by Maya Blake
He was beautiful beyond words; from the ink-black damp hair to the powerful legs eating up the distance between them, Rahim Al-Hadi was a panther-like specimen of male beauty, and she accepted in that moment that she couldn’t hold that against him. Not when every inch of her wanted to be plastered to every inch of him. Long and hard and in every imaginable position possible.
‘Allegra,’ he breathed her name, his voice heavy with an emotion she couldn’t name, but which echoed all the way through her body. ‘I’m not sure whether to applaud you for your reckless daring, or chastise you for your foolishness in coming here.’
The deep growl in his voice made the secret place between her thighs throb urgently. Chagrined, she wondered how she could react like this to his voice alone, even as her breasts tingled, her nipples turning to hard peaks at the blatant hunger in his face.
‘I hope you don’t mind, but I couldn’t sleep, not without coming here to...’ She trailed off uselessly as he shifted the towel from his neck and flung it away. In her bare feet, she was eye level with his pecs, and with the absence of the towel, his flat, brown nipples were displayed in perfect, round discs.
‘Coming here to...?’ he echoed mockingly.
She blinked. Tried to breathe.
God. Think, Allegra!
‘I... I wasn’t happy with the way we left things. I wanted to make amends.’
Rahim took another dangerous step closer, and she caught the faint smell of chlorine mingled with an earthier scent of warm, male skin. A visual image of him, swimming naked, surged up to collide with all the X-rated images speeding through her brain.
‘And how exactly do you wish to make amends?’
For as long as she lived, Allegra doubted she would be able to explain the sensation that overtook her in that moment. Perhaps she had been seeking a connection to something...or someone...all along without realising it. Certainly, the feeling of being adrift, of being alone since she lost her mother countless years ago, had been a pain waiting to rear up and stab her in her weakest moments. It wasn’t a feeling she freely expressed, because she knew her sisters and brothers viewed their often volatile mother differently, that they wouldn’t welcome Allegra’s lonely sentiment. Nor would she want to remind them of how she’d personally failed them when it came to providing the stability they’d needed when it’d most counted.
Whatever she was suppressing, the moment her hand connected with the naked flesh of Rahim’s torso, a deep, visceral emotion moved through her that made her soul sigh in relief and surrender.
Warm and alive and vitally intoxicating, she could no more stop touching him, exploring him, than she could stop breathing.
Sleek muscle clenched beneath her touch, followed by a sharp intake of breath.
When she managed to pull her gaze from the expanse of skin heating her fingers, she glanced up to see eyes lit with a voracious fire that threatened to consume her. Knowing he wanted her as much as she wanted him lent Allegra the strength to make the next, completely insane, but almost inevitable, move.
Because in that moment, she couldn’t not kiss the sensual lips that were parted hungrily. Nor could she not wrap her hand around his thick neck and draw herself up. Up to taste the exotic decadence of his mouth. Up to lose herself in the fever infusing her blood.
His lips were warm, drug-like in their complete intoxication of her senses and firm in their demand. They clung to hers, allowed her to explore... He even let her pull away for a second when the wonder of it overwhelmed her. Eyes glued to one another, their breaths mingled as he waited, for what, Allegra couldn’t tell.
But with the inevitability of a diver jumping from a plane, she surged up for another taste. And in the space of a heartbeat, Rahim was devouring her. Strong, corded arms lashed her body to his, his grip so tight she could barely breathe. Not that breathing was uppermost in her mind. No, the tongue sliding against hers, driving her senses wild, was more an urgent need. One she couldn’t get enough of no matter how much she strained against him.
A moan slipped free, which triggered an answering groan from Rahim. Her fingers traced his neck, gloried in the pulse hammering at his throat, before spiking into his damp hair. Against her belly, the thin covering of his towel did nothing to disguise the surging evidence of his arousal.
Wetness pooling between her thighs, singeing her with even greater need, she strained closer. Then almost cried out in despair when Rahim gripped her waist and set her away from him.
Breaths panting, they stared at each other. Allegra had no words to describe the state she was in, so she gazed mutely at him, hoping against hope that he wasn’t about to send her away. The very thought made the fingers she’d clenched in his hair tighten.
‘This is how you want to make amends?’ he enquired, his voice gravel-hoarse with arousal. ‘Think carefully before you answer, habibi. Because once you answer in the affirmative, once I have you in my bed, there will be no going back.’
She wanted to tell him she knew she’d already burned bridges where he was concerned. From the moment they’d touched, she’d known Rahim Al-Hadi had inexplicable power over her. Allegra knew it was why she’d reacted so uncharacteristically strongly to him. Whether she wanted him to matter or not, Rahim spoke to a need in her soul she couldn’t deny.
And right here, right now, she didn’t want to.
‘Yes,’ she whispered. Then in a stronger voice because her very soul demanded it, she repeated, ‘Yes, I want this.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
RAHIM STARED INTO Allegra’s face, her beauty momentarily blinding him to the reality that he needed to stop...walk away before things escalated out of control. They were already a light year from how he’d expected things to go when he’d entered his bedroom and found her here.
Having resigned himself to seeing the last of her in his study, and having taken out the brunt of his anger at her duplicity in an hour-long pounding in his private swimming pool, finding her scantily clad and looking guilty as hell had been a shock.
Hard on the heels of shock had been disappointment—that she was no better than any of the females he’d availed himself of in his past life who always wanted something from him—followed closely by the resurgence of anger. That he’d read her motives for coming to Dar-Aman so wrong. That she was so set on securing material assets that she was unwilling to consider offering the vital assistance he needed for his people.
But as Rahim had stood there debating whether to throw her out or go one better and call security, other, more urgent needs had taken over. He wasn’t ashamed to admit those needs, after that kiss that threatened to blow his mind, now reigned supreme.
However, he knew her motives weren’t as altruistic as she pretended, so he forced himself to slow down, to give her a chance to redeem herself, even as his fingers dug into her waist to hold her in place, and every cell in his body screamed at him to take what she offered, gorge on the feast she’d laid at his feet.
‘Are you sure?’
She let out a laugh, probably designed to entice. Instead the clear nervousness in the sound curled around a hard kernel of his remaining resolve, melting it to nothing. Then her hand unclenched from his hair and slid along his stubbled jaw. When her shaky fingers traced his lower lip, Rahim groaned low and deep.
‘Before I came here, I was known for saying what I mean and meaning what I said.’ She laughed again, the sound easier, if a little hungrier than before. ‘I haven’t demonstrated it as well as I should, but yes, I’m sure.’ The last bit was whispered, her blue eyes turning several shades darker as her gaze locked on his lips.
Knowing she wanted his kiss, and much more, lit pure fire in Rahim’s veins. He caught her roving finger into his mouth and suckled hard. Her eyes widened. For a second, he wondered about her sexual experience, then lost himself in the expression of wonder on her face as her gaze locked on what he was doing to her finger. Testing her further, he licked the tip, and she gasped.
Desire pounded through him
as the many ways he could have her flared across his senses. Reaching for the wrap hiding her from him, he ripped it away.
Her negligee was a silk-and-lace concoction, delicate enough to tear at the slightest exertion. The temptation to do just that was strong, but Rahim exercised restraint. Anger and disappointment were no longer overriding emotions—he would triumph in finding a way out of his predicament, he always did—but they remained buried beneath more urgent, earthier needs. Needs so voracious he forced himself to pause a beat as her heaving breasts straining against her thin silk sent renewed hunger roaring through him.
Catching her beneath her hips, he strode quickly to the fireplace set beneath the pillared elevation of his bed. Before the flickering flames dancing between the coals, he laid her down on soft cashmere rugs and sat back on his heels.
The flames reflected off her glowing skin a few shades lighter than his own but exhibiting her Latin ancestry.
Slowly, he traced the sweet curve of her jaw, to the pulse hammering at her throat. She shivered and squirmed, her movements innocently seductive as she stared up at him.
For a long moment, Rahim didn’t move, arrested as he was by her.
‘Please...’
‘Shh, let me enjoy you for a moment, for you are an exquisite sight to behold.’ The clear outline of her nipples drew his touch and he circled the bud with his finger, drawing an urgent cry from her that echoed deep within him.
Sliding the straps from her shoulders, he bared her to him. ‘Exquisite,’ he repeated.
Bracing himself on his elbows, Rahim drew one velvety tip into his mouth. Her groan was so intoxicating he repeated the act, then again on her other breast.
‘Oh, Rahim,’ she choked out.
‘You like that?’
Her nostrils quivered delicately as she inhaled. ‘Yes,’ she breathed.
‘You want more?’ he demanded, a keen desire to see her completely undone overcoming him.
At her eager nod, he flicked his tongue against her, then caught the wet, pebbled flesh between his teeth. Her nails scored his shoulders and she arched her back.
Rahim clawed at his fraying control, warning himself that this was just a means of sating his lust. Of taking what she was freely offering and perhaps teaching her a lesson in the process. There was no need for this to be something else, something alien that scrabbled at a place he’d sealed off a long time ago. A place that reeked of loneliness and neglect. A place that reminded him too much of his adolescent years.
He wasn’t lonely. Or desperate for the connection that had been missing in his life for longer than he cared to recall. He’d learned to do without it. He’d found other, more fruitful ways to find the closure that had eluded him. By taking his rightful place on the throne as all Al-Hadis had done in the past, and vowing to care for his people, he’d sealed off that part of himself that wanted closure.
He didn’t need closure if he intended to take up the mantle destiny had handed him.
He certainly didn’t need the warm, vibrant woman beneath him, not even for one single night the way his senses were tricking him into believing. This would be a brief, if thoroughly pleasurable, coupling before he sent her on her way.
That was all it would ever be.
‘Rahim?’ Her sultry voice centred his attention back on her and he happily abandoned his unsettling thoughts.
‘Yes, habibi? Tell me what you want.’
Her back arched higher, seeking his attention. ‘More, please?’
Squeezing the perfect globes, he lowered his head. ‘It’ll be my pleasure.’
* * *
Allegra almost cried in relief when his mouth closed over her again. For a moment, she’d feared he would stop. Certainly the bleakness that had clouded his eyes and stolen his focus had sent a cold shiver through her, the brief glimpse of pain momentarily stopping her desire in its tracks.
Curiously, in that moment, she hadn’t felt a loss at his lack of attention. Watching emotions she recognised in herself flit over his face had evoked a surprising affinity. One she’d quickly banished because she knew in her deepest heart that Rahim wouldn’t welcome such a connection.
Lust and sex were more acceptable to him.
And with the touch of his lips, everything besides the feverish sensations firing up her body melted away. Including the cautionary voice that questioned what on earth she was doing.
She was living. She was providing her soul with much-needed sustenance even she hadn’t known was missing until she’d touched Rahim. She was absolutely certain this would be a one-time thing, so she staunched the voice and gave herself over completely to the bliss rampaging through her. Dug her nails deeper into his shoulders, arched her back higher and vocalised her groans.
He tugged on her negligee, his movements a touch rougher than they had been a moment ago. Allegra watched the firelight dance over his sculpted features as he pulled down her garment and flung it away. Her panties quickly followed.
Being naked with a man for the first time in a very long time drew a well of self-consciousness within her. And the way Rahim’s gaze scoured her, leaving no inch untouched, made her squirm harder, his scrutiny almost a living thing on her skin.
Unconsciously, her arms started to move to cover herself. He captured them and pinned them down beside her hips. ‘Don’t deny me, Allegra. Stay,’ he commanded gutturally. ‘Let me look and have my fill.’
He let go of her, staggered away for a handful of seconds and returned with a condom. Dropping to his knees, he framed her body with his hands. From neck to thigh, he caressed her while his eyes devoured her. By the time he hooked his hands behind her knees and parted her, Allegra had forgotten what it felt like to breathe. Each caress pushed her higher on a plane of pure heart-pounding desire, where plea-filled words crowded her brain, ready to fall should he keep her waiting a moment longer.
As if he knew the depth of her desperation, he crashed forward, took her mouth in another voracious kiss. Their tongues duelled, their mouths melding in bruising kiss after bruising kiss, until with a groan he yanked his towel free, donned the protection and positioned himself between her thighs.
With one hand locked in her hair, he tilted her head up. ‘Look at me.’ Lust throbbed in his voice, but there was also a tinge of anger.
And when she lifted lust-drugged eyes to his, she witnessed a sliver of cruelty in there. Not enough to stop her though. She exhaled as she felt him, solid and strong, against her core. ‘Open wider for me.’
She complied with a helpless groan, then whimpered when he still hesitated. ‘Rahim, please.’
A fevered flush flared across his cheekbones, a sheen of sweat coating his upper lip as he gritted out, ‘Tell me again that this is what you want.’
Allegra angled her hips, desperately bringing herself closer to the promise of oblivion. ‘Yes. I want you, please. Take me— Oh!’
Rahim drove into her, his penetration sure and powerful and complete enough to drive her breath from her lungs. On the heels of his uncompromising possession came a surge of pleasure so amazing Allegra could only stare up at him in wonder.
Then he moved.
Hot, guttural Dar-Amanian words fell from his lips and a visible shudder shook his frame as he slammed back in, then held himself deep and solid inside her.
‘Heaven above, you feel incredible,’ he groaned when he moved again.
Allegra couldn’t find words, so she held on tight as he increased his scorching rhythm, taking her with a mastery that heaped pleasure on top of pleasure with each thrust. Somewhere along the line, he released his grip on her hair, and transferred his hold to her hip. Holding her steady, he took her higher, deeper still, all the while kissing her, and muttering indecipherable words against her skin when he drew away.
The raw beauty of the act seared her soul, and when the pressure got too much, tears filled her eyes.
‘Rahim...’ Allegra didn’t know what she wanted. All she knew was that the feeling inside her was
too much to contain. Sliding her hands up his jaw to his cheeks, she cradled his face in her hands, stared deep into his eyes as her world exploded into flames and ecstasy buffeted her in relentless waves.
His own scorching release followed swiftly on the heels of hers. Allegra watched in awe as he threw back his arrogant head, gave a hoarse cry before a series of deep shudders raked his frame. He collapsed on top of her, and their breaths mingled as their racing hearts began to calm.
Minutes passed by before Rahim rose on one elbow and brushed her hair away from her face. Although she’d closed her eyes at some point, Allegra felt his keen scrutiny. But she wasn’t prepared for the words that fell like barbs from his lips.
‘If this is how you make amends, then I’m all for it.’
She stiffened, her heart clenching with hurt despite the knowledge that she’d brought his response on herself. Opening her eyes, she met fierce, hazel ones. ‘You could at least wait until I’m dressed before you hurl the insults,’ she breathed.
‘Insults? I thought you were all for speaking freely and honestly? I in turn meant what I just said. Give me another taste of your body and you can consider your apology accepted and your slate wiped clean,’ he said. ‘That is if that was what you really came here for?’ A cynical smile touched his lips, but it was replaced a moment later by male appreciation as he transferred his gaze from her face to her body, then back again.
She lowered her gaze, unable to withstand the challenge and suspicion in his eyes. Her insides clenched in shame at how utterly she’d let herself down since stepping foot in Dar-Aman.
‘It was...but my gesture was finite.’ She started to move away, but he caught her arm and held her still.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘Back to my room, of course.’
One finger caught her beneath her chin and compelled her gaze to his. Hunger, wilder than before, blazed in his eyes. ‘I told you I intended to have my fill. I’ve barely started, Allegra. You’re going nowhere until I’m done with you.’