The Sheik's Reluctant Lover (13 page)

“I need to speak with you,” she heard
Rais
say right behind her. 

She spun around, almost falling with the momentum but he caught her before anything embarrassing could happen.  She thought he might just kiss her right there in the kitchen in front of Lucy and the whole catering staff.  Thankfully, he dropped his hand and walked out of the area, assuming she would follow him.

Rachel glanced around, caught Lucy’s eyes and cringed when the motherly woman gave her a wink of encouragement.  There was nothing to do but follow him.  This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid all evening.  She couldn’t be alone with him, didn’t want to be alone with him.

“Rachel!”

His voice commanded and she actually jumped, startled by the tone. 

He’d never spoken to her like that.  With authority and…almost anger!  She hadn’t done anything wrong except disobey what
he told her to wear
tonight.  And she didn’t consider that to be blatant disobedience.  Not that she even owed him obedience, she told herself angrily. 

Shoving through the door, she was about to confront him with his irritating, authoritative voice, but she stopped short when she
looked at him.  He was standing in the living room, his tuxedo jacket thrown over the back of the sofa, his tie hanging down on both sides of his neck and the first few buttons of his shirt undone.  To make the whole image better, or worse depending on one’s perspective, he was holding two glasses of brandy in his hand, offering one to her. 

This was at least safer, she thought as she stepped forward to accept the brandy. 

“Thank you,” she whispered,
then
moved away from him, taking a position on the other side of the room.

“The night went smoothly,” he said and sat down on the leather sofa, watching her with hooded eyes. 

“Thank you.”

“You did an excellent job. 
Very good food.”

“I told Lana that I thought it was great, but I’ll pass along your praise as well.  It will mean more coming from you.”

“Probably not,” he laughed softly. 

Her eyes sliced over to him, not sure why he’d said that.  “What do you mean?”

“I mean, everyone who was here tonight basically worships you.  They are all eager to do your bidding and please you.”

She
f
l
ushed,
feeling embarrassed by that kind of a comment.  “You’re exaggerating.”

He shook his head.  “Not in the least.  You’re a very good hostess.  Not that I ever doubted you.”  By the end
of his statement
, he was standing right in front of her.  “You’re charming and interesting desp
ite disobeying just about everything I tell you to do.”

She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped.  “So stop trying to order me around.”

One side of his mouth tilted up in a semblance of a smile.  “It’s in my nature.”  His hand slipped around her waist, drawing her closer.  “What am I going to do with you?”

She inhaled sharply when
he pulled her against him, his dark eyes conveying his desire for her.  “Maybe you could just enjoy my company before you head back to
Dunari
,” she said softly, pulling her eyes away from his and staring at his chest.  She really didn’t want him going back home, she thought with a touch of sadness.  She wanted him here where she could laugh with him and talk with him.  Just being in the same room with him was stimulating, although at times he terrified her.

“I was without your beautiful presence for six years.  Do you really think I’m going to just leave you now that I have you right where I want you?”

She stopped breathing with those words.  “Where do you think you have me?” she asked worriedly.

“In my arms.”
  He grinned and took a sip of his brandy with his free hand, “And in my house with no one else around.”

Those words startled her and she looked back towards the kitchen.  They were too far away for her to see or hear anything but she suspected that he was correct.  Her shivering increased and she gripped her brandy glass with both hands.  “Would you take me home?”

He shook his head.  “Not before I kiss you,” he replied. 

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

He chuckled and she felt that sound throughout her whole body.  “I know, love.  But it’s something I have to do.”  He paused to let those words sink in
as he looked at her dress.  “And what are we going to do about this flagrant disobedience about my instructions on your attire tonight?”

She glanced down at her dress, then back up to him with a grin.  “I don’t take orders from you,
Rais
.”

He
shook his head and bent lower so his lips were almost touching hers.  “Ah, but I like it when you disobey me.”

Her eyes widened and she started to pull back, but the arm around her waist was too strong.  “What are you going to do about it?”

He took another sip of brandy before setting it down on the table behind him.  “Oh, there are a numbers of punishments I can dole out for a major infraction like that.”

Again, another giggle slipped out and she shifted in his arms so that her free arm was higher on his shoulder, almost wrapped around his neck.  “Can you give me some examples?” she suggested.  “Maybe I’ll choose one over another.”

He looked back at her askance.  “You don’t get to choose your punishments, my dear.”

“Why not?”

He took her brandy glass out of her hand and set it down next to his.  When both of his hand
s
were
free, he used
one
to take her other hand and place it on his shoulder. 
“Because that would defeat the purpose of punishments, my love.”

He bent low and kissed her neck, causing Rachel to shiver and move closer to him.  She even tilted her head so he had easier access.  “I need to get home.”

“Not before I kiss you,” he countered, nibbling on her collar bone. 

“I think you’re already kissing me.”

“I’m not kissing you where I want to kiss you.”

She wasn’t sure where that was, and frankly didn’t want to know.  She loved the way he touched her, the electrifying way she felt in his arms.  No other man had even come close to making her feel this way and she shifted against his hard length, even feeling the pressure from his erection against her stomach.  The thought occurred to her that she actually wanted to hold him there, to feel him and explore that part of him. 

She didn’t feel the zipper slide down her back but when he pushed the material off of her shoul
ders
she looked up, confused.  At that moment, he covered her mouth with his and all the confusion was
superseded
by the desire for this one man.  The fear didn’t even rear its ugly head and she kissed him back with everything she was feeling. 

His hand slid down her spine, tickling and teasing her.  Her fingers had been clenching at his shoulders, but with his touch, she felt emboldened to touch him back, wanting to make him feel the same things she was feeling.  Her arms came down from his shoulders and she slowly tested how to touch him. 
When her fingers slid down his chest, she heard him groan and his arm tightened around her waist. 

She really liked that and tried it again but this
time,
he lifted his head and kissed her hard, his tongue delving into her mouth, teasing her to participate in the kiss.  She wanted to push his tongue out but he captured her lower lip and bit her.  Not hard, but enough to surprise her and her hands clenched on his chest before opening up again, running across his chest muscles once again. 

“Rachel!” he growled and lifted his head, shaking it slightly before taking her hands and plastering them against his chest. 

That wasn’t enough for her though.  She let her hands slide over to the buttons.  She thought she was being subtle, secretive but
she
desperately wanted to feel the skin underneath his shirt, to explore those muscles more intimately.  She released one button and her fingers tentatively touched his chest.  But
it wasn’t enough and she released the next butto
n.  She continued to reveal additional
skin, her excitement building as her hands found more freedom to explore the actual man instead of the fabric that hid him.

She was so absorbed in exploring his body that she didn’t even realize that
Rais
had pushed her dress down to her waist.  When his hands cupped her breasts, she inhaled sharply and pulled back, closing her eyes just as she’d done earlier in the evening.  She couldn’t think any longer and when his thumbs rubbed over her hard nipples, she whimpered with the need that was pooling at her core.  She pressed her stomach against him, her legs shifting as her whole body searched for the undefined something that she always felt when she was with
Rais
.

In fact, she wasn’t even aware of her hands ripping off his shirt, uncaring about the buttons or the material.  And when she finally had him free of that, when his hands pushed the lace bra off of her shoulder and his hands were free to r
oam her breast without the hind
rance of the material, she cried out with the jolt, pressing her body closer to him, her legs rubbing against his. 

“You’re beautiful,” he told her and bent low so that he could take her breast in his mouth.  When he did that, she wrapped her arms around his head while her body tried to withstand this new feeling.  She’d never even believed something this intense could be real, but as his mouth suckled, his tongue laved and his teeth nipped at her breast, she whimpered again with the growing need that was swamping her senses. 

“Please,” she gasped and tried to pull his head away.  He allowed that, only so he could move to her other breast, cupping the tender globe in his hand while he teased and tormented. 

He
straightened
up a moment later and pushed her dress down to her feet, then swung her around, lifting her up and placing her next to the chair.  With gentle, teasing fingers, he pulled the scrap of lace away from her hips, his hands sliding along her legs. 

“Sit down,” he orde
red, then took her hands to push
her
gently
into the chair while he kneeled in front of her.  Rachel wasn’t sure what he was doing, but she didn’t have a chance to figure it out.  Because his hands slid up her legs once again, his fingers at her knees pulling her legs apart while his mouth moved back to her breasts, kissing and nuzzling, teasing her until she was pliant in his hands.

His hands slowly opened her legs while his mouth traveled down her body.  She felt his fingers slide gently along her outer thigh, then her inner thigh.  When his finger touched her core she jumped and looked down at him, her hands gripping his shoulders.  When she started to push him away, he stopped her movement with the simple expediency of sliding his finger inside of her.  She was so astonished at that feeling that her body jerked.  Her hips actually pushed forward, taking more of his finger and sighing with happiness.  When he pulled his finger out, she shook her head, relieved when he pushed back into her. 

He stretched her slightly when he put two fingers inside of her, but she didn’t have a chance to worry about that because his mouth had already moved from her breast to that core, his tongue teasing her and she couldn’t believe the heat she felt with his tongue and mouth, teasing her like that. 

A feeling was building inside of her and she couldn’t stop it, didn’t want to.  As his fingers and mouth moved on and in her, she pressed against him, her body arching and pressing, shifting ever so
slightly until she felt that feeling intensify, expand and then…everything sparked out, shining and waves of intense feeling, of pleasure like nothing she’d ever experience
d
or knew about exploded around her. 

Rais
watched with a painful need as she experienced her first orgasm and he thought he might just die if he didn’t bury himself inside of her immediately.  When her body collapsed, he lifted her into his arms and swung her around so that she was
laying
on the carpet.  He kissed her legs, her thighs, that juncture once again so he could enjoy her taste and smell, then moved higher, kissing her stomach and reveling in the perfection of her breasts. 

He stood up quickly, grabbed a condom from his pocket as he stripped his slacks and shoes off before coming back down to kneel between her legs once again. 

He wanted to stay just like that, to look at her in the aftermath of that climax, but he was in too much pain now.  He needed her with an intensity he’d never experienced with
a woma
n.  What was it about this slender
female
that drove him to such a desperate need to possess her? 

He didn’t care at the moment.  He leaned over her, gently taking her lips, kissing her, teasing her, bringing her back to him.  The whole time, he slid his finger inside of her again, closing his eyes at the heat, her wetness and how tight she was.  He wanted to just bury himself in her but he knew he had to take this slowly.