The Sheikh's Unforgettable Lover (The Sharqi Sheikhs Series Book 1) (6 page)

As Kim was walking out of her classroom at the orphanage, she heard excited voices coming from the teacher’s lounge. Curious, she headed toward the lounge and was surprised to see Karim standing there surrounded by the teachers who were busy bombarding him with questions.

Instead of his usual look of indifference, he looked downright terrified as the women fawned over him. Amused, Kim stood in the doorway watching as he tried to answer their questions as fast as they asked them. When Dania began asking him about the number of children he planned to have, Kim took pity on him and cleared her throat as loud as she could.

Turning his head, the look of relief Karim gave her had her covering her mouth to mask her laugh as her eyes danced merrily. Shaking his arms, he stepped away from the doting women and rushed toward her.

“I thought we could go to lunch,” he told her quickly, as she looked at him in surprise.

“Um, sure. Just let me grab my things,” Kim replied, as she wondered what got into him.

“Oh, Kim, must he leave so soon?” Salma asked. “We were just getting to know him,” she crooned as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Sliding her hands up his arm, Dania leaned against him, “Can’t we keep him for just a little bit longer?” she asked as she winked at Kim.

Turning away, Kim coughed to cover her laugh again when she saw the horrified look on Karim’s face. Turning back, “Perhaps another time, ladies, there was mention of lunch,” she told them as the women made noises of complaint.

Stepping forward, Karim grasped her elbow and quickly exited the lounge as the women all shouted their goodbyes to him. Once outside, he took several deep breaths as he heard the women’s laughter from inside.

“Is it always like that in there?” he asked as they walked toward the car.

Unable to hold her laughter back, “No, that was a special show just for you,” she answered as she clutched at her sides.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Kim stepped out of the car and looked up. “Where are we?”

“This restaurant belongs to a friend of mine. Come on, I think that you will enjoy it.”

Placing his hand at the small of her back, he escorted her inside. As they walked toward the reception stand, he was surprised to see Hussain. Smiling broadly at his friend, they shook hands as Karim introduced them to each other before Hussain showed them to a table overlooking the back garden.

Giving him a strange look, Hussain held his tongue as he handed them their menus.

Opening her menu, Kim looked at the broad list of options and sighed. “So what’s good here?” she asked him as Karim closed his menu.

“Everything.”

“Well, I’m not that hungry. Any chance you could be more specific?”

Smiling at her, “Is there anything that you’re in the mood for?”

“Food,” she replied as she snorted in amusement. “Actually, I’ve liked everything I’ve tried so far. Maybe we could order some different appetizers so that I can try them. Oh, and dessert.”

“So, should we start with the dessert first?” he asked her flatly.

Looking up at him, Kim wasn’t sure if he was serious until she saw his mouth twitch. Pasting a frown on her face, she stared at him, “I think I can manage the appetizers first,” she told him. “Unless of course, the desserts are really good.”

“Oh, they are. Hussain’s twin sister is a fantastic pastry chef.”

As she was about to say something, the waitress came to their table to take their order. Karim ordered a selection of finger foods and pastries for Kim to try.

They chatted together while they waited and Kim was surprised at how attentive he was. While he did interrupt their conversation to check his phone several times, he always seemed able to pick up the conversation where they left off, which impressed her. If she wasn’t careful, she could easily see herself falling for this man despite the warnings she received from his brothers.

When their food arrived, Kim looked at the array of finger foods all sitting on small plates. Everything smelled delicious, as she took a deep breath, smiling.

“I noticed that you seem to enjoy the different pastries that our cook makes and thought that you might like to try some of our more savoury dishes.”

Nodding her head, Kim couldn’t prevent the blush from creeping into her cheeks as she realised that Karim watched her eat. Reaching for a meat tart, she bit into it and closed her eyes.

“Oh, that’s delicious,” she told him as she licked the juice off her lips. She paused when she saw that he was staring at her. Licking her lips again, she watched his eyes darken as he focussed on her mouth.

“So, which ones do you like?” she asked him trying to break the sudden tension.

Reaching across the table, he picked up what looked like a miniature pie and bit into it without breaking eye contact with her. Chewing slowly, Kim watched as he swallowed before he reached his hand across to her to give her the remaining bite.

Unsure what to do, she stared at his hand for what felt like several minutes as he patiently waited for her to open her mouth.

Finally opening her mouth, he placed the tart in her mouth as she bit down on it. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed the mix of spices as she chewed. “Oh, that’s so good,” she commented as he grinned at her.

The tension now broken, the couple enjoyed their lunch occasionally feeding each other morsels as if they had been doing so for years. Neither of them noticed Hussain watching them, pleased for his friend who had yet to realise that he too had fallen for an American woman. “Welcome to the club, my friend,” he mumbled under his breath.

After lunch, they returned to the house, laughing and talking as if they were old friends. Walking inside, Kim was surprised to see that no one was home. Karim had excused himself to go take care of some messages, which left her on her own and unsure what to do.

As she walked upstairs, she caught sight of something reflecting outside. Walking to the window, she saw that it was a swimming pool and couldn’t believe that she had never noticed it before. On a whim, she ran up to her room to put on her swimsuit.

Coming back downstairs, she exited out through the courtyard and walked toward the pool, which sparkled like turquoise in the sun. Dropping her towel and kicking off her shoes, she looked over her shoulder toward the house, but didn’t see anyone.

With a whoop, she ran toward the pool and leaped up, curling into a ball as she went crashing in. Surfacing, she laughed aloud as she swam to the side. Resting her arms, she took in the opulent surroundings as tropical plants enclosed the pool making it look like an oasis in the desert.

Rolling to her back, she floated to the middle of the pool, closing her eyes against the bright light, as she enjoyed the sun’s rays. A loud splash startled her as she sat up suddenly. Looking around, she didn’t see anything but yelped when she felt a hand on her leg tugging her down.

Turning around in the water, she was surprised to see Karim staring back at her from under the water. Surfacing again, she laughed as he caught her around the waist.

“I thought you were in your office,” she sputtered, suddenly feeling the heat from his body as he pulled her closer.

“I was, but then I heard yelling so thought that I would go investigate. Imagine my surprise when I saw you doing a cannon ball into the pool.”

Laughing, “Sorry. If I had this incredible pool, I would be in it all the time,” she told him as he tugged her toward the deep end. Holding onto his arm to steady herself, she allowed him to pull her.

“My mother loved to swim,” Karim commented. “She was the one who insisted that we put it in. It rarely gets used anymore. I’m surprised that my father still keeps it maintained.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to use it? It’s fantastic.”

Smiling, Karim looked around seeing the pool from her perspective, “Yes, I guess it is. When my mother died, my father shut down. He blamed her for leaving us and everything that was good and beautiful was suddenly forbidden as he turned into the formidable man he is today.”

“That’s terrible. How did your mother die?”

“Cancer,” he answered simply.

“I’m so sorry. You were so young.”

“I was. Amare does not even remember her. I can tell when he looks at her picture that he sees a stranger.” Shaking his head to clear the bad thoughts, he pushed her lightly away. “Enough sad talk,” he told her as he splashed her.

Squealing, Kim splashed him back and they spent the next few minutes chasing each other around the pool. Jumping on him, she attempted to pull him under the water when he pushed her up against the wall. Breathing heavily, her laughter turned to pants as he pressed against her, their wet skin sticking to each other as one of Kim’s fantasies suddenly became real.

Cupping the sides of her face, he kissed her gently as her body immediately took over demanding more. Tendrils of pleasure that he was so good at unfurling began to spread around her body as she pushed her feet flat against the wall to keep them from curling in response.

She was so wrapped up in the kiss that she didn’t realise that he had pulled the tie on her swim top until she felt the breeze on her exposed breasts. Looking frantically around, she attempted to cover herself but he stopped her.

“Relax, no one can see you,” he told her as he tugged at the tie on her bikini bottom. Pulling it loose, he tossed her swimsuit on the side of the pool before he pulled her unresisting body toward him.

His eyes darkened as he watched her floating toward him. Grabbing her legs, he helped her straddle him as she settled her hands on his shoulders. Turning so he was leaning against the wall, he kissed her again as she stroked her hands over his body.

Kim couldn’t believe that she was out in the open and naked as her traitorous body greedily accepted everything he had to offer her. While that little voice in the back of her head warned her again about getting too close to him, she steadfastly ignored it, determined to enjoy this moment.

Lightly tracing her fingers down his body, she came up against an obstacle as her hand settled on his briefs. Breaking the kiss, she gave him a stern look.

“Someone appears to be overdressed,” she commented as she fought the urge to giggle.

“Indeed. Perhaps you could help me out with that?”

Grinning at him, she climbed off his lap and pressed up against him, using her feet as support to keep from floating away. Taking a deep breath, she sunk under water and using her hands, pulled herself down. Sliding her fingers along his waistband, she tugged his briefs over his hips, not realising that it would be more difficult to do under water.

Finally succeeding, she pulled them down and off his feet. As she was about to surface, she brushed against his erection and it bounced playfully in front of her. Unable to resist, she wrapped her hand around it, before opening her mouth and drawing it in. Karim’s sudden thrashing made her pause as she rose to the surface to toss his briefs next to her swimsuit.

Before she could ask him what’s wrong, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him as he kissed her. All the past weeks’ angst and turmoil melted away. Despite her need for caution, when she was in his arms, she felt as though she were home and there was no place else that she wanted to be.

Closing her eyes, she kissed him back as their tongues danced together twining back and forth. Placing his hands on the outside of her thighs, he lifted her so that she was straddling him again. His erection bounced against her stomach as she moaned into his mouth.

Reaching down, he rubbed his fingers along her slit and smiled when he felt that she was ready for him. Positioning himself, he slowly pressed into her as she rocked her hips to accommodate him.

Once he was seated, he held tight to her hips as he rocked her back and forth along his shaft. Placing her feet against the wall, she used it as leverage so that she could thrust harder against him.

As he continued to thrust into her, Kim held tight to his shoulders. Leaning in, she sucked on his lower lip as he growled in response and sped up.

Moaning, Kim rocked harder as his thrusts became more chaotic. Within moments, her orgasm rolled through her as she cried out into his mouth.

One, two, three more thrusts and Karim was coming, her spasms speeding him up as she milked him dry.

As they finished, Kim sagged against him as he kissed the top of her head.

The sound of a ringing phone caught their attention as he set her aside to answer it. Speaking animatedly into the phone, he exited the pool and grabbed his clothes, walking back to the house without saying a word to her.

Staring after him, Kim couldn’t believe that he didn’t say anything to her as she wondered if he would come back. Given that he had taken his clothes with him, she assumed that he wouldn’t as she fumed.

Both Taleb’s and Amare’s warnings echoed in her head as her brain reminded her that he was not into relationships. Swearing, she got out of the pool and wrapped herself up in her towel before scooping up her swimsuit and stalking back to the house.

This would be the last time she allowed Karim Sharqi near her, she vowed.