Page 12 of Seduced By the Sheikh

“Lay down,” he growled. She did as he instructed.

Still fully dressed he knelt on the bed in front of her and, with one hand either side of her kissed her thoroughly so she shed the last of her inhibitions and, when he pushed her legs apart, she had no thoughts of resisting.

He smoothed his hands around her thighs as he dropped kisses on her neck, her chest, her belly and then lower. She gasped as she suddenly realized what his intention was. She reached down to urge him away. It didn’t seem right. But then his tongue made contact with a part of her which shattered all thoughts of resistance.

She cried out as he went further, caressing her most intimate parts with his lips and tongue and then his fingers, too. He played her body as if it were an instrument and he was drawing out of her melodies she didn’t know were there. The melodies began as long, drawn-out notes but soon quickened, swirling into an insistent beat which took her closer to the place she wanted to be, until she was balanced on the edge of something into which she knew instinctively she wanted to fall.

Then she cried out and her hips bucked as she found her fingers were thrust through his hair, holding him there, needing every second of sensation he could give her as she plunged into a convulsing orgasm which shocked her by its intensity.

She lay back with a gasp and released her grip of his head. He looked up with a smile.

“I thought you would taste good.”

She laughed and, suddenly embarrassed, rolled her head to one side. He lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms. Nestled against his chest, his fragrance mingled with that of the jasmine and gardenia which drifted in through the open windows, and with the moonlight streaming across the floor, Soraiya thought she’d never felt so right. Held by a man whose heart she knew to be good and kind, but who was still a stranger to her in so many ways. But he wouldn’t be for long, she thought as she slipped into a lethargy she could not resist. Too soon, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Zak looked down at her long eyelashes which curled like two crescents below her lids. She looked more delicate in sleep than she did during the day when the strength of her personality overshadowed her physical features. Or nearly did.

But the truth was, she was more delicate—much sweeter and more naive than he’d imagined she’d be with a father like hers. Far sweeter than he deserved. But, as charming as she was, there was no way he would permit her to work as his mother had. That had led to disaster and he would never allow history to repeat itself.

He’d find other ways for her to pass her time. Things like this—pleasure, seduction. And, he thought, as he shifted uncomfortably, next time she would willingly accept him. He certainly didn’t think he could take another evening of such intense frustration. He gently pulled away from her and rose. She was breathtaking. He would let her sleep. For now.

CHAPTER 6

Soraiya awoke to find herself alone in bed, with only a light cover spread over her. She could hear the faint sound of a shower coming from Zak’s bedroom.

Zak. She said his name out loud, listening to how it sounded. She remembered saying it differently the previous night. Then she’d cried out his name as an orgasm had surged through her body.

She groaned and rolled onto her stomach, pressing her hot cheeks into the pillow as she remembered her response to his touch, and of how he’d made her feel. She turned onto her back, keeping the pillow tight against her breasts. How on earth was she going to face him? She hardly knew him—he was a stranger still to her—but she’d been intimate with him in a way she’d never imagined. She tossed the pillow to one side, allowing the fresh morning air to cool her flushed cheeks and body. But he was a stranger who was her husband. That made it all right.

That made it definitely all right. And it made her morning and afternoon, and all the days from now on, a lot more interesting. Not to mention the nights. But, she thought, getting out of bed and flinging the curtains open wide, she had a lot of appointments during the next eight hours before she’d be alone with Zak again. And then they would be really alone. They would pay an evening visit to lands which she’d be bringing with her as part of her dowry. But, before they could leave, there was a morning of duties to perform, people to farewell and relationships to establish.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that Soraiya was free from her public commitments and had joined Zak at the helicopter pad. As she approached, he looked around as if sensing her arrival, and smiled warmly. She liked that, but at the same time, felt undone by his gaze, and unable to meet it. A brief smile and a blush was all she could manage before turning to her assistant to ask her a question she already knew the answer to. By the time she’d plucked up her courage to look back at him, he was discussing something with his vizier.

She took her seat in the helicopter and opened a map on her device to see exactly where they were headed. They were going to visit a place she’d only heard about from her grandmother. As a child, she’d loved to hear stories of the land which her grandmother had inherited from her mother. But it wasn’t the retreat by the sea where her grandparents used to holiday which was the land’s only attraction. On the other side of a small mountain range lay a deep-sea port, which would be a lifeline for Sirun.

The journey was brief and Soraiya kept her eyes glued to the view while Zak worked and talked with the pilot. She hadn’t seen the land before, only pored over it on the map and read about it. It would become hers on her 23rd birthday. And then they could complete all the agreements which this land would unlock for them.

Zak tapped her on the arm. “We’re passing over the border between our two countries now.”

Soraiya nodded, but her eyes were firmly on the bright blue sea. She’d missed it, and was overjoyed that now they’d have a coastline she could visit from time to time. Below them stretched the low mountain range which divided the deep-water port from the more gentle, sand-fringed stretch of coast.

“You see there.” Soraiya looked where Zak pointed. “That’s the shipping lane. They enter the port and return the same way, back into the Arabian Sea. It means the land to the right of the range can be developed with eco-tourism in mind. Building on the complex your grandparents established.”

“I’ve never been there,” Soraiya said.

“Yes, you mentioned it before. Why is that?”

She shrugged. “Who knows? I did whatever my father told me to do. Which included little time for holidays. Work and study. That was me.”

He said nothing, just took her hand and brought it to his lips. But his gesture was more telling than anything he could have said. In it, she not only felt a sympathy for what had gone before, but also a reassurance her future would not be the same.

Before heading to her grandmother’s house, they first visited the port. It was impressive in its potential but under-utilised and they both left at the end of the afternoon, buoyed by the prospect of what such a facility could mean for the future prosperity of Sirun. By the time they were in the air again, passing over the mountains, the sun was only just above the horizon and the land below them glowed in its orange rays. Far below, Soraiya could just make out the winding road which crossed the mountains before emerging into a different world.

Gone was the rugged coast of the port, and in its place was a beautiful stretch of palm-fringed sandy coast, looped into a series of bays, and framed by a curve of white-topped surf a kilometer out to sea where the coral reef lay. In the crook of one bay was an old-fashioned but well-kept building. And it was beside this the helicopter landed.

Soraiya was immediately drawn to the place. It lay long and low above the beach, with only sand dunes between it and the sea. Lights strung across its length gave it a casual, romantic appearance, vastly different to the formality of the palace.

As the sun finally slipped below the horizon, Zak slid his hand around her waist and looked up at the large house. “It’s good of your father to allow us access before it officially becomes yours.”

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