Promised to a Sheik (5 page)

He poured himself more wine, then once again settled back on the sofa. “You mentioned your brothers. Tell me about them.”

“Well, Flynt just got married in June.” Cara smiled as she thought of the happiness her brother had found with his new bride, Josie. “There was a time when we were all quite worried about him. Almost three years ago he lost his wife and unborn child in a car accident, and there were times we weren't sure he was going to survive the tragedy. It took a very special girl named Lena to bring him out of his sorrow.”

“Lena? This is his child?”

“No, she's a baby girl who was found on the ninth tee on the golf course at the Lone Star Country Club. It's a bizarre story. Nobody knows who the little girl is. Flynt was golfing that day with some buddies, and when they found the baby, he just knew he had to take her home. It changed his life.”

“Amazing. Have they since discovered who the baby belongs to?”

She shook her head. “No, but Flynt and Josie have been taking good care of her.” She smiled again,
thinking of the dark-haired, blue-eyed little girl. “She's such a sweet baby. I can't imagine what would make a mother abandon a baby on a golf course, or anywhere else for that matter.”

“Who knows what drives people to do what they do.”

He leaned toward her, and again her senses filled with the scent of him.

“I'll bet you will make a wonderful mother.”

“I hope so,” she replied. “I certainly had a good role model.”

“You're close to your mother?”

She nodded. “Very close, and to my father, too. They have been wonderful parents, supportive and loving.”

He reached out and ran his fingers up her forearm, his touch inflaming her nerve endings.

“And that's the kind of parents we will make, supportive and loving to the many babies we will have.”

She laughed shakily, finding it more and more difficult to concentrate on the conversation when his fingers were caressing her arm so sweetly. “Many babies? How many children do you have in mind?”

“As many as you would give me,” he replied softly. He set his wineglass on the coffee table and with deliberate intent took hers from her hand and placed it next to his.

Her heartbeat raced as he drew her into his arms.

“I would love making babies with you, Elizabeth.” He reached up and drew a hand through her hair. His strong fingers clenched, capturing the strands and he
gently tugged her head back as if to give him access to her lips.

He held her gaze for just a moment, then moved to capture her mouth with his. At first, the kiss was infinitely tender and Cara's heart swelled with emotion.

The talk of babies, of making a family, had seduced her almost as effectively as the music and the candlelight. But nothing seduced her more than the gentle featherlight softness of his lips against hers.

And when he sought to deepen the kiss by using his tongue to toy first at her lips, then to swirl inside her mouth, she felt a sexual stirring within her.

She felt it first in the pit of her stomach, a burst of fire that exploded, sending heat throughout her body. Her breasts tightened, the nipples pressing against the silk of her bra. She was shocked by how her body was responding to a simple kiss—

A small buzzer sounded, and Omar reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers just as the elevator doors opened to reveal a waiter pushing a large serving trolley.

Omar stood to greet the waiter, but Elizabeth remained seated, instinctively knowing that if she tried to stand, her legs would probably buckle beneath her.

Her heart still pounded too fast, her pulse raced in an abnormal rhythm and the surface of her skin felt feverish. She picked up her wineglass and took a full gulp, hoping the chilled white wine would douse the fire Omar's kiss had lit inside her.

By the time the meal had been placed on the table
and the waiter had departed, Cara felt more in control of herself. She sat in the chair that Omar held out for her, shivering slightly as his hands lingered for a moment too long on her shoulders.

“I hope the food is good,” he said as he sat next to her, “because the timing of its arrival was rotten.”

She smiled, picked up the linen napkin and placed it on her lap. “It could have been worse. The food might have arrived fifteen minutes later—and it would have been more embarrassing.”

His eyes fired with a hunger that had nothing to do with the food before them. “Perhaps there won't be any need to order dessert.”

“We'll see,” she replied with a small smile. “Although, it would take something magnificent to make me forget the pleasure of chocolate.”

She was teasing, flirting with him, and it amazed her. She'd rarely found the confidence it took to tease a man.

His dark brows lifted and his eyes twinkled. “I can promise you, what I have in mind is far more pleasurable than mere chocolate.”

Cara believed him, and felt a new shiver of anticipation. Suddenly, chocolate was the last thing on her mind.

 

The moment she'd walked out of the elevator, Omar had wanted to sweep her up in his arms, carry her into the bedroom and pull the delightfully sexy red dress right off her body.

Although, the dress did amazing things to her. The
cinched waist made her look slender, but emphasized the thrust of her breasts. The short, full skirt drew attention to the long length of her shapely legs, and Omar wanted nothing more than to trail his fingers up them. He had a feeling her skin would be silky soft and sweetly perfumed.

Now, as they ate their meal of leg of lamb and parsleyed new potatoes, he watched her covetously. Each movement of her lips as she ate heightened the desire that had been thrumming inside him.

“I believe we got sidetracked when we were discussing your brothers,” he said, trying to take his mind off how much he wanted to make love to her, how much he wanted to be the man to introduce her to the pleasure of physical intimacy.

“You told me about Flynt, but you mentioned another brother, as well.”

“Yes, Matt.” She dabbed her lush lips with the napkin, then paused to take a sip of her water. “He shocked the entire family in July by marrying Rose Wainwright.”

“Why is that shocking?” he asked curiously.

“Because for years there has been a long-standing feud between the Wainwrights and the Carsons.”

Omar knew the Wainwright family, like the Carsons, was one of the most powerful families in the state of Texas. He also knew it had been the Wainwrights and the Carsons who had founded the luxury Lone Star Country Club.

“Hopefully this isn't a Romeo and Juliet kind of story.”

She smiled. “Not at all. They are extremely happy together, but unfortunately their marriage hasn't really brought the families together. It was more just a temporary truce.”

“That's too bad—but you're close to your family.” It was an observation rather than a question.

“Yes, I am.” She took another drink of her water, her dainty pink tongue licking her upper lip when she was finished. “We've always been a close-knit family.”

By the time the meal was finished, Omar felt as if he'd been simmering for the past two hours and was on the verge of a full boil. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such intense desire for a woman. Nor could he remember feeling this much concern that he might not be successful in his seduction.

While he saw the promise of fire in her eyes, he knew she hadn't remained a virgin this long by allowing herself to burn.

After the meal they returned to the sofa where Omar served them after-dinner liqueur coffee. “Hmm, this is wonderful,” she said as she licked a dollop of whipped cream from the corner of her mouth. “What's in it?”

“A little crème de cacao, brandy, Kahlúa, coffee and whipped cream. You like it?”

“It's positively decadent.” She took another sip and again the whipped cream clung to her upper lip. Before she could lick it off, he reached out and dragged his index finger across the creamy substance.

His heart crashed into his ribs as she grabbed his
wrist and sucked his finger into her mouth, her green eyes never leaving his. He pulled his finger away and hungrily covered her lips with his own. Blood seemed to surge through every vein in his body.

Her mouth tasted of coffee and Kahlúa, a bittersweet combination that drove him half mad with desire. He was vaguely aware of her reaching to set her mug down on the coffee table, and he broke the kiss only long enough to allow her to do so.

When he reached for her again, he pulled her against his chest and claimed her mouth with his, wanting to possess her, body and soul.

She responded with a hunger that surprised him. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself against his chest.

He leaned back, dragging her with him so that she was on top of him. His hands caressed up and down her back, enjoying the feel of her warm skin beneath the silky dress.

As his hands moved lower, down into the small of her back, just above the sweet curve of her buttocks, she gasped against his mouth.

The gasp ignited him with want, with the need to further explore her mysteries. He'd begun the evening with a calculated plan to seduce her into marrying him, but now was rapidly losing control.

His hands moved from her back, lingering at her sides where the swell of her breasts began. Still their mouths sought each other's with hunger. When his hands covered her breasts, a tiny moan escaped her, a moan of pleasure that electrified him.

He tore his mouth from hers and gazed at her, noting that her eyes were deep, deep green and filled with the haze of sexual excitement. “I want you, Elizabeth. I want to take you to my bed and make love to you.”

“I want you, too,” she replied, her lips quivering slightly. She pushed off his chest and sat up. “But I don't want to make love with you unless it's on our wedding night.”

Omar straightened, as well, triumph soaring through him. “Then, you will marry me?”

Her lips trembled for a moment before she answered. “Yes,” she said softly.

He grabbed her hand and raised it to his lips. “You have made me a happy man,” he said, then kissed the back of her hand. “We'll get the license tomorrow, then marry as soon as possible.”

“Not as soon as possible,” she protested. “I'll need some time…”

Omar frowned. “Time for what?”

She worried a hand through her hair. “I don't know, I've never gotten married before. I'd like some time to make the arrangements and to pick out the perfect wedding gown. This will be my one and only wedding and I'd like it to be a special memory.”

Her sentimentality only assured him that she was the right choice for his wife. “How about a month?” Although he would have preferred a wedding as soon as possible, he would not deny her the pleasure of being a bride-to-be for a month. And he would do
whatever he could to remain in the States for the next thirty days.

“All right.” She gave him a beatific smile. “Then, I guess we'll get married right after Thanksgiving.”

He pulled her into his arms once again. “And I will give thanks for the rest of my life that fate brought you into my life.”

He started to kiss her again, but she stopped him with a finger over his lips. “Omar, I don't think we should do any more kissing tonight. In fact, I think I should go home.” She held his gaze with somber eyes. “I'm feeling fairly vulnerable right now, and I really want our wedding night to be special.”

Her candor enchanted him, and although he would have loved to have her at that very moment, he abided by her wishes and stood. “I'll summon Rashad with the car.”

As he picked up the phone, he watched her stand and straighten her dress. Her lips were slightly swollen from the kisses they'd indulged in, and her skin glowed with a radiance that was bewitching.

He thought of that night at the cotillion so long ago. He, along with every other man at the dance, had coveted the dazzling, beautiful, flirtatious Elizabeth, and he couldn't help but be pleased that he was the man who had captured her.

 

Cara sat in the back of the limo carrying her away from the hotel and back to her cottage. She couldn't believe she'd just agreed to marry Omar.

It hadn't been her intention to agree to his marriage
proposal, but his lips had been so hot on hers. His hands had been so masterful as they stroked along her skin. Rational thought had fled beneath his sensual onslaught and she had fallen into the sweet promise in his eyes.

Even though she hadn't intended to accept, she couldn't help the wave of joy that fluttered through her. She was officially engaged to a handsome sheik, a man who caused her pulse to race and her heart to warm.

She didn't want to think about all the reasons why she shouldn't be engaged to him. As the limo pulled up before her little cottage, she decided that just for tonight she would wrap her happiness around her and worry about tomorrow…tomorrow.

 

“There's a butt pincher at table seven,” Haley fumed to Ginger as the two met in the kitchen to pick up orders. They were both working in the Men's Grill that evening, and the night had not started well for Haley.

As always, she was wired by the FBI, who hoped she would overhear something, anything that would benefit them in their investigation into the mob's smuggling operation.

She was always nervous when working in the Men's Grill, knowing that she was wired and playing a dangerous game.

Tonight her nerves seemed more jangled than usual. She'd spilled a drink on the first person she'd served, and mixed up another order. Now, having had
her butt pinched three times so far by the creep at table seven, she was ready to walk out.

“There's nothing worse than a butt pincher,” Ginger said sympathetically, then grinned. “Unless it's a breast brusher.”

Despite her irritation, Haley laughed as she loaded up her order on a tray. “Ah, the perils of waitressing.”