“Now every time I look at you, I’ll think you’re thinking that.” She blushed.
“You would probably be correct.” His laughing eyes warned her of his intention before he covered her lips with his own.
Jasmine wrapped her arms around his neck and relaxed into the slow and lazy loving. Tariq was in no hurry. Pulling her into his lap, he caressed her breasts with hands that knew every inch of her, and gave her a lesson in the pleasures of kissing. He tasted the inner sweetness of her mouth and nibbled at her lips when she needed to breathe, then returned to tempt her with his tongue, seemingly willing to do this forever. She was the one who got so heated she began to wriggle.
“No more,” she gasped, and broke the kiss, aware of the hard ridge of his arousal under her bottom.
His eyes were slumberous, his desire clear, but he pulled down her tunic and settled her beside him on the seat again. “You’re right, Mina. I would need hours to finish this.”
Flustered and aroused, she scooted to the other side of the car. “Tell me about Zeina before you start your work.”
His smile was very male as he gazed at her heaving breasts. “Zeina is one of the major suppliers of Zulheil Rose. For some as yet unknown reason, the gem only exists alongside deposits of oil. It is a strange crystal.”
Jasmine whistled. “Talk about double dipping.”
“It could be like that, but over centuries, the tribes of Zulheil have set up an interconnecting system that means that not just those people living near such bounty will benefit. For example, the Zulheil Rose leaves Zeina in a condition close to its raw state. It then goes out to two tribes in the north, who train the best artisans in the world.”
Jasmine knew Tariq’s pride was justified. The artisans of Zulheil were considered magicians. “Wait a second.” She frowned in thought. “If the crystal is only found next to deposits of oil, why isn’t Zulheina an oil center?”
“Zulheina is odd in more than one sense. Contradictory as it seems, our engineers and geologists insist there is not an ounce of oil in the area,” he informed her. “So we think of the palace crystal as a gift from the Gods.”
“I can’t argue with that. It’s so beautiful.” She sighed in remembrance. “What’s the purpose of this trip?”
“We’re a scattered people. I make it a point to visit each tribe at least once a year.” He stretched out his long legs, taking up even more of her space. “I’m afraid I must read these reports now, Mina.” He gestured to some papers that he’d slipped into one of the pockets lining the limousine doors.
She nodded in acquiescence, thinking over everything he’d said. It was clear that while Tariq didn’t yet trust her with his love, he had no qualms about sharing the business of his sheikdom with her. For the first time in her life, she felt a part of something greater, not just an outside observer. With hope renewed in her heart, she plucked a small sketchbook out of her purse and began to design a dress of moonlight and silver.
Tariq looked up from his papers to find Mina’s hand flying in graceful strokes across the page. Her face was intense in concentration, her mouth set in a way that suggested something had caught her attention. He was fascinated.
When they’d first met, she’d been a student, but her studies hadn’t captured her interest. Today, she was fully absorbed in her thoughts. This was, he realized with a sense of wonder he couldn’t fight, the first time he’d truly come face-to-face with the woman his Mina had grown into.
“May I see?” he asked, wanting to learn about this new Jasmine, this woman who threatened to catch him in a net far stronger than the one that had ensnared him four years ago.
Startled blue eyes looked into his, but then a slow smile bloomed. “If you like.” At the shy welcome, he moved to sit beside her, his arm along the back of the seat.
He looked over her shoulder. “An evening gown.”
“I thought that I’d use material shot with silver.”
Her hair was soft against his fingertips as he leaned down to study the clean lines of the drawing. “You’re talented. This is lovely.”
Her cheeks flushed with color. “Really?”
There was hunger in the need she tried to hide. He recalled her defensiveness about her designing when he’d first questioned her—the reaction of someone whose dream had never received support. Distanced from the rapier-sharp pain of the past, he began to see a glimmer of the forces that had shaped this woman and her decisions. A kind of furious tenderness for her rose inside him. The urge to punish those who had hurt her while she’d been lost to him was so strong, he had to exercise conscious effort to control it.
“Yes, really. You might find some material to your liking in the shipment that comes from Razarah in the next month.” In fact, he’d make sure that bolts were delivered for her perusal. “Tell me about your designs.”
Eyes bright, she did. The journey passed in easy companionship that surprised him. Since he’d ascended to the throne, he’d never been free to simply “be” with anyone. Now Mina, with her laughter and her dreams, was tempting him to relax. To play. Did he trust her enough to unbend that much?
Five
“I’m scared,” Jasmine blurted out.
Tariq turned to face her. “Scared?”
She nodded. “They’re so big and…”
To her surprise, he walked over and pulled her into a gentle embrace. “Don’t worry, Mina, I’ll take care of you.”
“Promise?” Her voice was shaky. She hadn’t thought through the idea of what a trip on the back of a camel would entail. It had been something vague and slightly exotic.
“What is this?” Tariq moved back, his hands on her shoulders, eyes dark with concern. “You’re terrified.”
She nodded, miserable. “I can’t stand heights and their backs are so high.”
“There is no other way to reach the tribe or we’d take it.” He cupped her cheeks in his palms.
“It’s okay. I can handle it,” she lied.
“So brave, Mina.” He rubbed his thumb over her quivering lower lip. “The car is still here. You may return home.”
Jasmine’s head jerked up. He’d been so domineering in his demand that she accompany him that this concession was a real surprise. “You don’t want me to come anymore?”
“I would not have you suffer.”
She bit her lower lip. “How long will this trip take?”
Tariq dropped his hands to her waist. “It’ll take three days to reach Zeina. With the time I must spend there and the return trip, a week and a half is an optimistic guess.”
A week and a half! She couldn’t bear to be parted from him for that long. “I’ll come. Can I ride with you?”
He
