“Mmm hmm.” His glance was wicked. “Run upstairs and fetch that book. I need to have a chat with Transom.”
She put out a lip.
He smacked her behind, but only lightly. Just enough to capture her attention. “Come along, darling. Don’t be difficult. I’ve been thinking about this for days.”
“Oh, all right.” She did as he asked, fairly sprinting up the stairs to her room to find the book he had in mind, and then sprinting back down. Still, by the time she returned, Transom had delivered a tray to the library piled with all manner of delights.
“Are you hungry, Edward?” she asked, nodding at the feast. It looked like enough for an army.
He chuckled. “That’s for later. I figured we might need sustenance. And I did not want to be disturbed.”
The way he said it, the look he shot her, sent rivulets of anticipation down her spine. It had been so long since their one glorious morning together. She could not wait for another.
“Shut the door,” he said as she entered the chamber.
She fought down a shiver and did so.
“Come here.”
She crossed the room and stepped into his arms. He kissed her. A long, lingering, delicious exploration of her mouth, then her cheek, then her neck. “God, I’ve missed your taste.”
“My taste?” She giggled.
“Yes. You taste delicious.”
“Hmm.” She went up on her toes and licked his chin. Yes, he was delicious too.
“Shall we do some reading?”
She frowned. “Really, Edward?”
“Really.” He took the book from her, found a passage and handed it back, then took a seat. “Read to me.” When she moved to sit at his side, he forestalled her. “No, darling. Stand before me while you read from the book.”
She did not know what he had in mind, but the intensity on his face stilled her protest. It sent a rain of arousal through her. “All right.” She resettled her spectacles on her nose and began to read.
The sheik’s private quarters were vast. Asha followed the vizier down a long, echoing hallway. She had no idea what to expect and fear coursed through her. Though she had only seen him at a distance, the sheik was a man of frightening countenance.
All the girls in the harem sighed when they spoke of him, but Asha had also heard other whispers, terrifying stories, or a man who fervently plied a lash.
She had been whipped many times now by the kadin and the eunuchs when she had been disobedient or lax in her studies, and while those whippings had started an odd fire in her belly, she did not know if she could bear such attention from a man as frightening as the sheik.
They stopped at a set of intricately carved doors. The vizier looked down at her, adjusted the fall of her hair, smoothed the lapel of her harem jacket. Pinched a nipple.
“Do you remember what you were taught?” His voice was deep, rumbling.
Asha could not meet his eyes. “Yes, my lord.”
“Do not disappoint him. I should hate to have to toss you into the sea.”
Women who displeased the sheik were disposed of in a brutal manner. Drowned like kittens in a burlap bag. Asha shuddered. She would do anything to avoid such a fate. “Yes, my lord.”
The vizier opened the door and ushered her in. “Your companion for the evening, Your Eminence.”
He sat at the far end of the room on a wide throne, against a crenulated arch overlooking a flagstone terrace. The only other items in the cavernous chamber were a low table covered with foodstuffs—and an enormous bed draped in fluttering curtains.
He made not a sound, but gestured at her to approach. The echo of the doors closing as the vizier left them alone resonated through the room.
She did not delay. She knew better. She glided to his side and, eyes downcast, stood before him.
He took her chin in his hand and tipped it up so he could see her face. “Lovely,” he murmured. His fingers fluttered on her neck like the wings of a butterfly. “Lovely.” He cupped her breast. She sucked in a breath and forced herself to hold still. This was her life now. Her meaning. Her purpose.
She was his and nothing more.
“Remove your clothes.”
Asha winced.
“Do it.” The sheik’s expression was frightening. Arousing. She did as he commanded, quivering as she stood naked before him. “Now kneel.”
“Stop.”
The way Edward said that one word, so tight, clipped, made Kaitlin tremble.
“What?”
He lounged back in his chair, as she imagined the sheik had done, and splayed his legs. “I should like you to remove your clothes as well.”
Kaitlin’s heart lurched. They were in the library. She couldn’t be naked in a library. Could she?