Beauty and the Sheikh(19)

She wanted the unknown, and she wanted it with Rafiq. Had always wanted it with him. She lifted her mouth from his just slightly. “Make love to me.”

Rafiq groaned, but made no move to pull her closer. “Holly, I shouldn’t. You must know how much I want to, but perhaps this isn’t the right time.”

If she’d had any doubts her decision was the right one, his hesitation erased them. How many times had he promised to bed her? That he would seduce her? And yet when she offered herself to him with no expectations, he hesitated.

She considered his words. Was she asking for all the wrong reasons? Would she wake up tomorrow and hate him once more?

Have you ever really hated him?

She looked past him, to where the night sky had started to appear and a few stars twinkled. The warm Monaco breeze slid over them like a silky intoxicating caress.

No. She’d never hated Rafiq, despite her protest otherwise. She hated the way he’d treated her at times and the assumptions he made, but he’d been right. The line between loathing and love was very thin, and sometimes she wasn’t quite sure which side she fell on. Though lately it was becoming clearer.

“We’ve spent so much time fighting.” She traced his mouth with trembling fingertips. “I’ve already waited two years for this night, Rafiq. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”





Chapter 10



Rafiq’s control snapped at her husky plea. His intentions of being a gentleman vanished as a ravaging hunger for her took over. He dragged Holly hard against him and claimed her mouth. Her arms wove around his neck and she kissed him back fervently, her sigh of relief only making his groin tighten.

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.