Well. This was what she’d asked for. Lise let him take off the boxers and kick off his socks, which he managed to do in a surprisingly sexy way for a man wriggling out of his clothes. And then he was naked in front of her, holding his hands out, beckoning her close.
She went to him, throwing all her weight against him and pushing him back onto the bed. Raed laughed as he fell, making it clear that he was letting her do this, and she knew from the solid strength of him that it would only ever be playful between them—playful and hot and wonderful. She climbed up over him.
“We have a problem,” Raed murmured.
“What problem?” Lise kissed his collarbone, straddling him, wanting to press the length of her body against him but trying to hold off, trying to wait as long as she could.
“You’re not naked.” Raed reached down and tugged her dress over her head, then went to work on her bra while she kissed across his collarbone. The bra fell away, and then he was working her panties down over her hips in a tangle of limbs that ended with her sprawled over him, working to get back into position. Their lips met in a heated crash, and Raed’s hands moved down over her hips, holding them tight, and she rocked against him until he stopped her.
Oh, it had been such a long day, so many hours of standing so close to him and breathing him in and feeling his fingertips on her and wanting more. Was this going to be what her entire life was? Lise hoped so. Raed dipped a hand between her legs, stroking what he found there and making a noise of approval.
“Now that you’ve pushed me down on the bed, do you think I should tease you as payback?”
“Please don’t,” she groaned, but if this was teasing, she liked it. He played over her sensitive folds and found her opening, sliding two fingers inside and curling them in an expert twist that made her moan again. Raed caught the moan in his mouth and pulled her down onto his fingers. Even on his back on the bed, he was still the one in control. Lise clenched around the fingers, rolling her hips, and Raed pulled his hand away.
“No,” she whimpered, not entirely in control of herself, much less of him.
“Hush,” he told her. “Or don’t.” And then he was lining himself up at her entrance and moving her down, down, down until he filled her completely. Inch by inch until he could go no deeper. Lise tensed again, and this time it was Raed who let out a hiss of pleasure. “Do that again.”
She did.
They moved together, her on top and him holding her in place, pleasure building in that space below her belly. It wound tighter and tighter and tighter, the pleasure pushing out all her other thoughts until Lise was left with nothing but Raed—Raed’s eyes watching her fevered face, Raed’s hands stroking over her skin, his hard length inside of her, taking and taking and taking. She shuddered to a hot climax, and he watched her through that, too, never taking his eyes off her.
“What—what are you looking at?” The breathless words escaped her on a gasp.
“You,” he said through gritted teeth, still working in and out of her in a steady, demanding rhythm. “I never want to stop looking at you for as long as I live. I’m going to look at you—look at you—”
Lise pushed up against his chest, bearing her weight on him and clenching herself tight, sending herself into an aftershock of an orgasm and pulling Raed over with her. He was bare, and her heart thundered to life—this was how they’d gotten Jake, and she wanted more of that. Wanted Raed’s hands on her rounded belly and his gaze in the mirror and his body wrapped around hers at night.
They came down from the peak, and Raed moved them, pulling them both up onto the pillows and stroking her hair back from her face, breathing hard. She could see in his eyes that it made him hot, what they’d done, and he pressed his mouth to hers. Then his hand slipped down and down until it came to rest against the soft flat of her belly.
He said nothing. He didn’t need to say anything. She had his ring on her finger now, and she was home, where she belonged. “This is how it starts,” she said.
Raed kissed her again, and she felt that new beginning in his touch. “Yes,” he said against her lips. “I can’t wait.”
Epilogue
A seven-year-old Jake tore through the town square, which was buzzing with people and celebration for the fifth anniversary of Raed’s foundation and its local success.
“Mama!” Jake called. “I found my friends from school. They’re over—”
Lise caught her son’s hands and spun him around. “You’re going to give security a heart attack if you keep disappearing into crowds,” she scolded him, her tone light. “You can’t make them chase you like that.”
He stuck out his tongue, grinning. “They can keep up with me.”
“Don’t make them work so hard.” Jake’s security detail arrived a minute later, jogging to the edge of the family group. Raed slid an arm around Lise’s waist and grinned down at Jake. She had no doubt her husband had encouraged him to give his security detail a run for their money, and she’d have a private conversation with him about that later—if they could keep their hands off each other.
It was still hard, five years on.
“Did you find the runaway?” Hamid stepped forward with Tali, their own children in and out of the group of palace advisors and close family friends. “Ah, there he is. I assume you’re keeping my men in shape.”
“I am.” Jake lifted his chin. “When is the parade starting?”
“Right now,” Lise told him, and they made their way to the raised platform set aside for the royal family. Skandar, Raed’s cousin, and his wife Gina met them on the platform, exchanging hugs and big grins. “We have a lot to talk about,” Lise whispered to Gina. She tickled her friend’s baby under the chin while their older child joined the fray. They’d all become close over the past few years. Raed stepped over to talk to his brother, and Hamid laughed.
“Do we? Will it have to wait until after the celebration?” Gina’s eyes twinkled. Raed’s work had expanded to Skandar’s country with Gina’s help, and her work had come to Qasha, and now all of them were interconnected.
“Maybe not quite that long,” Lise hedged. They sat down to watch the parade. She fanned herself in the heat, somehow managing to enjoy the speeches before the actual parade. There was a speech about the new scheme for granting oil contracts, which was met with big cheers from the crowd. And the first float to lead the parade was one from Lafayette College, which had started an annex in Qasharouz.
Down below the platform, Lise could see the board from London HQ enjoying themselves, drinks in hand. She’d have to go join them later, but for now the shade of the platform felt almost sinfully good. They’d want to chat with her about plans for the upcoming semester.
She was more than an instructor now. After five years, she was a full partner, and in addition to overseeing the language school, she taught a selection of Lafayette’s most prestigious courses in the new building they’d come together to build. Her staff of lecturers and admin were the best in the city, and she was the best director they’d ever had. Not that she’d admit to that out loud. But every day, she tried to be better.