As the days passed, Richard and Karina grew used to sparring with each other. He grew accustomed to having to overcome her resistance in bed. She would always tell him she hated him, she would cry and beg for him to stop, and when that failed, she would try to remain impassive to his touch. She could never hold out for long against his relentless seduction. She invariably succumbed to her own body's needs and responded with reluctant passion.
Against her will, Karina began learning the traditional skills of the Bedouin women. She had never had to do any cooking or cleaning, having grown up with a house full of servants. She was shocked to learn that Richard expected her to do these chores for him, as if she were a loving wife rather than his captive. Karina had bristled at the prospect of having to perform those duties, and at first she had refused.
"I won't do it! I won't be your slave! Isn't it enough that you have shamed me? Find some other woman to clean your clothes and cook your meals." She turned from him in a huff.
It had been the second day she was in the village, and they were alone in the tent. Richard sat watching her for a long moment, before he rose and went to stand directly behind her. She felt his warm breath tickling her nape before he grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him, but she refused to meet his eye. He waited patiently until her eyes finally rose to meet his, and the rebellion was written clearly in her snapping blue eyes.
"If you do not wish to clean my clothes and cook my meals, I can easily get someone else to do those things." He grinned down at her.
Karina's surprise was obvious as she considered his beguiling smile. Before she could comment, he continued in a lazy drawl, as his eyes dropped to her breasts.
"However, you must realize that if you are not busy with chores that will give me even more time to explore your other...talents."
His meaning was obvious, and Karina's face flushed an angry red. She would have slapped him, but he caught her wrist in an iron grip, and she struggled ineffectually to gain her release.
"How dare you! Is that all you ever think about? Surely you have other, more pressing matters to attend than always trying to bed me!" Her eyes flashed as she glared up at him.
He was unperturbed, and his chuckle grated on her nerves as he twisted her arms behind her back to hold them in one of his hands, simultaneously pressing her body firmly against his own. He ran his other hand suggestively over her hip before reaching behind to cup her bottom, while his eyes twinkled wickedly.
"On the contrary, my sweet. I can think of nothing more pressing than enjoying your lovely body."
He trailed hot kisses down her face and neck and bent her back over his arm so that he could nip playfully at her nipple through the fabric of her dress. She squirmed in frustrated rage, but her struggles were useless against his superior strength. He chuckled again. When he straightened and looked down at her, his eyes danced with amusement.
"Of course, if you were busy attending other chores, I would have no choice but to defer to your duties." His eyes raked her suggestively, before he released her wrists and allowed her to twist out of his embrace.
Karina groaned in frustrated rage and glared at him over her shoulder. "Oh!" she shrieked. "You really are a crude, inconsiderate oaf! I hate you, and I hate having to serve you, but anything is preferable to entertaining you in your bed all day!"
Richard threw back his head and laughed. He was obviously unaffected by her insults, and he turned to leave the tent but paused to smile at her.
"I will send Fatima to instruct you in your duties. Please see that they are performed well."
He quickly ducked through the flap, grateful that Karina didn't have anything handy to throw at him. He grinned to himself, as he thought how beautiful she was when she was angry. Her eyes flashed blue fire, and her breasts trembled with agitation. He was almost sorry that he had given her some other tasks to fill her time, and his grinned widened as he thought about the night, when he would enjoy taking her again. As he walked away, he whistled a cheerful tune.
Thus Karina had taken on the duties of caring for Richard and maintaining his tent. She learned to milk goats and how to make yogurt cheese, called lebneh. She kept the tent neat and tidy, and Fatima showed her how to clean Richard's clothes. While Karina fumed over the amount of clothing he seemed to go through, she was secretly grateful that he was so concerned with personal cleanliness. The thought of being bedded by some dirty, sweaty male made her skin crawl.
It galled her to serve him, but Karina did so with a quiet dignity that impressed Fatima. The older woman watched her work, and she praised her efforts. Karina was a very fast learner, and in no time, she had mastered the skills required for everyday life in the village.
Karina saw a different side of Richard when he interacted with his people. He was kind and even-tempered. He rarely laughed, and occasionally she glimpsed a look of deep sadness when he thought no one was watching.
It was clear that he took his role as sheik seriously. He worked long hours each day, and everything he did, he did well. The village children were drawn to him, and he obviously enjoyed playing with them. The villagers loved him, and Karina could see why.
Karina admired the delicate embroidery that the women had on their clothing, and Fatima began to teach her the intricate stitches. The older woman took pride in Karina's handiwork, and they often sat together sewing and talking. On one of those days, Karina had stopped sewing and looked at Fatima with a puzzled expression.
"How is it that you speak English so well? Did Richard teach you?"
Fatima smiled and blushed lightly. "No, I learned from Rashid's father."
Karina watched her with wonder. "I didn't realize that you knew his father. When did he teach you?"
Fatima sighed, and her eyes took on a faraway look, as she remembered the time she had first met Lord Malcolm Bryant. "Malcolm brought Richard to Egypt after his mother died, and he often brought him to visit our camp. Rashid was very young, just a boy really, and we all enjoyed when the two of them would come for visits. They began to stay for longer periods of time with us, sometimes several months at a time, and we taught them about our way of life. They learned our language and many of us learned English from them." She released a wistful sigh. "Those were very happy times for me."
Karina smiled at her in surprise. "You loved Richard's father, didn't you?"
Fatima met her eyes and blushed again but didn't look away. "Yes, I did. I loved him very much, and he loved me too. I think he would have married me, but he was afraid of the effect it would have had on his son's future. For him to have taken an Arab as his wife would have caused a scandal." She smiled secretively. "Still, it didn't keep us apart. We were very happy together, and Rashid was like a son to me. You see, my own husband and son died several years before that. My son would have been about the same age as Rashid, and while he could never replace the son I lost, I was happy to have him in my life. Both Malcolm and Rashid filled an aching void and brought joy back into my life."
Fatima blinked and returned to the present. "Anyway, that was all many years ago."
Karina thought about what she had said, as the two of them resumed their sewing. Fatima had obviously loved Malcolm very much. Karina's thoughts returned to Richard, and she blushed. He made her feel as if her body were no longer her own to command. With a simple touch or even a look, he could send her heart racing in anticipation. When his eyes traced her naked curves, she felt a hunger in the pit of her belly, and it was only when he took her, pressing deep inside her body, that the ache was satisfied.
Although she had tried to resist him, her woman's body responded on its own, and she wondered if she were all that different from Fatima. If Richard had not kidnapped her as part of his scheme for revenge, she might have been content to be his mistress. Even as the thought occurred to her, she dismissed it, shaking her head.
There was a definite routine to life in the village. Each morning, Richard would wake up early, rousing Karina for a morning romp in bed. He would leave her exhausted and sleeping in the bed, while he rode out before daybreak to exercise his horses and patrol the area with the other men of the village. They were usually gone for several hours. While they were gone, the women prepared a breakfast of fruits, bread and cheese. The men would return and share the repast. Then all villagers would participate in the care of the animals in the camp. There were goats to be milked and horses and camels to be fed and rubbed down.
The afternoon was for quiet work. The men would usually relax in their tents, while the women worked at cooking or sewing. Fatima had begun to show Karina how to prepare some of the more complicated traditional Arabic foods, and she found Karina to be an apt pupil. Though she had never had to cook before, she enjoyed working with Fatima, and she had already learned how to prepare several dishes.
The meals in the village were often taken as a group, and the villagers shared a sense of community that intrigued Karina. When they sat around in large circles, eating, laughing and talking, Karina couldn't help but contrast their customs to the staid dinner parties she had attended both in Cairo and in England.
The Bedouins had a warmth and love for life that appealed to her heart. They were hardworking and dedicated to each other. They were even kind to her, and they treated her with consideration and respect. The ones who could speak some English began to converse with her occasionally, and Karina had begun to build friendships with many villagers.
In fact, only Samiya treated her with coolness. Everyone else treated her with respect and friendliness, despite the fact that she shared Richard's bed. Everyone in the village knew that she was an unwilling victim in their sheik's plan for revenge, and they didn't condemn her for something she had no control over.
