Page 45 of Unknown Royal Baby

Because that gap in his memory made him feel exposed?

He shied from that. Too often in the last year he’d felt that way. He preferred to take charge.

Isam wanted Avril, wanted sex, but he wasn’t above using their desire to bind her to him. She’d agreed to marry but he knew she still doubted her decision, and him.

He couldn’t allow that. He had to make utterly sure of her. He’d give her time to acclimatise and prepare for the wedding, but having her back out at the last minute wasn’t an option. Sex would reinforce the ties that bound them.

How delightful when duty and his own desire dovetailed.

You call this duty? You couldn’t pull back from her if you tried.

Isam shoved the crimson skirt higher, pretending not to notice the fine tremor in his hands as he palmed her smooth thighs. Without stopping, he shoved the material over her belly, then stroked his fingers back down her hips, curling them into the pale lace of her panties on the way and dragging them down her legs. A second later they followed her sandals onto the floor and he knelt between her knees, gloating.

Avril was beautiful, more beautiful than he’d remembered. The contrast between her formal dress and her bare lower body only fuelled his excitement. He felt greedy and dizzy with anticipation. Like a teenager, teetering on the edge of control.

That he couldn’t allow. He was determined to bring her pleasure before finding his own.

Slowly he slid his hands back up her thighs to her hip bones, not deviating to that V of dark hair, despite the way she twitched and turned, seeking his touch.

‘Soon,’ he promised. But first, he’d seen something else that fascinated him. The light caught striations low on her belly. His breath hitched as he guessed their meaning. ‘Are they stretch marks?’

He’d heard of them but never seen any.

Avril shifted abruptly and Isam looked up to catch her change of expression. Her eagerness had transformed into discomfort, her mouth forming a moue as if of distaste.

He frowned. To him these marks were a badge of honour, proof of her body’s miracle in conceiving and carrying their child. Emotion welled at how special this woman was. How extraordinary.

He kissed the narrow lines and felt her stiffen. But he wasn’t deterred. He explored each one, taking his time, telling her how proud he was, how thankful and how awed. In English and Arabic he praised her, telling her, with absolute truth, that he’d never wanted any woman more.

When he’d finished, her thighs were slack beneath him, her hands fisted in his hair and her eyes aglow.

His voice was thick and rough. ‘You are so very beautiful, Avril.’

And she washis. He felt it deep in his belly, in the very marrow of his bones.

No other woman in his past had affected him like this.

Did she feel the same about him? The possibility that she didn’t was unbearable. He wanted to bind her to him, not just with a promise of marriage but with ties of emotion and need.

He pushed her legs wide and settled between them, lowering his head. Her thighs trembled as he parted her folds to unveil that sensitive nub. Her whole body jolted as he captured it in his lips, drawing long and slow.

She gasped, her hands clenching tighter, holding him to her. As if he had any intention of leaving! The scent and taste of honeyed woman and arousal enveloped him and he couldn’t get enough.

He needed to take his time, draw this out so that she hovered on the brink of bliss for as long as possible. But his own need weakened his determination. Instead of prolonging her pleasure he drove her further, faster, using his mouth and his hands until her quivering body rose desperately against him and shudders racked her. He felt her climax, tasted it, was part of it as she cried his name again and again, drawing him to her.

When he finally climbed higher to settle beside her Avril burrowed into his arms, her broken breaths hot at his throat, fingers clutching, legs tangled with his.

A tiny, thinking part of his brain triumphed at her response. But mostly Isam was caught in the pure joy of bringing her such pleasure. He wrapped her close, stroking her hair, delighted and possessive in equal measure.

Her eyes, when they opened, gleamed golden rather than brown and he felt something inside him soften and melt.

He wanted her to look at him like that again and again. He’d never tire of it.

Isam’s already taut body stiffened with need as she moistened her lips to speak.

Then a wail pierced the night air.

Isam blinked, taking a second to identify the sound when all his thoughts had been on Avril and himself. It had felt as if no one else existed but the pair of them.