Bound by the Sheik's Ring

by Elizabeth Lennox

  She got it. He still thought of her as a sister. He didn’t see her as a sexual being. Sada looked out the window, wondering why that realization hurt so much. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t known about his feelings for her going into this. But still…

  Taking a deep breath, she explored the suite, taking everything in as she gave herself a pep talk.

  This was a political marriage. He didn’t want or need to kiss her. But good grief, could he at least pretend that he liked her when the two of them were in front of everyone else? It was one thing if he wanted to humiliate her in private. But she hated that he would do it in front of the world.

  “Would you like help changing, Your Highness?” The timid voice startled her.

  Sada spun around, finding a nervous looking maid standing just inside the doorway.

  “Oh! Um…No. But thank you very much,” she said to the woman. “I’ll be fine.”

  The maid nodded and rushed out of the room.

  Sada sighed, feeling lost and at loose ends. She was fairly sure that she’d be sleeping alone, but why had she been brought to Zahir’s room? Why couldn’t she have just stayed in the suite where she’d been sleeping for the past several nights? It had been a very nice suite and she’d grown used to the soft colors.

  Exhausted, she stopped trying to figure things out.

  Her first priority was to get out of this dress! Unfortunately, she’d dismissed the maid who could have released all of the hard to reach buttons down her back.

  “Darn it!” she grumbled, twisting around in an attempt to get the top buttons released. She’d accomplished only the first three, but after that, she was…stuck. Trapped in a lace prison! How ridiculous was this?

  “Need some help?” a deep voice asked.

  Sada swung around, watching as Zahir walked into the room. The heavy door closed behind him with a snick. She even heard it lock. His eyes were darker than normal. Was that a trick of the soft lighting? Or was he…?

  “You look beautiful, Sada,” he said as he moved closer. “I was very proud to have you by my side today.”

  “Um…thank you. You looked amazing yourself,” she replied to the floor, not daring to look up at him. She’d watched him all evening while he talked to the reception guests. He was all hard muscle and blatant power.

  “Do you need help with your dress?” he asked again.

  Sada glanced down at her dress, then back up at him. Goodness, he was so close!

  “No. I’m fine,” she lied.

  He laughed softly. “You’re not fine. You can’t possibly reach all those buttons.” He took her hand. “Turn around and let me help.”

  “I’m fine. Really, I can do it myself.” Her hands were shaking, so she tucked them behind her back.

  “I’m sure you’ll eventually get out of that dress, but why struggle?” And without another word, he took her hand up in the air and spun her. It was a move any dancing couple might perform and seconds after he took her hand, she suddenly found her back to him. Then his hands were under her hair and the trembling intensified.

  “You’re nervous. You know I would never hurt you, right?” he asked, his mouth was dangerously close to her ear.

  “Why would you hurt me?” she asked breathlessly. Sada could feel his fingers against the bare skin of her back as he deftly released the buttons. Who knew that her back could be so sensitive? Or was she hypersensitive to his touch?

  A finger slid along the newly exposed skin, sending tremors of awareness throughout her body. “I won’t. I promise. We’ll take this as slow as you need.”

  This? She knew that “this” was making love. Did he want to do that? With her?

  But didn’t she want to avoid that? Because she was in love with him and she’d make a fool of herself. When he touched her, even slightly, she felt all mushy and confused inside. She couldn’t let him know the true depth of her feelings for him.

  “Slow,” she breathed, then gasped when she felt his strong hands on her back, right up by the high neckline of her dress.

  “Yes. Very slowly.” She felt a kiss on the side of her neck and closed her eyes, trying to hide how much she liked the touch. “Slow and easy. Slow and thoroughly,” he promised.

  “Slow,” she sighed, as her head leaned back on his shoulder.

  The gap of her dress widened, allowing his hands more space to explore. As his fingers moved lower, his knuckles brushed against her skin. Lower still and, thankfully, the corset hindered his ability to touch her and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I like this,” he breathed, stroking the satin corset. “Do you like wearing lingerie for your lovers?” he asked, then kissed the side of her neck again.

  Lovers? He thought she’d had lovers?

  Cringing, she knew that she had to tell him the truth. There was no way she could continue this little interlude with him thinking she’d had sex before. And not just sex, but lovers! As in multiple partners.

  Stepping away from him, she held the front of her wedding dress up, not wanting to lose the modicum of protection it offered. “Zahir, you remember when you stopped my first kiss in the stables?”

  He laughed softly, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, but she could tell that he was ready for anything.

  “Yes. I could have killed him for touching you,” he remembered.

  Sada cringed. “Yes, well, umm…after that, I didn’t have the courage to…do anything. And none of the others in school had the courage to even approach me. So…”

  He moved behind her again, his steps silent on the carpet. She watched, barely moving. Barely breathing. And then he was there behind her again, his fingers skimming up and down her back as he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her neck.

  “So?”

  “Um…well…”

  His fingers stopped, his lips lifted from her neck and she slowly turned her head, staring into his dark eyes.

  “You’ve never made love before?”

  She shook her head, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I’ve never even kissed a man. Every time I thought about it, I remembered the horror of you stopping that kiss and I just…I couldn’t do it.” She saw the confusion in his eyes and tried to smile, to make light of the situation. “Zahir, you’re an incredibly intimidating man. And you put the fear of hell into every male in my high school. There was no way any of them would dare kiss me.” She fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and continued. “When I got to college, I could have…you know…kissed someone. But by that point, it was too embarrassing that I’d never…kissed…anyone. So I sort of…just…um….” She huffed a bit and tried to pull away, but his fingers wouldn’t allow any space. “Stop looking at me like that, Zahir!”

  He pulled back and swung her around. “You’ve never kissed a man,” he repeated once again and she could feel her throat close up.

  She lowered her lashes, trying to hide her silly reaction. “Technically, you kissed me today. So I guess I have been kissed now.” When she looked up at again, he hadn’t moved.

  He stared at her for a long moment and Sada had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. The lights weren’t bright enough for her to see his eyes clearly and…well, she was a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

  “Not properly,” he told her, moving closer, his hand gently cupping her jaw as he lowered his head. Gently. Slowly. Just a brush of his lips against hers. Then he lifted his head and stared down at her.

  “Was that a proper kiss?” she teased, smiling with relief.

  He chuckled and the sound sent shivers of awareness throughout her body.

  “No, but this is.” He gathered her up in his arms, lifting her until they were face to face. His mouth covered hers, brushing back and forth. She didn’t open her mouth immediately and he nipped at her lower lip. When Sada gasped, he moved in, kissing her passionately.

  Sada was lost. His tongue, mouth, and hands made love to her. She wasn’t even aware of her dress falling away. There was a soft ripping noi
se, but she didn’t register the sound. If she had, she would have been horrified at the destruction of that delicate lace. But the dress pooled at her feet while his mouth continued to devour her.

  She was spun around but he still continued his assault on her senses. Before she could say a word, his hands were at her waist, pulling her back against his chest and her bottom against his hips. His erection pressed urgently against her bottom. It was so shockingly large and obvious that she didn’t know what to say, what to do. Thankfully, he took charge. He kissed his way down her shoulder, her neck, while his hands worked the hooks of her corset.

  As he quickly released each clasp, she heard him say, “You’re going to have to wear this for me again, Sada. At a time when I have the power to appreciate you in it. But right now, I have a job to do.”

  Did he sound just as frantic as she felt? Or was that just her imagination?

  “What’s that?”

  He laughed as he removed the corset material and spun her back around. “I am determined to show you a proper kiss.”

  She shook her head as he lifted her into his arms. She wore only thigh high stockings and satin panties at that point. When she turned her head, she realized that he was carrying her over to the bed and she tightened her arms around his neck. “Zahir, I don’t…”

  “Stop, Sada,” he ordered and laid her down on the big bed. “Don’t worry.” And then he kissed her again. Sada couldn’t worry now. She couldn’t even think! Everywhere he touched, she was on fire.

  His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs rubbing the sensitive tips until they were hard, throbbing points. When his mouth covered the first nipple, she wanted to scream, but couldn’t find her voice. All she could do was arch her body against his, trying to ease the ache between her legs. In response, his hands moved along her stomach, her thighs, tickling her behind her knees before moving up again, but now his hands smoothed along the inside of her thighs.

  “Zahir?” she asked, gasping when she felt his fingers touching her there.

  “Shhh,” he ordered, before kissing her stomach, slowly exploring every inch of her. She felt his fingers slide underneath the lace of her panties and tried to reach for his hands. But in response, he simply ripped the delicate lace from her body, tossing it to the side.

  For some reason, the sound of fabric ripping only increased her need. Before she could analyze that response, she felt his finger at her slick opening and froze. Opening her eyes, she realized that he was looking at her. He was looking at her there!

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to scoot backwards.

  He looked up at her, his grin widening even as his hands wrapped around her ankles. She shook her head and scooted again, but he was stronger. Besides, his huge shoulders were there, between her legs and…how had he gotten there? She wasn’t sure, but then his tongue touched her and she screamed out. The feeling was so crazy, so erotic that she couldn’t even breathe. Then he doubled the intensity by sliding a finger inside of her.

  “No! Zahir, no!” She was losing control and that was not what she wanted. But he was relentless. He licked and sucked that throbbing nub while his fingers moved in and out of her, teasing her body in ways she’d only read about. Movies had implied this kind of intimacy, but she’d never experienced it. Never imagined it would feel this…shockingly good!

  A moment later, he sucked harder on that nub and she knew that she was going to lose control. No matter how hard she wanted to stop it, she couldn’t hold back. And then it happened! She was gasping, her body on that precipice and…he flicked that nub with his tongue and sucked harder.

  Sada lost it. She screamed, grinding her body against his mouth as waves of pleasure washed over her, consuming her. Initially, her fingers were in his hair, holding him in place. But when the pleasure was too much, she pushed him away. His hand replaced his mouth, but his fingers were gentle, soothing her body into soft throbs.

  She lay on the bed, completely spent, wearing only her thigh high stockings. When she opened her eyes, she realized that he was still completely dressed. He hadn’t even removed his tie!

  But he moved up her body, stopping to kiss her stomach, her breasts, her shoulders, and neck on the way. When he hovered over her lips, he smiled into her eyes. “That, my dear Sada, was a proper kiss.”

  Zahir watched as her eyes opened, shocked and surprised and…slowly, a small smile formed on her lips.

  “I like being kissed,” she whispered hoarsely.

  With that announcement, he carefully lowered his head and kissed her. Gently at first, but when she opened her lips, he deepened the kiss, feeling her arms wrap around his neck.

  “I like kissing you,” he told her as he pulled away. Standing up, he looked down at her as he stripped off his clothing. Even as he watched, she remembered that she was naked and vulnerable. She tried to cover herself but he shook his head. “Don’t,” he urged. “I like looking at you, Sada. You are a beautiful woman.”

  She smiled slightly and he leaned down to kiss her again. But instead of undressing himself, he pulled her hands away from her breasts, encouraging her to undress him. When she’d released every button on his dress shirt, he took her hands and pressed them against his bare chest. “Touch me, Sada.”

  With his permission, she let her fingers drift over his chest, his arms, and shoulders. It was both heaven and hell! He wanted to press her back onto the mattress and thrust into her. But he also enjoyed feeling her fingers explore his body. Her touch was tentative at first, but grew more confident as she relaxed.

  The feeling of her fingers along his skin was even better than he had imagined. The sensations of her soft fingers running along his body, her fingertips exploring wherever she wanted, swept him away. The feeling of her body started to slide against his was intoxicating. He suspected that she was unaware of her movements and he wasn’t going to point them out. She was anxious enough already, although he had no idea why. She was gorgeous and sexy and he couldn’t wait to taste her again because she’d been delicious!

  “Enough,” he muttered, abruptly stripping the rest of his clothes off. He didn’t care that his clothes and her wedding dress were strewn across the floor. He’d probably have to apologize for ripping her wedding dress, but he couldn’t have stopped himself for the world!

  Finally, she was here, in his arms and he lowered himself to her, losing himself in the press of her bare skin against his own. “You feel incredible, Sada,” he groaned as he moved against her slowly, holding most of his weight off of her for the moment. Soon enough, he’d press into her, but at the moment, he savored the anticipation.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist, honey,” he coaxed, guiding her knee, sliding his hand up her thighs all the way to her hips. Then higher because her breasts called as her hips start to shift in need. That’s when he knew that she was right there with him, ready for more. The realization that she wanted him almost as much as he wanted her was overpowering.

  When he slid slowly into her heat, he savored the expressions that crossed her face. “Open your eyes, Sada.”

  He laughed softly when she kept her eyes closed, but her pretty, white teeth bit her lower lip as he pressed deeper into her body, then pulled back out.

  “I can’t see your eyes, honey. I want to see you.”

  She gasped when he moved into her, deeper and deeper. She was so tight, it took all of his strength to keep himself from pressing all the way in. He held back, but only because he could feel her body trying to accommodate him, stretching and shifting. That hip wiggle thing she did wasn’t helping him though.

  When he came to her barrier, he was both charmed and horrified. Bracing himself, he looked down into her eyes. “I’m sorry, love,” he warned as he pressed fully into her heat. He felt it break and stilled, watching and waiting for Sada to…well, he wasn’t sure what she might do.

  What he didn’t expect was for her to smile.

  “Well, um…” she looked up at him expectantly. “Is that
it?” she asked.

  He blinked, unsure what to do. Was that it? Did she really expect…nothing? Of course, she’d already climaxed once but…once wasn’t enough, he thought. “No, that’s not it,” he huffed.

  Her grin widened. “Good. I didn’t think so, but…” she shrugged a slender shoulder and he realized that she was teasing him. “Well, you’re just hanging out so I wasn’t sure.”

  He groaned, or maybe growled, but instead of admonishing her for the taunt, he gathered her into his arms and started moving. Slowly at first, but when she began lifting her hips, matching his thrusts, he couldn’t keep the pace slow. The tension built higher and higher. He was so close, but so was she and Zahir was determined to give her everything.

  Pulling back, he shifted, adjusting so he could help her over the edge. His thumb rubbed that bundle of nerves and his body moved faster and faster…that was all it took. A moment later, she screamed as her inner muscles tightened and he couldn’t hold back any longer. As she rode out the encompassing wave of pleasure, he joined her, holding her close. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this kind of intense pleasure before. No woman had ever made him feel so… powerful!

  Pleasure…throbbing, intense pleasure. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. He could feel her trembling and he couldn’t sooth her because he was in the throes of his own climax. Thrusting one more time, he stilled, groaning when he felt the additional quivers in her slender body, which intensified the whole thing.

  A long time later, he lifted his head to find her curled up beside him, eyes still closed, chewing her lower lip. He wondered what she was thinking. “Ah, Sada,” he whispered, pulling her close to sooth her trembling.

  “I didn’t know it would be that…nice,” she whispered.

  He felt her fingers on his chest and looked down at her. “Nice?” he grumbled. “Nice is the best you can do?”