never been intimate with a man before last night!
‘You’re sure no one will come in?’ Excitement and dread warred.
‘Be assured, Jacqueline. We won’t be disturbed. My secretary has left and locked the outer office on the way out.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You told him to? But he’ll know we’re...’ She shook her head as words failed her.
A small voice inside jeered that, standing almost naked, she’d left it late to have second thoughts.
‘Fahid is utterly discreet. You have nothing to worry about.’ Asim stepped closer and at once the vast study shrank. She felt crowded, excited and aroused, yet at the same time annoyed.
This was utterly unfamiliar territory. Last night had turned her inside out, made her question long-held certainties and put her trust in a man she barely knew. Even so it had felt right.
Now, abruptly, standing half-dressed while he calmly gave orders, unease spiked. If only Asim had come to her, embraced her, done something other than bark instructions. Tension crawled along her shoulders. Indignation rose. She might be desperate but she had some self-respect.
‘Do you make a habit of seducing women on your desk?’ The words shot out and she raised her chin, battling to hide churning distress.
She didn’t expect declarations of undying devotion but she wasn’t some convenience, available to satisfy a passing itch.
Nevertheless, she had to fight her needy body that swayed towards him as if seeking a caress from its master.
He strode forward till they almost touched. His brilliant gaze raked her; the subtle scent of his skin filled her nostrils, weakening her knees. He radiated heat that hazed her skin.
‘I have never seduced a woman here.’ He paused and Jacqui was surprised to see him swallow. ‘My desk has been used for nothing but paperwork.’ His eyes narrowed to glittering darts that scraped her skin. His voice was steely. ‘I spend my days and many of my nights here working, not dallying with women. As for Fahid guessing...’ Asim’s shoulders rose in a shrug. ‘It seemed preferable to have privacy rather than run the risk of interruption.’
‘Because you were so sure I’d give you what you want.’ And he’d been right. Jacqui had bared herself to camisole and panties, desperate for his touch. Were her doubts just delaying tactics so she didn’t have to acknowledge she was putty in his hands? Her stomach cramped.
‘What we both want. Don’t deny it, Jacqueline. I see the flush of arousal on your perfect skin. Your pulse races and your beautiful breasts are rising fast because your breathing is too shallow.’
He was right. Her body betrayed her. She wanted him.
Yet she needed more, proof this meant something to him too. That they were equals in this.
Doubt lingered. Why had Asim made love to her? Had he been motivated by pity and mere convenience? Last night she hadn’t thought so but today he seemed so cold and uninvolved. It was hard to shake a lifetime of self-doubt.
‘Then why haven’t you touched me?’ Despite her intentions it sounded like a plea.
He shook his head, his face grim. ‘Once I touch you, Jacqueline, there’ll be no holding back, no time for finesse. I’ve spent the whole day waiting for you, and I’m not a patient man.’
Startled, Jacqui gazed up at that strongly sculpted face and felt heat squiggle through her. Now she saw more than his piercing gaze. A pulse throbbed at his temple. His squared jaw was set and the tendons visible in his neck spoke of tension. Tension she’d put there? Heady relief and pleasure filled her.
His big hands flexed as if resisting the urge to reach for her. The movement drew attention to the bulge in his trousers she hadn’t noticed earlier.
Remembering the heavy, delicious weight of him, the softness of satin over forged steel, her inner muscles contracted. His body fascinated her but last night, though they’d shared more intimacies than she’d ever experienced, he’d been the one exploring her body. She’d had no chance to satisfy her curiosity.
‘Sit on the desk, Jacqueline.’ His voice was harsh but she caught an edge of desperation. ‘I promise you’ll enjoy it.’
‘No.’
‘No?’ Asim’s head reared back, his eyes rounding. He’d been so sure of her. And not used to anyone denying him what he wanted. ‘What do you mean, no?’ It was a roar of outrage.
Jacqui licked dry lips as excitement and trepidation warred. She made herself meet his eyes.
We’re equals, she told herself. He might be lord of all he surveys but she wasn’t his subject. Besides, something had changed after last night—the way he’d confronted her hang-ups and shown her they meant nothing to him. Her body hummed with arousal and a woman’s curiosity.
‘No, I don’t want you to take me on your desk. Not yet.’ For now she said it aloud she was shocked at how appealing it sounded.
‘Then what do you want?’ His brow furrowed in a scowl.
For a moment longer she hesitated, but her body, primed by a day of physical pampering and now by proximity to Asim, had no doubts.
She dropped to her knees and heard his hiss of indrawn breath. Reaching out, she flicked open the button at the top of this trousers and tugged the zip.
‘This,’ she said, reaching for him.
SHE WAS KILLING HIM.
Hour by hour she drove him quietly insane.
Asim frowned as he strode from the stables. His ride hadn’t cleared his head. It was filled with Jacqueline. Her sighs as she snuggled up to him in bed; the look of exhilaration when he told her how beautiful she was.
The spark of devilment in her eyes when she occasionally convinced him to let her take the lead in sex. He tightened as heat flashed through him. Remembering her hands on him, her mouth—hot and sultry and a little clumsy—brought him to fever pitch all over again.
He’d wondered that first night if she was a virgin, but she’d been adamant and he’d let himself be persuaded. Now he was convinced he’d been right. Jacqueline was passionate and eager but definitely inexperienced.
Or she had been.
Asim’s jaw clenched. At least that had relieved his earlier discomfort that he might be poaching on his cousin’s territory. Imran really had been just a friend. But now there was guilt that he’d seduced a virgin. A decent man would have pulled back straight away, respecting her innocence. But with Jacqueline Asim feared he had no control.
She was a houri, an enchantress.
She was disrupting his well-ordered life.
Was he mad, having an affair with a journalist? Logic should say yes but instinctively he trusted
