Captive- Veiled Desires by Clarissa Cartharn Page A

how it stayed. He leaned into her, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. “But there is one, is there, Nora? No, not a boyfriend. You haven’t had one for years after that bastard Gary Fischer two-timed you with that bitch he used to work with. No, no, no. I’m talking about Amy Jacobsen. Age- twenty seven. Occupation- nurse at the Chicago General Hospital. Boyfriend- Jake Fraser, journalist and your former colleague from the Chicago Herald. Do you want more?” he whispered into her ear. “I know your social security number, where you live and who you’ve been in contact with in the last month. I know everything there is to know about you.”
    “Who… are you?” she mumbled breathlessly.
    “Your husband.”

HAPTER 7
     
     
     
     
     
    His eyes raked over her face until it stopped at her lips, mesmerized by its shape. She evoked illicit images of them together- of how he’d take her, push into her, until she moaned and begged to relieve her of his pleasured torture to her body.
    The mere touch of her hands on his chest aroused him to the brink of unbearable hardness. His eyes didn’t lift off her lips. He leaned in closer to her. But she folded her arms between them and gave him a hard push, jolting him out of his trance.
    “Stay away from me!” she shouted.
    He stumbled back with a startle. Had he been leaning in to kiss her? He combed his hair with his fingers, trying to calm the rush of adrenaline through his nerves. If could do this to him now, what would happen later? In a matter of a few hours, she would be bearing his name. She was going to be rightfully his. Would he have the will to resist his desires then?
    She’s a project, Adam. Get a fucking grip on yourself.
    He turned away from her, not because of the shame for wanting her. But in case she saw how much he wanted her. His cock was straining against his pants and he had lost all common sense by wearing jeans around her rather than the traditional tunbaan .
    “I leave it to you, Nora,” he let out more roughly than he had wanted to. “I will not be held responsible for what happens to Amy and Jake should you decide to not agree to our marriage.”
    “How do you know all that about me? How could you possibly know?!” She stamped her foot hard in frustration.
    “What does it matter how? The safety and welfare of your friends is what should concern you for now. Unless… they’re not as important to you as I think they are?” He frowned. He couldn’t possibly be wrong. She and that nurse did everything together. The woman had even enquired about Nora’s disappearance in Kashmir.
    “Why do we need to be married?” she whispered. “You could have me without it. Mateen certainly proved it was possible.”
    His temples pulsed angrily. “I’m not Mateen.”
    “But why marriage?” she insisted. “It’s not like it’s even going to be valid. You’re forcing consent out of me. It wouldn’t even be registered in court. No judge in their right mind is going to validate such insanity.”
    He smiled. Was she that naïve? Was she discussing logics with a lawless warlord? He braced his elbow against the window sill and cocked his head at her. “Have you considered that I could possibly have a fetish for brides?”She paled at the realization and he relished the discomfort washing over her. “As for the validity, eighty percent of marriages in Afghanistan are not registered in a legal courtroom. Why would ours make it any different? Though, once our nikkah is completed, the mullah will issue a nikkah khat , a document certifying our marriage. I anticipate that it will suffice my admission into your bed.”
    She didn’t speak, instead standing frozen to her spot.
    He frowned. Had he been too harsh? He straightened-up and began to walk towards the door.  Perhaps, he should leave her to sink it all in. Obviously, she hadn’t expected him to follow through his threat of marriage.
    Initially, he hadn’t wanted to marry her. But the more he