The Sheik's Kidnapped Bride (5 page)

“No!”

His sharp word cut her off in midsentence. She gawked at him.

“Don’t patronize me,” he ordered harshly. “Don’t for a moment believe you understand what I’m thinking or what I want. And don’t you dare assume that this is out of pity. I’m not pretending anything.”

He stood up in one quick, fluid movement, then reached for the buttons on his shirt. “You believe him, this son of a jackal. You listen to his lies and make them your truth. Why? Why do you allow him to hurt you? He knows nothing of you.”
Khalil
jerked the last few buttons free then yanked off his shirt and tossed it on the ground. “He had his chance, and he destroyed it. Now it is my turn. I will not make his mistake.”

Dora half rose into a sitting position and scooted against the headboard. She wasn’t afraid, exactly, but it was clear
Khalil
was going to take off his clothes. Part of her thought it might be a good idea to make a timely escape but the rest of her figured she might not get another shot at seeing a naked man. Lord knows she’d been dying for the experience for years. Besides, he was so beautiful, she couldn’t find the strength to look away.

Light from the lamp illuminated his skin, adding shadows and hollows to the movement of muscles and bone. Dark hair began at the top of his broad chest, then narrowed down to his waist. As his fingers worked his belt, then unfastened his trousers, she found herself holding her breath in anticipation.

But he didn’t push them down or otherwise expose himself. Instead he drew off his shoes and his socks, then placed his hands on his hips as he stared down at her.

“I want you,” he told her. “Only you. I want you in my bed, in my arms. I want to touch all of you, caress you, with both my hands and my tongue. You are my heart’s desire. It is not pity, it is not to thank you or heal you. I’m not that selfless. I am here because of the ache in my body.” His gaze narrowed. “There are things a man can’t pretend. The desire must be real. You understand?”

She nodded slowly. She understood all too well. Gerald had cut her to the core when he’d told her that he’d thought it would be difficult for him to become aroused around her. She knew that she wasn’t the prettiest woman in the world, but she’d never thought of herself as so undesirable that no man could want her. Then
Khalil
tucked his thumbs inside the waistband of his slacks and pushed down.

The fine wool fabric bunched low on his belly. It was only then that she realized the unusual shape she’d barely noticed was the hard proof of what he said. He reached inside and drew out his erection. The trousers slipped un-hindered to the floor.

“I want you,” he said softly.

“Yes, I can see that.” She pressed her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she mumbled, “I didn’t mean to say that aloud.”

But he didn’t get angry. Instead he grinned at her. “You’re impressed.”

“Yes, well…” She waved in the general direction of his…his member. “It’s quite lovely.”

He took a step toward her. “Do you doubt me now?”

He’d given her fairly substantial proof. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t quite. There were the things Gerald had said, plus why on earth would
Khalil
be interested in her?

He growled low in his throat. “Stop,” he commanded, moving closer, then kneeling on the bed. “Stop the voices in your head and listen only to me. You will be my woman. Mine and only mine. Do you understand?”

She stared into his eyes. He was fierce and possessive, and as she looked at him she could see the wild desert behind the man. A shiver rippled through her. Anticipation? Perhaps. Fear? Certainly. But fear of the unknown, not fear of him.

“Be mine,” he whispered, moving closer. “Be mine, Dora. Let me love you.”

She was sure there was a perfectly witty response to all that he was saying, but she found herself at a loss for words. She could only wait until he drew his arms around her and pulled her down onto the mattress. Whatever protest she might have wanted to utter was lost at the first touch of his mouth on hers.

She’d been kissed before…at least a couple of times in high school, once at a frat party in her first year of college, and of course by Gerald. Gerald’s kiss had been practiced, almost clinical. She’d never been kissed by a wild, sensual man, and certainly not one as seductive as
Khalil
.

She expected an assault, perhaps with him pushing her, invading her, taking her, but it was nothing like that. His mouth was soft, yet firm, yielding against her own, but leaving her in no doubt of his mastery of the task. He learned the contours of her lips slowly, thoroughly. Every point of contact was fire and heat. He lay next to her, on top of the sheet and blanket, but she could feel the weight of him, and it was delicious.

One of his hands cupped her face as if he feared she might try to escape. Had she the strength or the will to speak, she would have told him that was not possible. She was trapped beneath him—more because she had nowhere else in her life she would rather be than because of his superior strength. She didn’t fear
Khalil
; she knew in her heart he would never hurt her.

“Dora,” he murmured against her mouth. “I want you. I want you, my sweet desert rose. You are so soft, so warm, so my match.”

His words were as heady as wine. She’d read about people getting drunk on words, but until this moment she hadn’t believed it possible. He made her writhe with undefined desire. She wanted without knowing what exactly would fulfill her. She needed desperately, but she could not describe the outcome that would most please her.

“Touch me,” he commanded, then stroked her bottom lip with his tongue.

She didn’t know which shocked her more—his request or the wet pressure on her lip. Instinctively she parted for him. At the same moment, she brought her free arm around and rested her hand on his shoulder. While his tongue slipped into her mouth, her fingers and palm absorbed the hot strength of him. He was all hard muscle and masculine scent. He was also wet and fiery and tempting as he stroked inside of her mouth. She found herself gasping in pleasure, in shock, in desperation that he never ever stop what he was doing.

He stroked his tongue against hers. The sensation and texture of him sent sparks dancing through her blood. He angled his head slightly and deepened the kiss. Fire boiled low in her belly. She couldn’t breathe, yet it didn’t matter. She was going to die this very moment, and she welcomed the experience. To have been held and kissed by this man was more than she’d ever expected from her small life.

He explored her mouth, learning details and discovering favorite places. He made her gasp and sigh and press up against him. She clung to his shoulder, urging him closer. She rubbed her tongue against his, circled him, then joined him in an erotic dance that left her legs trembling.

Between her thighs a rhythmic pulsing began. She felt blood pooling and a waiting dampness that signaled her readiness. Part of her was ashamed of her body’s reaction to this man, but most of her reveled in her awakening. She hadn’t known that such pleasures existed.

Khalil
broke the kiss by moving his mouth to her neck. There he nibbled and licked the sensitive skin beneath her ear, then moved lower, to her collarbone. He rolled to the edge of the bed and pulled away the covers, tossing them to the foot of the mattress.

Instinctively Dora reached for the hem of her nightgown. It had crawled up until it was well above
midthigh
. But before she could push the fabric down, she felt a single male finger stroking her bare leg. Up and down, up and down, that lone point of contact moved from the inside of her knee to the top of her left thigh. She shivered. She bit her lower lip. She fought against the need to cry out his name.

The finger lifted, and the absence of his touch caused physical pain. Then he touched her again. One, brief, perfect caress on her erect nipple. As he stroked the tight bud, he stared deeply into her eyes. She found herself lost in his gaze, drowning in a pool so wet and welcoming that she could not imagine ever wanting to be free.

“Say my name,” he commanded, then touched her nipple again.

Electricity, pleasure, desire, heat seared through her. “
Khalil
!” she gasped.

He smiled. “What a passionate creature you are, my efficient Dora. I’m a most fortunate man.”

He pulled her up into a sitting position. Before she could gather her wits about her, he’d pulled off her nightgown, and her breasts were bare to his gaze.

She wanted to protest, or at the very least cover herself, but before she could think of the right words needed, he’d lowered her to her back and pressed his lips to her right breast. His hand closed over her other breast. Suddenly being topless didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

She closed her eyes and absorbed the wonder of his ministrations. His tongue and lips were soft and wet against her sensitized skin. His fingers matched their movements. He circled her, brushed over her, then suckled her. All the while her body turned to liquid.

Was this what happened between a man and a woman? she thought incoherently. Was this the wonder of which she’d read? So many things became clear to her. That lovers would move mountains to be together. That they would risk death. She would have done anything to prolong the magic.

He moved against her, now licking, nibbling and loving her other breast with his mouth and teasing the first with his fingers. She watched him, then found her eyes would not stay open. She brought her hands to his head and allowed herself to touch his silky, dark hair. It was all too perfect, too incredible.

Then she felt the pressure against the side of her leg. His arousal surged against her in a rhythm so primitive, even she recognized his desire. He wanted her. For reasons that made no sense to her, this handsome, rich, kind man had decided to make love with her. She wasn’t sure she believed that he really cared about her, but the proof of his desire was inescapable. That rubbing against her leg was the most precious gift anyone had given her.

Tears formed in her eyes, but not tears of pain or regret. They were of both pleasure and gratitude. How could she ever thank him?

Khalil
shifted, moving lower. His fingers pulled at her panties until they lay in a tangle of silk on the floor. He knelt between her thighs and looked at her face.

“You please me,” he told her. “Now I will please you.”

But he didn’t enter her, which is what she’d expected. Instead he bent low and kissed her most feminine place. Shock stole the breath from her lungs. Shock and the silent scream that he couldn’t possibly be kissing her there. But he was. He gently drew apart the protective folds and touched his tongue to a tiny point of pleasure.

Dora came up off the bed. Her entire body stiffened. She didn’t want to tell him to stop, but she wasn’t sure she could survive the experience. He didn’t seem to notice her reaction, or if he did, he didn’t stop to talk about it. Instead he moved against that small bump, licking it gently, slowly, making her both tense and relax and finally sink back against her pillows.

This wasn’t happening, she thought as her head moved back and forth, and she found herself pulling her knees up and out to give him more room. Men didn’t really do this sort of thing, did they? Except she couldn’t deny the waves of pleasure that crashed through her.

With each flick of his tongue, he carried her higher and higher, or at least that was how it seemed. In reality she never left her bed, although it felt as if she were flying. She couldn’t get close enough. He had to go faster, no slower, no…

She breathed his name, then she couldn’t breathe at all. She begged him to never stop, commanded him to stop, no, wait. Her muscles quivered. Heat flared on her face and her chest. Her heels dug into the mattress. She writhed and pushed and held back and waited.

She didn’t know how long it went on. She was lost in a universe in which time had no meaning. She felt the flicker of his tongue and his hot breath. When she screamed his name again, she was sure she felt him smile. Her whole body collected itself and surged toward a goal she couldn’t understand. Then he gently inserted one finger inside of her. As his tongue continued to move back and forth, he pressed up from the inside and stroked at the same speed, in perfect counterpoint.

The explosion destroyed her. It was too perfect to survive. She hadn’t known that her body could respond, could feel, could experience the primal release of the moment. She was cast up to the heavens, then caught in strong and gentle arms. Shudders rippled through her, breaking her, assembling her, leaving her forever changed. She could only gasp and pray for a road back, then a soft voice called her name, and she found herself cradled in
Khalil’s
arms. He held her close and touched her face.

“So the desert rose is a wildcat,” he murmured, then kissed her. “You are quite the surprise, sweet Dora.”

Her heart still pounded hard and fast in her chest. “Was it supposed to be that good?” she asked.

He laughed. “Only when two people are very lucky.” His smile faded. “We are a good match.”

Then he moved over her, again kneeling between her thighs, but this time he wasn’t going to kiss her there. He was going to possess her, to change her. When he finished, she would no longer be a virgin.

It was all she could do to keep from begging him to hurry. She desperately wanted to feel him inside of her. She wanted to know what generations of women had known before her, and to become one with this incredible man.