Altair (Desert Sheikh Romance, #5), page 5
Before he had even finished speaking, the princess was already doing as he asked—-
"I will never let such a thing happen again."
And the way she had uttered each word with such seriousness—-
Aira. Fuck.
He just couldn't fucking figure her out, dammit.
She was a princess whose beauty literally turned heads wherever she went, and yet every time she looked at him—-
Every time she talked to him—-
This was wrong, Altair thought broodingly. If there was even the slightest chance that the princess was innocent, then he had to put an end to his deception. Safiya was young and beautiful beyond words while he was old, flawed, and cynical. It was only understandable that he found himself attracted to her, but for the princess to feel the same way about him?
Safiya felt herself growing cold at the way the sheikh was suddenly looking at her.
I don't understand, Mama.
Why was the sheikh looking at her as if he wished to end their betrothal? Was this her punishment for becoming greedy?
I'm sorry, God.
She would never be greedy again.
So please, Mama.
She heard the sheikh inhale sharply, and Safiya felt herself grow colder.
"I'm sorry, hamira."
No, please, God, no. I promise I won't be greedy again, just please—-
"It was wrong of me to feel jealous—-"
Safiya desperately shook her head. "La, alshaykh. It was my mistake—-"
"Your only mistake," Altair said quietly, "is to believe yourself attracted to me."
Safiya, already prepared to list all the reasons there was for the sheikh to give her another chance, found herself stunned speechless instead.
"I do not deserve a girl like you, hamira."
Safiya stared at him in confusion. "Why would you say a thing like that?"
"Because it's true."
"But it's not."
Altair nearly fell for the same trap of he-said-and-she-said but managed to hold himself back in time.
"I am the one who doesn't deserve you—-"
"Many would beg to differ."
"Other people's opinions matter not to me," Safiya said simply. "It is only you who matters."
Altair's lips tightened at how easy it seemed for the princess to say such words. So fucking easy that, even though he was more than halfway convinced of her innocence—-
One couldn't help but wonder and doubt—-
"Do you truly mean that, hamira?"
Safiya was not at all hurt by the sheikh's question. She would rather he ask her straight like this, always, and so she simply shook her head and said, "I would never lie to you, alshaykh."
"Why?"
"Because you're my hero."
Altair's body turned rigid.
Hero.
He had been using her from day one, and she thought him her fucking hero, and God...
"What the hell am I going to do with you?"
He hadn't really been expecting an answer, but then he saw her bite her lip, and he knew he would get one anyway.
"Perhaps..." Safiya found herself hiding her hands behind her back so the sheikh wouldn't see her wringing them. "Perhaps you could start by calling me by my name?"
Altair's jaw clenched. She had noticed then. He had thought she wouldn't, but maybe...he should've expected her to notice. As naïve as the princess often appeared, in the times it mattered most...it was times like this that she made him remember he still had a heart that could break.
So be it then...
"Cards on the table," he said softly. "Deal?"
Safiya nodded.
"You know of the charges your father is facing?
"Nem."
"Do you believe him capable of treason?"
"I believe he will do everything he can to make me queen."
"Fair enough," Altair conceded. "And you? You truly do not wish to be queen?
"Only if you wish to be king."
"I don't."
"Then I don't."
"I matter that much to you?"
"Nem."
"Because I'm your hero."
"Nem."
"Why?"
"Because you always do the right thing," Safiya said simply.
"I am not a fucking saint—-"
"I know, alshaykh. You are no saint."
Altair stiffened.
"Because saints die..."
Her voice trailed off, but he heard the rest of her words all the same.
Saints died, and the princess did not want him to die.
The princess, who was a traitor's daughter, wanted him—-
A man she thought was her hero, but also...
A man who had been lying to her and was still lying to her—-
She did not want him to die, and it was just one of the thousand things about her that did not make sense.
Nothing about her ever made sense, but for now—-
"May I kiss you, Safiya?"
He saw her eyes start to shine at hearing him say her name, and when she finally spoke, it was that voice again.
"Yes, please."
It was the kind of voice that loved without saying the words.
Chapter Seven
Dear Mama,
The sheikh gave me his first gift. Nothing new and fancy, but there is nothing that I would ever treasure more in this world. It is his mother's necklace, given to her by the great Hadwin, the sheikh's father and one of our kingdom's greatest heroes. I thanked him with a kiss, of course, and when he asked me if there was anything else I wanted...I just could not tell him, Mama. All I want, you see, is for him to let me stay with him, and if I tell him that...
I'm afraid of what he'll say in return.
SAFIYA NEVER THOUGHT about sex. It was not that she found sex frightening or sickening, but because of what she had witnessed in her childhood, she had never found herself desiring it either.
Until now.
She had expected the sheikh to draw her close by taking her hand, but instead she felt his fingers curve around the sides of her waist. Her breath caught, and fire caressed every inch of her skin as his fingers tightened.
The sheikh slowly drew her close, and her heart began to pound.
Faster.
Harder.
And as the space between them disappeared, and her dark eyes lifted to his, it was also then that the sheikh's head slowly descended, and their lips finally met.
Safiya.
To be able to even think of her name felt an indulgence, and Altair found himself indulging in it over and over as he had his first taste of her mouth.
Safiya. Safiya. Safiya.
He fought to keep the movement of his lips slow and soft. Gentle. He didn't want to frighten her, but controlling himself was proving a lot harder than he imagined. She tasted too fucking lovely. Sweet. And innocent. But most perturbing of all, she tasted his.
The way her lips trembled. The way she whimpered, and the way her arms circled around his neck as he deepened his kiss—-
All of it whispered to his heart that she was his.
His.
The princess was his. Safiya...was his, and as the knowledge sank in, Altair's hunger for her exploded—-
Safiya could only jerk in surprise when the kiss abruptly deepened...just as the sheikh hauled her close, and as her entire body fell against his—-
Hard.
Every inch of him was so, so wonderfully hard, and best of all, his hardness against her softness—-
It felt good.
So, so unbelievably good that Safiya couldn't help but dig her nails into his back and moan against his lips—-
But it wasn't enough.
She had thought it would be, but it wasn't. She wanted more, and somehow, even though her mind didn't know what 'more' meant exactly, her body seemed to do so, and—-
Oooooooh.
Safiya slowly began rubbing her body against the sheikh's.
What. The. Fuck.
Altair's first instinct was to pull away. It was one thing for them to kiss, but this?
This would only further complicate things, but fuck, fuck, fuck—-
It had been too long, dammit, and he couldn't even remember the last time he wanted a woman this much.
Just too fucking goddamn long—-
And when he felt her nipples start to pout against his chest—-
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
But it was too late now.
He wanted her, she wanted him, and most importantly of all, she was his, so complications be damned—-
Safiya whimpered when the sheikh suddenly lifted her up in his arms, and she could only grip his shoulders more tightly as she felt him lower her to the couch.
The sheikh guided her down until she was flat against her back, and he was seated on the edge, his hard thigh pressed against her arm. Their gazes clashed, and her breath caught. Oh, the way he was looking at her now—-
Altair bit back a growl as he watched the princess' breasts swell against the tight confines of her school blouse.
Outside this room, the afternoon sun was still harshly bright, and the desert heat oppressive. Students were still in class, and university personnel were still roaming the hallways. That now was not the optimal moment to touch her was a gross understatement, but even so.
He wanted her, dammit.
Wanted her so fucking bad that he just couldn't help himself, and so with his gaze still holding hers captive, Altair let his fingers slowly drift down—-
"Altair..."
The melodic softness of her voice wrapped around his name like a lover's caress, and lust burned even hotter inside of him.
"Ah!"
Her gasp was full of wonder as his hand finally found her breast, and Altair could feel his cock swelling in size as he watched her gaze turn hazy with desire.
"Afraid?" the sheikh asked in a rough whisper.
"Never," Safiya whispered back, and she nearly whimpered when she saw his gaze glitter with approval. Not even in her wildest dreams had she allowed herself to imagine this—-
The sheikh staring at her with blatant lust as his fingers made short work of her button, and when she felt him give her bra a hard yank for her breasts to spill out—-
Aaaaaah.
Safiya's body buckled as the dizzying heat of his touch penetrated her skin, and an acute sense of trembling awareness threatened to consume her when the sheikh started palming and kneading her breasts.
His hands, she thought dazedly, were so much larger than hers. Harder. Stronger. Beautiful like the rest of him, and when she found herself telling him exactly that—-
Altair nearly choked.
Beautiful?
Was she blind?
Did she not see the long, jagged scar that marred half of his face? She was either a liar or an idiot, but when he fucking looked into her eyes—-
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
All he could see was an innocent and almost eager desire to please him, and at the sight of it, Altair's lust knew no bounds.
"Aaaah!" A gasp spilled past her lips, and Safiya's body nearly flew off the couch.
The sheikh...her nipple...his mouth...
He began suckling right away, and all she could do was writhe and whimper. The sensations that rocked her body were impossible to describe, and when his other hand joined in the delicious fray, his fingers pinching and tweaking her other nipple—-
A moan tore out of her throat, and she found herself clutching his head tightly to her chest—-
Beloved. Beloved. Beloved.
The word echoed endlessly in her mind, and when she felt him switch to her other breast, she had to bite hard on her lip to keep herself from sobbing the word out loud.
Beloved. Beloved. Beloved.
Her belly started to tighten, a ball of pressure building, and as the sheikh's teeth scraped against one distended nipple, something inside of her burst, and Safiya's lips parted in a silent cry as she climaxed for the first time in her life.
Her eyes squeezed shut as her body shuddered down a sensual journey that made her feel like she was soaring and falling at the same time. She had no words, absolutely no words to describe the beauty of it. All she knew was that it was beautiful...because of him.
Beloved.
Chapter Eight
Dear Mama,
The most exciting thing has happened!
I...
Made...
The sheikh laugh.
And it was the loveliest sound, too!
"PEOPLE ARE LOOKING at us, alshaykh."
"Altair," the sheikh reminded his betrothed.
"Maehdina." I'm sorry. "I forgot." And then she glanced up at him inquiringly, saying yet again, "People are looking at us, Altair."
Aurora and Ella, having heard the entire conversation, couldn't help but snicker at their friend's utterly serious tone, and they snickered even more when the words had Altair Al-Atassi pinching the other princess' cheeks before wrapping his strong arms around her in a fiercely possessive embrace.
Been there, done that, Ella thought humorously. As the saying went, 'it took one to know one', and from her very first meeting of Sheikh Altair, Ella had known right away that she and Safiya's betrothed were peas of the same cynical and distrustful pod. For people like them, people as pure as Safiya was akin to a miracle, and when they also happened to be as adorably serious as her new friend—-
Ella discreetly studied the couple that currently had most of the other students in the university's dining hall gaping in a mixture of shock, awe, and not a small amount of envy. That the sheikh was back in Mushriq for two days in a row now was pretty shocking in itself, but for the Ramilian military commander to also have his betrothed sit on his lap while feeding her...
It almost had Ella wanting to pinch herself, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming...for her friend's sake. In the six months that her friend hadn't heard a peep from the sheikh, not once had the girl uttered a single word of criticism or complaint about the situation. But even so, she and Aurora had felt furious on Safiya's behalf, and it was only at their respective husbands' insistence that they kept themselves from meddling.
Well-meaning concern can be misinterpreted as an international conflict, Khal had warned her bluntly, if your friend happens to be a princess from another kingdom.
Be that as it may, however...
Ella's gaze narrowed at the couple. While she was truly happy that Safiya and Altair's betrothal appeared to be a love match as well, that didn't mean she was letting her guard completely down. Even though she had only been a princess for a few years, it was also long enough for Ella to cherish the few real friends she had. And Safiya being one of those rare few—-
Altair was not unaware of the way the princess' friends were carefully observing him behind their smiles and polite chatter. While Aurora, the Crown Princess of Layla, appeared more inclined to give him a chance, the American girl who had married the Crown Prince of Kivr hadn't even bothered to hide the suspicion in her gaze.
They were clearly protective towards Safiya, and while others might find their attitude insulting—-
For Altair, their attitude towards the princess only made him more grimly aware of how much his own attitude towards his betrothed had changed.
Just one damn taste of her had him completely unraveling; she had become his addiction in an instant, and it was one he had no plans of curing himself from. One damn taste, and Altair's hunger for her knew no bounds. He wanted her so fucking much that he found himself entirely incapable of imagining an end to his desire. He would never have his fill of her. Never. And when he looked down into her big, dark eyes—-
Like now...
He knew.
He fucking saw the truth in her eyes.
Heard it in the way her breath would catch.
Felt it in the way her fingers suddenly tightened and clutched his robe.
It was the same for her.
She wanted him as much as he wanted her.
And when he saw her lips part in unconscious yearning—-
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Ella and Aurora were startled when the sheikh suddenly spoke.
"Excuse us for a moment. Her Highness and I have a private matter to discuss."
Since the sheikh sounded rather abrupt, Aurora was about to ask if there was anything they could do to help when she saw the sheikh gently lift Safiya off his lap before rising to his feet—-
Safiya was bemused when she saw the way her friends suddenly turned red and simultaneously averted their gazes from her and the sheikh.
Altair, having seen the same thing, bit back a groan when his betrothed glanced up at him with a mixture of curiosity and trust. The way Safiya was looking up at him now, it was as if she believed he would always be able to answer any and all of her questions. Her faith in him was absolute, and damn if it didn't amuse and arouse him at the same time.
Bending his head, he felt Safiya's body jerk in awareness as he whispered straight to her ear.
"I want a taste of you again, hamira, and your friends know it."
Safiya's eyes went wide.
A moment later, her gaze flew down.
Oh.
Another moment, and her gaze flew to her friends.
"I'm sorry," she told them with grave sincerity. "Please do not be offended by the sheikh's reaction. It isn't his fault that he is wonderfully endowed—-mmph!"
Dark color stained the sheikh's high-boned cheeks as he swiftly clamped his hand over Safiya's mouth.
The princess' friends, in the meantime, were no longer embarrassed, and Altair could feel his flush deepening as the two girls burst into peals of laughter.
Ella was privately relieved to see the sheikh looking discomfited at hearing his fiancée compliment his, er, physical endowment. As much as Ella hated to admit this, Khal was so used to being showered with praises that he wouldn't have any problems taking such words in stride.
Sheikh Altair, however...
The man clearly did not believe himself attractive, and it probably had much to do with the scar that marred the left side of the sheikh's face. Ella herself had a hard time not staring at it the first time she had met the sheikh, but only because it was rather prominent at certain angles.
