CHAPTER SEVEN
Khalid stalked her, coming to stand over her. Face dark with fury, he said, “You better be glad I’m a man of my word or I would make you rue those words.”
“Or what?” Defiant, she squared her shoulders. “You’d take me against my will?”
“It wouldn’t be rape.” A sardonic smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “You pretend you don’t want me, but we both know you crave my kisses, and the way I stroke that hot body of yours until you shiver with lust for me and only me. Trust me, it wouldn’t take much effort on my part to have you begging me to take you.”
Silently, Olivia rose to her feet. She deliberated a beat and then bolted for the entrance. If he wouldn’t let her go, then she’d seize the opportunity. With her robe hiked to her knees, Olivia ran in the direction of the setting sun, heading for the ocean. She would follow the coastline back to the port they’d entered.
Olivia heard him closing in. She didn’t care. Neither Khalid nor threat of capture would slow her down. Both gave her the needed boost to light a fire under her heels. And both served her well as she scaled one sand dune after another.
Getting cocky, she slid and bounced down a particular rise. Near the bottom, Olivia lost her footing in the soft sand and stumbled. She tried to right herself, failed and fell head first. He was on her before she could push to her knees.
“You fool!” He flipped her onto her back and pinned her wrists into the sand. “We’re deep in the desert. You’d die before you would find help.”
“Death would be better than this,” she seethed. “And I’m not a fool. All I need to do is head west to the ocean then follow the coast back to the harbor.”
The lift in his eyebrows was the only indication her words registered with him. “Which way?” he barked. “North or south? How do you know we didn’t circle back around as a precaution?”
Angry at being stumped by his questions, she twisted away from him.
“Saint Louis is on the coast,” he revealed. “But it’s a day and half ride from here on horse. By foot more than three. The other way is even longer, almost two weeks to the next town.”
Olivia blinked, fighting back tears. I will not cry! Even as he hauled her to her feet and dragged her back to the encampment, she succeeded in holding them back.
“You will not move an inch,” he warned after depositing her on the couch.
Incredulous, Olivia’s mouth dropped open. Did he think just because he’d thwarted her escape, he’d broken her spirit or her will? In one swift movement, Olivia jumped to her feet as she pushed on his chest. Gaining some leeway, she ran for the entrance, but he seemed to anticipate her move and grabbed her upper arm.
“I see other measures are needed to make you behave.” He declared, hauling her to the back of the tent, through the curtain separating the main living area from their sleeping quarters.
Olivia dug in her heels. He easily overpowered her and tossed her onto the bed. As soon as her backside hit the mattress, she scuttled backward. She didn’t get far. He grabbed her ankles and ever so slowly pulled her back to him.
Half-expecting him to fall onto her and have his way, the flesh between her thighs trembled in anticipation. When he did not, but still maintained his hold on her, Olivia looked back at him. Looming large and fierce, Khalid stood over her, his chest rising and falling heavily. His eyes black as pitch. He trailed his hands up the backs of her legs. His warm fingertips caressed her skin, igniting nerve endings she didn’t know she had. His touch was akin to being dumped with kerosene then being lit by a match. She was so on fire for him right now, she would probably allow him to do anything he wanted to her.
And where would that get her? She would be trapped here forever, or returned home as second-hand goods like all his women. “If I want a woman, I find one, take her to bed, and when she becomes too clingy I end things,” he’d said. And no amount of self-denial could prevent her from feeling somewhat hurt at the idea of being tossed aside by him.
“I won’t beg,” she whispered in a last ditch effort of self-preservation.
Moving quicker than a viper, Khalid yanked her onto his lap—face down, butt up. Not liking the submissive position, Olivia struggled against him. He seemed to take delight in her unwillingness because a smile played along his lips, and his pupils expanded until they blotted out his irises and made his eyes appear brown.
“No need for begging.”
His hand snaked under her dress and Olivia stiffened. “Please, Khalid, don’t do this!”
“It’s long overdue. You need to be taught that during the time you are with me you must obey me.” Olivia flinched as his hand slid up the back of one thigh to cup her cheek, massaging it before doing the same to the other. “And just so you don’t forget, you must be taught a lesson.”
Fearing the unknown, Olivia tried to scramble off his lap. He impeded her last ditch effort with a hand pressed firmly against her back.
“Don’t worry, I keep my promises.”
The first blow came as a shock. Two more followed before she connected the burning in her buttocks with his hand. In spite of smarting from the abuse, her body had come alive. A curious heat had blossomed between her thighs, and it took all her concentration to not rock her sex against him.
Eventually, Olivia lost count of how many times he’d meted out his ‘lesson’. She couldn’t concentrate on such trivial matters when a much bigger problem had reared its ugly head.
“So stubborn and yet so passionate,” he rasped, his hand stilling against the rise of her butt.
Biting down on her bottom lip, Olivia tried to fight the pleasure coursing through her body. Her stubbornness did little to prevent the warm gush of moisture pooling at the juncture of her thighs.
Olivia moved to get off his lap, but his hand dipped between her legs, and settled against her sex, his inquisitive fingers parting the folds. “Not finished.”
Startled, Olivia froze. Panting loudly, her breath rushed in and out of her lungs and seemed to echo in the ensuing silence.
Her body easily accepted him, wetness a humiliating accompaniment to the two fingers he pressed inside her. Eyes clenched shut, Olivia gulped down a groan as he proceeded to heighten her pleasure, and ignite a hunger he’d awakened that night in the greenhouse.
Faster and faster, he worked her, dipping in and out, brushing against sensitive nerve endings which made the air ball painfully in her lungs.
“Khalid,” she groaned. The pleasure was so acute she felt lightheaded.
“Give in,” he growled, thrusting in and out, stroking the walls of her sex until her thighs shook uncontrollably.
Twice now, she’d had a taste of how things would be between them. Her body was practically trembling with frustration. And yet, she couldn’t surrender. Even though she was essentially a slave, giving in meant giving up the power she had over her him.
“Let me go,” she whispered, barely able to find her voice, and then with more conviction.
He stood up so fast, she tumbled to the floor in a heap. She shoved the now kinky mass of hair out of her eyes and looked up at him. His expression was indifferent, a perfect foil to the cold glint in his green eyes. Arms resting on his thighs, he leaned toward her.
“Just know that in the desert, time does not exist. And I have all the time in the world to break you,” he gritted out.
Olivia lifted her chin, daring him to knock her down a peg or two. “You will never break me and I’ll never beg because I don’t want you.”
To her surprise, he threw his head back and laughed.
Knowing she was the brunt of the joke, she demanded, “Why are you laughing?”
“You said that with so much conviction, I almost believe you. But then all I have to do is remember how you wept all over my hand,” he paused to stick his index and middle fingers in his mouth.
“This battle goes to me,” he finally said, “and I see a favorable treaty in our future.” Chuckling, he then stepped over her as if she were a pile of dirty clothes. “Sweet dreams, tihoussay.”
Olivia listened to him moving around in the front of the tent until her eyes became heavy lidded and she could no longer fight back sleep. Yawning, she crawled into bed and prayed for a good night’s sleep. She needed to recharge and rebuild her strength because there would be no peace while they remained at war.
Over the next few days, Khalid’s confidence in his seduction skills rapidly waned. Every night since their showdown, he’d tried his hardest to seduce Olivia to a state of mindless arousal. When he thought he was close, she thwarted him by laying there like a rag doll.
Out of bed, she wasn’t that much more animated. She barely spoke except for yes or no, please and thank you.
Gifts didn’t help either. He brought her books, the finest fabrics and even showered her with precious gems and necklaces made of gold coins. She simply looked at them and set them aside.
Submerged waist deep in cold water, Khalid smacked his hand against the water’s surface, displacing his reflection. He couldn’t remember the last woman who affected him so.
Why did she have to be so damn stubborn?
Of course, he could’ve asked himself the same question. Because of this silly obsession of his, he’d taken her half way around the world. And for what? To sit in a pool of water, day after day, trying to relieve himself of blue balls?
Why didn’t he just take her and be done with it? Khalid slowly turned the bar of hand-milled soap in his hands, contemplating the idea.
His plotting was short-lived. He’d never taken a woman by force. They’d always desired him. And he wanted Olivia to do the same. He wanted her to crave him like he craved her, and completely submit to him.
Khalid scooped some water in his hands and splashed his face. Just thinking of Olivia’s nude voluptuous body lying next to him, begging for his touch, made him grow hard.
All alone and Olivia safely guarded by one of his clansman, Khalid palmed his rod. At the warm touch of his hand, he let out a jagged groan. Imagining her tight virgin channel, he tightened his grip with just the right pressure. Almost like clockwork, his blood raced through his veins.
Khalid stroked his hand up and down his cock. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost feel Olivia’s wet, tight p-ssy enveloping him, her body soft and warm, merging with his.
“Merde!” Khalid’s hand quickened, heating his blood. He squeezed and tugged hard, wondering what it would feel like to f*ck her mouth, her tongue milking his seed.
Closing his eyes, Khalid jerked himself with a steady rhythm. A maddening sensation built inside him, like the calm before a desert storm, his balls tightened ready to burst. He reared up, head thrown back, his breathing thick and rapid. Each stroke was a debilitating mixture of both pleasure and frustration. If only this were Olivia riding him, instead of his hand.
With perfect clarity, his mind concocted a vision of her sitting on his lap. Her pert nipples would be a delicious chocolate-brown, and ready for him to suck and nibble on. Incited by the erotic image, his body suddenly cramped up. He shuddered once, twice, then gasped her name while hot semen spilled over his hand.
Moments later, spent but far from satisfied, Khalid washed his hands. He was firmly back at square one with no foreseeable resolution.
After finishing up his bath, Khalid headed back to camp. He entered their tent and found Olivia pacing back and forth. Attired in a burnt orange caftan which offset her skin to perfection, she’d piled her chestnut brown hair atop her head in a messy knot. In renewed frustration, Khalid balled his fists. He would give anything to sink balls deep into her while using her long hair as an anchor.
Before he did something he would regret, Khalid stalked past her and into the bedroom. His bath now a distant memory, he needed a strong drink. The moment he laid eyes on her, his desire roared back to life.
Khalid downed his drink and then poured another. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her wear the rugs thin.
“What’s wrong?” he barked, not in the best of moods. A bad case of blue balls could ruin one’s disposition.
“Nothing,” she muttered, but kept on pacing.
Unable to enjoy his liquor, for some odd reason her unrest trumped his own, Khalid stomped into the main area. “I asked, what’s the matter?”
Olivia stopped pacing, her eyes darting to the tent flap. “Do you hear that?”
Khalid was about to tell her she was imagining things when a muffled cry arrested his attention.
“It’s been going on all afternoon.”
Khalid frowned. He’d been so preoccupied with his own needs and wants that he couldn’t see or hear what was going on around him. Somewhat ashamed, he headed for the tent’s entrance.
Olivia came up beside him, holding the tent flap, giving them both some room. She looked so frightened, he wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. Of course, he’d only wind up wanting more, and like always she’d reject him.
There it was again, sounding like a wounded animal.
“Stay here,” he commanded.
Khalid tracked the direction of the sound to Vezir’s tent. Eyes wide with fear, the metal worker sat out front. His two brothers and several male cousins appeared to be making fun of him.
“What’s going on?” Khalid demanded.
As if sleepwalking, Vezir looked up at him. “Fatima’s water broke. She’s been in labor all morning. The baby’s coming feet first,” he choked up. “She’s having a hard time of it.”
Khalid glanced at the tent then back at Vezir, understanding his fear. If Olivia were in that much pain, he would be at his wit’s end. Armed with this information and knowing he wouldn’t be of any help, Khalid walked back to his tent. Once inside, he flung himself on one of the low back couches.
Olivia immediately pounced on him. “What’s happening?”
Not nearly as concerned as she, Khalid removed his boots and tossed them aside. “Fatima is giving birth. It’s a breech baby and she’s in a lot of pain.”
Olivia visibly paled as she dropped to her knees. “Let me go to her.”
Not liking the idea of her having any kind of interaction with anybody but him, Khalid hesitated. He even tried to ignore her expression and failed. She looked to be tied in knots.
“What can you do?” he asked gruffly. “All the women from the tribe are already in there.”
“I’m a nurse. I can help increase the chance of survival of the mother and the baby. Please, Khalid, let me go to her,” she implored, touching his arm. And like clockwork, his cock stiffened.
Khalid looked at her hand and he yearned to move it elsewhere. “If I let you go to her?what will you give me in return?” Yes, he selfish to barter for sex in exchange for his compliance, but Khalid wasn’t thinking with the head on his shoulders.
“Give you in return?”
Khalid sat up. A successful businessman, the act of negotiating excited him as much as sex. “If I allow you to assist in Fatima’s delivery, what will you give me in return?” To make his meaning clear, his eyes dropped to her breasts.
Khalid could almost feel her fury rolling off her. He braced himself for retaliation.
“You?bastard,” she hissed. “A woman and a child’s life hang in the balance and?and all you can think about is your penis?”
Khalid leaned toward her. “It’s entirely your fault.”
“I cannot believe this!” She shoved away from him and started to pace, all the while cursing him to hell. Another scream, much louder than before, ripped through the air, and she stopped. Her fists balled at her sides. Her breasts rose and fell, and all Khalid could think about was licking and sucking on them until she begged him to stop.
“What do you want?”
Khalid wiped his mouth lest she see him drool. “Give yourself to me for one night.”
She nibbled her bottom lip and Khalid’s mind drifted back to the pool and how he imagined her mouth wrapped around him, her tongue teasing his balls. He was being a bastard, but he didn’t care. He wanted Olivia anyway he could get her.
Her gaze met his. “Only one night?”
Khalid nodded. He couldn’t utter a single word because he was too busy holding his breath.
She stomped over to a tiny chest filled with her slippers. She jammed on an unmatched pair and then turned to face him. “Take me to her.”
Khalid almost crowed in victory, but before he even left the tent he was already kicking himself in the ass. One night with her would never be enough.