He wrapped his arms around her as they worked to bring their breathing back under control. It occurred to him that he enjoyed holding her like this almost as much as he enjoyed the thrill of sexual encounters with her. And that was such a strange thought, he had to contemplate it later, mull it over and figure out what it actually meant.
Then he realized that they’d stopped their conversation in the middle, not finalizing anything. He especially wanted to know about her feelings regarding children.
While his fingers moved up and down her spine, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out where he’d lost control.
He smiled when he felt her lips brush against his chest. It was such a small gesture, almost as if she didn’t want him to know she was kissing him. But with Tamara, he felt every one of her touches.
“You were telling me something about my private vs public persona?” he prompted, thinking it was different that he enjoyed conversing with her. He had never gone out of his way to talk to his previous lovers. She was different. Everything about Tamara was different, he realized.
She twisted her head slightly, her dark eyes looking up at him from her perch on his chest. “I was saying how, with a man like you, your personal versus public persona could be dangerous to someone like me.”
His eyes turned curious. “How so?”
She sighed and sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover her nakedness. “Well, my father is…”
“Why are you doing that?” he asked, his hand tugging at the sheet that was hiding her now.
Tamara looked down, startled by his question. “Well…I just…” she blinked as she looked at him. “I guess I just feel a bit too vulnerable.”
He shifted so that he was sitting up straighter, pillows propped behind his back. Then he reached out and lifted her up onto his lap, pulling the sheet away. “Don’t do that, Tamara. Don’t hide yourself from me. When we’re naked, I suspect that you’re more honest with me because of your vulnerable mindset.”
She still covered her arms over her breasts, wishing that she had that sheet. “Jurid, this is…”
“You were going to tell me what your father does that you don’t want me to do,” he interrupted.
She stopped, sighing because she suspected that he wasn’t going to relent on this issue. Naked or not, she would be honest with him. “Fine. Naked it is,” she sighed, but shifted against his warmth, pressing her breasts against his chest. He was all muscle, so he was a bit warmer than was comfortable. But she figured if she was going to feel awkward, then so was he.
Unfortunately, he didn’t seem as disturbed by the skin on skin conversation as she did. In fact, his heavy hands settled low on her hips, dipping even lower as she looked at him with a challenging tilt to her chin.
“You were saying?” he prompted, but his hand slid around to the curve of her bottom.
Tamara shivered, but instead of allowing herself to get caught up in the whirlwind that was his lovemaking yet again, she grabbed his wrist and moved his hand up so that it was on her waist instead of her bottom.
“That’s better.”
He laughed. “Better for who?”
“Better for me. I can’t think when you’re touching me like that.”
He grinned and settled back against the pillows. “I’ll remember that for the future.”
She didn’t comment on his assumption that they would actually have a future together, choosing to focus on her biggest concern.
“Back to the issue you asked about,” she said. “My father’s different personas are my biggest hesitation now.”
“Now?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Yes. You’ve cleared up several of my concerns.”
He grinned. “What were your other concerns?”
The corners of her lips curled up. “Well, I assumed you were a jerk,” she admitted then felt the sting of his hand against her bottom and laughed. She gasped and wiggled. “What was that for?”
“For thinking negatively about me when you didn’t even know me.”
Tamara rolled her eyes. “Right. Like my father wasn’t singing my praises to you, lying through his teeth?”
Another shrug. “Right,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I remember his assertions about you being docile and submissive.”
She tilted her head. “Isn’t that what you want in a wife?”
“Hell no! That’s one of the reasons why it took me so long to find you and get to know you. Your father told me repeatedly over the years that you were sweet and innocent, that you would agree with me on every issue, that you’d been trained not to have an opinion about anything that crosses my policies.” He shuddered. “You sounded pathetic when he described you like that.”
She laughed. “He was lying through his teeth. I have lots of opinions and I speak them too loudly. Which is one of the reasons I haven’t been home in so many years.”
“What do you mean?”
She lowered her lashes, trying to hide the truth from him. “My father prefers his women to be quiet and submissive. We aren’t to utter anything other than kind pleasantries.” She looked out the window where the moon was rising over the city. “For years, I stifled my personality. But if he wanted a docile personality from his daughter, he shouldn’t have sent me away to boarding school. I met Lana and Willow there. They are strong women with strong political and social beliefs. Plus, the boarding school my father sent me to is renowned for educating women, they teach us to be strong, ambitious, and unapologetic. Hence my university education and starting my own business instead of heading home to papa and preparing myself for marriage to you.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m delighted by your ambitions, Tamara. The idea of a submissive woman makes me gag. I want you to have your own opinions. I want you to help me lead my country to be a powerhouse in the world. And I can’t do that with only half the population. I want a strong wife, someone who will challenge me, but in a diplomatic way. And I will return the favor. I might not always agree with your opinions, but I will always respect you.”
Her heart swelled with an odd sensation. “Growing up, my father always told me that I’d marry you and be a good wife.” She leaned in and kissed his lips softly. “I thought of our betrothal as a marriage of inconvenience and vowed to avoid you for as long as possible.”
He slid his hands along her back. “And now?”
She kissed him again. “And now, I suspect that our relationship might be more a marriage of something else.”
“Oh, it will still be convenient,” he teased, rolling over so that she was once again underneath him. “Perhaps we can leave off the inconvenient part though.”
She grinned as he pressed his hips between her legs. “That’s still up for debate,” she teased.
Chapter 8
Over the next week, Tamara felt as if her life had turned upside down. She spent as much time as possible with Jurid, exploring the city, sharing meals with him, spending the night in his bed and in his arms, and getting to know the man instead of the public persona.
He went running with her every morning and she loved how he could keep up with her, even pushing her harder! His workouts normally consisted of self-defense and weights, but he was no slacker in the cardio world and took every hill with zest. They had dinner together every night, although three of their nights together were more formal. One night, he was scheduled to dine with the prime minister and she hated the way that the press photographed her on his arm. But she lifted her chin and walked alongside him with as much dignity as she could muster.