Page 59 of Silver Angel

His hand left her side to glide into her hair. “I know you are awake, Shahar. It is no use pretending otherwise.”

She raised her head just enough to turn it toward him. She found no answers in his expression. “Did we—did you—”

“When I do,” he interrupted, lips twitching, “you won’t have to ask.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said daringly, chagrined that she couldn’t remember.

“You are still wearing your clothes, if you care to notice. Do you really think I would bother to redress you after I had made love to you? I assure you I wouldn’t.”

She glanced down at her chest. Every button was still closed on the little blue vest, and now she could feel the material against her legs under the cover. She looked back at him, her eyes still narrowed accusingly.

“Then what am I doing here?”

He smiled at her. “In my room, or in my bed?”

“Oh, God!”

His laughter caused her chin to bounce against his chest. She sat up immediately, glaring back at him.

“I don’t see—”

In a second, Chantelle was flat on her back with him leaning over her, though not so close that she panicked—yet. “You don’t see anything, Shahar, because you don’t remember anything, do you? What the devil were you doing yesterday that so exhausted you?”

As if he didn’t know. No, she had to be fair. He might have sent her to the kitchens, but it was his second wife who had seen to it that she’d had no rest yesterday. The day before, she had been able to take several short naps to make up for her sleepless night. But yesterday…She wondered if Noura had known that Jamil would send for her last night, or if Noura had just been spiteful. What did that matter, however, in light of what had happened in the baths?

It was slowly coming back to her, and with the memories, a bone-chilling fear. If she hadn’t been so tired, she never would have reacted the way she had when she reached thehammamand was told why she was there, but that was no excuse. She had actually balked and fought against being brought to Jamil again. Good God, she could have been really hurt for such behavior, beaten or worse. Gone completely had been the logical conclusion she had reached before, that her virginity wasn’t worth her life.

What had beenhisreaction? He must have been furious. He had to have demanded an explanation for her condition. So why hadn’t she awakened chained to a whipping post instead of lying comfortably in his bed, using him for a pillow?

She had been staring at him with wide eyes, trying to glean something of his thoughts, anything, but there was nothing, just those dark green eyes watching her. Such a look brought to mind the way he had been when she had first met him, and when he was like that, he was capable of anything. But she reminded herself that he had smiled earlier, and laughed, too. His mood couldn’t bethatdangerous, although his last question had been rather harsh. And she wasn’t going to answer him. Even if he wasn’t aware of why yesterday had been particularly grueling for her, he did know she had been working these past two days, so he had no business questioning her fatigue. She wasn’t about to bring up the subject of her last punishment when she didn’t know yet what her new punishment would be.

“Were you angry?”

It was as if he had only been waiting for her to speak for his expression to relax and his eyes to warm. “Extremely.”

“I don’t feel as if I’ve been beaten.”

Derek chuckled. “Perhaps because you haven’t been.”

“Yet?”

“No, little moon.” He was smiling, his voice low-pitched, a soothing timbre. “It would be a crime to mar this tender skin.”

As he said it, his hand smoothed a path down her arm. On reaching her wrist, he picked it up and brought her fingers to his lips. He kissed one and gently bit the next one. Gooseflesh shot up her arm and spread down her back.

“Do you remember what I taught you about kissing? Put your finger in my mouth, Shahar.”

He didn’t wait for her to do it but caught the third finger with his lips and sucked it inside his mouth. The strangely pleasant sensation was immediate and alarming, making her snatch her hand away.

“I agree,” he said, leaning toward her. “Tongues are much better.”

Her hands came up to stop him, lodging against his shoulders, but she needn’t have bothered, for his mouth reached hers anyway. His tongue pressed against her lips, which she refused to open. He leaned back, his expression half chagrined, half amused.

“I see you have forgotten after all,” he allowed, instead of mentioning her resistance. “But remember where you are, sweetheart, and that I can just as soon amuse myself with other things quite easily.”

One hand slipped behind his neck to draw his lips back to her now-open mouth, but he could barely oblige her for chuckling at this swift reaction to his not-so-subtle threat. “I am…delighted by…your…enthusiasm, but…”

The thought was lost when her other hand tentatively touched his cheek. Derek groaned, claiming her mouth completely for a long dueling of tongues that left him burning with need. Her innocence was the farthest thing from his mind. This flame had consumed him once too often. It took control now, throbbing in his groin until he thought he would die if he couldn’t have more of her.