Their Virgin Concubine(62)
The day had dragged on, every hour pure misery. He’d talked to the press, plastering a fake smile on his face as he talked about their courtship and how happy he was, all the while praying she didn’t simply flee.
“There is a separate stairway. It leads from the rooms below. They’re usually used as nursery rooms.”
Her skin flushed, a sweet pink coloring her cheeks. “Oh.”
Rafe stepped forward. He’d been Kade’s partner in misery. “We thought you might be sleeping. We did not wish to disturb you.”
She frowned. “Your cousin disturbed me enough. I don’t like that man. He was trying to run me off. He doesn’t know how hard it is to run off a Texas girl. We can be stubborn.”
Thank god for Texas pride. “He’s wrong about Talib. Tal was never serious about the other women. He’s been putting this off for many years because no woman moved him.”
Her arms crossed over her breasts. “I don’t know about that. Khalil might have ulterior motives, but he was right about one thing. This marriage is Talib’s duty. I don’t know that I like being a duty.”
Kade wanted to hold her. The early evening light brought out the gold and reds in her hair. “It was not a duty to love you last night. You can’t imagine that. No man could have performed as we did for simple duty.”
Rafe frowned. “We made love all night, Piper. There was nothing of duty in that.”
“It’s too fast,” she said, her head shaking.
Frustration welled. “Do you have a timetable? How long should I wait to love you? How many more days or weeks before you’ll believe me?”
He nearly took back the words, afraid that he’d frightened her with his harsh comments. But she didn’t move an inch.
Her eyes narrowed. “How about giving me the courtesy of honesty, Kadir? Then maybe I’ll give you a timetable.” She sighed and turned, dismissing him as easily as she’d dismissed Khalil.
He stared at her, his blood pressure rising. She thought she could dismiss him?
Rafe walked after her, passing her and disappearing into the hall. What the hell was he doing? Kade prayed he wasn’t getting Talib because this was his fight.
“I was honest with you, Piper. I told you I love you. I would never have made love to you if I didn’t intend to spend my life with you.”
She turned back slightly. “Oh, I seriously doubt that. Do you think I didn’t look you up, Kadir? I’ll admit I’ve been naïve up to this point, but I did a quick search earlier today. You seem to prefer blondes. Lots of them.”
He really wished he’d been more circumspect in his younger days. “I cannot change my past. I am just a man.”
“Did you ask all of them to marry you? Wait. You don’t ask. You just take advantage of the fact that your women don’t speak the language. Is that why you like the Swedish girls so much?”
She was pushing him. Anger started to rattle his cage. “I can only apologize for my past.”
“And the present? Do you apologize for that as well?”
“No. Had we been honest, you would have run. You would never have even tried. But Piper, can’t you see how well you handled Khalil? You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“I’m not afraid, Kade. If I decide to be a shaykhah, I will be the best I can be. Don’t you ever underestimate me. I know I come off as a little naïve, but I’ve been responsible for myself for a very long time. I had to raise my little sister, work a job, and put myself through college. I think that’s what bothers me the most. I can’t see how you can possibly love me when you think so little of me. You tricked me into this. You didn’t even think I would be smart enough to ever figure it out.”
“That is not true. We were just desperate. How can you think that? And how can you not see why we wanted to avoid this? Not even a day into our concubine period and Khalil is trying to persuade you to leave. He won’t be the only one.” Why couldn’t she see? She didn’t know this world the way he did. “I wanted to spare you the trouble.”
“You weren’t going to spare me anything, Kade. Trouble like this isn’t something you can hide from. It was just waiting. This would always have happened. You can’t just sneak a new bride in and expect no one to notice.”
They were standing toe to toe, her face turned up to his, a pretty flush on her cheeks. Even her frown turned him on. If he moved just an inch closer she would be able to feel his erection. The minute he’d entered the room, his cock had hardened and pointed her way. He was addicted to her. And she was challenging him. “It isn’t their business.”