Karina awoke with her knee draped intimately across Richard's thighs and her hand resting on his chest. The steady thump of his heart and his deep breathing assured her that he was still sleeping. She availed herself of the rare opportunity to look at him unobserved. She scanned his features, softened in sleep, before running her eyes over his magnificent body. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a surge of possessive affection.
She had behaved like a wanton, giving herself to him shamelessly. She waited for the familiar sense of guilt, but all she felt was peaceful contentment. She was finished with denials. She wanted to be part of Richard's life, and if that meant being his mistress rather than his wife, she was willing to accept that.
Karina marveled as she thought about the tiny baby growing inside her belly. She felt a renewed sense of hope that Richard might grow to love her the way she already loved him. If their lovemaking had been any indication, she sensed that he already had tender feelings for her.
She released a contented sigh as her eyes retraced their path to his face. His eyes were open, and he was watching her closely. She rose up on one elbow and stretched to kiss him deeply on the lips, as his hand threaded through the hair at the back of her nape.
"I like the feel of you against me," he murmured huskily, as his hand wandered down her back sending shivers up her spine. The look in his eyes stole her breath, and her heart thumped heavily in her chest.
She smiled into his eyes and dropped her head onto his shoulder once again, as his hand began to leisurely stroke her hip. No words were spoken between them, as they shared a peaceful moment like none they had experienced before.
A long time later, he rolled over to stare down at her. He covered her lips for a tender kiss. He finally lifted his head and smiled down at her, just as her stomach emitted a low, rolling growl.
"Come, my sweet. You have to eat to keep up your strength." He pulled her to her feet and gave her bottom a playful smack before turning to find his clothes.
She gave him a teasing frown from over her shoulder, as she rubbed her abused posterior, but she made no effort to find her clothes. "You don't have to abuse me so. I'm as anxious to eat as you are."
He threw his head back and laughed heartily, coming to stand directly behind her. "No doubt, now that you are eating for two." He wrapped his arms around her waist and splayed his hands across her flat belly. "If I don't keep an eye on you, you'll grow as fat as an old cow," he teased, kissing along her delicate jaw.
Karina pretended to pout prettily. "How ungrateful you are that I am carrying your child!" Her smile was devilish, and she gave him a sidelong glance as she continued, "You'll just have to see that I get plenty of exercise, and I won't get fat."
He laughed again, as she leaned her head against his shoulder and looped an arm back around his neck, purposely teasing him with her naked body, as she rubbed her ass against that part of his anatomy over which she had the most influence. She could feel his arousal, hard and throbbing against the globes of her bottom.
He nibbled at her neck, kneading her breast with one hand while his other hand drifted lower to explore her softest regions. His grin was elementally male, as he probed her, finding her already hot and very wet. He cocked a teasing brow at her before trailing kisses along her collarbone. She moaned and opened her legs wider.
"If you don't stop this, I will never get my supper!" It was clear from her actions that she didn't want him to stop.
He pinched her nipple hard enough to make her gasp. The mixture of pain and pleasure made her belly clench with desire, and she moaned, pressing her breast more firmly into his hand.
"That's what happens when you are a naughty girl. You've stirred my appetite. Now you will have to wait for your dinner," he murmured huskily, as he pulled her to the bed.
He toppled on his back upon it, pulling her down on top of him. He made himself comfortable amidst the pillows, enjoying the sight of her straddling his hips. He gently urged her thighs wide apart and slid his hands up their inner faces until his thumbs reached her pussy. He stroked her with the pads of his thumbs, smiling when she gave a small whimper and tilted her hips toward his hand.
"I want you," he whispered simply.
Karina rose on her knees until she was poised over the head of his cock. With a sultry smile, she sank onto him, thrilled to hear his groan of relief. She leaned forward, trailing kisses along his temple.
"I'm yours, Richard. Take what you want."
He met her eyes for a long moment before giving her a grin that stole her heart. With a firm hand at the small of her back, he urged her forward. He clasped her nipple in his mouth and feasted voraciously, until the tender flesh was swollen, sore and throbbing. His other hand on her hip guided her movements, and she began to pleasure him with sensuous strokes. He inwardly smiled when she cupped her breast to hold it steady while she rode him. She obviously didn't want to break the contact between her nipple and his mouth.
He located her clit and teased it with his thumb as he raked her nipple with his teeth. She rewarded him with a moan of pleasure. He tormented her nipple, devouring the succulent flesh while she arched her back to give him better access. When she was nearly beside herself with the heady mixture of pain and pleasure, he gave her clit a sharp squeeze, sending Karina over the edge. Richard paused to enjoy her rippling contractions before repeating the process on her other breast, torturing that nipple until she came a second time.
When he rolled her onto her back and plunged into her, she urged him on, looping her knees over his shoulders to allow him even deeper access. He plundered her sweet pussy, burying himself in her snug passage as her muscles tensed to hold him deep inside. He took her with a devastating thoroughness that robbed her of her breath, and he released a hoarse groan as he spilled wave after wave of his seed into her welcoming heat. As they lay entwined, sweating and panting with him still buried to the hilt inside her and her legs clasped around him to hold him there, the truth of her words was obvious to them both. She was his indeed.
Samiya backed away from the tiny slit beside the tent flap and snuck back to her own tent. She paced and fumed, screeching with her frustration. She had to find some way to get Karina away from Rashid! The little bitch was going to ruin everything, and Samiya was willing to do whatever it took to get rid of her.
**********
Karina blossomed over the following days, and Richard was amazed that she seemed to grow even more beautiful all the time. There was much left unspoken between them. Richard had not admitted in words that he loved her. Still, Karina felt confident that, given enough time and her gentle devotion, he would come around. She knew that he wouldn't be able to make such tender love to her if he didn't truly care for her, and that knowledge gave her the patience to wait for him to admit his feelings.
His people began to treat her as his wife, rather than his mistress, and even Samiya appeared to back off from her pursuit of Richard. Though she still watched him with lust in her eyes, she made no more overt plays for his attention.
There were only two flies in the ointment of Karina's happiness, and she tried not to dwell on them, but they were always in the back of her mind. One was her desire to become Richard's wife. She didn't wish for their child to be born a bastard. Karina had dropped subtle hints, which he seemed to have pointedly ignored. She knew that, as long as he wanted her, she would stay with him. She truly had become his willing mistress.
Karina's other source of worry was wondering what Richard's plans for revenge were against her father. Surely, he wasn't still planning to send her back after the baby was born. She refused to believe that he could give her up so easily, now that they had found happiness. She wondered, though, whether he wasn't planning some other form of revenge. She knew her father was innocent of Ameena's death, and she couldn't allow Richard to hurt him, not if she could prevent it. She had to find some way to convince Richard of the truth.
**********
William Sinclair sat deep in thought behind the large desk in his study. After pursuing the Sea Falcon for nearly five weeks, he had been devastated to discover that his daughter wasn't on board. Instead, there had been another Englishwoman aboard who, although she had blonde hair, looked nothing like his daughter. His frustration had been supreme, and it had taken him another three weeks to return to his home in Cairo. He had wasted almost two months at sea, while any leads concerning Karina's disappearance had grown cold.
He had been hoping against hope that Karina would be waiting for him at home, but she wasn't. William was at his lowest point, for he feared that his daughter was dead. Until now, he had steadfastly believed that Karina had left of her own accord, but now he had to face the prospect that she may have been kidnapped.
William's men had been scouring the city since Karina's disappearance, and there had not been a single lead. He had even posted a sizable reward for any information, but no one had come forward. He held his head between his two hands and shut his eyes as he pictured Karina in his mind. She had never looked more beautiful than she had on the night of the ball, and if it had not been for him and his impatience, she would be here with him today.
A knock on his door made him jump, and William called admittance. His butler, Hamed, who had been with William since his arrival in Cairo years earlier stepped through the door.
"Sir, there is a woman here to see you. I know you are not expecting her, but she says she has news of your daughter."
William shot to his feet. "Show her in at once."
Hamed turned and signaled for the woman to precede him into the room. She was very beautiful, with large, dark eyes and full lips. It was evident from her dark coloring and her traditional dress that she was a Bedouin. She looked William in the eye without flinching, and it was only because she was fidgeting with her hands that he knew she was nervous. However, she boldly strode to the front of his desk, where she stood watching him.
Hamed followed her into the room and shut the door behind him. "Sir, she says she doesn't speak English, so if you will permit me, I will translate."
William nodded impatiently. "Yes, of course, just tell me what she knows."
Hamed questioned her, and William waited anxiously for her news. "Sir, she says her name is Samiya. She knows where your daughter is."
