Читать книгу Modern Romance July 2018 Books 5-8 Collection - Дженнифер Хейворд, Annie West - Страница 18

CHAPTER EIGHT

STRANGE HOW LINA’S quivers of nerves settled when Sayid took her hand and smiled, despite the hungry edge to his expression.

She wanted to be with him, wanted to learn with him the intimacies men and women shared, yet anxiety had undercut her decision. Anxiety that a week as his lover might cement rather than erode her feelings for him. Anxiety that he’d find her gauche or lacking with her total absence of sexual experience.

Even the heady moment when he’d acknowledged his respect for her had underscored the enormity of what she was doing.

But his smile, his touch, bathed her in a glow of delight and anticipation that obliterated all else.

This is right, her soul sang as they stopped by the bed.

So utterly right, her body crooned as they sank side by side onto the edge of the mattress.

Lina licked her lips, dry again despite the juice he’d shared with her, and saw with faint wonder the fixed way Sayid stared at her mouth. As if mesmerised. She registered the pulse suddenly noticeable at his temple. Tentatively she licked her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue again and felt a ripple pass through the big frame beside her.

But before complacency at her power could take hold he’d relinquished her hand, moving from the bed to the floor. Startled, she watched him kneel before her and lift her foot onto his thigh.

A quiver shot through her as those large, warm hands closed around her ankle, her nipples peaking in response to the darts of sensation spearing through her body. She had no name for them except possibly awareness, or need.

His smile was knowing but his shoulders were rigid with tension as he investigated the delicate suede ankle straps of her purple shoes.

‘Sexy shoes,’ he murmured as he tugged one tiny buckle undone and moved to the second.

‘I...’ She cleared her throat. ‘I bought them the week before I came back to Halarq.’ She didn’t bother to add they were more daring and expensive than any shoes she’d ever owned. After years of frugal living, and with the shimmering purple fabric waiting to be made into a dress, Lina had succumbed to the urge for excitement and luxury. For who knew what life in Halarq would bring?

An affair with the Emir, that’s what!

Even now she found it hard to believe. The sight of Sayid Badawi, kneeling before her, undoing her shoes as she’d once knelt before him, removing his boots, made her tremble.

Did he remember that night?

Even then, despite her fear, she’d been attracted to him. She’d decided it wouldn’t be a hardship after all to share the Emir’s bed. Yet that attraction was a mere shadow of her feelings for him now.

He removed her shoe and put it aside, then slowly, oh, so slowly, rubbed firm fingers the length of her sole and up her calf. Lina splayed her hands on the bed as her bones liquefied and pleasure swelled.

‘Good?’ She opened flickering eyelids to see his glittering gaze sweep over her.

‘Marvellous.’

‘But not as expert as you. You’ll have to teach me.’ He lifted her other foot onto his thigh and reached for the miniature buckles.

Lina said nothing, too swept away by his touch and the intoxicating notion that Sayid wanted to do this again, but even better, to please her.

A moan built at the back of her throat as he removed the second shoe and massaged his way from her foot, up her calf, to her knee and the sensitive spot behind it that she’d never known about.

When his mouth followed his hands in a torturously slow trail of open-mouthed kisses and licks, it was as if something snapped inside her. Her elbows gave way and she collapsed onto her back, waves of delight lapping higher and higher.

‘Sayid.’ It was a whispery breath, almost inaudible over the rush of blood in her ears.

Instantly the caresses paused. ‘Yes?’ She felt the word in a waft of warm breath against her knee. That caress, or perhaps the fact he’d stopped, seemingly attuned to her sudden tension, eased the nerves unexpectedly coiling in her belly.

‘Just... Sayid.’ For a moment she was overcome, by the wonder of this man and what he did to her. Nothing had prepared her, and they’d only just begun.

Lina blinked and watched him rise over her, hands planted either side of her on the bed.

‘You’re safe with me, you know that, don’t you?’

Of course she knew it. It was crazy to feel so emotional about what was, after all, the most natural thing in the world.

Besides, if her logic worked, a week of intimacy with Sayid would cure her of this emotional see-saw. She’d glut herself on him and be able to walk away, head up and heart whole. It had to work. The alternative was unthinkable.

‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘I trust you.’

Which was all the encouragement he needed to slide her higher up the bed then lower himself beside her. In the move the towel at his hips came undone and Lina felt the hard, hot swell of his erection heavy on her thigh. She wrenched her gaze from his taut features, down that hard, muscled chest and lower, feeling nervous and fascinated at the same time. She wanted to trace the shape of him, discover how that hardness felt.

‘Not a good idea.’ Sayid’s hand cuffed her wrist then brought it up to the mattress beside her ear.

‘But I want to touch you.’ Did she sound like a little girl deprived of a treat? There was nothing childish about how she felt.

He huffed out a laugh, yet the sound was stretched as if it covered pain. ‘Later. Touch me now and this will be all over.’

Holding both her hands in his, he lowered his mouth, not to hers as she’d hoped, but to her neck, nipping with tiny bites that had her writhing till he swung a heavy thigh across her, pinioning her beneath him.

It was the most marvellous feeling, his weight pushing her down, evoking an instant need for her to rise against him, even though she had no desire to escape. But then Sayid pressed his lips to her décolletage, following the V neckline of her dress, and fire exploded in her veins. His lips, soft as a wisp of silk, brushed the upper slopes of her breasts again and again, and this time she couldn’t stop the moan of pleasure.

‘You’re sensitive there.’ His voice sounded hard, rough even, but there was definitely smugness in his eyes as he looked up at her. Then, holding her gaze he sank lower, drawing her nipple into his mouth and sucking hard through the fabric.

Lina jolted as if from an electric charge. Aftershocks radiated from her scalp right down to her toes.

‘Shh, it’s all right. I’ll make it all right.’ Sayid moved a little, hovered over her other breast then lowered his head again, this time gently scraping his teeth over her peaked nipple and making her cry out in wondrous delight.

Heaven help her. She was wound so tight she wouldn’t survive much more of this.

‘Please, Sayid.’ She tried to reach for him but those strong hands still manacled her wrists as he teased her breasts with his mouth. ‘It’s not fair,’ she gasped. ‘You touch me but you won’t let me touch you.’

He looked up, his mouth still closed around her nipple and the sight of him there sent a rush of liquid heat down to that needy place between her legs.

Finally he lifted his head. ‘I never promised fair, Lina. But I promise you’ll enjoy our time together.’

She had no trouble believing that. Already her body hovered near the brink of something momentous. The knowing gleam in his eyes told her Sayid understood exactly how to tip her off the edge.

‘At least let me undress.’ Because perversely, being fully clothed when he was naked felt almost embarrassing, because she was receiving all the pleasure and giving none. Or perhaps she was simply desperate to be one with him.

‘Allow me.’ He slid his hand under her shoulder and across to the zip at the back of her dress, lowering it so slowly Lina found herself arching her body against what felt like a caress.

When the zip was down, instead of peeling the dress from her shoulders, he grabbed the hem and lifted it by inching degrees up her legs. Lina found herself transfixed by the fierce intensity of his stare as he focused on revealing the bare skin of her legs. Finally there was a waft of air across her panties and she waited, breathless, for him to drag them down, or invite her to.

Instead, to her amazement, Sayid leaned down, nuzzling the flimsy damp fabric that hid her from his gaze.

Lina jumped as sensations she’d never known burst through her. She lifted her hands to push him away, then hesitated, fingers hovering above his head, mesmerised, as he kissed her again, right on that throbbing, swollen, exquisitely sensitive nub. Except it became more than a kiss as he drew hard, then kissed, then sucked hard again.

Suddenly light exploded in her soul, in her veins. Her vision blurred and she grabbed his head, hanging on for dear life as a cataclysm burst upon her, burning from the inside out, rolling through her in massive wave upon wave of delight.

Ecstasy.

As the universe-melding power of it eased and she came back to herself, Lina finally understood the meaning of the word. To stand outside yourself. She knew the dictionary definition, but never till this instant understood the stunning reality of it.

For moments there Lina had been both within her body and galaxies beyond it, exploding like a star in a distant solar system.

Slowly, infinitesimally slowly, her body floated back down to the bed, to limp satiation. To Sayid’s tight smile and the high flags of colour across his cheeks. As if he’d got pleasure from her pleasure.

Except the proof that he was still unsatisfied lay heavy against her bare leg as he moved up beside her.

Abruptly embarrassment welled. Sayid had watched her come apart, more vulnerable than she’d ever been to anyone. It was another layer of self-possession peeled away by this man against whom she already had too few defences.

‘I want to watch you come.’ The words were out without her consciously forming them.

‘That can be arranged.’ His voice was gravel and black velvet. Yet he didn’t move, instead meeting her stare with a look that told her he was trying to read her thoughts. ‘You’re not happy? What’s wrong, Lina?’

Put like that, she felt ungrateful. What did she have to complain of when he’d given her such pleasure? She’d heard enough gossip to know some men didn’t feel obliged to satisfy their partner’s needs. Far from being ungenerous, Sayid had taken her to the stars and back. And yet...

Lina reached out and cupped his face, feeling the tiny abrasions from what would become his beard. It was the first time she’d touched him like that and she revelled in her right to do so. Her hand splayed over the sharp angle of his jaw, fingers stroking his cheek. That was better, that connection.

‘It was wonderful. Spectacular. But I don’t want to be alone. I want you with me.’

She firmed her mouth, afraid of what her words would reveal. But instead of looking concerned, Sayid smiled and it was a caress, bathing her in luscious warmth.

‘As I said, that can be arranged.’

After that Lina grew a little crazy, for Sayid stripped her of her clothes, but slowly, taking his sweet time peppering her with kisses and even, occasionally tiny nips that made her flesh tingle and need grow anew. He learned her body from the sensitive place behind her ears to her wrists where her pulse throbbed frantically. From the hollow near her hip bone, where his stubble was erotic bliss and torture at once, to her ankles which to her amazement were another erogenous zone when Sayid lavished attention there.

This time she got to touch too, to kiss and stroke him wherever she could reach. He tasted salty and rich, hot against her tongue. She loved the tiny little quivers under his skin when she found a particularly sensitive spot. Then he’d growl, low in his throat and whip his hand out, gently but firmly stopping her caresses as he took his time meandering over her body, turning it into an instrument tuned only to his touch.

She would have protested his determination to be in charge except she was too overcome by bliss.

Then, finally, she felt the feverish heat of his skin against hers, the hard-packed weight of him brushing her from breasts to thighs.

Propped on one elbow he peered down at her while his other hand stroked the damp curls between her legs and she juddered against his touch.

This time when she slid her hand downwards he didn’t stop her and she encountered the hot, rigid swell of his arousal. He’d put on a condom she realised as her fingers closed around him. She hadn’t even been aware of him doing that. But what occupied her thoughts was the nervous certainty that there was no way this could work. She was an average-sized woman but Sayid was—

‘Lift your knees, Lina.’ Already he was palming her inner thigh, lifting it up against the jut of his hip. Instinctively she bent her other knee, cradling him between her thighs.

‘Sayid...’ She wanted this but it struck her that perhaps this wouldn’t be as simple as she’d imagined. ‘We need to talk.’

His mouth covered hers, blocking her words. At the same time she felt him move between her legs. ‘Later, sweet Lina. I can’t wait any longer.’ He pulled her hand away from him, then slid his hand under her, tilting her pelvis higher as with one smooth movement he thrust.

Her gasp was eaten up by his ravenous mouth, tongue probing and caressing in a way that sent her senses reeling. Just as the feel of him pushing deep sent waves of shock pulsing through her.

Lina felt pressure, so much pressure. But the insistent drag of his mouth against hers and his harsh hum of approval counteracted her sudden tension.

He stilled. She felt the rise and fall of his heavy chest against hers. In that instant she registered the unfamiliar tickle of the hair on his thighs, the rigidity of his muscled arms where she grabbed him and a scent, musky and rich, unfamiliar yet enticing.

He began to withdraw and immediately Lina wrapped one leg high over his hip, trying to hold him close. This wasn’t...comfortable, but she wanted it all.

Sayid’s head lifted, ebony eyes snaring hers. She heard the sound of rasping breaths in the still night air.

‘I’m hurting you.’ She wouldn’t have recognised it as his voice, so rough and thick.

‘You’re not.’ There was discomfort and a strangeness, but no pain. ‘Besides, you promised.’

‘Promised?’ He spoke through clenched teeth and for the first time Lina noticed the sheen of sweat glazing his bronzed features. Belatedly she realised the powerful muscles in his arms were quivering with tension, the pulse at his temple hammering.

She did that to him. She stroked her hands up to his shoulders and felt him shudder. For reasons she didn’t fully understand, the realisation of his vulnerability made her body soften against him.

‘That I could watch you come.’

His eyes blazed down at her but Lina didn’t fear him now. She slipped her hands up to anchor at the back of his neck and lifted her other leg, locking her ankles across his back, holding herself to him as surely as he held her.

Immediately he slipped further into her cradling body, so when the slide became a thrust Lina’s moment of smugness evaporated in a gasp of astonishment. It felt as if Sayid was planted so deep within that he touched her heart.

Then there was no time for thought as he withdrew, only to arch his spine and push back again, then again. Each surge seated him further and each movement caused a delicious friction that created delight and a hunger for more. She lifted herself against each thrust, addicted to the feelings he evoked.

Dark eyes held hers as his tempo increased and with it her body’s sensitivity. Lina tightened the clasp of her legs, just as Sayid slipped his hand between their bodies and lightly touched her clitoris. A second later he powered hard against her and the world burst into flame.

There was a cry of wonder, a moment of strained disbelief, then rapture engulfed her just as Sayid arched his neck and pumped hard into her, spilling himself in a throb of ecstasy.

Through the whirl of sensation, the blurred, overwrought senses and piercing delight, Lina watched him lose himself in her. It was as if he fought a great battle but finally, as rapture took them both, his head fell to her neck, his breath searing her flesh, and they were one.

A great well of protectiveness filled Lina. She wrapped her arms around him, adoring the weight of his slumped body, the intimacy of their joined bodies and the intensity of the connection. Even now echoes of pleasure rippled through her, set off by Sayid’s occasional shudders. Her body fed off his and vice versa.

She’d never felt closer to another person in her life.

Then, with a mighty groan, Sayid rolled away to lie on his back beside her. His eyes were closed and he said nothing and Lina didn’t have the strength to object, though she’d much rather he’d stayed where he was.

Finally, her catapulting heart began to slow and her body floated in a dreamy state between bliss and sleep, despite the unfamiliar throb between her legs.

She had no idea how long they lay like that. She didn’t have words to describe what they’d shared, and didn’t want to think about what she ought to say, if anything.

Finally, through a drifting haze, Lina felt Sayid move. Slitting her eyes open she saw him get up and walk towards the bathroom. The subtle lamplight played on the powerful lines of his tall frame, the clench and release of his rounded buttocks. Even after that cataclysmic orgasm he walked like a prince, head up, shoulders back, with the easy grace of an athlete.

Not as if his world had reeled off its axis and gone spinning out of orbit.

He took sex in his stride, of course. He was an experienced lover, no doubt used to the overwhelming tide of bliss that left her weak and trembling. Plus, everyone said sex was different for men—they were adept at not getting emotionally involved.

Slowly, every movement a triumph of will over a body too lethargic to respond easily to her brain’s commands, Lina rolled onto her side, tucking her feet up and her hands beneath her chin.

Bliss still echoed through her body and befuddled her thoughts. Yet one fact shone clear and ineluctable. She’d been afraid that sex with Sayid would be playing with fire, that it might inflame rather than obliterate her feelings for him. She’d been right. She wasn’t merely playing with fire. She’d stepped right into the inferno and she feared there was no way out.

Lina let her heavy eyelids close, too exhausted even to panic yet. It was enough to lie here, boneless and sated beyond her imaginings, breathing in the scent of sex and Sayid, feeling the strange, heavy emptiness between her legs where he’d been.

Wetness spilled over her cheeks and across her nose. Not tears of distress or worry, but of wonder at the sheer beauty of what they’d shared. She’d wipe them away when she found the energy to lift her arm again.

For now all she could do was wonder how she was going to sever her feelings for Sayid when tonight had only drawn her closer to him. She feared she was falling in love with him.