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‘Strangely, yes.’ She let out another laugh, this one breathy. ‘I felt more free tonight than I have in a long time.’
‘Free—and yet captive.’ He didn’t know why he felt the need to remind her of the truth of their situation just then, only that he did. Perhaps he was trying to remind himself to hold onto reality when all he really wanted was to slip the veil from her face and the dress from her body.
‘I don’t feel like a captive any more, Khalil. I want to be here with you. You might have brought me here, but I’m choosing this now.’
He saw a bold purpose in her eyes now. The innocent, it seemed, had become a seductress. A siren. She walked towards him, lowering the veil of coins away from her face, and placed her hands on his chest. He gazed down at her long, slender fingers, felt them tremble against him. ‘Tonight I want to forget everything, Khalil. Everything but you.’
Desire pulsed through him, blurred his brain along with his vision. ‘Elena—’
‘Please.’
He covered her hands with his own; he’d meant to remove them but as soon as he touched her he knew he wouldn’t. He knew he needed at least this much, because there wouldn’t be much more.
There couldn’t be.
‘Elena,’ he said again, and she shook her head, her hair escaping from underneath her veil, tumbling about her shoulders as dark as a desert night.
‘Don’t, Khalil,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t say no to me now.’
‘Do you even know what you’re asking?’ he demanded, his voice low, raw and ragged with a desire he couldn’t deny.
‘Yes, I do.’ She met his gaze. ‘I’m asking you to make love to me. With me.’
Khalil’s breath escaped in a hiss. ‘Yes, but you don’t know what that means.’
Her eyes flashed sudden fire. ‘Don’t tell me what I know or don’t know, Khalil. I’m perfectly aware of what it means. What I’m asking.’
He arched an eyebrow. ‘Are you sure about that, Elena? Because, if I’m not very much mistaken, I believe you’re a virgin.’
She flushed but didn’t lower her challenging gaze. ‘Practical experience isn’t required to make an informed choice.’
He almost laughed then, both amused by and admiring of her boldness and courage. His hands tightened on hers as he considered the possibility.
One night... One wonderful, amazing, incredible night...
‘It’s dangerous,’ he began, and she shook her head.
‘I know there are ways to prevent a pregnancy, if you don’t have any protection.’
Her cheeks had turned fiery and he almost laughed. ‘Oh, you do? As it happens, I have protection.’
Surprise made her jaw drop. ‘You do?’
‘Not,’ he continued swiftly, ‘because I intended to use it.’
She eyed him sceptically. ‘Really?’
‘I just like to be prepared.’
She looked uncertain then, even vulnerable. ‘Have you had many lovers, then?’
‘Not as many as you’re thinking, and none in the last year. I’ve been too busy with other things.’ And none like you. Untouched. Innocent. Amazing. He couldn’t believe he was seriously thinking about taking Elena up on her offer. About making love to her.
‘When I said it was dangerous, Elena, I didn’t mean an unplanned pregnancy. I was talking about the...the emotional risks.’
She flinched and then recovered her composure. ‘I’m aware of the risk, Khalil,’ she told him. ‘And I’m not under the illusion that this would be anything but one night. I’m not asking for more from you.’
‘I know that.’
‘Then what’s the problem?’ He just shook his head, both torn and tempted. Her smile turned flirtatious, even sultry. ‘I suppose I’ll just have to seduce you.’
Surprise flared deep inside him, along with an almost unbearable arousal. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ he managed. He knew she wouldn’t have to do much and he would cave completely. He would take her in his arms and lose himself in her kiss, in her body.
He took a defensive step backwards and Elena’s mouth curved in the kind of wicked little smile he hadn’t known she was capable of.
‘Scared, Khalil?’
‘Tempted, Elena. And I’d rather not be.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Slowly she lifted her arms, the wide sleeves of her dress falling back to reveal her slender wrists, and began to unwind her headscarf. Her kohl-lined eyes were wide and dark as she slowly unwrapped the garment, and Khalil simply watched, entranced by the utterly feminine and sensual act of undressing.
He heard his breath come out in something close to a pant as she dropped the headscarf and then shrugged out of her dress.
Underneath she wore only a thin chemise of bleached cotton, the material nearly transparent. He could see the temptingly round fullness of her breasts, the shadow between her thighs. He stifled a groan.
She moved closer, her eyes full of an ancient feminine power. She knew how she affected him and it made her bold.
It made her irresistible.
Her hands slid up his chest and he knew she could feel how his heart was racing. His mind had stalled at the sight of her and it now kicked desperately into gear.
‘I really don’t think this is a good idea, Elena.’
‘Too bad, then, that I do.’ She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a butterfly kiss across his mouth. ‘That’s only the second kiss I’ve ever had,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘The first was two nights ago, when you held me on your lap.’
He closed his eyes. He was the only man who had ever kissed her? Didn’t she realise how much she was giving him, offering him freely? Didn’t she know how hurt she might be afterwards? No matter what she said or promised now, she was young. Inexperienced. Innocent.
He forced his eyes open, wrapped his hands around hers and attempted to draw them away from him. ‘I don’t want to hurt you, Elena.’
‘You won’t.’
‘You don’t know that. You can’t know that, because you’ve never done this before.’
‘And when am I going to get a chance to do it, Khalil?’ she asked, her honest gaze clashing with his. ‘I was going to give myself to a man I barely knew for the sake of my country. That possibility has been taken away from me now. You’ve taken it away from me, and I think it’s only fair you offer me something in return. You owe me a wedding night.’
He let out a ragged laugh. ‘I never thought of it that way.’
‘Think of it that way now,’ she said, and kissed him again. Her lips were soft, warm and open and her breasts brushed his chest. Khalil’s arms came around her without him having made a conscious decision to embrace her, yet suddenly he was. He pulled her closer, fitting her softness against his body, pressing against her, craving the contact. And as her lips parted and she innocently, instinctively deepened the kiss, he knew he was lost.
* * *
This was what she wanted. Needed. Elena wound her arms around Khalil’s neck as he took over her tentative kiss and made it his own. Made it theirs. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring its contours and causing shivers of amazed pleasure to ripple through her. She had never known a kiss could be so consuming. So...much.
He slid one hand from her shoulder to cup her breast, his palm warm and sure. Elena shuddered under his touch. The intensity of her pleasure was almost painful, and yet achingly exquisite. And, while this was so much more than she’d ever felt or experienced before, it still wasn’t enough. She felt an ache deep inside for more and she acted on it.
She pushed the thobe from his shoulders, and wordlessly Khalil shrugged out of it; the loose linen shirt and trousers he wore underneath followed. He was completely naked and utterly beautiful, long, lean, lithe and yet incredibly powerful, his body rippling with muscle. Now more than ever he reminded her of a panther, beautiful, awe-inspiring and just a little bit scary.
This was scary. Wonderful, exciting, new—and scary. She took a deep breath and waited for him to make the next move because she wasn’t sure what it should be.
He lifted the hem of her chemise and she raised her arms so he could take it off her. She wore nothing underneath and, as his gaze roved over her nakedness, she felt a twinge of embarrassment, extinguished when he ran a gentle hand from her shoulder to thigh.
‘You are so beautiful, Elena.’
‘You are too,’ she whispered and he laughed softly and tugged on her hand, leading her towards the bed.
He lay down on the soft covers and drew her down next to him so they were facing each other. Elena’s breath was already coming in short gasps; her senses were on overload simply by lying next to Khalil, his naked body so close to hers. His chest rippled with muscle and his belly was taut and flat. Her gaze dipped lower and then moved up again; she might have been talking a big game but she was still inexperienced. Still a little nervous.
Khalil took her hand and placed it on his bare chest. ‘We can stop,’ he said quietly; it amazed her how he always seemed to know what she was thinking, feeling. ‘We can always stop.’
‘I don’t want to stop,’ she told him with a shaky laugh. ‘That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a little nervous, though.’
