It wasn’t long after their shared their first embrace that Malik called for the check. They practically raced back to their faux homestead, barely speaking a word to one another in the limo as Amie sat close to Malik and he rubbed his hand up and down her thigh with excited anticipation.
Once inside the palace, the pair quietly made their way to Amie’s bedroom; a familiar surrounding he knew she’d be comfortable in. There was a nervous passion in the air that asked what would happen next.
Malik reached his hands across her face, running them through her hair quickly. After going so long without his kiss, the aggressive feeling of his lips making their way around hers and wetting them with small flicks of his tongue sent piercing butterflies through her whole body, tingling at every sensation.
He leaned over until she was lying underneath him, his hands having easily slipped her dress down off of her body. She opened her eyes and watched him kissing her until Malik saw her and smiled, breaking the kiss.
Every breath and moan he let out made her blush. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest she would swear Malik could hear it, all the more so as their eyes locked and he took his lips away from hers; his breath warm on her face as their eyes flicked back and forth, communicating wordlessly.
He pulled off his clothes until there was nothing left to reveal. He beamed as he looked at Amie in a light he had tried not to for weeks; his chest now feeling the warmth of hers pressed against him.
“You feel so good,” he whispered.
He moved his head down to her navel, kissing around her stomach before coming back up to her neck.
“Are you sure about this?” Malik asked, ever the gentlemen, and she gave him a sound nod.
She leaned back, looking at the smooth white walls behind her and smiled. She propped her head back up and brought her lips to Malik’s, flicking her tongue across his, shaking slightly with anticipation of the events to come.
FOURTEEN
The next morning, Amie woke up with her left leg sprawled across Malik’s. Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and she felt the heat of his skin as he breathed in the morning air.
Malik was already awake. He looked down at the beautiful, pale naked body lying in his sheets and looked beyond pleased.
“Good morning, habibi,” he said softly, taking her lips into his. Amie knew that Habibi meant my love, and all but swooned when he said it.
She eagerly embraced his kisses, happy to be so close to him, finally; to lay on his chest and watch their fingers intertwine without a thought to whether it was right or wrong. She didn’t have to hide her feelings any longer.
“Good morning,” she finally responded, resting her leg atop his and snuggling into him as though she couldn’t be close enough.
He put his arm around her as she nestled closer and began to stroke her hair and arms in a soft tickling motion. Finally, he let out an easy sigh and manage to chuckle, “I’m relieved.”
“About what?”
“That you’re still here,” he shrugged playfully, “And you’re not crying, or anything!”
“Is that a woman’s usual reaction after you make love to her?” she sassed, her fingers dancing across his chest.
“Hilarious,” he breathed. “No, I’m just relieved. No more hiding my feelings, trying to be professional,” he laughed. “It’s just you and me now. Real you and me, back in Chicago, eating American food, seeing American films and holding hands in public without eliciting shock and awe.”
She giggled, then paused, hearing the yearning in his voice. “You miss it?”
“Chicago?”
She nodded.
“Desperately.”
His answer surprised her on some level, especially because she hadn’t felt homesick in weeks. She certainly didn’t miss fast food, bad jobs, or rude people, and was readily embracing the Middle-Eastern culture she’d found in her faux family.
Speaking of family, Amie realized she could now breathe a giant sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to give up her new mama-Sadira once her job was over. She smiled to herself at the thought that she’d be able to travel back to Rabayat with Malik and get even closer to his family.