The Sheik's Rebellious Mistress (12 page)

Dharr sighed and stood up next to her, completely naked but unconcerned about it. “Is there something wrong with that term?” he asked.

“Besides being the ultimate insult to any woman you offer it to?” she almost yelled. His offer had hurt her more than she was willing to admit and she hoped she could hide her pain from him. He wanted her to become his mistress! There was a huge difference between having an affair with him and becoming his mistress. There was an equality issue she wasn"t willing to delve into. “Do you have so little respect for me and what I want out of life that you could offer me nothing better than to be a….” She struggled for a way to describe his offer, “an employee? A prostitute?” she finally spit out. “Is that what I am to you? Is that what you think of me?” she asked, her voice going from an almost yell to one of horror. She backed away several steps, not wanting him to touch her.

He put his hands on his hips as he watched her face turn angry and hurt. This wasn"t going at all as he"d anticipated their conversation going. In the past, the women he"d set up in this apartment were all thrilled with the arrangements. But then, he was talking to Ellie and she"d never done the expected. “It isn"t like that,” he said, his anger rising to the surface. “You know we"re good together. What"s wrong with making the situation more convenient for both of us?” he suggested, his tone coaxing and he reached for her arms, about to pull her into his arms and carry her back to bed where they communicated more effectively.

She quickly shied away from his touch, twisting around and backing up several more steps. “Don"t touch me! I"m not a…” she couldn"t finish her sentence. She looked around, newly aware of her surroundings. Then a thought struck her. “Was there another woman here before me?” she demanded.

The look in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. “Uh!” she groaned, hiding her face in her hands as the realization came that she was just another in a long line of women. “I"m just the next one, aren"t I?” She looked around. “I"m not anything more than your next whore! How long was it between women?”
Dharr started to say something, not even venturing to tell her the truth but ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That"s not the point. And don"t ever call yourself a whore again!”

“It"s exactly the point,” she countered angrily. “And let"s just call things by their appropriate name and not beat around the bush. You"re offering to put me up in this apartment, give me an allowance and in return, all you expect of me is sex. Am I missing something?” she demanded angrily.“If that"s not the definition of a whore, I"m not sure what it would be!”

“You"re being ridiculous,” he countered, turning back to pull on a pair of jeans. “A whore works off the street and sells her body.”

Electra wiped a tear angrily from her cheek before she replied, “You"re just discussing geography.”

“You"re being overly sensitive. I don"t think of you in that way and I never have. So don"t put labels on something that isn"t there.”

Electra looked around the room again, noting the romantic slant to the decorating, the extra big bed and all the lovely skin lotions that had been in the bathroom when she"d arrived for the first time six weeks ago. “I can"t believe this! I"m just your next mistress,” she said. It was no longer a question but a statement. Her eyes were vulnerable when she turned to face him once again. “In my mind, you"ve shown me everything, given me so much pleasure I actually ache duringthe nights we"re not together. But to you I"m not even important enough in your life to warrant anything more than…” She stopped the words, afraid of what she"d say. She turned to look at him, the hurt and humiliation shining through in her eyes. But instead of arguing any longer, she turned and walked into the bathroom, ignoring him when he called her to stop.

“Ellie, this is ridiculous. You"re completely misinterpreting my offer.”

In response, she walked faster into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. She showered quickly and took the robe down from the back of the door, wrapping it around her from neck to almost her ankles. She didn"t know if he would still be out in the bedroom, but right now, all she wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible.

When she walked back in, she didn"t see him anywhere and ignored the stab of disappointment. She dressed in a pair of jeans and light sweater, pulling on tennis shoes and simply tying her hair back in a pony tail, uncaring how messy she looked. All she wanted to do was leave here and get back home, lick her wounds and start to forget this horrible weekend. With his words and his assumption that she would be grateful for the exalted position as his mistress, hehad tarnished what they shared, all that she"d thought of himand everything she"d thought about their relationship.
As she stuffed clothes into her suitcase, she laughed harshly and had to wipe the tears away from her cheek. Relationship? What relationship, she asked herself. To him, she wasn"t a woman with feelings and intelligence who had something to offer him. She was a body, a convenience. She was a plaything, she thought with horror.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, fully dressed in yet another immaculately tailored suit. Gone were the casual slacks and open neck shirts and back in place was the business man.

Electra reached up and wiped her cheeks, surprised to find her fingers come away with wetness. “Because you hurt me,” she said, uncaring what he thought about her now.

“I don"t see how my wish for you to be with me when it is possible would be painful to you,” he grated out, anger flaring for the first time since she"d known him.

Electra shook her head, wishing she could just walk out. But the past few days had been too wonderful and her feet would not take her out of the apartment. Her bag was packed, her tickets and passport in her hand but something held her back. She glanced at him over her shoulder, seeing him casually leaning against the door frame. He had no idea what he"d done to her pride. No one had ever asked him to….

Her mind stopped immediately and considered her last thought. No one had ever offered him the same suggestion, the same opportunity. He couldn"t know how insulting his offer was because he"d been insulated from the real world. But she could change that, she thought wryly. She had pride and she wasn"t going to go down without a fight. What they"d shared deserved at least that she try to make him understand what a horrible situation being a mistress would be.

Wiping her cheeks, she straightened her shoulders and turned to face him, one shoulder dropping slightly, her tongue sticking out with sexual provocation as she surveyed his appearance once again.

“You know, you might not have such a bad idea,” she started off, crossing her arms over her stomach and walking around him, looking him up and down as if he were an object. “You know, I have quite a bit of money myself, but I like my job a lot.”

“I think I can understand your perspective now.”

Dharr"s body reacted to both her newly sensuous pose as well as the come hither look in her eyes. If he was a little disappointed that she"d accepted his offer, well, that was to be expected. He"d liked her being different. But only during special moments, he reminded himself. Now that she"d become the expected, perhaps he would be able to work her out of his system. Normalcy, he thought. That"s what he needed. And now things were back on track.
Her next words blew him away. “I like your suggestion but with a twist if you don"t mind.”

He pushed away from the doorway and moved toward her. “Name it. It"s yours.”

“Shouldn"t you be more cautious of your promises?” she teased.

Dharr was instantly erect and all he wanted was to get this conversation over with so he could toss her back onto the bed and make love to her. “I can honestly say there isn"t much you could ask for that I could not deliverto you.”

Her smile should have given him warning but he was concentrating on the vulnerability, and the lingering hurt still in her eyes. “Like I said, your suggestion definitely has merit but let"s turn it around. How about if you quit your job and move to London? I"m usually finished with the kids by late afternoon and could come visit you as soon as I"m done. Except on the nights when I need to work late.” She tapped the side of her chin as if considering all the conditions. “Or research lesson plans. Or set up the ideas for the next day. But you understand how busy work can get, don"t you? And what"s more, you won"t need to work anymore. I"m sure that we can find something you"ll like just as much as your job if we just put our minds to it.”

Dharr stared at her, her words not making any sense. “Are you saying you" re willing to become my mistress if I set up an apartment in London instead of Paris?” He couldn"t believe it was that easy. “Consider it done,” he said and walked more quickly across the room, his mind instantly filling with ideas on what he wanted to do to her delectable body encased in those horrible jeans. He"d toss them out and forbid her to wear them ever again. He preferred her in silks and satins, or nothing at all.

“Now, hold on, sailor,” she teased , putting up a hand to stop his forward advance. “I"m not sure you understand where I"m going with this,” she said. “I don"t want an apartment in London.There"s a really beautiful house down the street from me and I could put you up there. Not you putting me up somewhere. Like I said a moment ago, I might be busy some nights, and,of course during the day, I"d have to work, but there"s lots of things to do.And I"m sure there are some of the moms around town who could give you tips on what to do during the day.”

She didn"t look at his eyes, knowing she wouldn"t be able to continue if she saw the look in his eyes. But she raised one finger so it touched the side of her face, as if considering something very deeply. “You"ll need credit cards, of course. Don"t worry, honey, I can put you up in style. The weekdays I"ll be pretty busy, but the weekends, well, let"s just see what happens, shall we?”

Dharr stared at the slip of a woman who continuously threw him out of the expected. “What are you suggesting, Ellie?” he asked, moving toward her menacingly. She wasn"t afraid of him. She stood her ground and challenged him. “Honey, I can"t believe you don"t understand. I need you. We need each other. It"s just who"s convenience we"re talking about.” She stared at him with wide eyed innocence and waited for his answer or reaction. Her shoulders were tense with anticipation and she didn"t have long to wait.

The expressions that crossed his face were fascinating. They started off with confusion, then a realization of what she was proposing, or more importantly, propositioning. When he finally understood, when her words sunk in, amusement hit him full force.

He threw back his head and laughed, holding his sides as his mirth took over and he had to hold the side of the door in order to balance himself. When he was finally able to control his laughter, he took a deep breath and looked down at her, his hands gentle on her shoulders. “Let me get this straight. You"re suggesting that I leave my work behind, move into a house near London and become your mistress?”

Electra shrugged delicately but nodded, “Or whatever the male equ ivalent is. But don"t worry, Dharr. I"ll stop by as often as possible. I promise you won"t get bored. There are plenty of shops you can spend money in and we can take lots of trips when I"m free. You can spend your days getting spruced up for me. Won"t that be fun?”

Her words only made him chuckle again. “I can"t believe you. I don"t know of another female who would ever propose such a thing to me,” he said.

She reached up and patted his cheek. “There"s a first time for everything, isn"t there, honey?” she replied. “So what"s your answer?”

He pulled her closer, hugging her agains t his strong body. “Yes, there certainly is. So I"m assuming from your response, that you don"t like the idea of becoming my mistress. Is that correct?”

She was still stiff, but at least she wasn"t pushing him away. Dharr considered that a victory in this situation and with this woman. Damn! She constantly fascinated him!

“How would you like it? I mean, really, it is sort of like being a doll that someone takes out and plays with whenever it is convenient for them. Not a very equal relationship, is it?” she suggested.

Dharr shook his head. Equality had never been in any of his relationships, male or female,and he"d never even assumed that word would come into play in his dealings with women. But that only showed him that this one was different from the others. He"d known that all along, but it was interesting to be proven right once again.

“Point taken. How would you define our relationship?” he asked. She tilted her head to the side and considered all the possibilities. “How about lovers?” she offered, terrified that he might reject something so intimate.

But he considered it, mulling the word around in his mind for a moment. “Lovers,” he suggested. “Does that mean I"ll have to send you a birthday card?” he asked.

Electra laughed , instantly relieved that he hadn"t rejected the idea. “Yes. If we"re still together when my birthday rolls around, you"d better send me a birthday card. And a Valentine"s Day card as well. And I might just want a big box of chocolates, but I"ll let you know. And if you"re a very good boy, you might just get a birthday card yourself,” she said, her eyes peeping out at him from under her lashes. “And something special on Valentine"s Day.”

Dharr pulled her closer and laughed as well. “It sounds like a deal,” he said. “But does this mean I can"t order you around the world and have you at my beck and call?” he asked, his hand slipping under her shirt to cup her breast, his thumb flicking across her nipple underneath the lace of her bra.

Electra gasped as his fingers controlled her body and shivered, then smiled shyly up at him, a promise of retribution in her eyes. “Well, depends on the timing. I"ll agree that I don"t make as much money as you do, nor will I ever. But that doesn"t diminish the importance of what I do and what all the kids mean to me. I"m guessing that a lot of people depend upon you and that all the companies, or whatever you run, need you at their helm to guide them. And those kids I teach each day need me, even though I"m only anassistant teacher. Those children mean something to me.”