'Closer than this isn't possible.'
'Yes, it is. You know it is,' Beth argued.
He did know that. Swinging her into his arms, he carried her into the deeper water where he could stand and she could not. It hardly mattered, since her legs were already locked around his waist. 'You've got me,' he murmured against her mouth.
'You'd better believe it,' she told him.
With Beth safe in one arm, he cupped her face with his hand and kissed her. She tasted like the missing part of him, and felt like it too. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed her, and he knew she must feel the same, because her feelings came pouring out in tears that he kissed away.
How could they ever get enough of each other? Even the chill of the water couldn't cool them now. She opened for him like a flower, leaning back as he eased into her, calling his name as her fingers bit into him, exhaling raggedly, eyes closed, giving herself up to pleasure.
Beth had blossomed into a woman since having the baby. She even tasted different, sweet and ripe and wonderful; everything about her was wonderful. She was hot for him, hot and wet, and her muscles gripped him with remorseless intent as he thrust deeper, taking her again and again, timing each thrust to the ebb of her sighs. He wanted nothing more than to give her pleasure. It was all that mattered to him. He wanted to watch her face and hear her moans of ecstasy, he wanted to serve her and see her dissolve into sensation; he wanted to make love to her until nothing existed for them outside of this …
'Oh, Khal, I can't hold back.'
'You don't have to.' The words had barely left his mouth before she bucked beneath him, and the sounds pouring from her lips became unfocused, unthinking and free. Free, as he longed to be.
When the storm of their love-making subsided, Khal carried her safely to the shore. 'Do you feel warm now?' Beth teased him.
'Do you?'
'I do now,' she purred as he joined her on their makeshift bed of grass.
'Then my job's done.'
As he made to pull away she drew him back. 'I see you still have the bad habit of teasing me.' She stopped, not wanting to refer back to any time that hadn't been as happy as this. It was as if they had ventured into a magic kingdom, and she wasn't ready for reality yet. 'Your Majesty,' she said, lying back to tempt him on.
'Khal,' he said, pausing for a kiss.
And even that wasn't something she could joke about. Khal's title and his position in the world carried too much weight. And that weight was all on his shoulders. 'Khal,' she amended softly, tracing the line of his hard, scarred mouth with her fingertip.
'That's better,' he said, capturing her finger and warming it in his mouth.
He drew her into his arms and made love to her slowly this time, drawing out the pleasure until it couldn't be contained. In the water they had come together like two elemental beings who knew only a primitive urge to mate, but he wanted this to be different for Beth, and for him. Maybe he wanted something to remember her by, Khal reflected, something to keep him warm, and remind him what innocence could taste like after his inevitable return to the real world. He soothed her down, and then kissed her until she told him that she couldn't wait and that her whole body ached for him again. He refused to rush and kissed his way down her body until he reached her feet, and then he massaged them until she was purring like a kitten. He turned her then to drop kisses on the backs of her knees, which made her squirm and laugh.
'I had no idea … ' Her words disintegrated.
'No idea?' He was moving on to feather kisses on her pale, silky thighs.
'That my legs could be so sensitive.'
'You have so much to learn.'
'And will you teach me?'
'For as long as you are here in Q'Adar.' He felt her tense. It broke the mood. The length of time they'd have together was something neither one of them could predict.
'I want you so much.' And not just sexually, though she must never tell Khal that. 'I can't believe this night must end … ' They lay together side by side, gazing at the stars.
'The night doesn't end until the fire goes out,' Khal murmured.
'And as you've just put wood on it … ' Turning on her stomach, Beth found her cheeky smile. 'It's so special out here in the desert, isn't it?'
'I think so.'
'I thought I'd hate it. I thought it would be barren, and cruel and hard.'
'It is barren and cruel and hard.'
'But it's beautiful too.' She turned to him after a few more stolen minutes. 'We should be getting back for Hana.'
'I won't break my promise,' Khal said. Reaching for her hand, he pressed the palm to his lips. 'You'll be back before Hana wakes … '
She tried not to say anything, but as they stared at each other she couldn't hold the words back. 'And then?'
'And then life carries on as before.'
Beth's heart sank, and Khal telling her not to look so sad didn't help. She shouldn't be greedy; they'd had this night, this one magical night …
'Let's go and get the horses saddled up,' Khal suggested, springing to his feet. 'Our clothes are dry,' he confirmed, checking them out.
Reality had intruded, Beth realised, and now the dream was fading fast. There would be no more kisses and no more lingering looks as they tacked up the horses, ready to go. This was it.
Khal gave her a leg up and asked her if she felt safe before springing onto the back of his stallion.
Safe …
'Let's enjoy the ride back,' he said, sensing her dejection. They should make the most of it, because he had nothing else to offer her-and though that left him feeling deeply unsatisfied it didn't mean they couldn't enjoy every moment they had left.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HE STOOD outside Hana's room the next morning, watching Beth nurse their baby. They had spent the night apart, and coming here to see them both had filled him with emotion. And yet he felt shut out too. It was the loss of all the months when he hadn't been there for them. But there was a better understanding between them now, and no reason why he shouldn't raise the subject of Beth staying on as his mistress. She had mellowed since having Hana, and he was more sensitive to her needs. His timing had been clumsy before, but this time, when he showed Beth the benefits of remaining in Q'Adar under his protection, he felt sure that she would see sense.
In spite of all the uncertainty, Beth was touched by the expression in Khal's eyes when she tiptoed out of Hana's room. There was such longing in them, as well as a softness she hadn't seen before. 'Were you spying on me?'
'I was admiring your parenting skills,' Khal admitted, falling into step with her. 'Hana's so contented, and that's all thanks to you, Beth. You're a wonderful mother.'
'Thank you … ' Beth felt a little glow of pride and love for him, and, without suspecting anything, accepted Khal's suggestion that they have a refreshing drink together.
'I've been thinking about our future,' he said, showing her into a shaded courtyard.
A fountain was tossing cooling plumes of rainbow spray into the air, and all around her there was something beautiful for Beth's glance to light on. She wondered if she had ever felt happier.
'It needn't be like this.' Khal's look burned into her eyes.
But it was inevitable that it would be like this, Beth thought dreamily. When you loved as much as she did, how else could it be? The world glittered with a new light; it was a better place, and everything in it jumped into clear focus when you were in love.
'I don't like to see you upset,' Khal said, drawing her out of the sun. 'I don't like to hear you talking about lawyers-and most of all,' he confessed, 'I don't like to hear myself laying down the law where you're concerned.'
'Are you telling me you're a reformed character?' Beth teased, feeling the glow of love she felt for Khal burst into flame. She felt like laughing for joy, and racing round the courtyard, spinning as she went in an effort to express the excitement and happiness inside her. She managed somehow to restrain herself and continue teasing him instead. 'So you came round to my way of thinking in the end?'
'I can't say,' Khal admitted, 'As I don't know what you were thinking.' He held Beth's gaze until she blushed and looked away. 'I'd like to think you were hoping we could spend more time together.'