she trailed her lips along his jawline and began to nuzzle the skin behind his ear. She could feel his body’s instant response, and it fed her self-confidence.
She took a deep, indulgent breath of the delicious aroma that clung to him, allowing it to fill her lungs. Savoring the sensations unfurling in her, Kali licked the spot she’d been caressing, smiling happily when he gasped.
Emboldened she traced back over his jawline with her lips, exploring the exact texture of his skin. It had a faintly raspy feel to it as if he had a very heavy beard.
Her speculation was cut short as Hassan suddenly turned his head and captured her mouth with his. His lips pressed forcefully against hers, demanding that she open her mouth to his exploration. Instinctively she obeyed, and he shoved his tongue inside with a rough hunger Kali found incredibly sexy.
Reaction poured over her in waves, raising goose bumps on her flesh. Her arms tightened around his shoulders, trying to bind him closer. She hadn’t realized that a simple kiss could feel like this. She could even hear bells.
A monumental sense of loss filled her as Hassan suddenly dropped his arms and stepped back.
Kali gulped in air, struggling to get control of her turbulent emotions. It wasn’t easy. She felt shaken to the very core of her being. Totally unlike herself. And totally unlike the sensible, competent woman Hassan had proposed to. The fear that he might notice her unprecedented reaction and wonder about it was like a shower of cold water on her overheated emotions.
Kali ran her fingers down over the smooth line of her green tweed skirt willing them to stop trembling.
“Here, I almost forgot,” Hassan said.
Kali looked up to find him holding out the engagement ring he’d bought her yesterday.
Kali stared down at the exquisite thing, wondering how anyone could ever forget something so beautiful…even for a moment. The huge emerald seemed to glow as if lit from within.
“It’s even more gorgeous than I remember,” she said, uncertain as to whether she should put it on or let him, as a couple would do in a normal engagement.
But she didn’t want a normal engagement. She’d already tried falling in love, and it had been a complete disaster. Her cool, considered arrangement with Hassan was much better.
She looked up into Hassan’s dark eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. At least it had been cool and considered, she amended. But for some reason, ever since Hassan had gotten back from Australia, he’d been different.
No, she corrected herself as she studied his familiar features. Hassan wasn’t different. What was different was how she was reacting to him. And she had no idea why.
Hassan answered her unspoken question by taking her hand and slipping the ring on her finger.
“A perfect fit,” Hassan announced, wanting to kiss her again. He wanted to see if it felt the same or if his explosive reaction to their earlier kiss had been a fluke. He wanted.some common sense. He choked off his desire with monumental effort. He had absolutely no business kissing her, because tonight he was going to tell her the truth.
But until then he was playing the part of her fiancé and if he didn’t play the part convincingly, he wouldn’t fool her family. And this whole exercise would have been a waste.
Kali watched the emotions flitting across his face, wondering what he was thinking. She didn’t have a clue. Hassan was turning out to be a lot more complicated than she’d originally thought.
But this wasn’t the time to worry about it, she told herself as the cuckoo clock she’d lugged home from Germany four years ago suddenly chimed the half hour.
Hurriedly she got her tan dress coat out of the closet and shrugged into it.
“I told Mom I’d call her from the train station when we get in,” Kali told Hassan as she carefully locked her apartment door behind them. “Someone will collect us.”
“I’ve got a car.”
“But you hate to drive.” She frowned uncertainly at him.
Damn! Hassan mentally cursed his slip. How could he have forgotten the car accident that had killed his uncle and led to the breakup of his parents’ happy marriage? Six-year-old Karim had been severely injured. The whole family had spent the next fifteen years catering to his every whim. The accident had also left Karim with a horror of driving. But maybe Karim hadn’t told Kali the reason he didn’t drive. He didn’t seem to have told her anything else about his background.
“I wouldn’t exactly say that I hate to drive,” Hassan carefully felt his way. “It’s more that I find it a nuisance in New York City. But I thought that it would be better not to be tied to the Long Island Railroad’s schedule. Especially on a Sunday. So I borrowed a car from a friend at the consulate.”
Kali chuckled. “You sound like you’re anticipating a quick getaway. Not that I blame you. The best of families can be pretty heavy going at times.”
“I’ll say!”
Kali blinked at his heartfelt tone, wondering what he was thinking of. His own family? She frowned when she realized that she knew almost nothing about them. Just a couple of chance comments that added up to the fact that his mother was English and his parents were divorced.
“Hassan, do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“No sisters, but two brothers. I’m parked right out in front of your building.” He deliberately changed the subject, hoping he hadn’t sounded as abrupt to her as he did to himself. He could hardly give her any specifics about his brothers without lying, and he didn’t want to tell any more lies than he absolutely had to.
He held the lobby door open for her and then led her over to the large black Mercedes that Mohammed had loaned him.
“Very impressive.” Kali studied the leather interior as Hassan started the car. “I don’t think I’ve ever driven in anything this luxurious before.”
“Hmm” Hassan murmured, his mind completely taken up with the sound of her voice. She had the most intriguing voice he’d ever heard in a woman. Low and husky, full of feminine promise. And that was just in a normal, everyday setting. What would her voice sound like if he were to make love to her? Soft and dreamy? A sudden shaft of desire pierced his composure, making him grip the steering wheel tightly. Not now, he thought, forcing himself to concentrate on driving. There were enough distractions on the road without his adding the most dangerous one of all—sexual desire.
* * *
The trip out to Long Island took almost an hour. An hour during which Kali had become increasingly aware of Hassan’s physical presence: the way his long fingers competently gripped the wheel; the way his broad shoulders shifted as he steered the car; the length of his long legs so near to her own.
By the time they reached her home, she was beginning to feel rattled. As if she were a music box which had been wound too tightly and now couldn’t quite perform the way it was supposed to. But why? The question nagged at her. Why was she responding so strongly to him now, when she never had before?
Could it be because he was being more open with her than he had in the past? Like sharing his family nickname
