Craving Beauty(20)

"You'll have to prove yourself with your studies," he continued,   fighting the clutching fingers of that abused and lonely boy, "but   that's something every student has to prove. I've never seen your work,   so I can't judge how you'll do. I'm sorry I tried to do that outside."



Slowly she nodded. "Withholding your judgment is not a terrible thing,   for you have no knowledge of my skills. I can see how you would worry   that I might not understand these subjects, but I'll show you   otherwise."



He nodded, belatedly becoming aware of the steel spine beneath that   delicate golden skin. Perhaps he could chance trusting her with   something far closer to his heart than a business deal. "The orphanage   is pretty run-down."



She adjusted to the change of topic with ease. "Yes. There isn't much room for growing boys."



"No." He perched on the edge of the desk, trying to make himself less   threatening to his wife. If he tried, maybe she'd approach him, even   after he'd hurt her. It was a bitter pill to swallow for a man who'd   never relied on anyone, but he accepted that he needed more than hot sex   from his wife. He needed tenderness, the one thing he could never ask   for. Especially not after the way he'd let his temper rip into her. "In  a  few months, this house will be remodeled and made much larger, large   enough to fit all of them."



Her eyes widened, but she remained silent. "I don't want the boys   institutionalized. I want to create a home for them." He gave her a wry   smile. "But there will be a very large private wing for us. With   soundproofing."

                       
       
           



       

Her responding smile was shaky. "What will happen to other orphan boys?"



"I can't save every orphan in the world, but I can save these ten. And   Becky, too, soon as we find her." He wanted to ask her what she thought   of his plans, his dreams, but kept talking. "The old orphanage is going   to close at the end of this year, to be replaced by a modem facility.   I'll be funding that, but Beau, Damian, Brian and all the others are to   be mine. The legal process is almost complete."



As he watched, his wife covered the distance between them in graceful   strides and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Hardly believing,   he embraced her slender length, luxuriating in the feel of her warmth   against the skin of his shoulders and neck. Her exotic scent teased his   nostrils and threatened to bring the more primitive side of his nature   to the surface.



"So you don't mind mothering ten boys and one girl?" he asked, breathing   in the freshness and sweetness of her. Lord, he needed this woman he   kept catching fleeting glimpses of. The feeling of vulnerability rocked   him but wasn't strong enough to make him release her. "I'll be hiring   several full-time helpers, so if you're not comfortable with the idea,   you can-"



Drawing back, she placed a finger on his lips, her smile bright. "I   always wished for many children, but my mother had difficulty with   birthing, so I thought I'd only have one or two if I was very lucky.   Thank you for blessing me with such a great gift, husband."



Stunned, he remembered his cutting words to her on their wedding night.   He'd never thought of her as maternal and then realized what a fool  he'd  been. What woman who didn't adore children would've won the trust  of  the boys so quickly? "Will it be dangerous for you to have  children?"  Keeping one arm wrapped around her back, he placed the palm  of the other  against her stomach.



Her eyes widened at the openly possessive action. "The doctors my mother   took me to after I was old enough to understand the reason for her   worry, told me that I should be safe but not to strain my body beyond   two children."



He rotated his hand on her abdomen. He'd barely begun to understand her   and already he could imagine her big with his babe. Lifting his head,  he  found those exotic eyes staring into his. Taking a chance that he'd  won  some forgiveness for his earlier burst of temper, he leaned in  close  and when she didn't move, brushed his lips over hers.



Electricity sizzled between them. On his shoulders, her fingers clenched   convulsively. Groaning, he deepened the kiss and tasted the uniqueness   that was Hira. She was a mix of sugar and spice, fire and ice, his   desert beauty. Before he could prolong the contact, she'd pushed off his   chest and was a foot away.



Startled, he looked up into a pink-cheeked face, wondering if he'd   misread her, if she hadn't welcomed his touch. His gut twisted. As he   watched helplessly, his wife raised her hands to her face and gave him a   look that was a mix of shocked innocence and sheer desire. When he   moved, she swirled on her heel and left the room.



Marc began to chuckle, his tenseness retreating. Hira had just   discovered that he could turn her on even when she was steamed with him.   He whistled. If he had that to work with, he'd eventually get his way.   And his way involved long, sultry nights spent cradled in his wife's   body.



He must've done something right because that was exactly how he spent the hours of darkness that night.





When he surfaced the next morning, the clock told him it was close to   dawn. Hira was lying on her stomach, using one of his arms as a pillow.   His leg and other arm were flung over her, as if even in sleep, she   captivated him. He watched her sleep, stunned at himself for doing it.   It betrayed a commitment beyond anything he'd ever before experienced.



He'd spent most of his childhood as a kid without any loving ties. As an   adult he'd kept that cloak of alone-ness wrapped around him...until  the  night he'd seen Hira Dazirah on the balcony of her desert home,  smiling  up at the moon. Right then and there he'd fallen so hard and  fast he'd  had to have her. He'd been tied to her with passion's reins  since that  first moment, but yesterday something stronger had snapped  into place  between them, something born out of their willingness to  fight rather  than withdraw into silence. He was a little bewildered by  the gentle  strength of this feeling but could find no reason to fight  it.



As if she'd been disturbed by his watching her, her eyes blinked open   and she yawned. For a while, she lay there and watched him back, sleepy   and apparently happy to be in the position she was in. Then one slender   hand lifted to stroke his cheek.



"You appear sad, Marc. Husband." Her lips curved in a soft smile. "May I do something for you to give you joy?"                       
       
           



       



Her generous offer made his chest tight. No one had ever offered to do   something for the simple reason of making him happy. "No, baby. I'm   okay."



When he moved his leg off her, she rose up on one elbow and touched his   cheek again. "Husband, tell me something of your childhood."



He couldn't help playing with the silken strands of her midnight-and-gold hair. "Why do you want to know?"



"It is said that the child will show you the man." She kissed his chin,   the movement causing the strands in his fingers to slide away. Last   night she'd been all woman, pure heat and passion. Later, when he'd   tried to move away, she'd held on. He'd understood the silent message.   His lover needed more than ecstasy. So he, a man who'd never been   accused of tenderness, had spent the night happily holding his wife as   she slept.



"You're a hard man to know so I would learn of you from your childhood."



"Did you ever learn to lie, cher?" Folding one arm behind his head, he   ran the other down the warm curve of her back, lingering on the upward   slope of her buttocks. When she didn't protest, he ran his hand back up   and then down again, indulging his sense of touch.



Hira nodded vigorously in response to his question and didn't sound the   least repentant when she said, "I told my father many lies." He raised a   brow.



"Like when he asked me whether I had told the housekeeper to give away   Fariz's old computer. I told him I had." She propped herself up on her   elbows, face cupped between loose fists.



"But?"



"But I kept it hidden in my room. He never came in there. Rayaz was   young and spoiled, but Fariz wasn't a bad brother. He didn't ever tell   Father my secret. He even used to lend me his software."