Page 101 of Silver Angel

Derek came away from the door and pulled out a chair at the little table the cabin was equipped with. “Sit down and I’ll explain, Shahar. It’s time we got this out of the way.”

She did, and when he had finished, she could only stare at him. “Then you really aren’t the Dey of Barikah? You were raised in…you’re a bloody Englishman?”

“Yes, if you must put it that way.” He was so relieved that she was only surprised, he didn’t care what she called him. “You don’t mind?”

“I don’t know,” she replied truthfully. “I haven’t really…if you aren’t Jamil, then you don’t own me, do you? In fact, you never did.”

“You were bought for me, Shahar. When I took Jamil’s place, his harem was also at my disposal. And since any woman I favored would be married off at his return, you could say he hoped that with a concubine of my own, I wouldn’t be tempted by too many of his women, at least those he didn’t care to part with. And so I wasn’t.”

“Jamila?”

“I already knew about her before I arrived. I was asked to get her out of Barikah if I could. But because she was one of Jamil’s favorites, there was the chance he wouldn’t let her go even if I asked him.”

“So you summoned her to your bed.”

“Actually, I didn’t touch her, but I couldn’t tell you that at the time. For her to be released, everyone, especially Jamil, had to think she shared my bed.”

“Then you told her who you were?”

“No. She was rather piqued that she couldn’t tempt me. She’s a precocious young woman. But I counted on her vanity to keep her from telling anyone that all I wanted was to play chess with her. And she didn’t.”

Chantelle frowned as another thought occurred to her. “Just when did you change places with your brother?”

Derek grinned, reading her mind. “The very day I first summoned you.”

“Then…that was Jamil who bought me, not you?”

He nodded. “That was the only time you saw him.”

“Then you didn’t…it was he who…and Mara! It wasn’t you!” She shot out of the chair to throw her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad! I could never reconcile myself to the cruelty you—he displayed. I couldn’t understand how I could—”

When she lowered her eyes without finishing, he prompted, “Don’t stop there. Could what?”

“Never mind,” she evaded. “What about Sheelah? I haven’t forgotten that you—”

“Not me, Shahar. That was the day Jamil returned, and he went straight to his wife. He does love her, you know.”

“Then you kept your promise?”

“Actually, I told you the truth when I said I hadn’t been able to think of anyone but you since my eyes first beheld you. There still hasn’t been anyone else, Shahar—only you.”

She looked up, eyes sparkling, and then she kissed him. He didn’t let her stop there. It had been weeks since she had let him get this close, weeks of his worrying about her reaction to the truth. He certainly hadn’t expected it to be like this.

He scooped her up and carried her to her small bunk. She helped him to remove her clothes and his as well, and then he was lying beside her and doing all the things to her that he had only been able to dream about recently.

Chantelle reveled in the sweet promise of his touch. He knew her body so well, every sensitive place that made her burn for him. How she had missed this, and how blissful to know that she need never deny herself again. He had been true to her. He must love her. Deciding that gave her more joy than she had ever imagined possible.

“I should have told you sooner,” Derek said between nibbles at her throat and breasts.

“Why—didn’t—you?” she asked breathlessly.

“I was afraid you would be angry.”

She caught at his face and showered it with kisses. “That you’re not Jamil? That you kept your promise to me? That you’re taking me home? Youaretaking me home, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” He grinned. “Home with me. You don’t think I’d bring you all this way just to let you go, do you?”

As he said this, he pinned her to the bed, coming home now to the warmth he craved. She was ready for him, welcoming him inside with a passion made more powerful by her love for him. God, it was so nice to finally accept it, to have no doubts about his worthiness, to give her heart into his keeping. It made all the difference in the world, which she discovered when their bodies joined in climax to achieve a pinnacle of pulsating ecstasy never reached before.