made it all the more imperative he right the wrong he’d done her, putting her reputation in danger. They must marry!
Yet his honour demanded she come to him freely.
It was time to be magnanimous. ‘I’ve rushed you. I know it’s a surprise. I’ll leave you to digest the idea.’ He even conjured a smile, though his facial muscles felt stretched taut. She probably just needed reassurance. ‘But it will work out, you’ll see. You’ll make a fine Sheikha.’
‘I’m sorry, Sayid. But I’m not marrying you.’ Her hands were clasped before her now. She looked so damned earnest.
Impatience rose. Sayid had never been rejected in his life. It was impossible he’d be refused now. He turned and marched across the room then back again, needing an outlet for the tide of furious energy that made him want to grab her and kiss her into submission.
Only his promise to himself that he wouldn’t coerce her stopped him. Frustration tore at him, yet he forced himself to keep his distance, just. He stopped out of touching distance, his breath laboured at the effort of restraint, his temper spiking at her obstinacy.
Lina stood there in one of her western dresses, lilac this time, looking sexy and seductive and mutinous and he wanted to kiss her mouth till it softened, strip her bare and stake his claim over that glorious body in the most primitive, definite way possible. He was aroused just watching the quick rise and fall of her breasts and the flare of emotion in her bright stare.
That enraged him even more than her refusal. She stood there, not calm, but at least self-possessed, saying no, and he felt utterly adrift, as if every tie that tethered him to the real world had been ripped away.
He prowled towards her, in the grip of an unholy mix of hunger, indignation and determination. Slowly he lifted his hand, watching her shiver in anticipation of his touch. He brushed his knuckle down her cheek and the shiver became a shudder, her tight mouth opening on a silent gasp of delight.
Satisfaction thundered through him.
If there’d been any question that Lina hadn’t shared this sexual obsession her reaction banished it. She quivered, leaning towards him as if needing more than that light touch.
Sayid’s mouth turned up in a possessive smile as his hand trailed from her chin to her throat then to her breast.
Lina’s breath was a hiss then a sigh as he circled her nipple with one finger, feeling it peak beneath the fabric. Her breath came in uneven gasps and the pulse at her throat raced as quickly as his pounding blood. Deliberately he opened his palm, cupping her breast and gently squeezing. She pressed close as her eyelids fluttered low.
Still she refused to speak the words, though he knew she teetered on the brink of submission.
His body was on fire. His groin hard, hot and painfully tight. He could have her now on the chair behind her, or better yet, on the big desk. They both craved it. Craved each other.
Whether it was the realisation of how much he needed her or a remnant of his determination not to coerce, Sayid didn’t know. But he found himself dropping his hand. Her eyes snapped open, velvety warm and bewildered and he had to step back rather than lose any hope of thought.
‘Marriage is for the best, Lina.’
He watched her fight her way out of her sensual fog. It took a while, but he found little gratification in that since it took everything he had not to step in close again and let nature and their bodies do the thinking for them.
She shook her head. ‘I’ve given you my answer, Sayid. Not that there was a question, much less a proposal.’
His eyebrows shot up. ‘That’s what this is about? You want me down on bended knee, proposing?’
She laughed and he didn’t like the sound—so bitter. So unlike Lina. ‘Frankly, I can’t imagine you ever doing that.’ She paused as if gathering herself. ‘A proposal would have been nice but it wouldn’t make a difference. I can’t marry you.’
‘Can’t?’ Fury turned his voice into a baritone growl. ‘Or won’t?’
She didn’t even flinch. Just lifted her chin imperiously. ‘Both.’
Sayid took a long step towards her, so close the ravishing scent of her skin clogged his senses, but he was beyond being seduced. Besides, he was the master at that. Once more he lifted his arm, reached out to her and stopped, his hand hovering so close to her breast he could almost feel it. The expression in her eyes confirmed her response to his phantom caress.
‘You’ll change your mind.’ He took in her quickened pulse and the way she swayed towards him. Despite her rejection he caught the scent of female arousal as a musk undertone to that lavish rose scent. ‘You’re wet between the legs for me, aren’t you, Lina?’ Her glazed stare confirmed it. ‘You want me right here, right now. You want the pleasure I can give you. Only I can give you. You want to come with me inside you. Or against my hand, or my mouth.’
Sayid’s heart slammed against his ribcage in an urgent tattoo but he stood his ground, refusing to succumb to the need his own words evoked.
Lina swallowed hard and triumph buzzed in his veins. She shook like a leaf, trying to fight the inevitable.
‘But know this. There will be no more sex until you agree to marry me. No more climaxes. No more kisses.’ She gazed at him in disbelief. ‘Nothing, until you say yes.’
Her breathing was a raw scratch of sound. Her cheeks flushed with an erotic heat he recognised. Just talking about climaxes aroused her. Lina was as highly sexed as he. She needed him. This, if nothing else, was her secret weakness and he had no qualms about exploiting it.
Sayid was congratulating himself on finding the perfect strategy for victory when Lina stunned him by stepping back. Her chest heaved and she clung once more to the chair back, but she stood there, staring up at him as if she’d never seen him before.
Something cold and hard sank in his belly.
‘Then I’ll just have to live without.’ Her choked, uneven voice detracted from her defiance, but the look in her eyes told Sayid she was dead serious. She drew herself up to her full height. ‘Thank you for the...consideration. I’m sorry I can’t accept. I’ll pack my bags and leave the palace.’
She turned and walked towards the door.
Away from him! Dismissing him and his honourable offer.
‘Don’t walk away from me!’ His voice was a roar that filled the vast chamber. He who rarely raised his voice. ‘I didn’t give you permission to leave.’
She flinched, her shoulders lifting high, making him feel like a brute. Except that was ridiculous. He was her Sheikh and her lover. He deserved better.
Slowly Lina turned. When she did, instead of facing him with that determined, glittering gaze, she sank flat to the floor in an old-fashioned gesture of obeisance. The sort of thing he abhorred. The sort of servile gesture his autocratic uncle had loved.
Damn Lina. She did this deliberately. He was not turning into his uncle. Hadn’t he given Lina the education she’d craved? A chance to experience the world beyond Halarq’s borders?
