Brides & Bargains

Nasira immediately turned a sharp gaze on him. “Why do you insist on doing that?”

He opted to play ignorant. “Doing what?”

“Ordering my meals for me. I am quite capable of deciding what and how much I eat.”

“I’ve always ordered for you, Sira.”

“I know and I do not care for it.”

“And you waited ten years to tell me?”

“It seemed simpler not to make waves and avoid conflict.”

Did she think so little of him? “I’m not your father, Nasira. If you want something from me, you need only ask.”

She stared at him a few moments. “I want another baby.”

The one thing he felt he could not give her. “Impossible.”

“Why, Sebastian?”

He could only offer her a partial truth. “You had a devil of a time when you miscarried. The doctor said—”

“That I am quite capable of conceiving again and carrying to full term. The risk is not any greater than any woman who has lost a child in the first trimester.”

He imagined his own mother had believed that very thing. “Look, this is not the time or the place to discuss this.”

She lifted her chin and leveled a determined glare on him. “Unless we discuss it, I will not be returning to London with you in the foreseeable future.”

Sebastian swallowed around his shock. Not once during their time together had she issued threats. “We will talk about this some other time.”

The waitress returned with their drinks, and they waited in silence for their order to arrive. All conversation ceased as they ate food that was surprisingly palatable. He spent a good deal of time watching the patrons, when he wasn’t watching his wife pick at her meal.

Unfortunately, she only afforded him a glance when he asked, “How do you find the fare?”

“Adequate,” she said and then took another bite.

He wondered if he would spend the next few days dealing with one-word answers while attempting to convince her to come home. Would she rebuff his advances, or eventually return to what they once had? He longed for the latter. He longed for her. All of her. First, he had to regain her trust and respect, if at this juncture, and in light of his mistakes, that were even possible.

By the time he had paid the bill, Sebastian worried he had ruined his chances at reconciliation.

Not yet. Not until he convinced her they belonged together, with or without children. How exactly he would achieve that goal remained to be seen. He knew only one way to do this—by using a tried and true technique that had never failed to turn her into clay in his hands.

* * *

“Sebastian, what are you doing?”

“Finding a private place to talk.”

He had definitely found it, Nasira realized when he continued past the Wild Aces and took a dirt road that forked to the right. Once he reached the fence line, he backed the truck up beneath some low-hanging tree branches.

Before Nasira could voice a protest, Sebastian slid out of the seat, rounded the hood and opened her door. “Now if you will come with me please.”

Clearly he had taken leave of his senses. “I refuse to traipse around in the dark, Sebastian.”

“We’re not going to traipse. We’re going to sit in the back of this truck.”

She felt certain that might not be in her best interests. “Why can we not remain in the front seat?”

“Because it’s a beautiful night that should be spent beneath the stars and the moon.”

She started to say they could barely see the stars but the opportunity to respond was lost when he reached in, took her by the waist, and lifted her out and onto her feet. “First that dreadful fight with Mac, and now you are manhandling me like some Neanderthal. What has come over you?”

“My behavior isn’t necessarily so out-of-character for me, though it’s been quite a few years since I’ve engaged in it.”

Nasira released a cynical laugh. “You will have a difficult time convincing me that you ever behaved in that manner. In all the years I’ve known you, I have never seen you raise your voice, much less your hand.”

He smiled. “Oh, you would be surprised what a scrapper I was in my formative years. I managed to get tossed out of three boarding schools before I finally settled down in my final year before university.”

She could barely make out his smile, but she could hear the pride in his voice. “That is definitely news to me and frankly somewhat appalling.”

He leaned over and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Are you certain you’re appalled, or did it perhaps impress you?”

It had both surprised and in some ways set her senses on fire, not that she would dare make that admission. “It served to remind me what ridiculously volatile creatures men can be.”

“Let’s find a place to sit before we continue this conversation.”

As long as they remained upright, she should be safe from giving in to his sensual charms. Then again, he had not attempted to touch her in so long, she could not even imagine that would be his goal. “Fine. But I only wish to stay for a while. I am fatigued from all the drama tonight.”

“No more drama,” he said as he took her by the hand and led her to the rear of the vehicle. “Now to ascertain how this bloody thing opens.”

Before Sebastian could make a move to investigate, Nasira pulled the latch and lowered the tailgate. “It is really quite simple.”

“How did you learn to do that?” he asked, sheer awe in his tone.

She shrugged. “I’ve seen Rafiq open one.”

Sebastian reached out and brushed her hair away from her shoulder. “You are truly an amazing woman.”

“Why? Because I can trip a release on a truck?”

“Because you are so observant and incredibly beautiful.”

As much as she appreciated the compliment, she also recognized he had never paid her many, except about her physical attributes. “Thank you. I suppose we should get this over with so I can get a good night’s sleep.”

Without warning, he hoisted her up on the edge of the gate, causing her dress’s hem to ride up her thighs. And while she made the appropriate adjustments, he climbed into the truck bed and had the nerve to position himself behind her, his long legs dangling on either side of hers. “Are you comfortable?” he asked as he circled his arms around her middle.

Uncomfortable would be more accurate; she didn’t—or shouldn’t—welcome the close contact. “No, I am not. I cannot have a decent conversation when I cannot see your face.”

“You only have to listen to my voice.”

Oh, that voice. That low, grainy bedroom voice that had enticed her on so many nights. And days. No matter how deep their conflicts had run, he had always been able to seduce her into submission. Granted, she had done her share of seducing as well, including the night she had conceived their child—without telling him she had stopped taking her birth control pills, which was information she had concealed until she had confirmed the pregnancy. Somehow he had forgiven the deception, or so he had said, yet she believed he had never forgotten it.

Nasira found herself leaning back against him, and turning her thoughts to the danger of succumbing to his power when he moved her hair aside and feathered kisses on her neck. “This is wrong, Sebastian,” she said with little conviction.

“Remember that night in the carriage?” he said, proving he was bent on ignoring her concerns.

“Yes, I remember.” How could she forget? On their honeymoon, he had arranged for a horse-drawn tour of Bath, which had led to taboo touching beneath the blanket, all leading up to a night she would never forget. The night she had lost her virginity and in some ways, her heart.

He slid one palm down her throat and traveled beneath the bodice where he cupped her breast through the lace bra. “I recall you were trembling, as you are now.”

She hadn’t noticed that at all. Her attention remained drawn to his fingertip circling her nipple now bound in a tight knot. “I was somewhat nervous.”

“You were hot,” he whispered. “I imagine you’re hot now.”

Before Nasira could prepare, Sebastian parted her legs with his free hand while sliding his other underneath the bra. “Pull your dress up to your waist.”

The request was both startling and highly erotic. “Why?”

“So you might see what I’m doing to you.”

As badly as she wanted his attention, she did not wish to make another grave mistake by giving in too soon. “This behavior will solve nothing, Sebastian.”

He continued to fondle her breast without missing a beat. “I disagree. It will solve our need for each other. It will serve to remind us how we’ve always needed each other.”

So caught up in his seduction, she clung to the last thread of sanity, relying on bitter memories to maintain her composure. “You haven’t been concerned about my needs for months.”

He kissed her cheek. “I know, and I’m bent on making up for my neglect. Can we for once stop thinking and allow ourselves only pleasure for a while?”

“But—”

He brought her head around and kissed her soundly. “Let me make love to you, Sira. Please.”

She should issue a protest, she should be more resistant, yet she had become too caught up in the anticipation of how she knew he could—and would—make her feel. Too sexually charged over witnessing a side of him she had never seen before this evening—the jealous side, willing to defend her honor.

After she complied, he whispered, “Take off your panties.”

This time she didn’t hesitate to follow his directive, and after she lifted her hips and slid the lace down to her thighs, she no longer questioned the wisdom in allowing this to happen. After all, he was not a stranger. He was her husband, and she had been without intimacy for much too long.

While Nasira watched, Sebastian moved to the apex of her thighs and began to stroke her. A flood of heat and dampness caused her breath to catch in her chest. He knew how much pressure to apply. How to tease her into oblivion. The moments seemed so surreal—both of them in the back of a truck out in the wide open spaces of Texas, a warm breeze blowing across her face, her husband’s hand between her legs bringing her closer and closer to the threshold of orgasm. She wanted badly to keep it at bay, to keep her eyes open, but all to no avail. When Sebastian slid a finger inside her, whispered a few words some might find crude, the climax crashed into her, bringing with it a series of strong spasms.

Nasira was barely aware that Sebastian had taken his hand away, but very aware when he moved beside her. When she heard the rasp of a zipper, she opened her eyes to see that he had shoved his slacks down his hips, revealing what the spontaneous foreplay had physically done to him.

“I need you, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Come here.”

She needed him as well. Much more than she should. “You want us to lie down in the back of this truck? I question the comfort in that.” She also questioned her own sanity.

He grinned. “Who said anything about lying down? I am relinquishing control to you and hoping for a memorable ride.”

Awareness over what he had intimated sent Nasira’s pulse on a sprint. Every word he uttered seemed to be a jolt to her libido. Every suggestion added fuel to the building fire. Realizing the fit of the dress might not allow for enough room, she hopped to her feet to face her husband. She boldly unzipped the dress, pulled it over her head, tossed it and the bra into the bed of the truck and then pushed the panties down where they fell to the ground. She was totally, unabashedly naked and remarkably ready to finish this interlude immediately.

With that in mind, she climbed back into the truck on her knees to straddle Sebastian’s thighs. Yet he thwarted that immediate plan when he said, “Wait.”

She didn’t want to delay another moment. “Why?”

“Birth control,” he grated out.

Of course that would be his primary focus, and it should be hers as well. She lowered from her knees and sat on the gate, hugging her arms to her breasts. “I have not resumed taking the pills. I had no reason to do that.”

She saw dismay in his expression before he stood and pulled up his slacks. “And you should have informed me immediately.”

She suddenly felt very exposed, both physically and emotionally. She also sensed a hint of accusation in his tone. “If you are intimating I planned this so you could impregnate me, I was not the one who drove here for the purposes of seduction.”

He released a rough sigh. “You’re right, and my apologies for doubting your motives. However, if you consider our past, you certainly shouldn’t blame me for my concerns.”

Furious, Nasira came to her feet and grabbed her discarded clothing. “Obviously allowing this interlude under the circumstances has been a colossal mistake.”

She glimpsed anger in his expression before she pulled the dress over her head, heard it in his voice when he said, “The sounds you made alone indicated you certainly enjoyed it.”

“Evidently I am not immune to your charms,” she said. “But mark my words, this will not happen again until we come to terms with our issues. And we have several, including your lack of trust in me and your resistance to having another child.”

He slid out of the truck to tuck in his shirt. “We have a month to work out our differences and reach a compromise.”

If they could work anything out. Nasira was not certain they could. “Presently I need to return to the house and you need to return to wherever you are staying for the duration.”

He streaked a palm over his nape. “Actually, I haven’t a place to stay at this point in time. It appears there are no rooms in the inns due to some rodeo event in the area.”

Of all the irresponsible, ridiculous excuses. “You did not make arrangements before you decided to travel here?”

“It was a spontaneous plan.”

An illogical plan in her opinion. “I can’t very well have you in my room under my brother’s roof. He is well aware we’re having problems, and I prefer we not sleep in the same bed until we’ve had more time to work on our issues.”

“I will take whatever room they have available if you don’t wish me in your bed.”

“There isn’t another room, Sebastian. The house is still undergoing renovations and I have the only accommodations left.”

“Then I suppose I shall sleep in the truck until other arrangements can be made.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake. “All right. You may stay in my room as long as you have no expectations and you leave before first light. I truly do not wish to explain your presence to Rafiq or to have him assume we’ve been...you know.”

“I’m certain Rafe has engaged in...you know, since his intended is living with him.”

“She is also pregnant,” she added, curious to see how he might react.

“Really?” he said with little enthusiasm. “I didn’t know the old boy had it in him.”

“He does, and he is very protective of Violet, as well as me. On the other hand, he is not particularly fond of you at the moment. He assumes you have done something to wound me.”

“And clearly you have allowed him to have those assumptions.”

“Like it or not, Sebastian, your behavior for the past few months has been very hurtful to me.”

He sighed. “And that is why I’m here now, to atone for my transgressions. Regardless, I promise to remain on my side of the bed until you are ready for me to fully atone.”

When he suggestively winked, Nasira realized having Sebastian in her bed would not be wise for many reasons. “I will make a place for you on the floor.”

He had the nerve to kiss her hand. “Whatever you wish, fair lady.”

She wanted not to be so attracted him. She wanted not to want him, yet sadly she still did. “It is late,” she said as she wrenched from his grasp. “And one more thing. When we arrive, be quiet. I prefer not to wake the household.”

Two

“What is he doing here?”

Sebastian had barely entered the two-story foyer before being verbally accosted by his brother-in-law. “I’m accompanying my wife to the bedroom.”

With her hand on the banister, Nasira sent a sheepish glance in Rafe’s direction. “He does not have a hotel room for the night. However, he has promised to leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

Rafe gestured toward a formal floral settee. “The sofa is available.”

Angry over the suggestion, Sebastian dropped his bags on the ground. “I won’t fit on the bloody sofa. And if you recall, I’m still married to your sister and I have every right to sleep with her. Once you’re married, you’ll soon learn that problems can and will arise in every union.”

Rafiq took a step toward the stairs. “She does not want you here.”

“I invited him, Rafe,” Nasira said. “But only for the night. Now if you will excuse us, we are both exhausted from the evening’s events.”

“Quite memorable events,” Sebastian added knowing he would probably incur his wife’s wrath.

Rafe pointed at him. “I do not wish to see you here when I awaken.”

Sebastian saluted. “Yes, sir, commander sheikh.”

Without looking back, Nasira hurried up the stairs and paused at the landing before regarding Sebastian again. “Are you coming?”

He suddenly realized he should attempt to turn Rafe into an ally, not an enemy. “In a moment. I’d like to have a word with your brother.”

He saw a fleeting look of panic in her eyes. “All right, if you two promise to remain civil.”

A promise Sebastian hoped he could keep. “I have no problem with that.”

She glanced past him toward her brother. “Rafiq?”

“I will maintain my calm,” Rafe said.

“I am counting on that,” Nasira said before she climbed the remaining stairs and disappeared.

Sebastian decided he could use a bit of a pick-me-up and with that in mind, he grabbed up the smaller bag, set it on the sofa, unzipped it and withdrew a bottle of mediocre scotch, the only thing he had been able to find at the lone liquor store in town. “Would you care to join me in a drink?”

“No, I would not,” Rafe said.

“Then would you mind providing a glass. I find it somewhat uncouth to drink from the bottle.”

Without speaking, Rafe left through a door at the back of the parlor. He returned a few moments later with a crystal tumbler he set on the white coffee table before taking a seat in a club chair across from the sofa. Sebastian poured himself a glass of the amber liquid. Though he preferred ice, he thought it best not to press his luck.

After taking a long drink, Sebastian settled in on the settee as the low-quality scotch burned down his throat. At this rate, the combination of booze and jet lag could very well land him on his arse. Of course, he could rest assured he would sleep well...on the bedroom floor.

“Where is your lovely fiancée?” he began when Rafe failed to speak.

“She is sleeping,” he replied. “The pregnancy has fatigued her greatly.”

Sebastian remembered that all too well from the time when Sira was carrying their child. He also remembered the sound of her mournful cries when she had lost that child. “I’m sure the wedding plans have also contributed to that fatigue. How are you faring with that, by the way?”

Rafe crossed one leg over the other. “I have left the preparation up to the women. I only require knowing where I need to be and when I should be there.”

Sebastian doubted he would escape that easily. “I suppose that is probably best.”

Rafe inclined his head and studied him. “I suspect you did not detain me so you could speak about wedding plans.”

Sebastian finished off the scotch with a grimace and poured another glass. “No. I felt it necessary to outline my intentions toward your sister. Has she mentioned me at all?”

“She only intimated your marriage is in shambles and hinted the breakdown is due to your inattentiveness.”

As hard as it was to hear, he couldn’t debate that assessment. “I’ve only had her welfare in mind since the miscarriage. I wanted to give her as much space as she needed. I realize now that was probably a bloody bad idea to show up, unannounced.”

“Yes, and it has created a problem that will not be easy to rectify.”

It occurred to Sebastian that he could possibly elevate Rafe’s opinion of him if he appealed to his ego by asking for advice. “You seem to be a man who knows the workings of a woman’s mind. Do you have a suggestion on how I could get back in Nasira’s good graces?”

Rafe didn’t seem to be flattered, though. “Perhaps you should return to London and allow her to decide if she wants to resume the marriage.”

Not the answer he’d hoped for. “Look, Rafe, we’ve invested ten years in this union—”

“Convenient union, not a love match,” Rafe added.

Point reluctantly taken. “Nevertheless, I care greatly for your sister and I’m not willing to give up what we’ve had for a decade without a fight. But I need assistance in order to win her back. Who better to help me than her brother, who knows her better than most?”

When Rafe remained silent, Sebastian almost gave up until his brother-in-law said, “Shower her with small tokens of your affection.”

“You mean flowers and jewelry?”

Rafe looked at him as if he were a total dimwit. “Not only material gifts. And do not concentrate solely on sexual matters.”

No sex or hearts and flowers. What was left? “I’m afraid I am still at a loss.”

“I have learned women appreciate gestures that might seem insignificant to most men,” Rafe said. “They greatly enjoy breakfast in bed. Massages. Having their hair washed.”

Sebastian could handle any and all of those things, as long as he had some privacy to do them. “I now understand what you’re saying, but I do have another problem. If I am going to woo her, I bloody can’t do it in a hotel.”

“And I do not wish to witness this wooing.” Rafe came to his feet. “I have a possible solution to your lodging issues.”

Sebastian finished his second drink and stood, realizing all too well that he should have stopped with the first scotch. He’d always been able to hold his liquor but at the moment he felt as if he could fly without the benefit of his corporate jet. “What do you have in mind?”

“A private residence where you could reside during the duration of your stay. The owners are friends of a friend and they will be leaving for a trip out of the country for two months. I will call tomorrow and let you know if they are amenable to the request. It will be up to you to convince Nasira, without coercion, to join you.”

Sebastian had no intention of coercing her. Not when he had other ways to convince her. “I’ll try to persuade her.”

“If you are unsuccessful, will you agree to return to London?”

Only if and when he had exhausted every option. “That seems fair enough.”

“Good. I am going to retire now. I will inform you in the morning if I have secured the accommodations.”

“Thank you, Rafe. I certainly value your opinions and your willingness to assist me.”

The man seemed unimpressed with Sebastian’s gratitude. “I am doing this for Nasira. Her happiness is paramount. I will not tolerate anyone who does not respect her wishes. Keep that in mind as you move forward with your goal.”

Before Sebastian could respond, Rafe turned and started up the stairs without looking back. Sebastian dropped down on the settee and rubbed both hands over his face. If he didn’t get up soon, he could end up sleeping on the sardine-can sofa.

On that thought, he trudged up the stairs and made his way to his reluctant bride’s boudoir. He rapped on the door and when he didn’t get a response, entered the room to the sounds of running water.

He had one of two options—leave and let her have her privacy, or shower her with affection in the shower. Option two earned his vote. As long as he proceeded with caution.

He stripped off his shirt, inadvertently popping a button, then sat on the edge of the mattress to toe out of his shoes. He carelessly kicked them off, barely missing the French doors leading to a balcony. In an effort to compose himself, he removed his slacks and underwear with more patience, then tossed them aside on the window seat to his right. When he rose from the bed, he realized he would have to keep a tight hold on his libido. He also realized he wasn’t the only one standing.