CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FOUR
‘I BELIEVE THE cake is coming out.’
Sahir unravelled her reluctant arms and peeled her body from his.
‘They’ve already had a cake,’ Violet grumbled—but only because she’d far rather dance. ‘And I don’t really...’ She halted, deciding not to mention that she didn’t like fruit cake.
Perhaps she was a fussy eater after all, Violet pondered, retaking her seat at the top table. Only Sahir didn’t join her. Instead he stood by the dance floor, speaking with the bride and groom.
‘They lied,’ Sahir said when he came back.
‘About what?’
‘There will be speeches after all.’
‘Oh,’ Violet said.
‘Slightly irregular order, though,’ he said. ‘If the cake is to be cut now.’
‘Irregular?’ Violet frowned.
‘Usually the cake is cut at the end.’
‘Only if you’re a stickler for protocol.’
‘I am.’
She didn’t envy Sahir having to make this particular speech. The bride’s parents were both absent, the groom’s family all dead.
She swallowed. ‘Are you going to mention his family?’
Sahir didn’t respond, and she wondered if he was pondering the same.
The cake was being cut, and as coffee was served, slices came round...
Fruit cake.
Violet chopped it up, to look as if she was eating it, nibbling on the white icing and hoping the speeches were short as she wanted so badly to dance again.
There was no father of the bride, so the groom spoke first, thanking his bride, the bridesmaid, and also the guests.
‘Sorry to tear you away from an excellent cricket match...’
A few of the guests groaned, and then Carter glanced over to his best man.
‘Sahir, I’m sure you weren’t best pleased when I told you the wedding was today.’
Sahir spread his palms, as if admitting it had been a difficult choice he’d been forced to make to attend the wedding and not the match.
She was the only one here who knew his true feelings on cricket, Violet realised. And it thrilled her to share in a tiny secret. So much so that beneath the table she pressed her knee against his leg and he pressed back.
She wasn’t flirting, and nor was he—it was just a moment shared, Violet thought as the groom moved his speech on.
‘I’ve attended several weddings, where—as many of you have reminded me—I’ve repeatedly stated that you’ll never be getting an invitation to mine.’ His voice moved from light-hearted to reflective. ‘But then I met Grace, and everything changed...’
‘Please...’ Violet muttered, but for Sahir’s ears only.
‘Violet,’ Sahir warned. ‘He’s about to toast you.’
Whew! Just in time she pushed out a smile as everyone raised their glasses.
‘To the bridesmaid!’
Then, with Carter’s speech over, it was time for some slushy words from Grace. Violet felt anxious as she watched her friend give her heart to him in front of everyone. So much so that as the speech drew to a close she found she was twisting the white napkin in her hand.
‘Carter,’ Grace said to her husband, ‘I’m so excited to take this journey with you.’
Violet could hear the adoration in Grace’s voice and it worried her—because Grace seemed to be entering this marriage with a heart brimming with hope. Yes, Grace was strong—after all, she’d been through a lot with her mother—but life had taught Violet to be tough, to expect to be let down, and she was terrified that her friend was about to be.
But then she felt Sahir’s hand come over her own, in a gentle prompt that she was letting her suspicions show, and she put down the napkin.
‘You seem to think he’s playing her,’ Sahir whispered, making the hairs in her ears tickle. ‘Have you considered it might be the other way around?’
‘Not for a second.’
‘Perhaps they are both happy with their choice?’
‘I hope so.’ Violet nodded. ‘I really do. And if that is the case...’ She met his eyes. ‘Perhaps you ought to mention...’ She swallowed, loath to give this suave man any advice.
As if he’d take it!
As Sahir stood and took the microphone a deep hush descended. The guests had been still and quiet for the bride and groom, but there was something about Sahir that had the waiters stopping, the bar staff too. He commanded the room.
‘Good evening,’ he stated, and looked to the intimate gathering. ‘Most of you I already know, or we’ve been introduced tonight, but for those I haven’t met I am Sahir, a long-time friend of the groom.’
He got the formalities out of the way—complimenting the bride, accepting the toast to the bridesmaid, and Violet duly raised her glass. She was curious to hear him speak. He told the guests how he and Carter had shared a dormitory at boarding school. How some summers Carter had joined his family in Janana.
He said nothing to embarrass the groom or his bride. It was rather formal and really a very polished speech. Still, Sahir’s voice made her toes curl. It was heaven to have an excuse to look at him properly, even if she could only really see his back as he turned to address the bride and groom.
His suit was perfection. It skimmed his broad shoulders and contoured his torso and moved as he spoke. His hair too was immaculate, cut into the nape of his long neck...
Then she heard a slight shift to his tone.
‘Before we came to the restaurant this evening I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Josephine Andrews—Grace’s mother.’ He looked directly at Grace. ‘It was wonderful that she could share in this day.’
Violet watched as Grace pressed her lips together and nodded, clearly moved that her mother had been properly named and mentioned.
‘And, Carter...’
Violet found she was holding her breath.
‘I never met your parents, but from all I have heard about them Sophie and Gordon would have been thrilled to be here today.’ He looked right at Carter. ‘I am your oldest friend, and I’m proud to be your best man, although I wish—as you must—that this speech was being delivered by Hugo.’
Violet watched as Carter briefly looked down and reached for Grace’s hand, before everyone raised a glass to the people missing tonight.
It was the first time Violet had truly considered that this love might be real.
Just as that thought formed, Sahir moved his speech to a close, ending it on an upbeat note. ‘I believed Carter when he said he’d never marry.’ There was laughter all round. ‘It is good to prove him a liar...’ He raised a glass. ‘To Grace and Carter—we all wish you every happiness.’
As everyone took a sip of champagne Sahir sat down. Unlike every other mortal, he didn’t ask her if that had been okay, or if he’d said too much.
Violet turned to him. ‘I think I’m going to cry.’
‘Not yet...’ He turned and gave her a slightly bemused smile. ‘It’s your turn to speak.’
‘No!’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t do speeches.’
‘Violet...’ Grace whispered loudly, urging her to stand.
‘I can’t,’ Violet protested. ‘I’ve never...’
‘You’ll be wonderful.’ Beneath the table, Sahir gave her thigh a tiny squeeze. ‘It’s all very low-key...just keep it short.’
Violet stood on shaky legs and wished she could be as effortless and polished as Sahir.
She had never given a speech—well, just once, for Mrs Hunt at the library, when she turned sixty.
And she’d stuffed that up.
Then she saw her beaming friend, thought of her gorgeous dress, and knew she was the most polished she was ever likely to be. As well as that, she could feel the little aftermath of that touch on her thigh and it was a nice distraction.
‘This is all so unexpected,’ she began. ‘The wedding...giving a speech...’
Violet smiled brightly at the select invitees, and then looked at the glaze on Grace’s eyes. Even if she wasn’t certain about this marriage, perhaps being happy for a little while was enough...
‘I was hoping Grace would bring me back a nice surprise from her trip to Borneo,’ she told the audience. ‘A toy orangutan, or even a tea set...’ She heard laughter. ‘And I did get a surprise—just not quite what I had in mind. I suspect she and Carter have been a little too busy to shop.’ Violet smiled at her friend. ‘So I’ll have to wait for something gorgeous after the honeymoon.’
She picked up her glass and toasted the seemingly happy couple.
‘To Grace and Carter—you owe me a present.’
She sat down to happy applause, and of course worried that she’d got it all wrong.
‘Well done,’ Sahir said.
But suddenly there was no time to discuss speeches, or anything. She saw Sahir glance down at his jacket and heard the buzz of his phone.
‘I’m just heading out for a moment,’ he told her.
‘Sure.’
Sob!
She politely shook her head at Mr Blond when he approached, and said her feet were killing her, and then for a moment she sat alone.
She looked at Grace, her eyes closed as she danced with her husband, and then she looked at the groom and how tenderly he held his bride.
Was it love?
After all, who was she to judge when love was something she’d never really known?
Could it be that Grace and Carter were for real?
‘You’ve got a nerve.’
Violet turned to see a derisive look from Tanya. She hadn’t seen her since ‘the incident’ .
‘You might have managed to convince Grace,’ she went on. ‘But we all know you took advantage of Aunty Jo.’
‘Tanya...’ Violet took a breath, upset that Tanya still held such resentment. ‘It’s Grace’s wedding—’
‘And there you sit, as if butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth.’
It dawned on Violet that Tanya’s resentment was probably because neither she nor her children were at the top table. ‘I honestly think—’
‘There’s nothing honest about you, Violet.’
She breathed in sharply, both at the accusation and also at the sudden sound of Sahir’s voice.
‘No need for introductions! You must be Tanya.’ He was being utterly charming, and clearly hadn’t a clue what had just been said. ‘I’ve heard so much about you.’
‘Oh!’ Tanya positively glowed. ‘Yes, I’m Grace’s cousin.’
She turned on her charm for Sahir, and as they stood chatting Violet left them to it and took a seat back at the table. She felt silly all of a sudden, wondering if she’d misread the closeness they had shared. Was he simply suave and delicious with everyone?
The night was winding down, and she rummaged in her bag for her phone, to call a taxi.
Two accusations in one day were just too much, and Grace would barely notice if she was gone... She just wanted to slip away.
‘Hey.’ Sahir was beside her. ‘Where are you going?’
‘I think I’ve had enough.’
‘We’re supposed to wave them off.’
‘You don’t wave,’ she reminded him, but then her shoulders slumped. Of course she had to stay to the end. ‘I’ll head off after the happy couple leave.’
‘Do you need a break?’
Violet nodded. ‘I might just nip to the ladies’.’ Though knowing her luck another blast from her past would be in there. ‘Or just sit somewhere else.’
‘I have a key.’ He showed it to her.
‘To where?’
‘There’s a courtyard near the main kitchen.’
She frowned. ‘Why would you have a key to that?’
‘In case there’s an issue.’
‘Or in case you want to go for a snog?’
She made him laugh. She was direct, and funny, but also, he understood, suddenly wounded and sad.
‘No, it’s because...’ God, he did not want to explain the complexities of his life—he wanted to escape them. But thankfully Violet came up with her own reason.
‘Because you’re the best man?’
‘Yes!’ He nodded, content with that explanation. ‘I asked for the gifts to be locked up out there.’ He told her a part of the truth. ‘Cousin Tanya’s children were trying to open them. Take it...go and have a little break. You’ve done incredibly well.’
‘Honestly?’
‘Here.’ He handed her the key. ‘Take your time.’
‘I don’t know...’
‘Do you want me to come?’ he offered, and before she could give any response, spoke on. ‘For that talk?’
‘What talk?’
‘The one I said would have to wait.’
Violet thought for a moment. Yes, she had hoped to talk to him later. She’d been looking forward to it, in fact.
This time with Sahir had been wonderful—it was others who had soured the night. And so she nodded.
‘I’d like that.’
‘And me.’ He glanced to the happy couple, who were draped around each other. ‘I doubt they’ll miss us.’
He took a bottle of champagne and she discreetly followed him, but it was all a bit of a maze.
Some events you didn’t want to attend turned out to be the most surprising of pleasures, she thought, as she unlocked a door and found a courtyard lit with fairy lights. It was the size of a small bedroom, really, but it felt like a magic garden...
‘Oh, my...’ Violet breathed and handed him the key, sighing in relief as he locked them in the courtyard and the wedding inside faded. ‘I can stop smiling now.’
‘Yes,’ Sahir said. ‘It’s just us.’
She just closed her eyes and stopped smiling, and it was possibly as nice as taking her heels off would be later.
‘Tell me about this dreadful week,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to bore you.’
‘If you do, I shall put up a hand for you to stop.’
She giggled. He made it so easy to just be herself.
She took a seat on a small stone bench. ‘Your speech was lovely.’
‘Stop trying to change the subject. I want to hear about you. You said you lost your job?’
‘I found out I was being let go about ten minutes after I found out about the wedding. Well, they’ve offered me a part time role at a library on the other side of London, but it’s less money and it would mean moving.’ She sighed despondently. ‘Usually I’d discuss it with Grace, but...’ She put her hand up, gestured to the laughter and music. ‘I didn’t want to bring the mood down.’
‘Talk to me, if you like.’
Violet thought for a moment. It had been so hard not talking about it.
‘I don’t want to leave,’ she stated. ‘I’ve been there for more than ten years.’
‘You look too young to have worked anywhere for ten years.’
‘I started there when I was fourteen, just on a Saturday, then I did a couple of evenings a week, then worked full time when I was sixteen.’
She took his rather messed-up silk pocket square out of her purse and blew her nose.
He was thankfully silent, and he stood rather than sat, but not in an overbearing way...more in a way that gave her space as she sat and pondered her life.
She looked around the pretty garden, its walls dulling the sounds of laughter. It was a relief to escape, and even better not to be hiding from the world alone.
‘Do you want a drink?’ he offered.
She nodded, and he popped the cork and handed her a glass of champagne.
‘Cheers.’
‘To what?’ Violet asked, but she did clink his glass. ‘I’ve got no job, no qualifications, and my flatmate has just gone and got married...’
‘You mean Grace?’
Violet nodded. ‘The flatmate I had before Grace used to cook fish for breakfast...the one before that had this awful boyfriend... There’s quite a list.’
‘Do you have to share your flat?’ He winced. ‘Sorry, that’s thoughtless.’
‘Believe me, it’s the same question I’m asking myself. But, yes...’ She took a sip of icy champagne. ‘There aren’t many jobs near me, though. Well, not that I’ve seen.’
‘Could you take the part-time job for now? Move closer...?’
‘I don’t want to move.’
‘Because you don’t want to be away from your family?’
‘No.’ For the first time she gave a frustrated shake of her head. ‘Nothing like that.’
Violet had been open with him—more open than with anyone—but she chose not to answer that one. She just gave him a shrug, brushed the question off.
‘It’s just been a bad week.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, and I had a dreadful date on Saturday, just to kick things off...’
‘Haircut day?’
‘That’s the one.’ She smiled, appreciative that he’d been listening. ‘He seemed nice, but when we met he was all about himself—how he went to the gym, how he took care of his body... Do you know? I felt judged when I ordered dessert!’
‘In my country you are judged if you don’t eat dessert.’
Violet smiled for the first time since entering the garden, and for Sahir there was a surge of triumph at watching her lighten, seeing the return of her gorgeous smile.
He gave a shake of his head, as if to clear it. He’d been right when he’d said there were a lot of moving parts to Violet—a lot of life, a lot of personality, and dots he would rather like to join up.
‘Had you been dating long?’ he asked, disliking no-dessert guy immensely—or rather, the thoughts he conjured.
‘No. Just chatting online.’
‘Online?’
‘Yes. He described himself as “laid-back and easy-going”.’
‘Doesn’t that mean you’d have to do all the arranging and he’d have no problem with you getting the bill?’ Her little laugh made him smile and he was curious. ‘So, how would you describe yourself?’
‘Laid-back, easy-going...’
‘Violet!’ He chided her for her fib, calling her out, and was gifted another smile.
‘I don’t really,’ she admitted. ‘My bio describes me as “outgoing and friendly”, and I guess I am. I just...’
She was more than that, he thought, but she didn’t know how to reveal her fears and wants or insecurities.
‘I’d be dreadful online,’ Sahir admitted, and watched her put her elbows on her knees and look up as he spoke. ‘I’d have skipped straight past the “outgoing and friendly” Violet, and look at what I’d have missed...’
‘That’s nice of you to say.’ She smiled again as she gazed up at him. ‘It’s hard out there—not that you’d know. I can’t imagine you’d have to resort to going online.’
Sahir said nothing at first, just looked at her sitting there, a little pensive and doleful, yet still but a second away from a smile. That much he knew about Violet. A thought came then—one he’d never so much as briefly entertained before. He had wealth, stature and dates aplenty, but when it came to the future Violet Lewis had something he’d never know—choices.
She also had the prospect of love.
It wasn’t something he wanted.
Sahir had grown up knowing he could never be too close to another person, and that it was forbidden to love your wife. After the death of his mother, he had better understood the reason for that law—for how did you run a country on the edge of war, as his had been then, while dealing with the loss of the love of your life?
Certainly he did not want a confidant or a second wife. One would be enough to deal with, let alone two!
Sahir had asked that the subject of his marriage not be discussed until he neared forty. The King was growing impatient, though. The elders too... He doubted it would be put off until then.
No, he would not be going online. His bride would be selected for him, with the welfare of both their countries in mind. It was the one area in his life where he had no say in the matter.
Sahir answered her at last. ‘We all have our own mountain to climb.’
‘We do,’ she agreed. ‘Thanks for being there for me today. You’ve made things a whole lot better.’
‘So have you.’
‘I mean it,’ Violet said.
She sat up, taking in a breath.
Yes, Sahir thought, she’d faced a few demons today.
‘Don’t worry about Mrs...’
He paused. Usually he was brilliant at summoning names—half his life was spent doing just that, and talking with people he barely knew—and yet since Violet had stepped out of that taxi minor details were proving a little difficult to recall.
‘Andrews?’ she finished for him.
‘Yes.’
‘And thank you for saving me from my brilliantly successful, very happily married schoolfriends.’
‘If it’s any consolation, the two of them were having a big argument outside when I was on my phone,’ Sahir told her. ‘And as for people like Tanya...’
‘I thought you two were getting on?’
‘No, I was trying to divert her from being so awful to you. My mother used to say that a snake waits in the shadows to strike.’
‘Used to?’
He nodded, but said no more on the subject than that. ‘I saw Tanya make a beeline for you the moment you were alone,’ he told her.
‘Is that why you came over?’ she asked.
‘Of course. I knew she was going to attack.’
‘But you were so nice to her.’
‘No. I was polite to Tanya. With you, I’m nice...’ He offered his hand. ‘One more dance?’
‘Can’t we stay out here a little longer?’
‘I meant, let’s dance here...’
It was a lovely slow dance, but he could feel her question coming—her need for more information.
‘Your mother used to...?’ she checked.
‘She died when I was thirteen,’ Sahir said. ‘It was...’ He took a breath. ‘I was told it was sudden.’
‘Told?’
‘I’m not so sure. I wish I had acted sooner,’ he admitted. ‘Noticed things.’
Sahir had told her only a little, yet it was by far more than he had ever told anyone.
He looked down at her. ‘Do you find that people talk to you, Violet?’
‘All the time. Clients at work, people on buses... I’m the one they sit next to...’
‘Taxi drivers?’ he added.
‘Oh, yes.’ She smiled, and her eyes were misty, her next words soft. ‘Not so much you, though.’
‘You have no idea...’ Sahir said.
He was beyond private—no one knew his thoughts—and he tried to pull back control, lighten the topic.
‘Let’s work on your online bio. How about “gorgeous”?’ he started.
But the thought of helping her meet another man didn’t lift his mood, so instead he gave up on conversation and lightly kissed her pale shoulder. Then he opened his mouth. As his tongue met her flesh she exhaled sharply, and he lifted his head as she jolted.
‘Okay?’ he checked, a little bemused by her reaction, and was pleased to find she was smiling.
‘Don’t stop,’ she told him.
So he got back to the shoulder he’d made wet.
‘I actually got a shiver down my spine,’ she told him. ‘I never really got what that meant before.’
‘Good,’ he said, and his lips moved along her collarbone to her neck, then up to her gorgeous mouth.
Violet stopped him, as if she had something she thought she really ought to say. ‘If I’m honest, I think you’d skip past my bio.’
‘How come?’
‘Because I’ve never... been with anyone.’
‘Sorry?’
‘I’ve barely kissed, let alone slept with anyone.’
Sahir met her eyes. Yes, there were so many parts to Violet—but he had a rather urgent question.
‘You didn’t put that on your bio?’
‘Of course not!’
‘Because you’d get every—’ He stopped himself.
‘I do know!’ she shrilled, all indignant.
And then he saw her pink cheeks, and she hid her head in his chest as they continued their dance.
‘Dreadful, isn’t it?’ She sighed.
‘Of course not,’ he said.
‘Then why are you holding me like it’s a duty dance now?’
‘I’m not,’ he refuted, even though she’d made a very good point.
‘If my date hadn’t been so mean...’
‘Can we stop talking about him?’ Sahir snapped, appalled at the thought of Violet with him. With anyone. ‘Were you going to sleep with him? Someone you’d just met online?’
‘I wanted it out of the way.’
‘It’s not a chore! It can actually be...’ He halted, perhaps for his sanity’s sake. ‘Well, you’ll find out for yourself,’ Sahir said, and then a little too hastily added, ‘Someday.’
Only that little addition didn’t help his sanity either. He didn’t want to entertain even the thought of her with another man—certainly not while holding her in his arms.
Violet wanted to find out.
And not just someday.
Today—or rather tonight.
With Sahir.
She wasn’t surprised at the sudden strain between them.
She was good at a little flirting, even if it was usually an act. Yet with Sahir it had been so natural.
‘I had a pretty wild family,’ she told him.
It was too much, and too hard to explain, but they were dancing more easily now, and he smelt so divine, and gosh , he was good to talk to—or was it that he simply didn’t say that much?
She was brave enough to lift her head and look at him now. ‘And in trying not to emulate them I think I went too far the other way. Became too cautious...’
‘Go on...’ he invited.
‘Now, when a guy finds out I’ve never slept with anyone, they seem to assume I’m saving myself for a reason. That I want a husband.’
‘You don’t want to marry?’
‘Absolutely I do.’ Violet nodded. ‘Not yet, though. I want a gorgeous life, with babies and...’ She gave a contented sigh, thinking of everything she’d never had. ‘But before all that I want to sort myself out. Maybe when I’m about thirty...’
‘That’s the age you’ll be all sorted?’ He smiled.
‘I hope so.’ She nodded. ‘How old are you?’
‘I just turned thirty-five, and believe me...’
Sahir paused, reminding himself that his future was more than sorted. It just didn’t feel that way right now.
Thankfully she didn’t notice his silence, just chatted on.
‘For now, though, I just want to date...have some fun while I work things out. The trouble is, I don’t think I’ve ever really wanted to...’
That pulled him out of his own head. ‘Have sex?’ he asked.
‘Oh, it’s far worse than that,’ she admitted. ‘I don’t even really like kissing. I’ve never wanted to...never felt compelled...’
Violet chewed her lip, because she’d been utterly honest with Sahir so far.
However, as of now, she was lying.
‘Never?’ he checked, his hands hovering near her torso and warm on her waist.
‘Maybe a little once...’
‘Possibly tonight?’
‘How did you know?’ She laughed.
‘I think we were kissing on the dance floor,’ Sahir told her. ‘Not physically, but... I don’t know the word in English. Takhatari ...in our minds...’
‘Imagining?’ she asked.
‘Both imagining,’ he said. ‘At the same time.’
‘Ooh, takhatari kisses. I like that.’ Whatever it meant. ‘And you’re right—I was thinking about you, about kissing you, maybe...’
She watched his dark eyes looking up somewhere to the left, as if he was really thinking about things, and then they came back to her, and for the first time she saw their colour, the tint on the edge of his pupils as raven as his hair.
‘You want to “get it out of the way”?’ he accused, using her own words.
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t feel like that with you.’
‘Violet, I’m only here for tonight.’ He was terse, back to holding her at a distance again. ‘And as much as I’d like to kiss you, and maybe more...’ He inhaled sharply. ‘Given you’ve never done anything before, I think you deserve to be wined and dined and...’
‘Stop being polite.’ She stared back at him. ‘If you don’t fancy me, just say so. And if there’s a Mrs Sahir at home, or—’
‘Violet,’ he cut in. ‘I don’t like that word.’
‘What word?’
‘“Fancy”. It is...’
‘What?’
‘Teenage.’
‘Okay, then.’ She thought for a moment. ‘I’ll put it more maturely. If you’re not attracted to me...’
‘I’m intensely attracted to you,’ he said, and he pulled her in, kissed her neck.
She closed her eyes as lust swept like a turning tide low inside her stomach.
‘But I fly back home soon,’ he went on. ‘I don’t do romance—and, believe me, I am a bad choice.’
‘I think you’re the perfect choice.’
‘How so?’
She smiled. ‘Because I’m twenty-five and I have never even come close to being so intensely attracted to anyone. And I don’t care if I never see you again...’ She looked into his eyes and ran a hand through his raven hair. ‘Well, I care. But I think you’ll be rather deliciously missed and very fondly remembered.’
‘Violet,’ he said. ‘That’s a really bad reason to sleep with someone.’
‘Oh, so you only sleep with someone when you have excellent, well-thought-out reasons? Tell me, Sahir, what are they?’
‘I can tell you why we shouldn’t,’ he volunteered. ‘I don’t bed virgins.’
‘ “Bed” virgins!’ She laughed. ‘Gosh, that’s old-fashioned. Well, then, for tonight I shall remain un-kissed and un-bedded.’
She knew she’d hit every nerve, and it had him pulling her right in. She slipped her hands beneath his jacket.
‘You are...’ He stopped, as if trying to find a word to describe her. ‘Irresistible.’
‘So are you.’ Violet nodded. ‘And you have no idea how long I’ve waited to feel like this.’
‘Like what?’
‘Ready.’
She wasn’t begging, she was tempting him. And her mouth was right by his, and she was completely free to be herself, to cajole and tease. Because he made it so...
His shirt was crisp beneath her palms and she thought of the skin beneath, and of tasting his breath while locked with his eyes. And whatever takhatari kisses were, they must be sharing them again, because she could feel her breath catching, feel him hardening against her stomach...
Violet vowed to herself that if he didn’t kiss her this second, she would walk away.
Fortunately, there was no need to walk away.
Because he answered her demand, his lips lightly brushing her own.
The soft contact was so welcome it almost made her startle, because it was all that had been missing. He cosseted her lips, indulged them tenderly till they were attuned to his. And then he delivered more...still soft, but a deeper peek at further treasures as his tongue met the tip of hers.
For Violet, this was usually the moment she involuntarily rebelled—the moment when her body shrilled because it was too close to another. Were she with another man right about now she’d revolt—pull her head back in alarm, press her lips closed. Tonight, though, or rather with Sahir, it felt exactly right and, closing her eyes, she found there was only the soft thrill of bliss, followed by a new and fervent desire to reciprocate.
I’m kissing , Violet thought as their mouths meshed softly. And he allowed her tongue to toy with his until she had to taste him more deeply and he obliged.
His hand moved to the back of her head, exerting a gentle pressure as his mouth took command. And the crush of his lips, the slow revelling of his tongue, had the fire that had been kindling in Violet igniting, shooting flame in directions she’d never so much as sought before.
She was by far too eager as her hands came to his hips, tugging at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin, yearning for a deeper taste. To be guided straight to more bliss.
Sahir must have felt her need for escalation, and yet he refused to reciprocate, or cave to her demand. Instead she felt the sure placement of his hands on her cheeks as he moved his mouth back.
‘We’re being called.’
‘No.’
Oh, but they were—she could hear Carter’s voice.
‘Where’s Sahir?’
They stood, foreheads resting on each other, as Grace joined in with the search.
‘I have to say goodbye to Violet.’
There was no avoiding the world.
‘Go that way.’
Sahir pointed to an exit she hadn’t even seen.
‘It will take you out by the restroom. And tidy up,’ he told her, while tucking his shirt in, then straightening his tie ‘I’ll say I had to make a phone call.’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘Actually, I do.’
And then what? she wanted to ask, unsure if this was it—if a kiss was the only wish she’d be granted.
But rather than ask, she wiped her lip-gloss from his cheek...oh, and the other one. Gosh, even his chin.
Yes, she’d better go and tidy up!
And now, after such a nice kiss, she was being shown the red card.
‘I’ll say goodbye here...’ Sahir told her.
‘Okay.’
‘I have appointments tomorrow, and then I fly...’
‘You already said.’
There was a knock on the door they’d entered through, and as she slipped out through the other exit he took out his phone and started talking in Arabic.
Carter called his name, opening the door the moment she’d slipped away.
Damn.
She stood in the tiny bathroom, frantically smoothing her hair and toning down her cheeks.
She wasn’t stinging from rejection—she’d grown up with it, refused to react... She was just annoyed that Sahir was doing what he considered the right thing by her.
What he didn’t get was that she’d been waiting a long time to feel so right, so sure, so...
Damn.
Why did she have to get a decent bastard?
‘There you are!’
Grace was smiling as Violet duly came out of the restroom, her lip-gloss back on, her smile in place, trying to act normal—as if her legs knew how to walk and she hadn’t just glimpsed paradise.
‘We’re heading off,’ Grace told her. ‘Carter’s just rounding up Sahir.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘I know he doesn’t like me...’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘He thinks it’s all about money...’ She looked at Violet then. ‘You think so too.’
‘Not any more,’ Violet admitted, and gave her friend a hug. ‘I love you, Mrs Bennett...’
‘I love you too,’ Grace told her, then whispered, ‘Don’t tell a soul...you’re going to be an aunty...’
Violet tried not to squeal. Because even if she wasn’t technically going to be an aunty, they were closer than many sisters and it was just the most wonderful news. So brilliant that even deep kisses and sexy Sahir were momentarily forgotten as the news sank in.
‘I’m so happy...’ She hugged Grace tighter. ‘Oh, my, God...’
She felt dizzy, and then suddenly guilty that she’d been so wrong about them both. And as the party headed out to the waiting car, and she saw the smiles on the newlyweds’ faces and realised that she’d been trusted with a precious secret, a huge wave of emotion hit her—a delectable moment when everything felt right in the world.
Indeed, one kiss was all Sahir would be granting. What a kiss, though...
The afternoon and evening had raced by, and the wedding had been made both interesting and fun—and fun wasn’t something Sahir either sought or was particularly used to.
And now it would seem it was over, because duty had tried to call—the reason he’d had to slip off earlier, even though his phone was effectively off, save for one particular line.
‘Did you find out who was trying to get hold of me?’ he asked Pria.
‘It was an error,’ Pria told him. ‘They were checking procedures for tomorrow.’
Reassured, he headed out to the street and stood on the other side of the carpet from Violet, hands in his pockets, watching Carter and Grace get into the car. He glanced down the street and saw Maaz a couple of doors down, and Layla in her car.
Very deliberately, he was doing all he could not to look at Violet.
Once the newlyweds had gone, he’d head back to the restaurant, wish Violet goodnight and then he would head home.
He could still smell Violet’s meadowy scent on his jacket, still feel the slight sheen of her gloss on his mouth—or was that more a case of wishful thinking?
He was in no mood for a virgin.
Okay, he was very much in the mood for a certain virgin—but he was trying to do the right thing here.
Grace threw the bouquet, and—phew! Violet didn’t even leap to catch it, instead that blond bastard caught it.
‘Flowers for your wife!’ Violet called out, and Sahir smothered a smile as she put him in his place for eyeing her up earlier.
Violet Lewis should write on her bio that she was independent and tough—that she knew what she wanted for her first time and losers need not apply.
Oh, and she could also add gorgeous and mind-altering too.
And sexy as hell.
There was a vulnerability to her too, though...
Sahir stood as the car containing the happy couple was driven off and some things never changed—of course he did not wave.
One thing had changed, though...
As they walked back into the restaurant he watched Violet reach for her purse. Somehow knew she wasn’t going to linger just to be turned down...
‘Violet?’
‘Please.’ She put up her hand. ‘I don’t need the farewell speech—’
‘Violet,’ he interrupted. ‘I don’t want tonight to end either.’
He adored the way her eyes widened.
‘But I do fly home tomorrow, and as I said...’
‘Oh, gosh...’ She waved tomorrow away. ‘I know all that. And Grace and Carter must never, ever know...’
‘Agreed.’ He smiled. ‘I just have to get rid of some people.’
‘Were you all meant to be going off to a club?’
‘Something like that,’ Sahir said, not wanting to burst this incredible bubble they’d found by talking about his protection officers or revealing his title. ‘Can you wait for me in the garden?’
‘Yes.’
Discreetly he slipped her the key. ‘I shan’t be long.’
Her eyes told him she’d wait...