his and their faces were just
inches apart. Dynamic sexual energy vibrated between them and he
could feel her body length against his. Other than the sound of the
breaking waves on the beach and the rising and falling of their
breaths, the air was silent. Tariq closed the distance between
their lips to a mere whisper away. "I'm here anytime you want to
take the lead and make that move."

Katie couldn't
resist any longer. "I'm the leader, right?"

"Right," he
agreed as one of his hands lowered to caress the cheek of her
bottom, pulling her further into him.

A little moan
escaped her at the feel of him and desire shot up her spine.
Without stopping to think about the warning he gave her last night
she gently touched her lips to his, sliding the tip of her tongue
over them, tasting their saltiness.

His response
was to pull her even tighter to him. This was what he'd been
waiting for and the thrill through his body at the touch of her
lips didn't disappoint him. Tenderly nipping the end of her tongue,
she opened her mouth for him and he deepened the kiss.

Utterly
delicious, she thought, as she wrapped her legs around his waist
under the water, bringing her sensitive spot against his throbbing
erection. Rubbing along its length, she shuddered as the core of
her lit up in delight at the impact. Holding on for dear life with
one arm across his back and the other grasping at his hair, she let
go to the delicious feel of him. There was nothing in this moment
but her and Tariq and she felt wild and carefree.

Tariq still had
one hand on her buttocks and the other was now filled with a lacy,
creamy breast. Tweaking at the nipple, he could feel the wild-cat
in his arms squirming against his hardness.

"Yes, don’t
stop," she panted.

He had no
intention of stopping, but his legs were killing him from treading
the water. Moving backwards, he used their weight to tread towards
the shore until his feet hit land. Now they could get down to some
serious business.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Katie’s eyes
flung open at the same time as Tariq’s did.

"Yoo-hoo,
Tariq!"

Katie pulled
away from his lips at the intruding voice. They both turned to look
at the shore at the same time. A woman was waving at them.

"Damn!" cursed
Tariq, as he turned back to her, dropped his head to her shoulder
and nibbled on the skin that he found there. "Only my sister has
the ability to show up at awkward moments."

"That's
Miriam?" echoed Katie. "Oh my God, what will she think about us
making out in the ocean?"

Tariq grinned
at her. "We’re married now, remember?"

"I know but..."
she trailed off. "Crap! I’m in my underwear, how will we get out of
the water?"

He looked down
at the swell of those delicious breasts. What he would give to see
them naked. "I’ll go first and bring the towel to you as you wade
out."

She nodded and
was about to move away from him when he tightened his hold on her
waist, pulling her further into him. With one hand he cupped her
between the legs under the water and ran a finger along her nub.
"We’ll finish this tonight."

Katie bit her
lip to stop herself from groaning out loud. Oh yeah, what’s the
point in being married if you’re not going to check out the goods?
"You bet," she replied breathlessly.

He dropped a
quick kiss on her lips and then turned to wade out of the
water.

With a towel
hugged tightly around her, Katie met Miriam for the first time. She
was about twenty-five years old with a similar height and build to
Katie, but with long black hair. Being in her presence was like
finding yourself in the middle of a tornado. Miriam talked so fast
that before Katie could answer, she’d changed the subject.

"I’m so sorry
for intruding and spoiling the moment for you, but I just had to
come and meet you. I saw the car parked near the dunes and thought
you’d be here."

Katie blushed
at the thought of them frolicking in the ocean.

"Anyway, listen
to me rambling on. I do like the colour of your hair. It’s like
sunshine. And just think we’re now sisters."

Did she ever
stop to take a breath? Katie gave her a big smile. She actually
found Miriam really endearing, like a little playful puppy. Acting
on that feeling, she turned and gave Miriam a great big hug.

Miriam beamed.
"I knew I had to meet you first. I’m so glad Tariq has finally met
someone. There was this other woman once, she was so mean. I was
glad when Tariq got rid of her."

Tariq rolled
his eyes to the sky and Katie laughed. "Well, Miriam, I think you
and I are going to be great friends."

"Wait until
Mother gets a cop at you with all that blonde hair. Her great
grandmother had blonde hair and now you have it."

That piqued
Katie’s interest. They'd not had the opening to really discuss
Tariq's family other than his suspicions and a little bit about
Miriam. Somehow, that now embarrassed her. In fact, she didn’t even
know his parents' names. "Well, I get to officially meet you all
tonight," she replied in earnest.

"Yup, and
Mother’s had kittens because you got married without us Tariq, so
hold on to your pants Katie, as they’re planning a massive
celebration for the end of the month, which is less than two weeks
away."

Katie smiled
nervously. Marrying on the plane was one thing, but saying
meaningful vows in front of Tariq’s family was a bit daunting. The
thought of Annabelle not being there to be her attendant just
sucked. Looking at Miriam's innocent, almost angelic face, she
linked arms with her as they walked and said, "I don’t suppose you
fancy being the maid of honour, do you?"

Miriam squealed
with delight. Tariq groaned.

At the car
Katie pulled on her clothes while Tariq held the towel around her.
The wet from her lace underwear seeped through and created dark
patches on her clothes. Tutting loudly at his smirking face, she
took the towel from him and wrapped it around her for double
protection, leaving him without a towel. Now it was her turn to
smirk at him as he pulled on his jeans and encountered the same
problem.

They all got
into the car to drive the few metres to the electric gates and down
the long driveway. Miriam chatted excitedly all the way about the
up-and-coming ceremony. "And I said to Amira, 'Well, it’ll be
better than your wedding, as this is true love,' and Amira said
that Tariq only cared about having an heir and once he'd got that
his new wife would be put out to pasture. So I said –"

"Miriam," Tariq
said sharply. "Quiet now, okay?"

"Sorry, Tariq,
I’m just excited about the wedding that’s all," she mumbled
shyly.

Tariq glanced
at her sad face in the mirror. She’d always been loyal to Tariq.
Since she was born there'd been a deep connection between them both
and even though her body had got older, she was still very young in
her mind. Their mother and father had decided not to pressure her
into marriage, but to let her find her own way as to what she
wanted to do. Miriam had discovered a love of painting and so she
did quite a lot of commissions for abstract oils. "It’s all right,
sweet sister. Let’s just help Katie fit in slowly, okay?"

A huge grin
lifted her face as they pulled into the courtyard. A quick hug with
Katie and Miriam was off running through the house shouting, "Mama,
where are you?"

Katie couldn’t
suppress a giggle. Looking at Tariq’s sombre face, she jibed at
him, "I guess you got the moody countenance and she got the joyful
tongue."

Screwing up his
face at her in answer, he swiped at her round bottom as she walked
in front of him and through the main doors.

Once in their
suite, he followed closely behind her as they moved into their
bedroom. Everything about her appealed to him, drawing him in, even
the tiniest change in the pace of her breathing could make his
whole body respond. He reckoned there must be a girlie name for
that, something like 'attuned'. Whatever its label was, he was
aware of her every little pulse. Even now he could read her mind,
she was saying, 'yes', with a little bit of 'no' thrown in. The
towel had been discarded on the chair by the door and she currently
had her back to him. Reaching out, he pulled her back by her hips,
positioning her buttocks against his very firm package.

Katie sighed at
the impact. "Tariq." To her ears, his name came out in a half-moan,
half-warning sound. It would be so easy to turn around and push him
down on the bed, straddle him and take her fill, but what Miriam
had said in the car about Tariq wanting an heir now bugged her. The
sex thing they could do, but the 'no divorce' rule meant a life
without children and she realised that this wasn't going to be fair
on either of them. Even though he'd offered, it was impossible to
consider having them with Tariq, as she wanted them to be born from
love. What they had was lust and lust had an expiry date, whereas
in her mind, love didn't.

One of his
hands moved from her hips, along her rib cage and found the
fullness of her breast. "Oh yes," she breathed as tiny sensations
of pleasure moved through her, but then logic tapped her on the
shoulder and reminded her of that expiry date, so she added, "Oh,
no." Pulling away from his touch, she stepped out of his embrace
and turned to look at him. The intensity of need on his face nearly
made her give in, but she knew that in the end it would only lead
them into frustration, arguments and possible bitterness over an
unfulfilled life without children.

"I want you,"
he growled at her.

Katie retreated
several steps back until her spine hit the dressing room door.
"I...I just need a moment to think," she replied shakily.

He shook his
head and took a step towards her. "I warned you that once you made
the first move, you'd become mine."