The Sheik's Gentle Triumph (The Diamond Club Book 4)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Danielle was finished pulling away from this man. Over the past two days, she’d seen him chatting with homeless veterans and single mothers, carrying small toddlers on his hip with one arm while serving food with the other so that a single mother could get her other children settled. He’d entertained some of the children so that the parents could eat their meal in peace, teasing teenagers and offering them sage advice on their academics or lifelong dreams.

  Today, she’d seen another side of him. A tender, caring man that…well, she wanted him. She knew that this wouldn’t be a forever kind of love. Not even a long term affair. But she could be with him while he was here. She could be with him and experience the magic of his touch for as long as it lasted.

  She’d grown up thinking of dating and sexual encounters as a prelude to marriage. But today, tonight at least, sex with Mika would be just one night. Just one night where she could pretend that their time together could last for ever and ever. That he loved her as much as…well, as much as she loved him.

  So when he pulled her into his arms, Danielle didn’t hesitate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her face to his kiss.

  Every time he’d kissed her over the past week, it had been incredible and overwhelming. But with the release of her resistance, the kiss quickly spiraled out of control. She wanted to melt into him and wasn’t aware of her legs shifting to straddle his lap until she felt his erection against the seam of her jeans, pressing against her in ways that made her body tighten with need. She gasped when he gripped her hips, pressing her closer against that hard, throbbing part of him.

  If she’d been able to think clearly, Daniele might have realized that he hadn’t touched her in any way other than with his hands on her back or his lips on her mouth. So, when his hands slid underneath her thick sweater, the touch was shocking! The heat from his hands sent bolts of need throughout her system, ending in that bundle of nerves between her legs.

  “Mika,” she gasped when his hands moved around from her back to her breasts, cupping them as he rubbed his thumbs against the tip through the material of her bra. She didn’t care that they were in his vehicle or that the driver might be watching. She couldn’t even think enough to worry about an audience. In the morning, she’d be grateful that he’d had the foresight to close the partition between them and the driver, but right now, there were only his hands against her skin and shoving the material of his sweater out of the way so that she could do the same to him.

  When he roughly pulled her hands away, Danielle didn’t understand. She looked at him, confused. But he practically lifted her out of the limousine and onto the sidewalk in front of the hotel in which he was staying.

  She’d been in this building only once when she’d brought the outrageous necklace back to him, but she recognized the décor and stared with surprise. But she didn’t question the speed with which they moved through the lobby to the private elevator. Once she realized where they were, she was in complete agreement with his urgency. She wanted to be alone with him just as quickly.

  “Come here,” he growled as soon as the elevator doors closed on them, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.

  Danielle gasped when she felt his hands sliding under her sweater, closing her eyes as she tried to control the heat coming at her from all directions. But when he lifted her into his arms, her eyes popped open and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Where are you taking me?” she asked, lowering her head to kiss his neck, doing the same thing that he’d done to her, but this was better!

  Another growl and she felt the wall against her back and his erection pressed more firmly against her body. “Nowhere if you keep doing that to me,” he warned as his hands slid higher.

  She shifted against his erection, feeling shocking pleasure lancing through her with each gentle motion of her hips. “Do you want me to stop?” she asked, then gasped when he nipped her earlobe.

  “Don’t you dare!” he laughed harshly, shaking his head slightly to clear some of the lust surging through him. The elevator opened and…she had no idea where they were going and didn’t care!

  He looked over his shoulder at the bed, then down at her. “Hold that thought,” he ordered, then carried her over to the bed and laid her down. With swift hands, he tugged off her sweater and jeans, tossing them aside.

  “Wait!” she gasped, startled by his movements and she crossed her arms over her chest, hiding herself from him,

  Mika looked down at her, surprised by her sudden shyness after what they’d enjoyed moments before. But then her words that first night came back to him. “I’m going too fast, aren’t I?” he asked with a gruff voice.

  “A bit,” she replied, standing up next to the bed, but still covering herself. “How about a kiss, boy?” she teased tentatively. Danielle stood up on her tip toes and kissed him gently.

  Slowly, so slowly, he thought he might explode, Mika deepened the kiss, trying to bring her back to that excited state she’d been in before he’d started stripping her naked without any sort of finesse or consideration.

  When her tongue darted out to touch his, he had to restrain himself from surging forward again. It was so hot, so erotic when she did that! He was stunned by how urgent his need was! It was like he was a randy teenager again. Where was his finesse? Where was his experience?

  Taking a deep breath, he laid her down into the middle of the bed. She didn’t stay down and he laughed at how self-conscious she was. “You’re eventually going to let me see all of you, right?” he teased as he stripped off his clothes. When he was naked, he climbed onto the bed next to her, but moving slowly.

  He loved the way she looked at him, as if she couldn’t stop. As he moved over her, he took one of her hands, still pressed over her breasts, and placed it on his chest. For a long moment, he closed his eyes, loving the way her fingers felt against his bare skin. For too long, he’d imagined what it would feel like when she finally touched him and now…he knew that it was even better! Ten times more amazing!

  “Your skin is like…” she hesitated, her fingers exploring his chest. “You’re so hard, Mika,” she replied.

  “More than you know,” he chuckled.

  The blush that stole up her cheeks was delightful. He moved over her, pressing her back against the mattress. “Just touch me, love,” he lowered his mouth to tease her throat. As her fingers caressed his arms and shoulders, his lips explored, teasing and nipping at the skin when he found a spot that caused her to shiver. Moving lower and lower, he took one of her pert, hard peaks into his mouth and sucked. Gently at first, but when she whimpered and made those sexy gasping noises, he pulled harder. Her fingers wove into his hair as he settled his body between her legs. She was stiff for only a moment, but he continued teasing her nipples, moving to the other one and her body relaxed, arching against him, her hips lifting up as if…as if she needed him just as much as he needed her.

  But she wasn’t ready, he thought. Not yet!

  Moving lower, he preceded his descent with his hands, his fingers teasing and tormenting until he found that wet heat. She was so hot, so wet and ready for him that he had to close his eyes in order to regain control. When he pressed a finger into her slick heat, he could feel her inner muscles tighten around him. But he focused on moving his mouth lower. Lower still. Until his mouth joined his fingers, teasing and tormenting until…!

  “Mika!” she screamed as her body throbbed with her first climax, his fingers and mouth extending that pleasure for as long as possible. When her body relaxed, he pulled gently away and grabbed a condom, rolling it down his length.

  Coming back to her, he waited until her eyes opened and she smiled up at him.

  “That was beautiful!” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you!”

  He chuckled softly, his body throbbing but he wanted this first time with her to be perfect. “You’re welcome. Can we keep going?” he asked even as his body pressed into hers. She was so damn tight! So perfect!

/>   “Yes!” she sighed and arched, lifting her hips to accept him. There was a sharp intake of her breath when he pressed in too deeply, so he pulled back out, then pressed in again. Slowly, he found a rhythm that would take them higher and higher. He watched her eyes, noting the smile that formed on her full, swollen lips. Pressing against her, shifting her hips and then….!

  He thought she might scream out his name again, but her mouth fell open and her body shivered, tightening around his shaft as her second climax took over her body. It was possibly the most beautiful thing that he’d ever seen. But he couldn’t hold back. With several more thrusts, hard and demanding, he found his own release! And it was so powerful, he couldn’t hold back and just prayed that he didn’t hurt her!

  “Danielle!” he groaned afterwards and collapsed against her, burying his face against her throat. He might have smiled when her arms wrapped around his neck, but Mika wasn’t sure if he had the strength even for that.

  He did roll to the side, taking her with him so that his weight didn’t crush her. And when she snuggled up against him, he knew that she had been worth the wait! He usually didn’t like snuggling at all, but he wanted her against him, touching him, pressing as much of her body against his as possible.

  Chapter 14

  Morning. Monday morning. Ugh! Twisting slightly, Danielle peered over her shoulder, smiling dreamily at Mika as he slept, his arm curled tightly around her. In sleep, his features were more relaxed, but still hard and she could see the determined man in his features. He was so dynamic and amazing, she thought with a sigh. And so incredibly strong! Good grief, she loved…him. Period. She’d been about to think about his arms or his shoulders, the intensity of his eyes. And yes, she loved those parts of him. But there was so much more to him. It wasn’t just a part of him. It was all of him. Every part of him. Even his stubborn determination to send her outrageous gifts.

  She smiled, thinking about the silly box of chocolate chips. Yeah, the Godiva chocolate had been nice, but the chocolate chips had really made her smile. And made her laugh that evening with her friends. What a perfect gift. It told her so many things about him, not the least of which was that he had heard her when she’d told him about the scene in that movie. He’d actually listened to her, heard her, and respected her.

  But Monday, and reality, were quickly coming into sharp focus. Danielle needed to get to work. She had several reports that needed to be turned in to Oz by this afternoon. Most of them had been prepared last week in anticipation of today, but she still needed to review them and double check the details.

  So instead of turning around and snuggling into his arms, kissing his chest and…maybe kissing him awake for another round, she slipped out of his arms and, bending down to kiss him, she snuck out of the bed. Her clothes were…everywhere! Danielle smiled as she collected her clothes. He’d taken her out to dinner last night but they’d spent the whole meal desperate to get back here, to be alone and in each other’s arms.

  She didn’t bother to shower, pulling her clothes on quickly. She only had her jeans and sweater today. Getting back home to grab some business attire was imperative, she told herself.

  Before she left, she walked over to kiss him goodbye. He was still asleep and would never know she’d kissed him, but she did it anyway. Danielle had no idea how much longer he would be here, so she’d take every opportunity to touch him. Even if he didn’t know it.

  An hour later, she walked through the lobby and badged her way through to her office, unaware of the glowing smile on her face as she settled in to get those reports done. She was early, one of the first to arrive. As the morning progressed, Danielle was vaguely aware of others filtering in and getting down to business, although she ignored most of the noise and focused on getting these reports to Oz. She wanted them on his desk before he came in for the morning.

  She was just about to hit the print button when something nudged her leg. Looking under her desk, she discovered a wet nose. A black wet nose attached to an incredibly fluffy dog that was wagging her tail enthusiastically.

  “Betty!” Danielle exclaimed and the fluffy dog stood up and wagged her tail so hard, her entire body wiggled. “Oh, you’re looking extra pretty today!” she gasped.

  Betty wiggled harder, rubbing against Danielle’s legs and whining softly. Danielle continued to talk to the sweet dog as she pressed the last few buttons that would tell the printer to spew out the reports.

  “Is she bothering you?” Oz asked, appearing like a giant, dark shadow in her doorway.

  “Betty? No way!” she exclaimed, still rubbing the dog’s ears. “In fact, here, you take these,” she said, handing him the reports. “Go…do your thing with those reports and I’ll take care of Betty. I’ll go toss the ball for her,” she announced.

  Oz laughed. “You spoil her,” he said, accepting the reports.

  “Right,” Danielle snorted. “Like you don’t?”

  He glanced down at the dog who gazed back at him with complete adoration. “She’s grown on me,” he replied. “Before you go wear her out, care to explain this?” he asked, dropping a small box onto Danielle’s desk.

  Danielle stared at the box, wondering what it might contain. It was significantly smaller than the other boxes that had been delivered. And after the long weekend spent making love with Mika, she was wary about what might be inside.

  “Are you just going to stare at it? Or are you going to open it up and find out what’s inside?” Oz teased.

  She thought about just ignoring it, not wanting to know. If it was an expensive piece of jewelry, it would make what she and Mika had shared over the past several days tawdry and wrong. But it was too small to be more chocolate.

  “Danielle, do you want me to run it through the bomb detector?” Oz asked carefully, instantly alert.

  A fraction of a moment later, Ryker poked his head through the door. “Who has a bomb?”

  Danielle cringed. “No one has a bomb. This is too small to be a bomb,” she told her bosses, lifting the package in the air and shaking it. There wasn’t a return address, but she was certain that the box was from Mika and he wouldn’t send her anything explosive. He delivered explosiveness when she was in his arms, she thought, unaware of the secret smile that lifted her lips.

  “What the hell, Danielle! What’s going on?” Ryker shoved Oz out of the way, which was impressive since both men were huge and disgustingly muscular.

  “Nothing!” she assured both of them. “It’s just a box. Nothing huge.” At least, she hoped that was the case.

  “She’s seeing Mika,” Oz announced to Ryker, whose eyes narrowed.

  “Mika as in Mika from poker night?”

  Danielle had to laugh. Most people would refer to a man of Mika’s rank more formally. But these men played high stakes poker with Mika and several of their other clients, many of whom were royalty from the countries surrounding Mika’s. But nope! Not her bosses! Not when they won or lost millions of dollars in a few hours at those poker games!

  “The same,” Oz confirmed. They turned back to confront Danielle.

  “We’re just friends!” she assured both of them. “He has always treated me with absolute respect and as a gentleman.”

  The men grunted, each crossing their massive arms over their equally massive chests, glaring down at her. “Okay, so open the box. Let’s see what he sent to you this time.”

  Ryker nodded, both big guys in complete agreement.

  Betty nudged Danielle’s arm with a wet nose, indicating that the canine wanted to know what was inside the box. Probably not for the same reason. Betty knew that Danielle kept a secret stash of treats in a box in her drawer. Betty probably thought that the box on her desk was her treat box.

  “Fine! I’ll open it!” She pulled a letter opener out of her desk drawer and sliced through the packing tape. Opening the flaps to the box, they all leaned over at the same time, staring down into the box. Betty was the only one who didn’t start laughing when they peered at the
enormous, plastic ring nestled inside the silver tissue.

  “That looks like something one could get out of those machines at the grocery store,” Ryker commented, obviously confused, but still chuckling.

  Danielle covered her mouth, still laughing but she reached down and soothed Betty, scratching her ears. “Yeah. That’s probably exactly what it is.”

  Oz looked at Danielle, then back inside the box. “What does it mean?” he demanded.

  She smoothed out her amusement and looked directly back at him as she said, “It is an inside joke between the two of us. And no,” she lifted her free hand in the air, “I’m not explaining it to you because it is private. You’re both just going to have to trust me that Mika has been and is incredibly respectful.” She stood up. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, Betty and I have a date with a ball and some trees.”

  Betty jumped up, eager to head outside. At the last minute, Danielle turned and grabbed the gaudy, plastic ring, sliding it onto her finger with a chuckle. “Look! It fits!” and she slipped between the two huge men, patting her thigh to call Betty. “I’ll take good care of her,” she promised Oz.

  Oz was a big guy and, therefore, needed to pretend that he wasn’t worried about his overly-fluffy dog. But Danielle knew that he doted on the canine, taking her with him on his long, morning runs and playing with her after work. He often brought the sweet dog into the office because everyone loved Betty – and because Oz didn’t like leaving her at home for long periods of the day. When Oz went out of the country on his mysterious missions, Betty stayed either with Ryker or Jayce, both of whom spoiled her even more than Oz.

  Betty obviously knew where she was heading and raced ahead of Danielle, turning to stare lovingly up at Danielle from the doorway. Danielle grabbed the bucket that Oz had placed by the doorway, selecting several ragged tennis balls, then pushed through the doors leading out to the back patio. The two of them skipped down the stairs together and, at the bottom, Danielle threw the ball into the woods. Betty raced through the dry leaves and sticks, leaping over logs to retrieve her precious tennis ball. A few minutes later, Betty pranced back along the pathway with the neon yellow ball in her mouth. Carefully, she set the ball on the ground by Danielle’s feet.