Dangerous Pleasure

15

Tariq watched the hands of the old-fashioned clock at the side of the bed as they ticked forward. He wondered if he should stay or if he should return to his own bed.

Normally, he would have already made his way to the other room, but normally the circumstances were entirely different.

There were none of Azir’s bodyguards standing in the hall to make note of his departure time, nor were they at the castle or in the Mustafa province where Azir or his terrorist cohorts could surprise them and drag Tariq off for a death sentence.

For the crime of sexual indecency. Sexual indecency.

Turning his head he stared at the couple he shared the bed with and wondered if Abram had accepted the fact that he was in love with Paige yet. That he had been in love with her for a while.

Tariq had known, and he suspected that Khalid knew as well. That was probably part of the reason Khalid had been so diligent in keeping them apart.

Khalid would blow a fuse when he came out of the hospital to learn it was too late to keep his brother and sister apart.

He almost laughed at the concept. Poor Khalid. It would not be easy should he ever have to introduce them as a couple.

“Meet my brother and sister who are, by the way, married.”

Ah yes, talk about a conversation starter for any social gathering. That topic would definitely be the one.

“You’re still awake.” Abram’s voice was only barely audible. “You should be sleeping.”

It wasn’t as though either of them had slept much since their escape from Saudi.

“Restless perhaps,” Tariq answered.

Silence met the observation for long moments before Abram said, “That’s unusual, for you.”

And it was. Normally, Abram was the restless one. He was known to pace, to stare up at the ceiling, or find ways to simply busy himself when he needed to work out a problem. Restless wasn’t something Tariq did well. And it wasn’t something he enjoyed.

“It sounds to me as though both of you are restless,” Paige observed, her voice drowsy as she shifted more comfortably into her position, draped over Abram’s chest.

Tariq was almost jealous a natural, comfortable appearance of the two. They may strike sparks outside the bed in a totally different manner, but there had always been a connection between them.

Abram’s hand stroked down her back and up, almost unconsciously, Tariq thought. A need for connection. A need to touch the woman he was silently claiming.

“Should we call Marty and check on Khalid?” Paige asked, her tone quieter, subdued at the thought of her brother.

“If you need to, though Marty is probably resting now,” Abram stated. “Trust her to call if there is any problem, love,” he stated quietly.

Yes, Tariq thought, there was definitely a reason to feel jealous. He wondered what it would be like to share with someone the everyday decisions life was prone to toss at you.

Sitting up in the bed, one foot resting on the floor, the other propped on the bed, he stared toward the balcony doors with a frown on his face.

Abram was right, restlessness wasn’t a part of his psyche, so what the hell was the problem?

“Tariq?” Paige sat up slowly. “What’s wrong?”

He moved to shake his head once again, only to have the movement interrupted by the quiet vibration of his phone on the table beside the bed.

His hand jerked out, flipping the phone open as he brought it to his ear.

“Tariq,” he answered.

“Is Abram with you?” the male voice questioned.

“He is,” Tariq replied.

“We need speakerphone, quickly,” Daniel Conover ordered, his tone steel-hard despite the low volume.

Tariq lowered the phone and quickly hit speaker.

“We’re here,” Tariq stated quietly.

“We have a problem,” Daniel said. “We’ve had two attempts at the gate in the last ten minutes with no sign of the attempted intruder. Be certain to stay on guard. And for God’s sake, stay in your rooms. If you have to leave, contact me first. I have an agent moving on Paige’s room.”

“Ms. Galbraithe is here,” Tariq informed him coolly, uncertain of the security agent’s right to call her by her first name alone.

A moment’s silence. “Very well. Stay in place, we’ll contact you soo#x201D;

As he spoke, both Tariq and Abram were moving around the room, quickly jerking the heavy curtains over the windows as Paige stood in the darkness of the connecting bathroom, dressing hurriedly in the jeans, T-shirt, underclothes, and boots Abram had advised her to keep handy, just in case.

“Be certain to stay in contact,” Tariq commanded as he and Abram began dressing as well.

Disconnecting the call, Tariq jerked his well-worn jeans on, securing them before pushing his feet into the boots and tying them quickly.

Abram finished seconds before he did and was opening the door to the closet where they had placed their weapons earlier that day. They had known, or at least Abram had known, exactly where their nights would be spent, and he had lain the weapons in just in case.

“Why won’t he let you go?” Paige stood at the door of the bathroom, uncertain in the face of what seemed to be going on, especially when Abram strode to her and pressed the Glock into her hand.

“Pride. Anger.” Abram’s voice was hard, but Paige had known him for years and she recognized that hint of pain in his tone.

She couldn’t imagine her father ever being less than gentle or loving with her, or firm but always kind to Khalid. She couldn’t bear it if he were anything less.

“Pride and anger isn’t a good enough reason,” she said into the dark, keeping her voice low.

“The fucker is insane then.” Abram spat the comment out.

For all the softness of his tone, the violence that filled his voice had her flinching. It was the sight of Abram shoving the weapon into the holster beneath his arm that had her mouth drying out in fear. The violence, the gathering rage, it was all reflected in that tight, hard action.

“Abram?” She moved to step from the bathroom when the whole house seemed to shake and an explosion ripped through the night.

Paige stumbled against the door frame as the room seemed to shake and roll beneath her feet. A cry was barely smothered, her heart racing in fear as lights flickered outside and the sound of voices raised in alarm reached from the lower floor.

“It wasn’t the house, it was outside.” Abram was beside her, his hand grabbing hers as he pulled her toward the door. “It was too damned close though.”

“We have to get to Chalah.” She gasped as Tariq threw the door open with one hand. He carried the powerful automatic rifle in the other.

She considered it completely unfair that his gu was bigger than hers.

“She’s probably the reason they found us so fucking fast,” Tariq snarled back at her.

There was nothing of the lovers who had held her so gently, who had touched her so heatedly earlier. These were hardened warriors, and though she appreciated the need, she did not appreciate the delivery of the attitude in her direction.

“Tariq.” Abram’s voice was warning as they stepped into the darkened hallway.

Tariq turned to the left, ignoring Abram and heading for the staircase that curved down to the main floor. The opposite direction of the room Chalah had been taken to.

Without a word Paige turned to the right, breathing out a sigh of relief as she felt Abram following closely behind her as she moved quickly for Chalah’s room.

Tariq cursed furiously behind them.

Reaching the door Abram gave a hard, quick knock before pushing it open.

Darkened, silent, the room appeared deserted as Tariq pushed in ahead of Abram. Paige caught the disgruntled look Tariq shot him.

Another explosion shook the house, this one closer, the flare of light blazing white outside the tall, wide windows. Paige barely managed to hold back her cry, or at least she thought she had. It must have escaped as a small, frightened squeak that seemed to drift through the room.

She could have sworn she heard Tariq curse again. Striding past her he threw open the closet door and a heartbeat later dragged a terrified Chalah from the small, enclosed space.

“Let’s go!” Abram ordered as they moved quickly down the hall. “Tariq, has Conover contacted?”

“Nothing,” Tariq answered from behind him. “And he should have radioed.”

“They managed to get past him and his men once before when Ayid and Aman came after Kahlid and Abram,” Paige stated. “They could have managed to overtake them again.”

They, being Jafar and his men.

Jafar.

Paige glanced back at Chalah’s pale, tearstained face. Abram’s father, and Chalah’s brother. How horrible it must be to face the reality of their hatred.

“Tariq, take Paige and Chalah—”

“Oh hell no,” Paige protested. “You’re not going anyre without me.”

“No women are giving us orders,” Tariq growled as they neared the steps. “Next thing we know, children will be teaching us.”

Paige had every intention of telling him exactly what she thought of the comment when they heard the first, sharp report of a weapon.

Tariq and Abram both moved quickly, pushing Paige and Chalah against the wall. The sound of shouted orders from below had Paige’s heart racing in terror. She felt a bone-deep knowledge that Abram wouldn’t be able to handle hiding for long.

“The safe room,” Abram said, turning to Tariq. “There’s one on each floor. Activated it sends out an alarm to police, fire, and rescue, independent of the phone lines.”

“Why can’t you use the phone lines?” Paige whispered.

“I checked them,” Tariq stated. “They’re out and cell phones are jammed. The safe room sends out a call to law enforcement through cable Internet which is buried underground. If they cut the lines there, it sends out a call then as well.”

The phones were out. Paige knew after the last attack Khalid had had a special security system installed that used the backup Internet connection emergency notification.

So why hadn’t there been a response yet?

“Abram, it’s Daniel Conover.” The sound of the security consultant’s voice rang up the stairs.

“Conover,” Abram called back as he placed his body carefully in front of Paige’s.

Tariq had done the same, standing in front of Chalah protectively. “What’s going on?”

“Too much, Abram,” Daniel called back. “But not enough to give a man a sense of satisfaction.”

The safe code came back with an edge of amusement.

Abram relaxed marginally.

“I’m coming up, Abram,” Daniel announced.

Seconds later he strode to the top of the stairs, dressed in black and looking almost as dangerous as Abram and Tariq. “Police will be here any minute,” Daniel stated as he stopped at the top of the stairs, his blue eyes gleaming like hardened gems. “We caught a man armed with a piss-poor shoulder-mounted rocket launcher and a few homemade rockets. We have him in custody but he’s not talking. We’ll see what the police can do with him in a few minutes.”

The sound of sirens wailing in the distance had Abram turning to glare at the window at the far end of the hall.

The flash of lights, blue and red, flared in the distance as the sirens moved closer.

Fuck.

Abram glared at the window, aware of Paige behind him, her hand moving to grip his bicep as she whispered his name.

“I could have made him talk,” he stated quickly. “Azir sent him. I could force it out of him.”

“Yeah, well, that shit seems to be against the law here in Virginia,” Daniel grunted. “Give me a chance to help them load up our prisoner and then we’ll talk.”

About what?

Abram didn’t voice the thought. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing left to talk about if he was simply going to pack the man his agents had caught off to the local police station. “We can talk come morning,” Abram growled as he turned, catching Paige’s elbow and turning her back to the bedroom. “I have other things to do tonight.”

He was pissed, though he knew it was no one’s fault that his need to kick Jafar’s ass and shoot his own father was tearing through him.

The rage was building, and it was a rage he knew was only beginning to fester inside him.

“Abram, we’ll stop it,” Daniel assured him as Abram turned away from him.

“Will we, Daniel?” He grunted. “My brother is in the hospital near death, my lover must live in fear of being killed because she is my weakness, and my cousin, the only one willing to stand at my back has forever gained Azir’s hatred. Just as I did so long ago. Perhaps it’s time to realize there is nothing we can do in this fight. Had I not insisted on being here, where I was safe to feed my hungers, then neither Tariq nor Paige would be facing the danger that now stalks them.”

He didn’t give Daniel a chance to answer.

Turning away he headed back to the bedroom, his fingers curved around Paige’s upper arm before drawing her into the bedroom.

“Abram, I will see you later in the day,” Tariq stated as Abram paused just inside the bedroom.

He turned and stared back at his cousin, then at the young woman watching everything silently, her dark eyes glittering with tears and with pain.

“Leave Chalah alone for the night, Tariq,” he told him quietly. “Jafar wld have known where we were staying with no help from his sister.”

Tariq inclined his head in agreement, but Abram saw something in his gaze, in his expression, that warned him that in this, Tariq would have to cut his own throat before realizing the truth.

Abram closed the door, locked it securely, then turned back to Paige.

Pale, weary, yet with a strength he had always known she possessed. The strength to stare adversity in the face without losing her spirit or her courage.

God, she was the epitome of feminine strength and passion. A woman unlike any he had known before her.

He wanted to protect her. He wanted to place her in his bed and never allow her to leave it. At the same time, he wanted to stand before the world with her and proclaim her as his own. Each time that temptation rose inside him, though, memories of Lessa were there to haunt him.

“I’m sorry.” And he was, clear to the bottom of his soul he fully regretted the fact that Paige had been drawn into this hell.

Weary, worried, and frightened, she gave a hard, brief shake of her head.

“There’s no reason for you to be sorry, Abram.” She sighed. “This has been coming since the day Mother escaped Azir, and we both know it.” Had they? Or, had he orchestrated it with his desire for her? With a look, or a word spoken at the wrong time to Azir, or possibly an edge of hunger not as clearly hidden as he had hoped whenever he saw her in public.

He shook his head.

“You know it has,” she whispered bitterly. “He couldn’t break Mother, and you refused to attempt to break me while we were in Saudi. You knew when we escaped, just as you knew years before he took me that it was coming. Azir wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

And perhaps she was right.

Moving to her, he could do nothing but wrap his arms around her and hold her tight as he closed his eyes and whispered a prayer that God would keep her safe. That he would protect her, and that somehow, some way, there would be a chance for the happiness he had always dreamed of.

A chance that included holding Paige in his arms forever.

Pressing his fingers beneath her chin he lifted her head, watching as her lashes fluttered and those incredible green eyes stared back at him. Emerald eyes. Cat’s eyes. And she was just as fierce, independent, and courageous as any cat he had ever seen.

There was so much he wanted to say. So much inside him. How would he find the courage to tell her how much of him belonged to her?

Feeling her hands, so light, so delicate as they moved to the nape of his neck, he had to grit his teeth against the arousal that suddenly flared to life once again.

He would never get enough of her. It simply wasn’t possible.

“I love you, Abram.” She said the words he could feel beating in his heart.

“You amaze me, hellcat,” he said, feeling an amazement growing inside him. “How can you know how you have always softened the hell I’ve been forced to navigate as I fought to come to this place in my life? I could never express to you how you have eased the wounds I thought my soul could never heal from.”

“And why do I amaze you?” That mysterious little smile played at her lips. “You’ve always known I love you, Abram, don’t pretend you haven’t.”

Had he? Had it been that knowledge that had eased the nights for him, at first because he had seen the innocence and childish acceptance she gave him just after Lessa’s death, and later, after the death of his second wife, there had been so much more.

“Do you know how I’ve loved you?” The words felt torn from his soul. “Do you know, Paige, how I have sought sight of you each time I’ve visited Khalid? How I have lived for the visits here?” His hand cupped her cheek. “How I have lived for you?”

He had lived for her for years, and he knew it. There wasn’t a part of his soul that wasn’t aware of the fact that for so long, she had followed him through each second of his day, each second of the long, dark nights that seemed filled with blood and death.

And now, there was hope. The hope that when the sun rose there could be her laughter, her gentle touch, her loving light that shined for him alone.

“We’re going to get through this, Abram,” she promised, and for the first time in his life he felt the knowledge that he had no other choice but to survive.

He only had one job to complete before that security would be assured.

The death of Azir Mustafa.