****Okay, much rudeness coming up...well, semi rudeness anyway. A bit rushed perhaps, but I hope it's okay. Enjoy!****

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Ardeth was up before dawn the next morning, checking on his guards to make sure everything was peaceful.

"I saw Aslar talking with the professor last night," Khalid told him, looking suspicious.

"And you think there is something wrong with that. Why?"

Khalid smiled. "When have you ever known Aslar to willingly talk to a westerner?"

"Hmm, you have a point," Ardeth replied, smiling as he sat down next to his friend. "How long has Aslar been out here now?"
"Nearly two weeks. Do you think it is possible he has befriended the professor?"

"Anything is possible, my friend, but not always probable. We shall have to watch him to see what he is up to, if he is hiding anything."

"He? The professor or Aslar?"

"Aslar."

"Trying to find an excuse to get rid of him, Ardeth?" Khalid asked with a knowing grin.

"Perhaps. One thing is certain, if I do find cause to dismiss him, then no-one will be sad to see him go."

Khalid laughed at that. "That is true! That little heap of camel dung has been a weight tied around our necks for too long! If it weren't for his family, he would never have even been considered as a warrior. He has no apparent skills with the blade, no cunning..."

"Do not be so sure about that, my friend. I have a bad feeling that he may be more cunning than we give him credit for." Ardeth frowned as his eyes scanned the desert, the rising sun painting a vast array of colours on the ever shifting landscape. "As I said, we must watch him with great care." He stood up and stretched. "I must go and check on the O'Connell's."

Khalid chuckled. "I thought her name was Carnahan?"

"Not for much longer," Ardeth said, grinning as he walked away towards the group of tents that housed his friends.

****

Charlotte brushed at her nose, her eyes still closed as she clung to sleep. But whatever it was that was irritating her wouldn't go away and eventually she had to look to make sure it was nothing deadly trying to sting her. She lifted her eyelids reluctantly and then gave a gasp of surprise when she found Ardeth sitting next to her, his finger gently tickling the tip of her nose.

"Good morning, my love," he said softly, bending to take her soft lips with his own, the kiss brief but sweet. When he drew back he brushed his fingers over the bright colour in her soft face, grinning. "Why do you blush? I have kissed you before."

"Because of what you said. You haven't called me that before," she murmured, smiling happily at him.

"Ah I see. I have only called you my lady up to now, and now I call you my love. But then, that is what you are," he said, still stroking her face. "You will have to get used to such things, as I will be using many more words like these."

Charlotte bit her lip and tilted her head into his touch, her eyes gazing up at him adoringly. "What other words will you use?" she asked, still shy with him.

Ardeth grinned even wider, and kissed her softly again. "Hmm, I believe I shall call you my heart, my sweetness, my light," he bent and placed another kiss on her lips. "My life," he continued, another small kiss being bestowed between words. His eyes sparkled down into hers. "My world." The kiss when it came this time was slow and thorough, and he pried her eager lips open to plunder her mouth, his tongue shooting inside the warm recesses and exploring her. She moaned underneath him as he let his weight come down on top of her, his arms gathering her close to his chest as he enjoyed being with her. He retained enough sense to remove the vast amount of weaponry he wore and then he came back down on her, resuming the kiss as if he hadn't stopped. All sensible thoughts went out of his head when she placed her small hands on his chest and lifted herself up to him, and he deftly pulled the sheet from her so he could get to her body, his hands smoothing over her torso through the thin clothing she wore. He lifted his head and looked own at her body, a smile tilting his lips when he saw the white gown she had put on to sleep in. It offered virtually no protection against his eyes, and he could see the pinkness of her flesh outlined beneath it, making his heart speed up as his flesh swelled with need.

Charlotte blushed as he looked, but she made no move to pull the sheet back over her, fascinated by the look on his face. She had a second to study him before he bent to her mouth again with obvious intent, his eyes telling her that he was losing control already, even though they had only kissed.

He penetrated her lips with his tongue tenderly, exploring her mouth slowly and thoroughly, using all his expertise on her. And his expertise was vast, as Charlotte discovered.

It was like drowning, she thought blindly as he pressed her further into the bedroll without removing his mouth from hers for an instant. Her arms crept around his neck and her hands clenched on his robes at the pleasure his weight on her caused.

Her tongue flicked into his mouth and met his, playing with it, deepening the kiss herself for the first time. She felt his anatomy change, felt the sudden rigidity pressing against her belly and moved uncertainly against him. He felt the hesitant movements and despite his raging hunger for her he started to move away.

"No...don't...I don't want you to stop..." her cheeks reddened but she didn't take her hands away from his robes, much to his amazement.

"I thought the feel of me was discomfiting...." he began and then choked on the last word when she slid her hand inside the opening at the front of his robes and touched the warm, firm muscle she found there.

Ardeth lowered his hips back down onto hers and let his weight pin her hips to the bedroll, keeping his upper body away from hers so that she could touch him. She fiddled with the dark material until she could pull it open, finding small ties that kept it closed and undoing them, until she could spread the material open across his shoulders. She had no idea where all this boldness was coming from and she didn't stop to question it. She was enjoying herself too much. "You're beautiful" she whispered in awe as she stared at the broad torso, dark tan skin covering his muscular chest and down over his flat hard stomach, a small line of dark hair disappearing into the waistband of his trousers. She rested her hands on those muscles and smoothed with tactile pleasure across them, her fingers encountering a hard male nipple. She looked at it curiously before running her fingers over it, looking up at the sudden, sharp indrawn breath he gave. He grabbed her up against him and rolled them so that she was laying on top of him and he let his arms fall to the mattress, wide open. Charlotte shot a startled look down at him, and he smiled, taking a deep breath.

"If you want to touch me, my lady, then I give you the freedom to do so," he said, his voice slightly husky. Her mouth parted on a soft 'oh' of surprise, but she needed no further urging and she pushed the top part of his robes completely away from his body, tugging them out of his trousers and trying to get them off his arms with a great deal of difficulty. Finally he lost patience and abruptly ripped it off and threw it across the tent, heedless of where it may land. Her hands were all over him before he had even settled back on the blankets and he couldn't help smiling through the piercing desire he felt. He could see the newness of it all in her face, in the rapt expression, even if he hadn't already been certain of her purity.

Ardeth watched her touching him and wondered at his own control when all he wanted to do was bury himself inside her. It was morally wrong, he told himself, to dally with her when they were not yet married. But his brain wouldn't make his body stop her, and he tensed at her gentle explorations. When she bent and stroked her tongue over first one nipple, and then the other, he groaned and grabbed her head as if to stop her. But the continued incendiary touch of her soft tongue had him tangling his hands in her hair and guiding her, until she traced a path down the centre of his abdomen, tracing the line of hair toward his waistband. It was too much for Ardeth and he gave another harsh groan, and a second later Charlotte found herself flat on her back and being kissed to within an inch of her life, while his hands stripped her gown quickly and efficiently from her shaking body. But he knew it wasn't fear that was making her shake this time. He smoothed his hands over her soft stomach and up over her breasts, stroking the silky skin just below her collar bone, delaying the moment when he touched her where she wanted him to. His hand pressed down over her breast and felt her heartbeat thundering beneath it as he slowly stroked the hardening tip as lightly as a feather, smiling as she twisted against his hand and moaned. She wanted to feel him without any clothing in the way, flesh to flesh, his body sliding against hers, his mouth tasting her breasts again as he had done before.

She didn't realise she was whispering these things to him until his hands slid around her back and pulled her upwards, his breath shuddering out as he bent and placed a gentle kiss on the upper slope of one soft mound. Her hands automatically went to cover herself, even though she really wanted him to look at her and touch her, even though he had done so before. "No, do not do that," he said softly, removing her hands and staring at the cream and pink perfection of her breasts, watching the nipples harden under his avid gaze.

He placed his hands almost reverently over them and lifted the weight of them, pressing his palms over the aching tips. Charlotte moaned and let her head drop back as sharp sensations shot from her breast down to her stomach and beyond. Ardeth lifted his eyes from her soft skin to her face. A smile touched his lips briefly at the expression she wore. It almost looked like she was in pain, and if it wasn't for the soft breaths and groans she made he may well have stopped. But he didn't think he could find the strength to do so now, he thought, his eyes returning to the soft mounds in his hands and he bent suddenly to envelope one hard, aching tip in his mouth, starting up a suction that had her arching up towards him and grabbing his head. He transferred his attentions to the other breast whilst his hands divested himself of his remnants of clothing.

Charlotte hardly noticed, such was the intense pleasure he was giving her. It was only when he lifted himself and lay squarely on top of her that she finally had the presence of mind to even open her eyes. The feel of his hard naked body was unexpected and surprising, but his mouth covered hers before she could say anything and all thoughts of protest died as she went under again. He felt her hands gripping his shoulders, pulling at him as if she couldn't get him close enough. Which, in fact, was exactly how she was feeling, and she groaned loudly into his mouth as he let his full weight rest on her briefly, the difference in their sizes proving no problem as they fit together like two jigsaw pieces. Ardeth nipped at her lip and then trailed small kisses down her throat, finding the sensitive spot he had discovered before and nuzzling it. He was rewarded for the action by the soft bite she gave to his shoulder and her legs moving restlessly beneath his. The softness of her thighs rubbing against his was like the worst kind of torture and he groaned as his body hardened almost painfully.

Charlotte felt it and pushed her hips up in an unconscious invitation, her breath panting out of her in small gasps at the exquisite sensations he was causing in her untutored body, not caring that they were both naked and that anyone could walk into the tent at any time. Nothing mattered but how she was feeling. Her legs opened to the invasion of his thigh and he smoothed them further apart with his hands until he could lay in the cradle of her hips, his hands creeping under her shoulders so he could lift her up to him, taking her mouth again as he pressed himself intimately against her.

The gasp she gave went into his mouth and he moved against her again, sensuously, enjoying the soft tormented sounds she made. Charlotte positively writhed underneath him at the feel of his hard flesh pressed against her. It made her ache. "Please...." she whispered against his mouth, not knowing what she was asking for but wanting him to stop the aching.

Her head fell back as his hand trespassed between her legs, touching her in a way no-one ever had. He traced the soft slick skin he found there, his fingers gently probing and finding the small nub, so sensitive to the tiniest touch as he stroked her gently, circling her. He had to kiss her again to contain the noises pulsing out of her throat as she tasted forbidden desires for the first time. Ardeth knew that somewhere deep down he should be feeling acute guilt, but he was totally focussed on what he was doing, on her responses to his every touch, and to his own desire. His caresses became more insistent, and he lay her back again, moving further down the bed so he could settle between her widespread thighs, his eyes taking in the shell pink beauty of her concealed flesh.

"You must make no noise, my heart," he whispered to her, and she barely heard him before he moved in and licked delicately at her most private area, his tongue flicking over the swollen nub of her desire, making her hips come up off the bedroll as pleasure that bordered on pain rocked through her body. His arm came up and pressed her hips back down, pleased to hear her muffle her cries as he licked at her again and again, delving inside to taste the nectar that her passion evoked. His own passion threatened to overwhelm him as he tasted her, and he knew he had to have her soon, before he spilled himself. When the pleasure became too intense for her, she tried to squirm away from him, vaguely frightened at the total loss of control. But Ardeth anchored her there, refusing to let her move an inch as he let one long finger ease inside her, stretching the tight flesh and deepening the contact until she arched up and convulsed under his openly watchful gaze. Before she even had time to draw a breath he had settled between her thighs again and was pushing insistently against her. She jerked slightly at the feel of him and her eyes flew to his as he started to slowly enter her, murmuring words of encouragement all the while. He looked so incredibly tense, she thought foggily while her mind was still working. The sudden pain that knifed through her was unexpected and she gasped, biting her lip and wincing, trying to pull back from him. But Ardeth had been expecting it and he stilled, holding her beneath him, kissing her softly, slowly, until she got used to the feel of him. He felt her body relax and slowly pushed harder, completing his possession of her, smiling as he felt the ease of his passage.

His hand shakily pushed the hair back from her face and he searched her eyes, taking in the faint embarrassment in them. "You are brave, my love, brave and so beautiful I cannot control myself," he whispered, smiling tenderly down at her, his cheeks slightly flushed with the desire that was riding him. Charlotte blushed, wondering how he could talk at a time like this, and he grinned at her expression, bending to kiss her again, teasing her lips with his until she followed him, trying to get him to kiss her properly. The moment his mouth covered hers he began to move, slowly at first, pushing deeper, deeper inside her. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her to him as he moved, showing her how to move with him. She felt herself tightening under the powerful movements of his body as it lifted and fell against her and pushed up blindly, seeking the fulfilment she somehow knew he could give her. He couldn't believe how quickly she was making him lose control. She was a virgin, for the sake of Allah! But the feel of her arms snaking around his neck and pulling him hard against her made what little control he did have snap. He drove against her, thrusting into her softness mindlessly as he searched for the elusive pleasure his body needed, pushing her quickly towards a completion which totally overwhelmed her senses and he watched her face contort, her body whip against his. He felt her convulsions squeezing him tightly, her heat enveloping him and finally gave himself up to his own satisfaction, his head thrown back and a muffled groan issuing from him as he released inside her.

Charlotte felt as if she were drowning, she couldn't take one complete breath and her body was still set in a painful arch as she felt him stiffen and then shake as spasms of intense pleasure took him. The weight of his body relaxing over her was slightly uncomfortable, but she held on to him and closed her eyes, trying to regulate her breathing, not caring right then if she died. Ardeth was having the same problem. That, and the fact that he was beginning to feel guilty now that his mind was beginning to work properly again, albeit slowly. He should have known better, he shouldn't have taken advantage of her. But Allah, she felt good. His arms tightened on her briefly before he realised he was resting his full weight on her slight from, and he moved away with a muttered apology and lay next to her, pulling the sheet over their nakedness.

No matter how thoroughly he searched for something to say, nothing was what he found. There were no excuses good enough for defiling her in the eyes of his God, and out of wedlock too. Charlotte shifted nervously under the sheet, wondering if this was what normally happened between couples. Did they just go silent? What if she had been a disappointment to him?

Her eyes darted to Ardeth, but he was staring fixedly at the roof of the tent, his brows drawn together. As if he felt her eyes on him he turned to face her and frowned. "I am sorry."

Now she was really confused. "Sorry? What for? Sorry we did...well...."

"No! No, not for that. Never for that. I am sorry that I took advantage of you, sorry that I didn't give you any choice. I have besmirched your good name, and I did not even have the grace to ask you first. The way I acted is shameful. But I do not regret the pleasure I gave you, nor the pleasure you gave in return."

He was shocked to feel her hand touching his face softly. "You haven't besmirched my name. No-one knows, and you're going to marry me, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am going to marry you. But it makes no difference that no-one knows, my sweet. We are in full view of Allah, he may judge me for what has happened here."

"But...surely Allah would understand love?" she asked, biting her lip as she saw real worry in his eyes. "Surely it isn't forbidden to express that love?"

Ardeth smiled at her reasoning and gave a mental shrug. "Perhaps not. He would not deny me the pleasure of laying with you, I am sure, once he has seen your beauty."

Charlotte blushed again and then gave a tiny smile, lowering her eyes. "I...er...I liked what you did," she said shyly.

"I hurt you," he said abruptly and she looked at him, seeing him frown. He stopped her when she would have spoken. "Yes, I did, I saw it, I felt it. I hurt you."

"Only a bit, at first. But that's normal isn't it? It would have hurt with anyone."

He didn't like that. It made him picture her with other men, giving herself to them and not him. "It was never going to happen with anyone else though. Not since the day I first saw you. You were mine from then on, even if you did not know it. From this moment on, no man will lay a hand on you, unless he is a relative."

"I wouldn't want them to," she said softly, closing her eyes as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you, Ardeth."

"And I you. You are my world, Charlotte, never doubt that," he said, clasping her hand in his and pulling her close to him. "We must get dressed soon, I am afraid. The sun has risen already and people will start arising at any moment. It would not do to be seen leaving your tent at such an early hour."

"I suppose not," she replied, snuggling against him and sighing. "Ardeth, can we do that again sometime?"

He started laughing at the way she asked, almost as a child would ask for another sweet. "Yes, my lady, we can do that every night when we are married, perhaps more than once."

"More than once?" she asked, shocked.

His laughter increased. "Ah, you are good for me, Charlotte. I have a lot to teach you about the art of love, and I shall enjoy every second of the lessons!"

****Okay, there you have it. But what will happen next? Will it be good or bad? Only I know....mwahhahahaha! (very evil laugh!) And I haven't written it yet!! You may have to wait some time as I'm neglecting my other stories and people are writing me begging e-mails. Some people have no pride! LOL****