Desert Sheikhs Collection: Part 2. Susan Mallery

of her open mouth to sip from her lips “—aside from the virgins, only married women who have borne children or been married for five years can do so.” He spread his fingers over her stomach in an unmistakable message. “When you have borne my child, then you may go.”

      Jasmine swallowed. The thought of bearing Tariq’s child was a dream she hadn’t dared consider. And still couldn’t, so long as she hid the truth of her own birth. She had to tell him. But not now, not when he sounded as if he cared for her. “How do you stop foreigners from disturbing the pilgrimage?”

      “Zulheil annually closes its borders the week prior to this journey. Those already inside have visas that expire that same week. Recalcitrant visitors are escorted out.”

      “You closed your borders after your parents passed away, didn’t you?” She’d spoken without thinking, but as soon as the words were out, she braced herself. Tariq had remained staunch in his refusal to talk about his loss.

      He kissed her. It was a gentle kiss full of warmth, but without overt sexual overtones. Jasmine returned the caress, though she didn’t understand what was happening.

      “Yes,” he whispered into her mouth. “For two months, Zulheil was closed to foreigners. Our people needed to come to terms with the grief and I needed time to heal the fractures.”

      “Two months? Don’t you mean one?” Jasmine stroked his cheek. She wanted to cry with joy. He was trusting her with something important, something that had hurt him to the core. “I came one month afterward, remember?”