CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Olivia chewed on the pad of her thumb, her eyes studying the chess board, looking for an opening. Under Khalid’s patient tutelage, she’d picked up the game rather quickly. Even though she hadn’t bested her teacher yet, she’d come close.
“Any day now,” Khalid teased. They’d finished their evening meal and been locked into a game of wills for the past two hours with her maintaining a slight margin. Down only a rook, she’d taken two of his pawns and a bishop.
Khalid leaned forward to touch her knee. Before he made contact, she smacked his hand. “Stop cheating,” she ordered him, her eyes never wavering from the chessboard.
“More like lusting,” he corrected her. He leaned over again and Olivia shifted to the left, slightly out of reach.
Khalid sighed heavily and Olivia smiled to herself. In spite of her better judgment and no change in her present circumstances, she’d come to enjoy Khalid’s company. He was highly intelligent, extremely charming, and possessed a dry wit which made her laugh—sometimes to the point of tears.
In a roundabout way, Khalid had become one of the reasons time passed so quickly. The other was falling into a comfortable pattern. After breakfast, Khalid usually left to work with the livestock, while she spent her mornings reading or seeing to any tribe member who had an ailment. Each afternoon, she visited Wissam to change the dressing on his wound and to make sure he remained active. He’d improved so much over the past two and a half months he enjoyed taking short walks and sitting out in the sun.
“At the end of the week, Hassan and several others will be traveling to Aoudaghost to trade with the northern interior tribes and for the winter camel races. I plan to be in the caravan.”
The news of his departure dragged Olivia’s attention from the chessboard. “How long will you be gone?” she asked, already feeling his absence. He’d become such a constant fixture in her life, she dreaded the lonely nights in an empty bed.
“I’ll be gone two weeks.”
“That long?” Olivia cringed. Even to her own ears she sounded like she was whining.
“I want you to come with me.”
Olivia pursed her lips, holding back a grin. “Are you only asking me because you’re afraid I’ll escape while you’re gone?” she asked, teasingly.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “I’m inviting you because I like being in your company.” He paused to kiss her shoulder. “I like making love to you every night.” He leaned in closer and kissed her neck. “I like waking up and seeing your face.” A shudder of expectation rippled through Olivia’s body.
“Put that way, I think I could be swayed into accompanying you.”
“You need to be persuaded?”
Olivia nodded, and he gently pressed his weight onto her, sending her sprawling onto the pillows around them.
“I’ll try my best…over and over if need be.” His words, softly whispered, traveled over Olivia like warm honey. He pressed himself against her side, fitting their bodies together like two pieces in a puzzle. Instinctively, Olivia reached out for him. Her hand slid into his hair and the dark, silky tendrils wrapped around her fingers like ribbons.
He lowered himself and cocked his head at an angle. He slid his hand up her thigh, raising her robe. Olivia licked her lips. His mouth was warm, yet insistent, and flavored with allspice and fermented dates. Relishing the taste of him, Olivia drew his tongue into her mouth and sucked on him.
One of his hands slipped between her thighs, and the other cradled her head as he continued to kiss her. Feverish, she parted her legs. He took her response as an invitation and his fingers touched her core. Olivia groaned.
“You’re already wet for me.” He pressed downward, his fingers sliding along her sex, opening her to him.
“I’m always wet for you,” Olivia corrected. “I look at you, I get wet. I sit next to you, I get wet. You touch me, I get wet. Get the drift?”
Nodding, he slid two fingers inside her. “You just made me hard as a rock.” He rested his forehead against hers and Olivia shuddered. His skin and his fingers marked her like a hot brand.
He pumped his hand against her sex, pulling out then gently thrusting deep into her. “Come with me to Aoudaghost.”
“You’ll have to try harder than that,” she panted.
He pulled back. His green eyes were stormy. “My little virgin, how quickly you’ve become the seductress.”
“Only with you.”
He scissored his fingers open and closed, and her sheath rippled around him. “Oh my, God, Kahlid,” she croaked, her hips rolling frantically onto his thrusting fingers. “I want more.”
Pushing back on his knees, he straddled her. He gripped the collar of her caftan and with one decisive tug he split the garment down the middle. Olivia didn’t bemoan the ruined dress. Eager to be free of clothes, she liberated her arms and stretched them over her head.
“Minx.” Khalid bent down and flicked his tongue over a perky nipple. “Turn over onto your stomach.”
“Not fair.” She pouted but flipped over as he commanded. Khalid knew all her weaknesses and one of them was her preference to be taken from behind.
“You said you needed persuading.” He shoved a silk pillow beneath her hips. He placed his palms on either side of her shoulders, and the head of his cock bumped against her butt cheek. As he hovered over her, his body heat and masculine scent assaulted her and she fell even more under his spell. It was a wonder she wasn’t in love with him.
Overcome with a sudden realization, Olivia tensed. Never before had the word ‘love’ entered her vocabulary. Warily, she glanced over her shoulder. Khalid’s dark hair fell to his shoulders and framed his face. The long locks shadowed the sculpted angles of his high cheekbones and strong jaw. Of course, Khalid was the most beautiful man she’d ever laid her eyes on and she enjoyed his company. She especially craved his possessive nature and the demands he made on her body. But, could she really be in love with him?
“If you keep looking at me like that, you’re going to make me come before we even get started.”
And just like that, he changed her focus from love to lust.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Nearly giddy with feminine power, she wiggled her bottom at him.
His gaze dropped then swung back up. The intensity in his eyes heightened her arousal and made her even wetter.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he rasped hoarsely. “How much I want you. It’s so powerful I can’t put it into words.”
If she affected him half as much as he did her, she completely understood wanting someone so much it was downright painful.
“Then show me,” she implored and dared him with her eyes.
He stretched himself on top of her, sliding his forearms under her shoulders, pinning her. Panting, Olivia’s arms tightened around the pillow.
“I love how you feel laying under me,” he whispered, his lips moving across her ear. His hips slowly rocked against hers. With each thrust, the velvety length of his cock teased her backside. A violent wave of arousal washed over her and she rolled her hips restlessly, silently begging him to take her.
Together they gasped when he pressed forward, entering her. Khalid was big and hard and unbelievably deep. On his knees behind her, the position pushed his cock into a deliciously upward angle, allowing him to hit that vulnerable spot that when stroked properly always sent her over the edge.
“Can’t get enough of making love to you,” he withdrew to the tip and then plunged back inside.
Olivia highly doubted she would either. Khalid had become her drug of choice. She was woefully, and irrevocably addicted to him.
Resigned to her fate and relishing the feel of his cock, Olivia clamped down on him. A deep primal growl ripped from his lips. He tightened his hold on her and drilled her hips into the pillow.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” he declared. His weight suddenly left her as he sat back on his ankles. He gripped her buttocks, and then pushed them up and open while driving into her harder and faster. “Can’t get enough…want this to last…love making love to you.”
In some distant corner of her mind, his words filtered through her brain. And each and every syllable drove her crazy like the driving thrusts of his cock. Olivia squeezed her eyes shut as the most exquisite pleasure tore through her body, triggering a healthy dose of her cream to seep down her thighs.
Khalid leaned forward, pushing deeper, changing his angle yet again. Olivia moaned. How could he have made their lovemaking any better? And yet he succeeded twofold as a wrenching jolt of bliss pulsed along her nerve endings.
His hand traveled up her spine, to capture her ponytail. He wrapped the thick length around his wrist once, and pulled, causing her to arch up and back. Gasping, her eyes watered. He had her on a pendulum, swinging back and forth between ecstasy and pain.
“I’m going to come so hard.” He spanked her left flank and her core tightened. Her lungs constricted. She struggled to breathe around the tension. “Would you like that?”
Breathless, Olivia could only nod. He felt so good inside her, she could’ve wept.
“Will you come with me?” He swiveled his hips, pushing her ever closer to climax.
Fully aware of the double meaning, Olivia whispered, “Yes.”
Triumphant, Khalid pressed himself against her back, gathered her in his arms and pumped his hips furiously. Face buried in the crook of her neck, he let loose a litany of scorching words of praise. Turned on, Olivia clenched around him, inadvertently increasing the friction of his driving thrusts.
The orgasm swirling in her belly took on life like a flame given oxygen. And it hit her like a sledgehammer, disorienting her with a head rush that had her world spinning off its axis. Shivering violently and sweating buckets, she wasn’t alone. Moaning her name, Khalid clasped her so tightly she could hardly breathe. His body jerked once, followed by a series of spasms as he came long and hard.
Olivia wasn’t sure how long they lay there, still connected with him buried deep inside her. But once his breathing evened, Khalid eventually rolled onto his back. Seeking his warmth, she snuggled against his side, her legs entwined with his.
“If you need more persuading, I’m ready to go again.” His handsome face was relaxed and sporting an affectionate smile. His gorgeous eyes were heavy-lidded and sleepy, but there was something else in them. Something she’d never seen before and the possibility both scared her to death and melted her to her core.
He reached out and cupped her cheek. Like a moth to a flame, she turned into his palm, seeking his warmth. This common gesture of affection, his tender touch took on a new level of intimacy for her.
Not quite ready to open her heart, Olivia decided to use her body. She stretched out next to him, aligning herself with him. She pressed her mouth against his damp shoulder and licked his salty skin.
“Olivia…” He said her name in a drawn-out gasp. His arms came around her, his hands running up and down her back. Like Pavlov’s dog, Olivia’s mouth watered as he rolled her onto her back.
His cock lodged between the lips of her sex. Despite having an orgasm, Khalid’s dick was still semi-hard. Olivia slid her hand between them. She boldly took the weight in her hand. She squeezed and stroked his thick length until her thumb and index finger no longer touched.
“More persuading?”
“More.” He kneed her legs open and pushed forward. He stopped at the tip. “Unless you object.”
“I don’t object at all.” Already hot for him, Olivia tugged him down for a kiss at the same time she lifted her hips, driving him deeper inside her.
***
Olivia poured herself a second steaming cup of Moroccan coffee. She and Khalid had just finished their morning meal. Afterward, he headed out to work with his pet project, a young camel which belonged to his cousin Hassan. Obsessed with the camel’s training, he’d already succeeded in saddling her and leading her riderless around the enclosed corral. Before the end of the month, he planned to mount her for the first time.
Olivia shook her head. The same doggedness had won her over as well. When she’d arrived in Africa, she’d been dead set on fighting Khalid tooth and nail. In the span of two and half months, she was practically purring every time he touched her. Like this morning, she’d awakened with his mouth wrapped around her nipple and his cock embedded deep inside her. Olivia clenched her still sore thighs together. He’d ridden her until she came not once, but twice. Sometimes, she wondered how she survived his insatiable lovemaking. But she did, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Instead of sitting around all day dreaming about Khalid’s bedroom manners, Olivia decided to tidy up a bit. Last night a sandstorm had swept over the encampment, blanketing everything with sand like snow after a blizzard. And despite Khalid’s best efforts to secure the tent, granular particles had found their way inside. Sand soiled every inch of carpet, all the furniture and pillows.
Olivia cleared the table and set the dishes on a tray by the entrance. She fluffed the multitude of pillows, dusted all the surfaces and then swept. A completely fruitless endeavor, considering it was virtually impossible to keep sand out of a tent in the desert.
After sweeping every single square inch of the tent, she sat in the main living area to fold clothes. She was setting aside a couple of Khalid’s tunics when Malik walked into the lean to and sat cross legged on the floor.
Happy for a reprieve from the humdrum tasks of being a glorified housekeeper, Olivia hustled over and sat down next to him. “Taghlassad,” she said in greeting.
“Good morning, Olivia.”
Blindsided by his perfect English, Olivia’s mouth fell open. “You speak English?”
“Six months out of the year, Khalid and his brothers lived with their mother. Hassan and I were tutored alongside them. We were taught to read and write our native language as well as Arabic, French and English. I even tinkered with the idea of attending the Sorbonne, but what would I do with a degree in history out here in the desert?”
Feeling duped, Olivia decided to cut to the chase. “So what brings you to see me?”
Malik pulled an envelope from the sleeve of his tunic and handed it to her. “For the past three months, the Prinzessin Carolina has been in dry dock in Saint Louis. She’s leaving tomorrow for America. I spoke with the captain a month ago and he’s agreed to give you passage home.”
Olivia opened the envelope and pulled out a card of introduction from the Captain. She should have been ecstatic, over the moon at the prospect of going home, and yet, she felt strangely empty.
“Why are you helping me?”
“Several years ago, Khalid’s brother kidnapped the Zarqawis’ chieftain’s daughter, Saroya. Her tribe declared civil war on the Saeeds, starting a two-year feud between the clans. The woman I was betrothed to was killed in that conflict.”
Malik stared at the tent’s entrance. A far away expression molded his hawkish features.
“So you’re doing this out of revenge?”
Malik shook his head. “I want to make things right. He brought you here against your will. He uses your body without gaining your love. You are his slave. And it will not change.”
Olivia hugged her middle, attempting to soothe the sick feeling bubbling there. “Why do you say it won’t change?”
“Slavery is entrenched in Mauritania.” His pitch black gaze met hers. “It’s embedded into my people’s culture. Khalid’s father is French, but he is a son of the Imuhagh. And we both know he didn’t hesitate bringing you here.”
“He wanted to make me his wife,” she pointed out. “He proposed soon after meeting me in New York.”
“Has he asked you again since you were brought here?”
“No.” Ashamed, yet refusing to show any weakness she threw back her shoulders, while blinking back tears.
Nodding, Malik stroked his beard. “Why make you a wife when he already has you at his beck and call?”
If everything Malik said were true, then things would never change. She picked up the ticket and looked at it again. “This says the ship leaves in two days. I’m supposed to travel with Khalid to Aoudaghost in the morning.”
Malik shrugged. “Do not go,” he said so matter-of-factly Olivia felt foolish for even bringing up their trip east. “I will be ready with two horses shortly after the caravan’s departure. I will come for you so be ready.”
Long after Malik’s departure, Olivia sat in the same place. Despondent, she couldn’t find the will to move. For weeks, she’d fought Khalid and demanded she be sent home. Now, when presented with the opportunity, she was wavering with uncertainty.
Why?
There was no epiphany. No sign from God. She’d finally come to terms with she’d always known from the moment she’d laid eyes on Khalid. She was in love with him.
Olivia nibbled on the pad of her thumb. Should she tell Khalid how she felt? What if she did and he didn’t return her feelings? Even worse, what if he cataloged her with all those clingy females he’d come across so many times in the past and set her aside? Maybe if she left him, beating him to the punch, the sting wouldn’t be so bad.
Should she divulge her feelings or keep them close to her heart and catch the first frigate back to America?
Olivia rubbed her hand across her belly. Either option was far from appealing.