Any ability for him to change his mind vanished as Rafiq slid his arms under her knees and waist and lifted her without breaking the kiss. He made his way back inside the suite and glanced up for a moment to orient himself. Not even a minute later they were in his room and he lowered Holly down onto the blue opulent bedding.
Her hair fanned in silky threads over the pillow as she stared up at him with hunger in her eyes.
Attempting to go slowly would be the challenge of the night, but he could not imagine rushing their pleasure of their first time together. Of exploring all the tempting curves and crevices of Holly’s body.
The blood in his veins quickened as he reached for the strap of her dress. The gown reached nearly her ankles, but he would enjoy every inch of skin he revealed along the way.
“Are you certain, Holly?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “More certain than I’ve ever been about anything.”
Any other reply would’ve devastated him, and yet he would have stopped if she wanted him to. Even if it had killed him.
Rafiq slid one strap from her shoulder and then the other before reaching behind Holly to find the tiny zipper hidden low on the back. She arched her hips as he eased the dress from her body and tossed it to the floor. His breath caught at the sight of her pink-tipped breasts, suddenly freed to his eyes, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to see all of her. He gently removed the triangle of fabric shielding her femininity, leaving her completely naked.
Holly was stunning. So seductive and almost innocent in the way she balled her fists at her side, as if she were trying not to cover her body with her hands.
“Holly, you are like a work of art,” he choked out, the need in his blood at fever pitch now.
She lay before him completely exposed, and he could see the mix of uncertainty and arousal in her eyes.
The uncertainty stunned him. Did she doubt he wanted her? How beautiful she was? How many men would give their souls to touch her? Him included. And tonight she would finally be his.
Unable to wait a moment more, he lowered his mouth to hers for another taste, eager to hear her soft cries and awaken her body to pleasure.
While his tongue tangled with hers, Rafiq trailed his hand lightly from her shoulder to the curve of her breast. He paused to tease the dusky tip, loving the way her nipple tightened against his fingers. Then he continued his journey in mapping out her soft body, following the indent of her waist and then the curve of her hip.
Ever so slowly—wanting to savor this moment he’d waited what seemed like an eternity for—he inched his hand inward, toward the apex of her thighs. He caught Holly’s gasp of pleasure as his knuckles grazed the damp, springy curls between her legs.
He lifted his mouth from hers to stare down at her. Beautiful. Every inch of her. Her breasts were swollen, the deeply pink nipples hard and ready to be suckled. Her concave stomach with the tiny seductive crater, and then slim thighs with the small patch of dark curls that shielded her sex.
Everything inside him tightened with desire. He needed her like he’d never needed another woman.
Rafiq teased one finger just barely into her feminine folds and found hot, silky moisture there. He couldn’t suppress the groan that spilled from his lips.
“Rafiq.” Holly’s hips lifted and her head fell back against the pillow. “Oh, yes. Please, touch me.”
The sight of her wild in her abandon stranded the air in his lungs. Holly was a goddess. More intoxicating to him than the strongest brandy.
How often had he fantasized about this, had dreamed of having Holly lying beneath him and crying out her pleasure? Begging him. And now the moment had come. He would have her—have every fantasy fulfilled, but there was no triumph.
Only the sudden stab of shame, so sharp and painful it almost overpowered his need for her. Almost. But he wouldn’t stop now—couldn’t stop until he’d buried himself in her and exorcised this consuming desire.
He lowered his head again, but this time to capture one puckered nipple in his mouth. She cried out when he suckled, her hands delving into his hair and holding him tight. Pure temptation. The taste of her sweet softness consumed him, erasing any lingering guilt and the ability to think. All that mattered was this moment and having Holly crying out his name.
Rafiq slipped his finger deeper into her tight sheath and groaned at how her warm, wet depths gripped him. He probed her gently and then slid his thumb up to seek the tight bundle of nerves that would bring her the ultimate release.
He found her sweet spot and teased it relentlessly, pulling sharp cries of pleasure from Holly as her hips rocked against his hand.
“Let yourself go, habiba,” he murmured against her breast before he transferred his mouth to its twin. He laved the peak, before alternately suckling and teasing it with his tongue.
Holly’s hands slid from his hair to grip his shoulders as breathy pleas spilled from her lips. He took her higher, to the edge of the cliff before sending her flying into ecstasy.
With Holly’s body still trembling through her release, Rafiq moved away from her long enough to shed his clothing, every second away from her sheer torture. He was nearly blind with arousal as he returned to the bed. His mouth sought hers, hard and demanding as he settled between her thighs.
Holly’s long legs wrapped around his waist as he sank into her. He wanted to go slow, knew he should, but it was difficult. Rafiq ground his teeth, willing himself to not take her too quickly.
But then she bit his lower lip lightly, made the sweetest mew of pleasure, and he was lost. Rafiq grasped her hips and buried himself deep inside her.
Holly’s sharp gasp ripped through the room, dragging his conscience back to the present and away from the paradise of her body.
What…
Reality sank in. How unusually tight she was and how tellingly still she’d gone when he’d entered her.
It could not be possible, could it?
Rafiq braced himself up on one arm to look down at Holly and saw the answer as clearly as if it had been written on her face. “You are a virgin?”
Her lashes lowered and pink stained her cheek. “Was a virgin, until about ten seconds ago.” Her eyes closed. “I had hoped you wouldn’t notice.”
“I may not have, had your reaction not given you away.” He stroked a hand over her hip.
A virgin. Her body untouched, save for him, just as she’d told him two years ago—only, he hadn’t believed her. Guilt mingled with the possessiveness sweeping through him.
“Please, don’t stop, Rafiq. I want this so much. And it doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. See?”
Rafiq groaned as the muscles of her sex tightened around him. “Sweetness, do you have any idea what you are doing to me?”
She lifted her head enough to press a kiss against his shoulder. “I think I have an idea.”
His vision blurred and he closed his eyes. Later. Later he would think about what Holly’s virginity entailed, but for now nothing else mattered but taking her the way he needed to. Everything primitive and male within him demanded he take her completely and claim her.
Rafiq lowered himself onto her again, moving slowly in and out of her tightness. Her body welcomed him this time without resistance. Her cries of passion inflamed him and each stroke into her brought him closer to ecstasy.
And then they were there, toppling into paradise together. Rafiq groaned as he emptied himself inside her.
Only some time later, when Holly lay sleeping, did he allow himself to think about what he’d just done. He sat in bed beside her with his computer on his lap, but very little work was getting done.
Another heavy realization was he’d taken her without protection. Something he’d never, ever been foolish enough to do. But somehow, nothing about this night was normal.
What if Holly became pregnant? It was entirely possible. The idea swirled in his head, causing chaos and unease in its wake. But there was another emotion, something close to excitement and a sense
of rightness he dared not acknowledge.
Holly carrying his child could be nothing other than complicated. Not when he should be seeking out a union with an Arabic woman of high breeding.
For centuries, the sheikhs in his family had looked at marriage as a way to gain power; rarely did it have to do with love.
Love? Unease circled in his gut. Where had that thought come from?
Holly moaned softly and curled closer to him. She looked so vulnerable, so innocent as she slept. Her long, slender body curled up next to him.
Now he knew the reason she’d given off such an impression at times was because she literally was so damn innocent. Holly had given him her virtue moments ago, without him being her husband, with no hint of a ring. The only promise she’d had from him was his promise to seduce her and then discard her.
Perhaps he was the savage bastard Byron had accused him of being.
Rafiq reached out to trail a finger down the softness of her cheek, and she answered with a soft sigh in her sleep. His heart swelled and for a moment he almost gave into the urge to lie down and pull her into his arms.
Everything within him wanted to hold her again, to feel the delicate curve of her body pressed up against his. He wanted to revel in the soft caress of her breath against his shoulder as she slept deeply.
A virgin.
He couldn’t help but continue to marvel the truth. Something completely male and primitive inside him responded to the realization. His chest rose as he drew in a slow breath.
She is mine.
The thought flickered through his head, seeming so right and yet disturbing.
So many men had wanted her—how was it possible she’d taken none to her bed? She was still young, it was true, but the life she’d lived could hardly be called sheltered.
And yet still, she’d wound up here, in his bed, so trusting and dangerously naïve. She was nothing like he’d expected her to be.
Two years ago he’d sent her away, thinking her claim of innocence was a lie. He’d ruined her reputation… Was it possible she had nothing to do with her manager’s plans, as she’d said all along? Could he really have been so completely wrong?
The possibility nearly made him ill.
“Rafiq?”
He stilled as Holly propped herself up and blinked some of the sleep from her eyes.
“What time is it?”
“Nearly midnight. I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
She pushed a strand of hair from her face, and he recognized the uncertainty in her gaze. “You’re working this late? You should be sleeping.”
Rafiq could’ve sworn she held her breath as she waited for him to reply.
But she had no need to worry. Now that she was awake, the urge to hold her overrode any other instinct. Work could wait. It had already taken a backburner to his thoughts for the past hour.
“Of course you are right, habiba.” He closed his laptop and set it on the polished black bedside table. Reaching out, he turned off the lamp, and darkness immediately swallowed the room.
He sensed her hesitation as he slid beneath the sheets to join her.
“Are you upset with me?” Her words were still tinged with sleep, but it held enough worry to make his gut twist.
“Not at all.” If there was anyone he was upset with, it was himself. “Come here.”
When he slid an arm beneath her she scooted willingly into his embrace, burrowing her head against his shoulder with a sigh of content.
“Good night, Rafiq.”
“Good night, Holly.”
Only a few minutes passed before she was once again asleep. And though he’d sworn he wasn’t drowsy, his own eyes drifted shut.
Before he drifted into slumber, those words flitted through his head again. More intense and no less disturbing.
She is mine.
Holly woke early with the sunrise. Apparently she hadn’t closed the curtains to the bedroom window last night and the bright sun was far more effective in waking her than any alarm.
She blinked her eyes open and her gaze landed on Rafiq’s naked, muscled chest. Memories slammed into her, one after another, ousting any lingering sleepiness.
Wow. They’d made love last night. But if she needed any more of a reminder, the slight ache between her thighs was proof enough.
Their bodies were almost melded together. One of his legs was between hers, and a heavy arm draped almost possessively over her waist.
“Are you always such an early riser, Holly?”
Her gaze darted up to his face and she found his heavy-eyed gaze watching her. A self-conscious flush spread through her as the butterflies in her stomach started their morning acrobats.
“Not always,” she admitted. “The sun woke me.”
“Did it now?” But he didn’t wait for a response, instead lowering his head to cover her lips with his.
Holly sighed as everything inside her went soft and warm. She curled her fingers around his muscular shoulders and opened her mouth to his warm exploration. The increasingly familiar tingles of pleasure slid through her body, and an ache started low in her body. She moaned softly and pressed her tongue against his. Moving her legs restlessly against him, the ache inside her grew.
Rafiq slowed the kiss before lifting his head. He groaned softly and pressed his forehead against hers. “I have a breakfast meeting scheduled shortly, habiba.”
Disappointment took over her happiness, but Holly managed a small nod. She didn’t like the idea of him leaving her so soon, but this was a business trip for him. What had she expected?
“Of course. I’m sorry, Rafiq.”
“What on earth are you apologizing for?” His tone held amusement, but then he sighed. “Truthfully, if anyone is owed an apology it is you.”
“Me?” She looked up at him again hesitantly. “Why would you owe me one?”
“I was up for hours last night. Struggling with my conscience.”
Was he about to say he regretted what had happened last night? Her heart did a little twist, but she forced herself to look unaffected. “And what was bothering you?”
“I believe I’ve misjudged you. Far too many times.” His expression gentled as he pushed back a strand of hair that fell near her eye.
So he didn’t regret it. The tension in her muscles eased once more.
“All this time, Holly. You kept your virtue.”
She started to laugh but stopped as his brows drew together. “I’m sorry, Rafiq. I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just that virtue is such an old-fashioned word.” She sighed. “And it wasn’t really a conscious effort to not have sex. I just never found a man I wanted to go to bed with.”
He arched a brow. “But that changed with me?”
“Yes, it did.” There was no reason to lie.
“Thank you.” He leaned forward to brush his lips gently over hers again. “It was a gift I am not sure I deserved or am worthy of.” He brushed his thumb over her mouth. His gaze darkened as he murmured. “But make no mistake, I am honored to have received it.”
It was virginity. She bit her tongue to keep from blurting out that most of the girls she’d known had been sleeping with men since they were teenagers.
She hadn’t ever intended to be a twenty-three-year old virgin, nor had she desired to be cavalier with her affections. Maybe she hadn’t slept with Rafiq as his wife, but she didn’t regret it. If anything, she wanted it to happen again. Wanted to learn and experience so much more than what had happened last night, and she wanted him to be the one to teach her.
Though she wasn’t foolish enough to hope he’d develop feelings for her.
Or aren’t you?
No. She had to stay realistic. Practical. How many women had Rafiq taken to his bed over the years? She couldn’t begin to allow herself to think she was special.
Which was so much easier said than done.
Chapter 11
“Holly?”
Rafiq’s soft use of her name brought Holly ou
t of her turbulent thoughts. “Yes?”
“Tell me again what happened that day.”
“Which day?” But she already had a clue.
“The day I walked in on you and your manager. You tried to tell me once before, but I failed to listen.”
Holly shifted in his arms, trying to push aside her unease. He wanted to hear her side of the story again? Would he believe her this time? “I never went to Raljahar with the intention to seduce you. I realized the chances of getting you to agree to our request were slim, but that didn’t matter to me.” She hesitated. “Especially after I met you.”
She swallowed hard and dropped her eyes from his searching gaze. It was easier to recount the event while staring at the black swirls of hair on his chest. Harder, though, not to reach out and toy with them.
“When my manager realized we’d…grown close, she approached me with the idea of trying to seduce you as a way to secure your approval of us being there. I was utterly horrified at her behavior, Rafiq, that she would assume I would ever consider such an idea, and the way she referred to you.”
She did reach out now, longing to touch his solid warmth and feel the beating of his heart beneath her fingertips. “I know how it must’ve looked. How terrible it sounded when you overheard us. I probably would’ve jumped to conclusions myself—”
“I should have trusted you more,” he rasped and caught her wrist, stilling her fingers in their exploration. He lifted her hand toward his lips and brushed a kiss against the pulse fluttering wildly in her wrist. “Especially after the time we spent together. It was wrong of me, Holly. Quite wrong. And I’m sorry. I don’t…” He hesitated and then shook his head. “I’m not one who trusts easily.”
It was an apology two years after the fact, but it was a balm against painful wounds that had never healed.
She knew the confession hadn’t been easy for him. A tiny cloud of bleakness that had lingered around Holly’s heart lifted. Never before had she allowed herself to admit how devastating his reaction to her had been, how much his judgment had hurt. “Why don’t you trust easily, Rafiq?”
Beauty and the Sheikh Page 10