Page 89 of Earned Husband

I smiled. “Check the bedside drawer. I might’ve stocked up this morning just in case.”

His eyes widened, but then he smirked and kissed me again. “Naughty girl. I like it.”

Even as he kissed me, I felt him reach into the drawer and almost immediately hit pay-dirt. He came back with a foil package, sat up on his knees, and tore it open. I followed his movements with my eyes when he lowered the condom to roll it on, nearly swallowing my tongue when I saw him for the first time.

He really was rock hard, his erection stretching proudly toward his belly button and curving only slightly at the tip. A soft moan escaped me and it twitched in response, but a second later, the condom was on and he was kissing me again.

“I need to hear you say it one last time,” he murmured between kisses, his cock pressing right at my entrance and making me have to fight against the urge to beg him for it.

I tightened my ankles around his hips and looked into his eyes as I nodded. “I want this, Colin. I want you. Right now.”

A slight smile spread on his lips before they parted as he thrust into me, his brow furrowing in concentration. I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from shouting, my hips bucking for more as he stretched me open, sliding against every sensitive part inside.

Colin paused for a beat when he was fully seated, his eyelids fluttering shut for a moment before he started moving. Almost immediately, my world exploded into bursts of coiling pleasure, the sensation of having him inside me better than I ever could’ve imagined.

He fell into a rhythm that took me straight to the stars, keeping it steady until we flew over the edge together. I had no idea how the universe had managed to deliver the absolute perfect man for me straight to our door, but as I lay panting in his arms after, I already knew that I was marryingthe one.

Colin and I might never have ended up together without this arrangement, but we were completely made for each other. I’d never been more sure of anything than I suddenly was of that.

CHAPTER 37

COLIN

Istood in the sunny gardens of the Saad family home, listening to Ryan give me an update on what was happening at the office through the EarPods I’d stuck in before I’d come out here. My phone was in one hand and I balanced my laptop on the other, struggling to see the projections he was referring to on the screen because of the glare, but I didn’t stand any chance of going back inside just yet.

“It’s like something out of an article in a business magazine,” Ryan was saying. “Seriously, I feel like I’m watching history being made in real time right now, the meteoric rise of Thayer Steelworks after its near collapse.”

I groaned. “We haven’t been anywhere near collapse for years.”

“I know, but that’s still the way it’s going to go down in the history books,” he said, sounding like he was shrugging. “I don’t know what the hell was going on the other night at that party, but whatever you did, it worked. This is incredible.”

“Yeah, I know.” I glanced back at the palatial house, smiling when I caught sight of Nanna standing on the other side of the glass doors leading out to the garden where I was.

It’d been a week since the engagement and things were already so different than they had been when I’d first arrived in Cairo. Basel and Khaled weren’t gluing themselves to my side anymore, allowing me plenty of free time between meetings and family meals.

While we were still always busy between work and the engagement, Deja and I could be out in public together now. We’d gone to the garden districts and explored the markets without an escort, and with every new day, there was someplace else she wanted to take me, showing me sides of Cairo I genuinely fell in love with.

I’d even spent an entire day watching her pick through the flower market, taking pictures of her with her fancy new camera while she occasionally snuck in photos of me too. She especially seemed to like taking them while I was struggling to say no to every market peddler trying to sell me things.

At this point, I had so many gifts to take home for my family that I was starting to wonder if I was going to need a cargo plane to get back. Our plan had been to visit the bazaar again today, but then the news of the GlobalStar-Thayer merger had hit the airwaves in the States and I’d pretty much been on the phone ever since.

“Our stocks are soaring, Colin,” Ryan said excitedly. “We’re at heights I’ve never seen before and they just keep climbing.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like it either,” I replied, wondering if Nanna would let me back in again yet.

All morning, I’d been on my laptop and fielding calls. My phone had started ringing practically the moment the news had broken and it hadn’t really stopped yet, beeps signaling that I was missing calls even while I was on the line with Ryan.

Similarly, my computer kept pinging with notifications for emails, but I still couldn’t see a thing. I really needed to get backinside, but I doubted that was an option after only a few minutes of soaking up the sunshine.

Evidently, I’d been working too hard today for Salima Saad’s liking, so while I’d been on the phone with my entire executive board, she’d barged into my bedroom and started bickering with me about taking a break, simultaneously trying to force food and tea into my mouth.

After spending more than a week with her, I was much more comfortable bickering back in Arabic, but fighting with people she loved seemed to be Nanna’s love language, so I’d been learning it, giving it my all.

Unfortunately, I’d lost our argument about needing fresh air, which was how I’d ended up here. Against my will, I was now stuck in the gardens, standing in the bright, hot sun while she kept a close eye to make sure I was still doing what I’d been told.

The feisty old woman had even locked me out, and not only was she physically guarding the door, she’d roped Tarek into it with her. He was a few paces away, but unlike me, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Where I was impatiently waiting for the doors to open again, holding my devices and chomping at the bit to get back to it, he’d spread himself out on the freshly mowed green grass, his hands hooked behind his head and his eyes closed as he lay there. I shook my head at him, but I also smiled just a little bit.