When he was only a few feet away, she finally found the shoes and grabbed them, pushing them onto her feet.
“'Ahlaan 'ayatuha aljamila” Jurid greeted her.
Tamara stood up and slid her hands down over her hips and stomach. “Hello,” she replied, her voice sounded breathy and nervous.
He didn’t stop at a polite distance. His eyes warned her, but she was too nervous seeing him again after last night to translate his silent message. So it was a shock when he walked right up to her and pulled her into his arms. His kiss was brief and light, but it still singed her lips and sent shock waves of awareness throughout her body.
“You look beautiful,” he told her, his voice a low murmur.
“Thank you,” she replied, again with that delightful, breathy-sounding voice. “You look pretty handsome yourself.” And it was true. His suit fit him perfectly, hiding all of his impressive muscles. The white dress shirt looked perfect against the tanned skin of his neck and she wanted to slide her hands up against his chest, exploring all of those fascinating ridges.
But she was at work and it wouldn’t do to have such obvious displays of affection. So she stepped back, out of his arms.
“Are you ready for lunch?” he asked, understanding what she was doing and he dropped his arms to his sides. The heat didn’t leave his eyes though and she shivered in anticipation.
“Yes,” she replied as calmly as possible. Tamara counted that as a victory because she hadn’t screamed the word, grabbed his hand and hauled him out of the office. “I’m starving.” Which was the truth, but not necessarily for food.
Did her eyes convey that feeling? She certainly hoped not.
“Good. My assistant reserved a table for us,” he said and took her hand. “How long do you have for lunch?”
“Um…,” she stopped and looked at the calendar on her computer.
Mike stepped in. “Why don’t you go make sure that the units are ready for tonight’s guests?” he suggested.
Tamara’s mouth fell open. They had a team of cleaning people that went through and got everything ready, plus Jenny, one of the staff members sitting three desks away, followed up and added small treats to each unit before a guest arrived, and also ensured that everything had been cleaned to the company’s high standards. So why was Mike suggesting that she…?
“Excellent,” Jurid announced, placing his hand over hers. “I would enjoy seeing some of the places you rent out.”
Tamara smiled, suddenly liking the idea and she also knew that Mike was basically telling her to take the rest of the day off. They never did that, even working weekends pretty often when they were renovating a place or something happened and a problem was called in.
“I’ll do that,” she smiled at Mike. “Jurid, this is my friend and business partner, Micah DeSrat, but he prefers to be called Mike. We’ve been friends since university.” She turned to Mike. “This is Sheik Jurid bin Casees of Tular.” She turned back to Jurid. “Mike is actually from Tular. He moved here to attend the University of London’s School of Business.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness,” Mike replied with a deep bow.
When Mike straightened, Tamara couldn’t resist lifting a sarcastic eyebrow at his deference.
Jurid ignored, or didn’t see, her expression, focusing on Mike. “It’s is a pleasure to meet you, Micah. Why did you establish your business here instead of coming home to Tular?”
Mike’s eyes shifted to Tamara who nodded slightly, silently telling him to speak the truth. When Mike’s eyes moved back up to Jurid’s, Tamara placed a hand on his arm.
“I’m gay, Your Highness. And being gay in Tular is life threatening.”
Jurid’s body stiffened with anger. “We have laws to protect you,” he countered.
Mike nodded slightly. “Yes, Your Highness. There are laws. But I stand by my statement. Being gay in Tular is not good for one’s health.”
Jurid was silent for a moment, then nodded sharply. “Thank you for your honesty,” he said. Then turned to Tamara. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she replied, leaning a bit closer to him now.
They headed towards the door but Jurid turned as if to say something to her and froze, looking over her shoulder.
“What?” she asked, startled by his expression. But when she glanced over her shoulder at the wall where he was looking, she understood.
Lana’s painting!
Darn it, she should have remembered that the painting was there! Lana was a brilliant artist who used objects set in particular ways on her canvas to express emotions or to tell a story. During their last year of university, Lana had done a large picture for Tamara and Willow and the objects were…revealing!
Willow’s painting demonstrated their friend’s anger over her father’s rejection. Willow had been tossed out of the house by one of her stepmothers and shuffled off to boarding school.
Tamara’s painting revealed her confusion, anger, and resentment over her engagement to Jurid, a man she hadn’t known before a few weeks ago. Jurid’s image and the colors of Tular were clear, although the objects surrounding Jurid’s face weren’t as obvious.
For a long moment, Jurid stared at the painting. Then he looked down at Tamara, his eyes softening. “Let’s go,” was all he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the office.
Tamara felt the other staff members watching, eager for her to leave so they could bombard Mike with questions. But she didn't have time to worry about the inevitable invasion of her privacy. Jurid was leading her out of the office and a guard was waiting with the back door to a limousine open.
When Jurid stepped into the limousine behind her, Tamara shifted over to make room for him. As soon as he sat down, he pulled her into his arms. “You look stunning today,” he said before he kissed her.
Tamara didn’t hesitate this time, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his kiss with interest. This was what she’d needed all day. His touch and his kisses made her mind swirl with desire, pushing all of her questions and confusions away. At least for the moment.
When he finally lifted his head, staring down at her as they worked to get their breathing under control, she stared up at him with a secret smile.
“Do you always dress like this for work?” he asked, his fingers sliding underneath the hem of her dress.
Slowly, she shook her head. “No,” she whispered, her fingers playing with the strands of his hair at the nape of his neck. “I wanted to impress you today.”
He laughed softly as his eyes moved down her figure. “I am impressed,” he told her roughly. “And we’re changing our plans.”
“We are?” she asked, emphasizing the “we”. Because she hadn’t made any plans, which meant that she couldn’t change their plans. That meant that “we” wasn’t the issue, but “he” was the issue.
His hand inched higher along her thigh, his fingers teasing the lace of her panties. “We could head over to the restaurant,” he began, watching her eyes as her lips opened slightly with his teasing, tempting caresses.
Tamara bit her lip, closing her eyes when his fingers slid higher along her thigh. “Do you have another option?” she asked, and blushed when she realized that she had basically told him that she wanted to have sex.