‘I suppose I’ll just have to seduce you.’
Surprise flared deep inside him, along with an almost unbearable arousal. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he managed. He knew she wouldn’t have to do much and he would cave completely. He would take her in his arms and lose himself in her kiss, in her body.
He took a defensive step backwards and Elena’s mouth curved in the kind of wicked little smile he hadn’t known she was capable of.
‘Scared, Khalil?’
‘Tempted, Elena. And I’d rather not be.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Slowly she lifted her arms, the wide sleeves of her dress falling back to reveal her slender wrists, and began to unwind her headscarf. Her kohl-lined eyes were wide and dark as she slowly unwrapped the garment, and Khalil simply watched, entranced by the utterly feminine and sensual act of undressing.
He heard his breath come out in something close to a pant as she dropped the headscarf and then shrugged out of her dress.
Underneath she wore only a thin chemise of bleached cotton, the material nearly transparent. He could see the temptingly round fullness of her breasts, the shadow between her thighs. He stifled a groan.
She moved closer, her eyes full of an ancient feminine power. She knew how she affected him and it made her bold.
It made her irresistible.
Her hands slid up his chest and he knew she could feel how his heart was racing. His mind had stalled at the sight of her and it now kicked desperately into gear.
‘I really don’t think this is a good idea, Elena.’
‘Too bad, then, that I do.’ She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a butterfly kiss across his mouth. ‘That’s only the second kiss I’ve ever had,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘The first was two nights ago, when you held me on your lap.’
He closed his eyes. He was the only man who had ever kissed her? Didn’t she realise how much she was giving him, offering him freely? Didn’t she know how hurt she might be afterwards? No matter what she said or promised now, she was young. Inexperienced. Innocent.
He forced his eyes open, wrapped his hands around hers and attempted to draw them away from him. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, Elena.’
‘You won’t.’
‘You don’t know that. You can’t know that, because you’ve never done this before.’
‘And when am I going to get a chance to do it, Khalil?’ she asked, her honest gaze clashing with his. ‘I was going to give myself to a man I barely knew for the sake of my country. That possibility has been taken away from me now. You’ve taken it away from me, and I think it’s only fair you offer me something in return. You owe me a wedding night.’
He let out a ragged laugh. ‘I never thought of it that way.’
‘Think of it that way now,’ she said, and kissed him again. Her lips were soft, warm and open and her breasts brushed his chest. Khalil’s arms came around her without him having made a conscious decision to embrace her, yet suddenly he was. He pulled her closer, fitting her softness against his body, pressing against her, craving the contact. And as her lips parted and she innocently, instinctively deepened the kiss, he knew he was lost.
* * *
This was what she wanted. Needed. Elena wound her arms around Khalil’s neck as he took over her tentative kiss and made it his own. Made it theirs. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring its contours and causing shivers of amazed pleasure to ripple through her. She had never known a kiss could be so consuming. So...much.
He slid one hand from her shoulder to cup her breast, his palm warm and sure. Elena shuddered under his touch. The intensity of her pleasure was almost painful, and yet achingly exquisite. And, while this was so much more than she’d ever felt or experienced before, it still wasn’t enough. She felt an ache deep inside for more and she acted on it.
She pushed the thobe from his shoulders, and wordlessly Khalil shrugged out of it; the loose linen shirt and trousers he wore underneath followed. He was completely naked and utterly beautiful, long, lean, lithe and yet incredibly powerful, his body rippling with muscle. Now more than ever he reminded her of a panther, beautiful, awe-inspiring and just a little bit scary.
This was scary. Wonderful, exciting, new—and scary. She took a deep breath and waited for him to make the next move because she wasn’t sure what it should be.
He lifted the hem of her chemise and she raised her arms so he could take it off her. She wore nothing underneath and, as his gaze roved over her nakedness, she felt a twinge of embarrassment, extinguished when he ran a gentle hand from her shoulder to thigh.
‘You are so beautiful, Elena.’
‘You are too,’ she whispered and he laughed softly and tugged on her hand, leading her towards the bed.
He lay down on the soft covers and drew her down next to him so they were facing each other. Elena’s breath was already coming in short gasps; her senses were on overload simply by lying next to Khalil, his naked body so close to hers. His chest rippled with muscle and his belly was taut and flat. Her gaze dipped lower and then moved up again; she might have been talking a big game but she was still inexperienced. Still a little nervous.
Khalil took her hand and placed it on his bare chest. ‘We can stop,’ he said quietly; it amazed her how he always seemed to know what she was thinking, feeling. ‘We can always stop.’
‘I don’t want to stop,’ she told him with a shaky laugh. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a little nervous, though.’
‘Understandable,’ he murmured, and kissed her again, a kiss that was slow and soft and wonderful. A kiss that banished any lingering fears or feelings of nervousness. A kiss that felt like a promise, although of what Elena couldn’t say.
He slid his hand down her body, rested it on the flat of her tummy, waited. Everything in Elena quivered with anticipation. She wanted him to touch her...everywhere.
Still kissing her, he moved his hand lower. He waited again for the acceptance that she gave, his fingers brushing between her thighs, everything in her straining and yearning for even more.
And as he touched her with such wonderful, knowing expertise she realised she wanted to touch him too. She felt a new boldness come over her, a certainty to take what she wanted—and give him what he wanted. She smoothed her hands over his chest, slid her fingers across the ridged muscles of his abdomen. She wrapped them around the length of his arousal, causing his breath to come out in a hiss of pleasure which increased her own and made her bolder still.
With each caress the pressure in her built, a desperate need demanding satisfaction. And even she, in her innocence and inexperience, knew how it would finally be satisfied.
She rolled onto her back as he put on the condom and then positioned himself over her, braced on his forearms, his breath coming out in a ragged pant as he waited. ‘Are you sure...?’
‘Of course I’m sure, Khalil,’ she half-laughed, half-sobbed, because by then she was more than sure. She was ready.
And
