Kylie sighed as she walked into the yellow salon with a book. She was hiding. She knew it and a part of her was ashamed, but she couldn’t help it. She was afraid.
She loved Tarek so completely and every once in a while, she had glimpses that he might actually care for her, but then he would walk away from her and she’d be lost. She was getting angry about that too! So angry that she was now trying to hide from him, not wanting to make love with him when he wouldn’t open up and tell her what he was feeling.
Of course, she wouldn’t tell him either, she thought as she curled up on one of the comfortable chairs.
She was afraid of him.
That realization startled her and she snapped the book shut, staring out the windows but not really seeing the sunshine.
Why would she be afraid of him? She fought with him all the time, wasn’t afraid of arguing with him or disagreeing about any subject. She’d even changed his mind about certain policies in the past few days because of her arguments.
So why was she afraid?
Because she didn’t want to get hurt. She’d been so in love with him when she was younger, but that hadn’t been real love. That had been infatuation. This was real love, she thought as her head fell back against the back of the sofa. This was the kind of love that she would never get over. And he could hurt her so much because of that love.
Yes, she was vulnerable. And confused and resentful. She might love the guy, but he certainly just went ahead with his plans. The wedding was a perfect example. She kept saying she didn’t want to marry him but the wedding planner kept coming to her with options. She wanted to go out into the towns and country areas, to see the people and learn more about their lives, but Tarek forbade her to leave the palace after the last incident.
He was so frustrating!
But she loved him.
And no matter how hard she tried to hide from him, he found her.
He came to wherever she was and kissed her. From that point on, she was his. She couldn’t seem to deny him when he touched her and it drove her crazy in the morning that she had so little discipline that he could do that to her. And she wasn’t just a passive participant either. Nope. She was eager, desperate almost, for anything he would teach her about the shocking world of sexuality.
Focusing back on the book, she pushed all thoughts of the past few nights out of her mind. She suspected that her reading might be more productive if she weren’t interrupted every couple of hours with Tarek’s staff asking her for more information about her past, quotes for a reporter, her opinion on the wedding preparations. They were relentless. Ever since Tarek released the news of their engagement to the press, they had been salivating over the news, so excited that everything wedding was taking priority over even news of wars or famines in other parts of the world. It was crazy! How could one man’s nuptials cause such a stir?
“How long are you going to pretend that I’m not here?” Tarek asked from the doorway.
Kylie swung around, her hungry eyes taking in his tall, muscular body. He wasn’t wearing a suit tonight, which was strange. The white shirt and black slacks made him look more dangerous, more pirate-like.
“I didn’t know you were there,” she said and turned back to her book. She turned a few more pages, but she wasn’t really focused on anything other than the man slowly approaching her.
“What are you reading?” he asked, leaning over the back of her chair. His breath was very warm on her neck and she gritted her teeth, trying not to show him how affected she was by that action.
“A romance,” she told him, turning her head so his warm breath wasn’t tickling the back of her neck. But that movement made it worse because his lips were too close to her ear. She remembered him biting her ear a few nights ago and her heart rate picked up speed.
“Feeling a bit lacking in the romance department lately?” he asked, standing up.
She was relieved for the space, but only for a moment because he took her hands and lifted her out of her chair.
“No,” she retorted, trying to move back but he just pulled her against his hard chest, locking his arms behind her back. She wasn’t sure what to do with her hands so they sort of fluttered before finally settling on his chest. She wouldn’t move her fingers though. No matter how badly she wanted to explore that muscular chest one more time, she wouldn’t do it!