I want to bring you to a place that’s as unique as the way I felt when you kissed me.

  Piper was quiet for several heartbeats.

  Then she reached across the seat and squeezed his hand.

  It was the most gorgeous day Piper had ever seen—cloudless blue sky, and no sign of the heat shimmers she often noticed here. The oasis appeared out of nowhere. She guessed that’s how it usually was—miles and miles of desert, and then a shimmering mirage of green and blue dancing above the sand.

  Camil pulled the car up in a parking area and squeezed her hand before releasing it. Unlike the formal dinner at the palace, this had “date” written all over it. Camil had spoken about preserving the oasis and wanting a unique place for visitors to Al-Fahr with a kind of fierce pride. This place was special to him. No doubt about that.

  A tap on the window alerted her that the security team had arrived. The man outside opened her door for her, and Camil was there a moment later, helping her out of the SUV. He was so elegant in his suit pants and crisp white shirt. He’d unbuttoned it at the collar, and the exposed hollow of his neck—all that olive skin—made heat skim over her cheeks.

  And then there was the oasis.

  “Oh,” she breathed. “Oh.”

  Tropical trees surrounded a wide, crystal-clear pool like emeralds around a diamond setting. Waves of white sand met the water lapping at the pool’s edge. It was wild here. Unmaintained. And beloved. People had come to enjoy the sand, the water. There were more of them than she expected, walking down the beach, wading in the rippling water. A crowd. The sun glinted off camera lenses. Of course—there was beautiful light here, and beautiful scenery. They would probably be in the background of several photos. All the voices echoed over the water, almost like birdsong.

  Piper took a few steps down the beach, Camil at her side, her hand still on his arm. He owed her an apology. Or at least an explanation for why he hadn’t come to see her for a week. It was the most obvious move a man had ever made. Camil made a point of visiting her every day while she worked in the archives.

  One kiss. One deep, delicious kiss, and he’d...

  Stopped.

  Completely.

  She hadn’t expected the knock on her door this morning to be him. Piper had expected, actually, that she wouldn’t see him again—not at the palace, and not anywhere. And now they were walking down this sandy beach, tropical leaves bowing over their heads, and her heart raced with how close he was. How good he smelled, a crisp, light cologne and desert sun. How he hadn’t pulled his hand away in the car.

  The whole day unspooled in front of her in the world’s most vivid daydream. A mouthwatering picnic. Swimming with Camil, the clear water running over his skin and spiraling down from his dark hair. Making love in some hidden alcove. She’d kissed him one time, and now Piper couldn’t stop thinking about the night they’d spent together. It had been over in a heartbeat, and she’d left the palace feeling like a human beam of light, all those pleasure chemicals swimming in her bloodstream. Oh, she had enjoyed him so much. What was the harm of enjoying him now? They obviously had chemistry, and it would be a waste not to take advantage.

  Down the beach, a cabana had been set up for them. Camil angled them toward it, taking them down to the water’s edge. It was hard to resist the draw of that water. Piper stepped closer and closer. Small ripples lapped at her toes, and the delicate sandals she wore slicked up with droplets. Submerging one foot couldn’t be so bad, could it? She’d just walk right along the edge, and—

  The pleasant cool of the water came up over her toes at the same moment her balance disappeared.

  Piper tumbled into the water with a yelp, expecting her hand to meet sand, but it was a deeper drop-off than she’d realized, and she went all the way under. She got her legs under her and stood, gasping. The lightweight dress she wore clung to every part of her in a wet fall, and heat shot across her cheeks.

  “Oh, no,” she heard herself say. The dress had obviously been chosen for modesty, but now it was practically sheer, and wet, and clinging—

  And they weren’t alone. There were people across the water, and more people could arrive at any time, and they were finally together—

  She swallowed a thick knot of embarrassed tears and opened her mouth to apologize.

  Too late. Camil waded a step into the water and swept her into his arms.

  “You’ll get wet,” she said, though he was already wet. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s nothing.” She heard a laugh in his voice, but command there, too. Camil carried her out of the water, put her on her feet, and called for a jacket. One of the guards handed it over. He swept his gaze over the beach. “There,” he said. “And there, and there. Photographers. Handle them.” Now he was all prince, eyes narrowed as he tracked a man who was still taking photos. “Now,” he ordered, and the guards who had gathered around them scattered.

  Camil wrapped the jacket tighter around her, put a hand on the small of her back, and guided her to the cabana with quick footsteps.

  It was a paradise of white curtains and elegant furniture and soft rugs. Low tables held fruit trays and other foods, with drinks already set out for them. Camil snapped the curtains closed behind him.

  “We’ll have to be certain to choose our steps carefully in future,” he said, and then he turned to her.

  Powerful. He was powerful in the pants that clung to his thighs. In his pure white shirt. His height, the way he stood—he was in command outside, with his staff, and he was in command here, with her.

  Pure heat filled her lungs. The green in his hazel eyes shone with care and something more than that, and the curve of his lips, and the way he spoke to her—Piper wanted him. His gaze stayed on hers, as intense as the first day they met. More intense.

  She liked it.

  “What should I do now?” Her own voice sounded sultry and smooth, and her pulse was a fluttering bird, all through her veins. The wet fabric of her dress felt indecent against her skin.

  “I’ll show you,” Camil said, and then he leaned in.

  His strong hands went to the sides of her neck, his thumbs bracing the sides of her face, and his kiss—

  His kiss was so possessive it took her breath away. Firm against her lips, and then his tongue demanding entrance. She was all too happy to give it. He held her, his hands in as much control as his voice had been. It felt like an order, and it turned her on. Her worry about the dress melted to the floor, and Camil followed it, breaking the kiss to bend and pull the hem of her dress up and up and up until he could peel the whole thing over her head. He dropped it to the floor and stripped off her underthings.

  “I’ll get you some dry things,” he told her.

  “No,” she breathed. “Not yet.”

  Piper felt his answering filthy grin all the way to the tips of her toes. He pulled her into another kiss, this one with her body pressed against his, but he didn’t stop there. No. His hand worked between her legs, his fingers moving expertly against her flesh until she felt herself rocking into his touch. Oh, she wanted him. She wanted this, and it felt forbidden and absolutely right at the same time. Like something she should have with her true love. A small, secret shame at how much pleasure he gave her only made her hotter. Made her want more of Camil. Made her want, for a heady second, to have accepted the plan to marry. His tongue dipped into her mouth, tasting her, and Piper came with a burst of pleasure that made her shudder, made her knees go weak.

  He held her close until she’d finished, until she’d come down, and then he stepped away.

  His fine suit pants couldn’t disguise how hard he was—the fabric bulged tellingly—and the want in his eyes reeled her in. She reached for him. Camil caught her by the wrist and kissed the backs of her hands. “I brought you here to show you the oasis.”

  “I’d rather see you.”

  “It’s not fair, is it? I’ve seen you, and now I owe you. Don’t worry—I always clear my debts.” It was a promise she could accept. A tacit apology. I’ll be back, his words said. “Now let me get you some clothes, before someone comes to see if you’re all right.”

  7

  Camil would never know how he managed to step away from her in the cabana. A very old, very ingrained sense of responsibility, probably. The security team would be just outside, staying out of sight, and though the other visitors to the oasis were across the water, he couldn’t risk doing the things he wanted to do with her here, in these walls of billowing fabric.

  So he found other ways to touch her instead. He slipped a fresh dress over her head and let it flow over her in a fall of cotton. He lifted a fresh strawberry to her lips and watched her eyes light up at the taste. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her across the sand to the water’s edge, where they could look at the beauty of the oasis together as the sun arced overhead.

  They stayed until the sun set.

  He did not talk about the week they’d spent apart. It didn’t belong there on the beach as she told him about her childhood in Pennsylvania, a world away from Al-Fahr.

  By the time they left the oasis, the sky was decorated in a spray of brilliant stars, and Piper lounged easily in the passenger seat. His pulse thrummed with anticipation for the rest of the night.

  He’d take her directly to his rooms. Finish what he started in the cabana.

  Except a messenger waited for him at the back entrance. “Your father wishes to speak with you.”

  His entire soul sighed. “I supposed it can’t wait until morning.”

  The messenger shook his head.

  He turned to Piper and caught her mid-yawn. “It’s all right,” she said. “I’ll go home. I’m tired.”

  “You won’t.” Her eyebrows went up, and her eyes gleamed with surprise. “I’ll finish up with my father, and we’ll have a late dinner. I’ll either arrange a car to take you home afterward, or—”

  “Or I could stay with you?” She practically purred the words, and oh, he wanted it.

  “Yes.” He pulled her in for a kiss that tasted like the dangerous privacy of a cabana with cloth walls. Camil broke the kiss and addressed the messenger. “Would you call Farah, please? I need her assistance with a guest suite.” Back to Piper, who watched him with those glorious blue eyes. “I’ll come to you after this meeting,” he promised.

  She was the one who leaned in for the kiss this time, and the sweet softness of her lips on his made him rock hard. Again.

  “Good evening, Prince Camil,” said Farah, appearing from a side hallway. “I hear we have need of a guest suite. Hello, Piper.”

  “Hi.” Piper beamed at Farah, a pretty blush in her cheeks, and Camil had never wanted to attend a meeting less in his life. “I am tired, and Camil said…”

  “I’ll show you the way,” answered Farah.

  The two women disappeared down the hallway Farah had come from.

  “Your father is in the council room,” the messenger told him. Just as well. Camil wanted to hold onto this warm, excited feeling for a few minutes longer. Perhaps he’d be able to keep it in his fists all through the meeting, if his father was in a pleasant enough mood.

  He opened the door to the council room and stepped through.

  The hum of satisfaction was dashed under a bucket of ice water at the sight of his father at the council table. His father, and the entire council, all of them here to talk to him. All of them frowning. All of them looking displeased. More than displeased. Angry.

  “Good evening,” he said mildly, and took the remaining seat at the council table.

  The eldest councilor, a man named Alvan, glared at him from his father’s right hand. “We are appalled at the behavior of your guest at the oasis. Appalled at your lack of concern for the royal reputation, and thus the reputation of Al-Fahr. A possible future queen cannot display such behavior.”

  There was nothing to do but sit there as member after member repeated variations on this theme. They were appalled at Camil’s lack of consultation with them about “the American woman.” They were appalled at the lack of any attempt to legitimize the relationship. Each man spoke to him as if he were a little boy, and Camil sat impassively through it, though his heart protested and pounded.

  And then it was his father’s turn. “How can you be a leader, Camil, if you can’t keep your woman under control?”

  Anger burst out of him like a wolf. The tone his father had used, as if Piper were a fool or a trollop, was over the line. And she was not his woman.

  “She slipped and fell.” Camil let every ounce of his anger show in his own tone, making the words razor sharp. “She didn’t flash the people at the oasis, and she was mortified by the whole episode. I will not have her shamed for this. I will not stand for you speaking of her this way.”

  The council sat in stunned silence. Camil wasn’t one to raise his voice. He had never come close to shouting in a council meeting before.

  To his own shock, his father was...

  Smiling. He looked approving. Odd—Camil had never expected the man to be proud of him for losing his temper. Had this meeting been a setup? Some kind of test? Anger sluiced away and became pure irritation. Forget this.

  “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said, rising from his seat. “I have a dinner engagement to get to. If you wish to continue this discussion, it will have to wait until morning.”

  He moved through the palace at a fast clip. Camil needed to get to Piper, and he needed to get to her now. Meeting with his father and the council had been a colossal waste of time, and now he wanted to be close, to hold her, to kiss her—

  Piper sat in an armchair in the guest suite’s sitting room, documents spread out on the coffee table in front of her. He recognized them from the archives. She must have had Farah call for whatever she left on the table down there. As he entered, she looked up and smiled at him.

  That smile undid him.

  He couldn’t wait until after dinner to have her.

  “Camil,” she breathed, and then he was at her chair, then leaning down to sweep her up in his arms.

  “I can’t wait,” he told her, and bent his head to kiss her lips. He teased at the seam with his tongue, and she opened for him, a small sound catching at the back of her throat. “I can’t wait to have you.”

  “Take me,” she murmured into his mouth, and he did not hesitate. He carried her to the bedroom, put her on her feet at the foot of the bed, and stripped her dress over her head.

  He wanted hours with her body. Days. But Camil had to focus. If nothing else, the morning would come, and probably some messenger would be at his door with a summons from his father or the council or who knew what else. He had to focus on the now.

  What he wanted now was to have his hands on her. On her face. On her neck. On the lovely curve of her collarbone. Her breasts, her nipples. He tested each place with the pad of his thumb and marked it with his kisses, Piper shivering under his hands. He worked his way down the front of her, down over her belly button. He fell to his knees on the floor. Camil didn’t kneel for people very often.

  He knelt for her.

  He pressed a kiss just below her belly button, then made a trail lower and lower, until his lips hovered just above the bundle of nerves she clearly wanted him to touch.

  Piper was braced against the bed by then, her hands gripping the edge, her head thrown back and her breaths shallow.

  “Camil,” she said again, and it was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard, and the most wicked. Almost as wicked as nudging her legs apart and stroking his fingers through the silky folds between her legs. Her knees quivered, and he slipped two fingers inside her, then three. Her muscles fluttered around his fingers, and she made a low sound.

  He let her feel his breath on her skin and she bucked her hips toward him.

  No. He held her in place.

  Camil stroked inside her with those fingers, and just the suggestion that he might lick her clit, just the suggestion— Her moans and begging grew louder and more breathless. His cock pulsed between his legs, but he’d wait, he’d wait until...

  She came on his fingers, and as the orgasm began, he did kiss her on that sensitive bundle. He licked her there, swirling his tongue around and lapping at her as fresh juices ran down his fingers. Whatever she’d been saying before dissolved from begging to a wordless please.

  Camil made her finish coming on his fingers, then lifted her onto the bed. He’d never undressed so quickly, and once he was naked, he climbed up over her.

  Her blue eyes were hazy with pleasure, but she reached for him, spreading her legs wide. Her gaze locked on his as he nudged between them, the crown of his cock finding her slick opening. He sank inside.

  It was different from their first time. She still gripped him tightly, still fluttered, still rocked her hips toward his body, still moaned. “Oh, oh, oh,” she breathed, but she did not take her eyes off his. The first time they’d done this she’d been facedown on a pillow, her hips pulled toward him, and they hadn’t spent much time looking into each other’s eyes. It had been too fast for that. Too fleeting.

  He found the rhythm he wanted, and she matched him, her hips meeting his again and again and again. Piper leaned up and bit his shoulder, grinding into him, and he increased his pressure so that there was more contact with her clit.

  She held her breath for a split second, and that was another sign of hers—she was about to come.

  “Do it, princess,” he said into her ear. “Come while I’m inside you. I want to feel it. Please.”

  With a shuddering moan she did come, and it sucked him into sheer sensation.

  He slowed his pace, dragging it out, though his body screamed at him to keep going. He slowed his pace long enough to look into her eyes again. Words crowded into his mind, but none of them were enough to describe what he felt. To describe how much he wanted her and wanted this. Needed this. So he let it show in his face. He tore away the remnants of his royal mask and let her see.