by A. C. Arthur
Khalil inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. “I had no idea Sonya was coming today.”
“But you did know that you had an ex-fiancé. You simply forgot to give me that tidbit of information.”
“I’ve had past relationships just like you have, Reka.”
“Oh no, it’s not the same. I was never engaged and I never tried to hide any of my past relationships from you. Tell me, Khalil, what was the big secret? Is it prohibited information for the rebound girl?”
He sent her a quick look mixed with hurt and anger. “You’re not the rebound girl. Sonya and I had been over for more than a month when I met you.”
“Over for a couple is different from over for an engagement. You were going to marry her. What happened? Did you get cold feet?” She couldn’t look at him anymore. The thought of him loving another woman enough to propose to her hurt more than she was willing to admit. She turned her head to stare out the window.
Khalil drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, debating what he should say next. He should simply tell her the truth. But would she understand? There was only one way to find out. “Sonya and I dated for nine months. In that time we went to all the social functions and business dinners required of us. To the outside world we appeared to be the perfect couple. But I sensed something was wrong. We weren’t intimate.”
“So you broke up with her because she wouldn’t give you some?” she spat.
His lips going into a tight line, he tried not to overreact to her hurtful statement. “No. We had sex, but there was no connection. My feelings for her never went beyond a general liking. The proposal was more of an assumption than anything else. But it wasn’t long after the assumption was made that I called it off. I simply could not marry a woman I didn’t love.” Reka was silent. “I pictured a future with Sonya and I didn’t like what I saw. I didn’t like the person I was when I was with her.”
Reka heard his words and, unfortunately, could relate to them. While she was with Donovan she’d felt incomplete, as if anything else they did beyond sex wasn’t real or fulfilling. “You weren’t relaxed then, were you?”
Her voice had changed. That open hostility was no longer there. “No. I wasn’t relaxed. I felt like I was walking in my father’s footsteps and I wasn’t happy with that. I don’t want to live like them. I don’t want the cold, non-emotional relationship that he and my mother have. I want to love my woman with all my heart and I want to know that she loves me just the same. Can you understand that?”
Reka shook her head, speaking around the newly formed lump in her throat. “No. I can’t. I’ve never been in love like that.”
The rest of the drive was completed in silence. Khalil left her to her thoughts even as he made up his own mind. He pulled into the parking garage of his building. She looked at him in question but he didn’t respond. After parking the car, he simply got out and went to the passenger side door to let her out. She stepped out of the car and he took her by the hand, leading her towards the elevators.
She didn’t speak and neither did he. He knew what it was he wanted, and planned to get it. If she couldn’t understand what it was to love and be loved, then he’d have to show her.
Letting them into the apartment, he took her coat, hanging it with his in the closet. She didn’t walk further into the house but stood right there by the closet with him.
“Now what?”
She looked up at him with questions clear in her eyes. He could sit her down and explain it to her. He could admit all that he’d been feeling for the last few weeks and then some. But it wouldn’t have the same effect. With Reka, actions spoke louder than words. So he’d give her the words later, after the action.
Cupping her face in his hands, he brought his lips down on hers, taking her surprised mouth with a fierce passion. His lips spread over hers and he slid his tongue inside the warm contours of her mouth.
She didn’t resist him, she couldn’t. She should be mad at him. She should have demanded to go home but something in his eyes, something in the way he looked at her, kept her quiet.
She grasped the back of his head, and he thrust his tongue more deeply into her mouth, claiming its warmth, creating an erotic rhythm, a rhythm that played specifically for her.
Reluctantly, Khalil pulled away. “Now I’ll show you how it feels to be really loved.” Bending over, he scooped her up, cradling her in his arms as he walked towards the back of the apartment, towards his bedroom.
Because she was experiencing a flurry of emotions at this point, Reka simply lowered her head to his shoulder and allowed herself to be carried away. His bedroom was dark until he placed her on the bed and switched on a bedside lamp. She surveyed the room of the man she was with. It was decorated in shades of brown with big heavy pieces of furniture and bare walls that signified a man lived here. The soft feel of chocolate-colored silk beneath her head said that this was no ordinary man.
And she was in his bed waiting for him to come to her. This moment had been building since that first day in Cienna’s office. With each time they’d been together they’d laid another brick in the foundation of their relationship. She would be the first to admit she didn’t have a clue where they would go from here. But she’d also admit that at this moment she didn’t really care. He was in the room, looking at her as if she were the only woman in the world. No, at this moment bricks and rules and ex-girlfriends came in a distant second.
He went to his knees in front of her, lifting her feet to remove her shoes. Reka watched him as he unclasped and slipped away each shoe, then massaged the arch of her feet. His hands felt heavenly, so when he reached up to unbutton her jacket she didn’t say a word. Slowly he peeled her clothes away until only her bra and panties were left.
She propped herself up on the pillows as he stood and began to remove his own clothes. His body was gorgeous, and that one word didn’t really seem to do it justice. The taut muscles she’d felt numerous times through his shirt were revealed. Bulging, smooth, sinewy biceps gave way to rigid pectorals and a lean stomach. When his fingers went to the buckle of his pants, her eyes followed.
Stepping out of his shoes he let his pants fall to the floor. His erection was prominent, even through his boxers. Toned thighs led to muscled legs and she licked her lips in anticipation. His skin seemed to glow in the dim light, and her fingers itched to touch him.
From his view at the bottom of the bed she looked wanton and enticing. The curvaceous body he’d seen up until this point only through her clothes was now almost bare to him. Heavy breasts sat perched and ready for consumption, while a tiny wisp of material covered the place he longed to explore. Climbing on the bed slowly, he made his way to her feet, stopping to kiss the arches he’d just massaged. His tongue swirled around her ankles, up her calves to the backs of her knees.
Reka sucked in her breath as his tongue slowly tortured her.
Without hesitation he spread her legs apart, kissing along her inner thighs until she was shaking beneath him. When he kissed her mound, still covered by her panties, her hands went to his shoulders. “Don’t touch me,” he said in a ragged voice. “Not yet.”
Momentarily startled, she pulled her hands away, planting them on the silk comforter beneath her.
With maddening slowness Khalil pulled her panties down her legs and off her feet. With both his hands he lifted her at the backs of her knees, spreading her wide like a buffet before him. Reka bucked beneath him, her fingers clenching into the spread, biting her bottom lip. All her senses were caught in the flames he ignited and fanned with each caress. He grasped her thighs tightly and touched her center with his tongue, licked her slick folds until her bones went limp and she sank into the mattress, willing this madness to stop but lifting her hips for more. His mouth came down on her, hot and sizzling, his tongue devouring her.
Then when she thought she could take no more of his assault, he slowed his pace, gently lathing her nether lips with his hot tongue. He moaned and oohed and aahed as
his head moved up and down and side to side. “So sweet, baby. You are so sweet.”
Reka couldn’t think, couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face. That’s how good his lovin’ was. Her insides trembled, her nerves standing on end waiting, wanting, knowing that pleasure was on its way.
Khalil knew women and he especially knew this woman. He sensed her needs and felt his own clawing viciously at him. But they had time. He had all night to show her what it was to be cherished and wanted and adored. He pulled away, remaining close enough so that his breath still whispered over her. Then, because he couldn’t hold back the urge, he stroked her moistened center with a finger. She moaned. He reveled in the sound she made, then slipped two fingers inside her. Her back arched in response and he knew another level of ecstasy. She was beautiful, her arousal intoxicating. He continued to stroke her.
She screamed and he rose above her, the rhythm of his fingers slowing. “It’s okay, baby. Scream all you want.” His pace quickened and her breathing hitched. He kissed her neck, her chin, then finally her lips a second after another scream broke free.
Her muscles clamped down around his fingers and he moaned as he imagined thrusting his manhood inside of her. “Damn, Reka. You’re killing me.”
Through clouded eyes she watched him remove his hand from between her legs, bringing each finger to his mouth and tasting her yet again. Then she sat up, grabbed his wrist and put one of those damp fingers into her own mouth.
The sensations swirling through him instantly made him dizzy as she pushed his boxers down his hips and grabbed his throbbing manhood with both hands. He moved his finger in and out of her mouth as she moved her hands up and down his rod, her eyes riveted on his.
He was supposed to be loving her. Yet he was lost in the warm sensations her hand on his penis created. She stroked him long and slow and he trembled with fear of exploding in her hand at any moment. “Enough,” he murmured when he thought his eyes would cross from the pleasure. Grabbing her by the shoulders he laid her back on the bed, then leaned over to the nightstand and retrieved a condom. “Put it on,” he said through clenched teeth. “And hurry.”
He was above her, big and dominant, yet her protector also. Her heart hammered in her chest. She wanted this part of him because it was real, it was tangible. Her fingers had never moved so fast as they did when she smoothed the latex over his engorged length.
It didn’t quite fit, but Khalil didn’t care. Pushing her down into the mattress, he covered her, spreading her legs wide with his knees. “Know that I want only you, Reka. No one else but you.” He kissed her lips softly and entered her.
Inch by mesmerizing inch he sank into her as she slowly but surely gave herself completely to him. He wanted only her and there was no doubt she needed only him. She spread her hands over his back, feeling the hard planes flex as he moved deeply inside her.
Moving slowly at first until he thought she had acclimated herself to him, Khalil continued to shower her face and neck with kisses. When he was up to the hilt inside of her, he pulled almost all the way out, then pumped her fiercely, giving her all the pent up frustration she’d built in him since their very first meeting.
Reka wanted to scream, then she wanted to cry, but at last she simply moaned as pleasure unlike any she’d ever known before took over her body. Wrapping her arms and legs securely around Khalil, she rocked her hips along with him, wondering if he were made especially for her.
As the sensations built inside, with her release near and well earned, she felt something else. The something different she’d noticed about him from the very beginning as she struggled to name that feeling, he kissed her again, pulling her back into the cyclone of their loving. Closing her eyes, she gave way to the need. He slid one hand down, over her hip and around to cup her bottom, anchoring her at just the right angle before thrusting into her again and again.
She moaned, bit his shoulder to keep from screaming again. Her mind was a haze, a lust-filled cloud hovering over her body. Holding him close to her she could feel the heightened pace of his heart against her own. He gave her everything she needed, everything she wanted while taking all he wanted in return.
He pushed her faster and faster and she strained to meet him in return. She pulled back from the kiss and struggled to breathe. He held her hips down, thrust into her harder and harder, with quick thrusts full of emotion and desire.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
She did and in his eyes she saw what he’d been trying to tell her all these weeks. “Khalil.”
“Yes,” he whispered, then pumped into her with power fueled by passion and desire and a longing that went deep for both of them.
Her release came fast, along with a realization and an admission.
She felt so complete. He was her completion. He was a good man, just like he’d told her he was. He hadn’t lied to her about Sonya. Even though he hadn’t told her beforehand, if he didn’t love Sonya then there was nothing else she needed to know. He’d said he would respect her, that he would treat her like no man had ever done before, and with each deep stroke he’d vowed it anew. “Khalil,” she breathed into his ear.
“Yes, baby,” he whispered right back in hers.
“I love you.”
Khalil froze on top of her, his eyes searching hers, desperately wanting, needing her words to be true. “What did you say?”
In that moment Reka knew that the other times she’d made this declaration she’d really had no clue what it meant. This time, however, with this man, she was sure she did. Cupping his face in her palms she pulled him close, kissed his lips, then told him again. “I love you.”
Wrapping his arms securely around her, Khalil flipped them over so that she was now on top. With a huge grin he looked up at her. “It’s about damn time.”
“What?” Reka slapped playfully at his chest.
He responded by grabbing each globe of her bottom and squeezing. “I said it’s about damn time. Since that day I saw you in Cienna’s office I’ve wanted nothing more than to hear you say those words.”
She wanted to cry from the sweet sound of his voice alone, but instead she rotated her hips until his erection was deeper than it had been before. “Is that all you wanted when you first saw me?” she asked teasingly.
“Mmmmm,” he groaned. “You know that’s not all I wanted.”
Sitting up straight, she adjusted herself so that he was perfectly embedded inside her. With her palms flat on his chest she lifted slightly, then slid down sinuously. “What else did you want?”
Khalil’s eyes rolled in the back of his head as his fingers sank further into the soft skin of her behind. “Ooooohhhh, I wanted you. Just like this.”
Reka circled her hips, then moved up and down on him over and over until he was biting his bottom lip. “Is this all you wanted, baby?” she asked breathily. “Am I giving you what you want?”
“Damn! You sure are!” he growled, grabbing hold of her hips, adding a little speed to her motions. “And I love it! I love all that you’re giving me!”
Her breasts bounced as Khalil orchestrated her movements. Her head fell back, her hair brushing against her shoulders. She had something else to say but for the life of her she couldn’t think of it right now. He was pumping frantically, moving her the way he wanted her to move and she didn’t give a damn! At this point it was his show; she was simply enjoying the ride.
Khalil watched her with bated breath. She looked wild and savage as her face contorted with the first pangs of release, her hair flying around her face, and those magnificent breasts circling, teasing. He couldn’t think straight anymore. His mind had one focus and one focus only. She was his now, he knew that without a doubt. He would never let her go, not without a fight.
As their bodies thrashed together the world around them seemed to still. Somewhere in the distance he could hear her moans, her cries of pleasure, but he was blinded by his own impending release. Her muscles clenched around his manhood, prepari
ng to pull his release straight from him at any minute now. Holding her hips perfectly still, he slammed up into her one final time, the lower half of his body rigid as stone as something more than just his release was pulled from him.
Reka collapsed on top of him, her cheek pressed firmly against his rock hard chest and fluttering heartbeat.
When some of the smoke had cleared from his mind, Khalil moved his hands up and down her back, holding her tightly in an embrace that he’d dreamed of for weeks now. “Reka?”
“Mmmmm,” she moaned half asleep.
“I love you.”
She smiled but couldn’t manage to lift up. Instead she kissed his chest. “I love you, too.”
14
Reka awoke the morning after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, in her own bed, her thighs sore from hours of Khalil’s loving. She had no idea what time it was but the minute she cracked her eyes open to the sunlight streaming through the window, the telephone began ringing. Groaning, she rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head.
The ringing persisted.
With a few choice expletives ready and waiting, she reached for the phone and stuck it under the pillow to her ear. “Hello?”
“You were supposed to call me when you got in last night and you didn’t. I expected you to call bright and early this morning but you didn’t. It’s almost eight and we should really have been in the stores an hour ago but we’re not. What the hell is up with you?”
“Dammit, Tacoma, I was trying to get some rest,” she complained. He was rattling in her ear with way too much energy for her taste this morning.
“You’re still asleep?” Tacoma sounded surprised. “Why? Are you sick? Did they do something to you out there in GrenRich? I’ll be right over.”
Abruptly Reka sat up, knocking the pillow to the floor. “No!” Slapping a hand to her forehead she closed her eyes and lowered her voice. “I mean, there’s no need for that. Nothing happened yesterday that I couldn’t handle.”