Seven Years to Sin(33)
“Perfection, if that’s what you choose to call it, isn’t effortless.”
“You make it seem so.” He held up a hand when she would have demurred. “Masterson’s affection is for my mother. She is the sole reason he showed any generosity. I am grateful for that and even for the least of what he did for me on her behalf. For all the ill will between us, his love for her earns my appreciation.”
“Why is there ill will?”
“When you share your secrets, I will share mine.” Alistair’s smile was devastating and soothed the sting of his refusal. “You are a very mysterious woman, Jessica. I would be best served by keeping you equally intrigued with me.”
Jess chewed thoughtfully. His belief in her extraordinariness made her wish she was as remarkable as he saw her to be. Her tutelage had been so strict, and any deviation so strenuously punished, that she’d been certain anything noteworthy about herself had withered and died.
But Alistair made her wonder if she was wrong. He made her wonder what it would be like to be the sort of woman who was equal to a man as fascinating as he was to her. A man who was so darkly sensual and flamboyantly handsome that women paid for the privilege of possessing him, if only briefly.
Her imagination ran away with the idea, inventing a past interesting enough to make her notable.
“I suppose I could tell you about my time in captivity with the maharaja …” she began.
“Oh?” A very wicked gleam brightened his gaze. “Please do.”
Chapter 10
Alistair’s fascination with Jessica deepened with every day that passed, and he feared this afternoon’s picnic might seal his fate. What would her fictional tale reveal about her? The mere fact that she’d conceived of the idea to begin with told him a great deal—she could be imaginative, adventurous, playful …
But he’d known she had hidden facets. He had seen a glimpse of this other side. More than anything else, it was that affinity—that recognition of another soul who retreated behind an affected guise to survive—which drew him to her. He could hardly wait for the day when she knew herself better. What a formidable woman she would become when she accepted and exploited her many hidden charms.
Her head turned, shielding her face from his gaze. “I was traveling with a Bedouin tribe. We were transporting salt slabs on camelback when our party was raided by a rival tribe.”
Such an exotic setting for a woman best known for being a proper English lady. And a damsel in distress? He loved the story already. “What were you doing in the Sahara to begin with?”
“Escaping the winter chill.”
“Were you frightened?”
“At first. I had no notion of what they would do with a female in such a hostile place. I was taken to an oasis and the tent of the sheik.”
A captive. The tale grew spicier by the moment. “Were you bound?”
“Yes.” There was a betraying hitch in her voice. “My wrists were.”
He relished an inner smile. As much as she professed a desire to command him in sexual matters, it appeared she might also carry a desire to be commanded. It was a highly provocative thought. “What was the sheik like?”
“He was younger than I expected. Attractive.”
“What did he look like?”
Jessica glanced at him with a mysterious smile. “You.”
“Delicious,” he murmured, pleased to know he’d been included in her whimsical tale. It might also be telling that Tarley was not, but he would have to hear more to be certain. Perhaps her impeccable husband would be the hero, rescuing her from the clutches of the lascivious sheik. “What did he say when he saw you?”
“He was the one who abducted me. Tossed me over his horse and took me away from everything I knew.”
The parallels to reality seemed quite prominent to him—stretches of sand or endless ocean. Alistair rolled to his back. He tucked a pillow behind his head and stared up at the clear blue sky.
“There was food and flasks of wine,” she went on. “The ground was covered by rugs that were littered with pillows. He asked me to join him in sprawling there. Much like what you and I are doing now. He removed the bindings on my hands, but I was still very wary.”
“Why? He sounds like an agreeable fellow.”
“He stole me!” she protested with amusement in her voice.
“Can’t blame him for running off with you. It isn’t every day a man finds such treasure in a barren landscape.” He could draw parallels as well.
“So a man should just take what he wants?”
“If no one is hurt by it, why not?”
Jessica laughed, and he loved the sound. “You, sir, are incorrigible.”
“As often as possible,” he agreed.
“The sheik was, too, I’m afraid. I found him quite charming, but obstinate. Despite the number of times I warned him that I occupied a more rigid world than he knew and it would eventually intrude, he remained unconcerned.”
“I like him already.”
“Yes, you would.” Jessica took a moment to eat.
“So what did you do?”
“You are a horrible person to tell stories to,” she complained. “You won’t allow me to reveal the details in my own time. Fortunately for me, the sheik was better behaved than you in that regard.”