Chapter Eleven
“Hey, little girl!”
Laine smiled at her father’s face on her laptop. Well…it was the top of his head. He never could work the webcam on his own.
“Hey, Dad. Could you move the camera down just a little? More, more…okay, that’s good.”
“You can see me?” Greg chuckled. “How’s Bahrain? Hot enough for ya?”
Laine laughed softly. Because what else would her father say? “It’s been interesting so far. I’ve spent most of my time in the palace, though.”
“Palace? I thought you were doing some guy’s house.”
“It’s a huge house.”
Laine spent a few minutes detailing what they’d been doing so far with the renovations, and her father nodded along, even though some of the details were a bit beyond him.
“Well, I’m glad you’re having such a good time, even though it’s mostly work. I don’t think I’ve seen you lit up like this since…honestly, I don’t know when, honey.”
Laine sat back and took a deep breath. He wasn’t wrong. But the situation confused her. She’d thought that she loved her job. She’d thought that everything she had in New York, even the parts that were hard, would be the stepping stones to her happiness, and they would help her support her family along the way.
The longer she spent here, though, the less she wanted to think about returning to her cramped apartment and her tense office. It was a battle every day there. A battle she was good at, but ultimately, there was never any progress in the war. It was the same fight, over and over.
The hiccups in her plans here—the wrong materials, learning to argue in a different way to get what was needed—they weren’t the same type of fight. This struggle energized her, rather than drained her. It might be because every challenge in her work here was for the betterment of her project. Most of her fights at home were to simply gain enough respect to do her damn job properly.
After getting off the phone with her father, Laine took a tour of the rooms that were under construction. She made lists of everything that was yet to be done. For the past several days, she had been focusing all of her energy into the renovations, not going out, and resembling her stubborn, New York–self a bit.
It beat trying to think about the awkwardness at the end to their trip to the Tree of Life. Regardless, Aziz seemed rejuvenated by the trip, and he’d spoken of it fondly at dinner the next day. Laine decided to try to be happy for him. She knew what it was like to want to find meaning in the world, having had a brush with death herself.
Laine found Aziz in his study, peering at his computer with a frown on his face. She took a moment to just watch him as he worked. His brows knit together in a line, and he rubbed his finger over his lip slowly. Then he straightened slightly and started to type.
She waited a few minutes to disturb him. She found, embarrassingly, that sometimes she was content just to watch him, whatever he was doing. Licking his lips, working, sleeping. It was less than dignified, but just the sight of him sent her heart into her throat at times.
Eventually, she broke her gaze and sneaked up behind him. It wasn’t hard to do, as his office was so spacious. He had a couch and a coffee table in there.
“Ah!” Aziz gasped as she circled her arms around his shoulders. “You!”
“Now who’s working too much?”
Aziz let his head fall back and smiled. “Someone has to pay for these expensive renovations!”
Laine chuckled and kissed his upside down lips. “Wanna see the latest addition?”
Aziz raised a brow and swiveled around in his chair. “You have something special for me?”
“Something I think you’ll really like,” she teased.
Aziz followed her down the hallway to the west wing. There were several large rooms in this area, and while they hadn’t gotten around to all of them yet, Aziz had expressed a preference for work to focus on one room that would be in use for social functions. It had large transom windows facing west, and currently only a few pieces of covered furniture. The crew had painted that morning, and Laine was extremely pleased with the result.
“We did a light blue on the side walls.” Laine pointed to either side. “The floor has been refinished, much needed…”
Aziz nodded, looking at everything she pointed to.
“And on the back wall, catching the light as the sun sets…” Laine turned.
“Oh my!” Aziz leaned over with a short bark of laughter. “You painted the Tree of Life!”
Laine sputtered. “I didn’t paint it. I would need three years of painting classes to even get close to this. No, I had someone paint it.”
“This is gorgeous. This is…I didn’t know how much I needed a room like this. We’re having a gala here in a month, and this will be absolutely perfect!” Aziz pulled her close and kissed her cheek.
“I thought you would like to be able to reflect on it whenever you liked. Especially without your entourage of bodyguards following you. Plus, I think the artist did a lovely job of capturing the tree and the way the colors of the sky spread out.”
“Someday you must paint me something,” Aziz murmured into her ear.
“Again, years of classes…”
“I could arrange that.” Aziz reached around her and caressed her breasts.
With a soft laugh, Laine guided his hand down her belly and into her slacks. He grinned, rubbing his hand over her mound in a circular motion as he met her lips with a firm kiss. She began to pant with excitement, feeling lit up by his seemingly tireless desire to touch her.
Over the past few days, it had seemed like the only room in which Aziz might not be interested in pursuing her was her own, and perhaps only due to his promise never to go in there without her permission. Now, she felt him growing hard against her already and the needy throbbing between her own legs. She’d thought her body might have a limit for these kind of indulgences, but Aziz had a way of coaxing moans out of her that she hadn’t known were there.
She half-turned to meet his kiss, keeping one hand over his between her legs and quivering as his long, deft fingers stroked up and down the sides of her sensitive lips. She gasped as her muscles gave a little preemptive jerk in anticipation.
“Aziz…” she breathed hopefully.
Aziz pressed his forehead to hers and then guided her to lean on one of the extravagantly large sofas, still covered by a dropcloth. Eager and desperate for more, Laine held onto the back of the sofa, spreading her legs willingly. Aziz’s hands moved over her plump buttocks, as though feeling them for the first time. Laine gave an impatient whimper as he slowed his pace to massage them with deep, circular strokes of his thumbs.
After his pants dropped, Aziz moved his hands back around to her front to unbuckle her belt and guide her slacks down.
“I’m ready, I’m so ready,” Laine babbled.
Aziz hummed against the back of her neck as he unbuttoned her blouse and then freed her of it. He moved his hands up her back in a long, slow motion, causing her to arch her back enticingly.
“You are, aren’t you?” Aziz rubbed against her. “You fit me so well.”
Grabbing her hip, he pushed his thick erection inside her. She cried out softly and then begged for more of him. Aziz bowed over her, kissing her back as he buried his length inside her. His thrusts were long and leisurely, filling her deliciously with every teasing stroke.
Keening for Aziz to take her harder, Laine pushed back against Aziz and gripped the drape. He reached around her, taking her womanhood in hand once more and fondling her in time with his thrusts.
She came, sweating and gasping, to the clever ministrations of his fingers. She shuddered and tensed, and then went limp for a moment when he pulled out and spilled himself over the drape on the floor.
Laine laughed and leaned back against Aziz. He kissed her cheek and found a clean spot on the floor for them to lie back sated.
“My beautiful tiger,” Aziz teased. “So frisky.”
“More and more every day.” She sighed into his chest.
Aziz combed her hair back with his fingers, then frowned a little and tilted his head. Laine looked up curiously and then covered her forehead and the scar there with her hand. Truthfully, she’d entirely forgotten about it for most of her time here. Why did he have to get interested in it again now?
“Stop,” she whispered.
“Tell me what happened,” Aziz said gently. “I do not mind it, of course. I just wonder.”
Laine looked away.
“How could it hurt to share this secret now?” Aziz kissed over her forehead. “After all we have shared? Is it even a risk, at this point?”
Laine frowned thoughtfully, trying to decide what she should say to him, but then her eyes began to sting. This was still too hard. She should have told him that night in the rose garden or at the tree; it would have come so much more naturally.
“You talk an amazing game, but you know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you take a risk,” Laine teased, twirling her fingers over his chest hair.
“You have to be kidding! You’re the one who plays it safe, cowing to your boss, staying in every night when you could be exploring what they call the City that Never Sleeps.”
“I came across an ocean and two continents to decorate your home! I put my job on the line!” Laine pushed her hair back. “Do you know how many apartments get robbed while people are out of town for a month?”
Aziz shrugged. “Okay. I suppose you can take a risk or two. But I’m the one who got you here.”
“Was it really that much of a risk for you? You’d already met me when you made your offer and done all this research on me and my work.” Laine propped herself up on her elbows. “Really, what did you have to lose? That I might say no, and you’d have to what? Get another decorator? Pay more to get me to come?”
“I suppose…”
“And when I think of it,” she said, “you had a bodyguard at our big fountain moment. You have all of this money and power. I don’t think you could possibly get in real trouble if you tried.”
Aziz grumbled and sat up, resting his forearms on his knees.
“I’m done with people telling me that I’m not living my life right. It’s your turn to take a risk.” Laine smiled.
“My turn? So this is a game? We are playing?”
“I don’t care what it is. Invest in an American manufacturer. Give Amin a pop the next time he mouths off. Date a woman you love for once. Get a cat.”
Aziz side-eyed her, rose, and crossed his arms as he stared at the Tree of Life. Laine looked up at him, admiring the view from her position on the floor, despite their argument. Then he plucked up his clothes and tossed her blouse at her dismissively before heading for the door.
“The room looks good. Keep up the good work.”