burned. Then she flicked her tongue over one of his nipples. His hand moved up her back to clench in her hair. Delighted, she continued to kiss his chest, alternating soft warm kisses with wet openmouthed ones. She kissed her way down to his abdomen until she was kneeling in front of him. When she reached the waistband of his pants, he tugged on her hair with innate gentleness and pulled her back up.
“Mina,” he whispered, against her mouth. “Have you had enough exploring?” His voice was heavy, sensual, encouraging.
She gasped when he sucked her lower lip into his own mouth. He took his time kissing her, bestowing nibbling love bites on her lips before urging her to open. When she did, his tongue swept in and proceeded to taste her with arrogant thoroughness. It was a long, lazy kiss that left her feeling as if she belonged to him. When he released her, she shook her head, breathless and aroused. “I’ve just begun.”
She trailed her fingers down the bare part of his arms. His golden skin strained to contain the pure strength of the muscles beneath. Lifting his hand to her mouth, she sucked one finger into the moist recesses. He released his breath in a forceful hiss. One by one, she sucked each of his fingers and then repeated the hot, sweet caress on his other hand, before moving to undo the buttons on the cuffs.
By the time she finished, Tariq’s vivid green eyes echoed the perfect clarity of shattered emerald shards. “Would you like this off?” He motioned to his shirt.
“Yes.” Walking behind him, she helped tug it off. The skin of his shoulders was hot and smooth. Jasmine molded her hands over them, captivated by the way they tensed.
The shirt fell to the floor. After pushing it aside with one foot, she shucked her slippers. When he would’ve turned, she wrapped her arms around his waist and plastered herself against him. “Stay. I want to touch your back.” The shudder that went through him vibrated against her sensitive nipples and reached deep within. It was as if a part of Tariq was inside her, touching her in the most intimate way.
Pressing her palms against his chest, she drew back just far enough to appreciate the sculpted planes of his back. Muscles moved like liquid steel under his skin when he raised his hands and put them over her own.
“You’re so strong.” She blew a warm breath onto his skin, entranced by the way he groaned and leaned backward. His reaction was the strongest of aphrodisiacs. “So beautiful.”
His chuckle was hoarse. “It is you who are beautiful. I am a man.”
She bit him just under his shoulder blade. “Absolutely, utterly beautiful.”
He squeezed her fingers. “I am pleased you find me beautiful, Mina. However, you are not to tell this to anyone.”
Jasmine laughed at the mock warning and tugged her fingers from his grasp. Once free, she began to trace the defined muscles of his back with slow deliberation. His breathing hitched, then restarted in a shallower rhythm.
“Would it damage your reputation as a tough, macho sheik?” She began to kiss her way down his spine. Her half-exposed breasts pressed against him, exciting her as much as she hoped the contact was stimulating him.
He took a deep breath. “I do not know this word macho.”
She started to undo the remaining buttons of her blouse, while continuing to caress his back, pressing urgent kisses against his slightly salty skin. “Macho means you.” She grazed his ribs with sharp little teeth. “Strong, manly, very masculine.” The blouse came undone. She pulled it off her shoulders and then licked her way back up his spine with her tongue. There was a swish as the blouse fell behind her. Her mind spinning with the extravagant sensuality of the moment, she plastered herself against him once more.
Electricity sizzled between them as skin touched skin.
Tariq’s groan was a rumble deep in his throat. Sensing that her panther was reaching the end of his tether, she moved to stand in front of him. Her lover’s expression was devoid of disguise, his eyes so dark they were almost black, his desire etched in stark lines.
Aroused beyond bearing, Tariq had to touch Mina. He raised one hand and cupped the warm weight of one breast. She gasped and her fingers pressed into his chest.
“No, please.” It was a husky whisper, a sensual plea.
“You will kill me with this exploring, Mina.” He picked her up and put her on the bed, aching to claim her. The disappointment that flickered in her eyes at having her exploration cut short fanned the flames of his passion as nothing else could have done. Keeping his eyes on her body, he kicked off his shoes and unzipped his pants.
“Yes?” He paused, waiting for her instruction.
Eyes wide, she nodded.
He peeled off his underwear with his pants. Jasmine stunned him by reaching out and trailing her finger down the length of his erection. His body was racked with tremors. “Move aside, Mina, or I will be on top of you and this will end.”
She shifted with an alacrity that made him feel like the most desired of men.
He lay down on the bed on his back, his arms folded under his head. “I think you have about five more minutes,” he warned, his gaze skating possessively over her body. He’d thought he could manage the beast inside him, dictate what he felt for this woman, but all he’d done was starve himself. The weeks of enforced calm disintegrated, and the primitive urge to take Mina ate away at his control.
As he watched, Jasmine straddled his thighs. Her gauzy skirts settled around them like curtains of mist.
“In that case, I’ll get right to the crux of the matter.” Without warning, she wrapped her fingers around his erection.
Swamped with ecstasy, Tariq growled low in his throat and pushed into her hands. Her fingers were delicate and feminine around him, her expression utterly fascinated. Seduced by her delight in his body, he surrendered and let his wife have her way with him.
Encouraged by Tariq’s unhidden enjoyment, Jasmine increased the pressure and began to move her hand up and down. Velvet over steel. Burning fire and searing heat. A soft moan escaped her lips. She could feel herself being seduced by his reactions. Tariq’s face was a study in raw passion. His cheekbones stood out against his flushed skin and his teeth were gritted against the pleasure. Aching with the need to give him more, to give him everything, she dipped her head and replaced her hands with her mouth.
Tariq’s thighs went as hard as rock under her. He jerked up into a sitting position and clenched his hands in her hair. When he shuddered under her inexpert caresses, Jasmine’s fear of not pleasing him evaporated. Exhilarated by his hoarse cries, she settled into the task she’d set herself.
Mina’s attentive exploration snapped the threads of Tariq’s control. “Enough.” He pulled her up, his hands rough.
Her heavy-lidded, passion-hot face inflamed him further. With another throaty groan, he hauled her up his body, until she was almost astride him. Then he reached under her skirt and found the lace of her panties. The sound of lace and satin ripping was drowned out by the loud panting of their breaths. Tariq threw aside the torn pieces and touched her with his fingers. Creamy heat welcomed him.
“You’re so wet, Mina.” His voice shook with the discovery.
Sensitized beyond bearing by their erotic play, Jasmine moved demandingly against his fingers. “Now.
