She pumped their waiter for information. He told them about nearby tourist attractions.
“We also have a driver and a Mercedes, which will be placed at your service while you are here,” he said, smiling. “Just tell him where you want to go. You must see the souk, in the old part of the city. It is unique. You can sample mint tea and buy handmade rugs and carpets.”
“I can’t wait!” Merrie enthused.
As they listened, loudspeakers began the call to prayer. It echoed through the city, a sweet and beautiful song.
“That’s so beautiful,” Merrie told the waiter.
He smiled. “We belong to different religions, but we are alike, I think, in some ways,” he added, noting the cross she was wearing. “We have beliefs that we cherish, in a world that wants to do away with religion.”
“I do not plan to give up mine,” she said with a pert smile.
“Nor I, mine,” he replied. “So we have this in common, no?” And he grinned.
*
“EVERYBODY HERE SPEAKS so many different languages,” Merrie exclaimed as they toured the caves where the Barbary pirates stashed their loot centuries before. They were Berbers, as most of the population of Tangier was. “I feel absolutely ignorant. Did you notice that our driver was fluent in French and Spanish and even Japanese. Not to mention that he speaks perfect English!”
“Europe and Africa have more nationalities than America does. Europe has so many countries in close proximity, and many of them holiday here. The people who work in tourism have to speak a lot of other languages.”
Her hand curled closer into his as they walked. “I should learn Spanish, at least,” she mused.
“It would come in handy.” He looked down at her. “Will you be satisfied, living in Wyoming?”
She looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. “I’ll be satisfied wherever I am, as long as I’m with you,” she said softly.
His breath caught at the look on her face. He moved just a step closer. Her lips parted helplessly. He looked down at her bodice and saw two hard little points. His body began to throb.
Merrie’s breasts felt tight. The fabric was cloying. She wanted to feel the soft breeze on her body, without clothing. She wanted to lie in Ren’s arms in the daylight and experience him in every way.
He turned to their driver and forced a smile, saying that they had an appointment and needed to go back to the hotel. They could come back here and explore more another day.
The driver smiled and drove them back to the hotel.
Ren didn’t speak. His throat was too tight. He held Merrie’s soft hand in his, curling his fingers sensually into hers, his breath unsteady as the big car ate up the miles. He was on fire. He’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted his wife. His body was in agony.
Merrie felt the tension in him. She was just as hungry as he was. The time it took to get to the hotel, through the lobby, back to their room, was an anguish of anticipation.
He closed the door behind them and locked it. His face was like stone.
Merrie loved the way he was looking at her. She reached up and untied the strings that held her bodice up. She let it fall, drowning in Ren’s wide, shocked eyes.
“Meredith,” he choked. He went to her, lifted her in his arms. His mouth slid over the hard nipple, teasing it with his tongue, as he swallowed it up and began to suckle her.
“Oh...Ren,” she choked, clinging to him.
He pulled the covers off the bed, tossed her into the middle of it and went down with her.
She arched under the hungry insistence of his mouth as he explored her in a silence that vibrated with tension. She felt his mouth on her flat stomach, her hips, down her long legs. He smoothed it over the inside of her thighs, loving the helpless arching of her body, the moans that were music in his ears.
He undressed her between soft kisses, gentling her, arousing her so that she wasn’t afraid. She was so hungry for him that she couldn’t be nervous. It surprised her, that she was so passionate. She hadn’t realized how she might be with a man she loved.
His mouth came down on hers, insistent and sweet. She felt him touching her where no man ever had, and she gasped.
“I know,” he whispered against her mouth. “It’s embarrassing. But it’s necessary. And it’s going to be sweeter than you know. Sweeter than honey, my darling,” he breathed as he began a rhythm that had her crying out, surprised at the sudden pleasure he kindled.
“My...gosh!” she managed.
“And it’s only the beginning,” he whispered as he worked his magic on her untried body.
He watched her the whole time, wild to have her, but determined to make sure that she was ready for him. He nibbled at her lower lip as he quickened the rhythm and watched her cry out, shuddering at her climax, the first of her entire life.
“Ren!” she sobbed as the pleasure ebbed away.
“I won’t stop,” he whispered. “Just a minute.”