Page 30 of Hiding in the Sheik's Arms

“I…don’t remember.” She swallowed, feeling her cheeks burn hot at his casual question. “It was last week.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded. “Good,” he said, then leaned in to kiss her deeply. “We should be okay.” He pulled back, looking down at her body again. “Especially since I’m not done exploring your glories.”

And he did! Tasha thought about telling him that she should head on back to her private apartment. It was in an entirely different area of the palace. In fact, it would take her at least twenty minutes to walk there from here. She knew that because she’d often been woken up during the night with an emergency issue. It was her job to inform Khal when there was a problem that needed his attention. One of the other administrative staff would get the news and wake her up. She’d then determine if Khal needed to weigh in.

So she’d walked the hallways, sometimes running, to this very place, several times over the past year.

But she’d never been in his bed, obviously. And she’d never had to face his bodyguards in the morning by coming out of his private quarters! What would the guards say? How could she look them in the eye?

“Khal,” she gasped, realizing the peril she’d put herself into. Well, not herself, but her reputation.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, hearing the panic in her tone. The panic pulled his attention away from her breasts and he looked into her eyes. “Talk to me, love.”

“I just…,” she paused. “I need to sneak out of here.” The words seemed to get caught in her throat.

“Why?”

His fingers were brushing back and forth over her bare stomach, causing her concentration to waver.

She grabbed his wrist, stopping the delicious motion. “Because if I stay here all night, your guards are going to think something is going on between us. Something other than business.”

He stopped, staring at her with a stunned expression. Tasha thought that he was only just now realizing the problem so she nodded, emphasizing the point. But a moment later, he threw back his head, laughing. He even fell onto his back, one hand covering his stomach as he continued with his mirth.

“I don’t understand what you think is so funny,” she grumbled, slipping over to the other side of the bed. But before she could put even one foot on the floor, he’d grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into his arms. He was still laughing, but his amusement was muffled against the side of her neck.

“I’m laughing, love, because my guards know every damn thing that happens in my life. I literally carried you into my bedroom from my private dining room. They know exactly what has, and will happen again, in this room.”

“They can’t!” she gasped, still trying to wiggle away from him, but he chose that moment to cup her breast again. And those damn magic fingers of his knew exactly how to tweak her nipple to make her groan. She fell back against the pillows, her body curling towards his touch. “You have to stop.”

He didn’t stop. In fact, she found her fingers directing his mouth as his lips closed over her nipple. She held his mouth there, moaning as his teeth scraped against the sensitive tip. Before she realized what was happening, Khal shifted their bodies so she was straddling him again.

“Maybe I’ll leave a bit later,” she sighed as she leaned forward, his hands pressing against her back as she wiggled, his erection nudging against her thigh.

With just a bit of a shift in their positions, Tasha was able to slide his shaft into her body. It took a bit of wiggling, and a whole lot of groaning on his part, but eventually, she took all of him into her body while he continued to suck and teaseher nipple. It was a bit awkward, angled like this, but she was eventually able to enjoy both his mouth on her breast while she shifted against his shaft, finding a rhythm that worked for both of them.

He kept her at that awkward angle for a bit longer than she would have liked, since the position caused her nub to rub perfectly against his abdomen with every thrust. By the end, she was pushing at his shoulders, silently pleading with him to stop teasing her breasts so that she could give them both the release that they needed. It took only a few more strokes after he let her go. But she loved the way his big, strong hands gripped her hips, directing her movements. She should be in control in this position, but Khal wasn’t very good about sharing.

Then he flipped their positions and his thrusts came faster, harder, as he pulled her leg over his elbow, opening her wider, creating a smoother motion. She was helpless in this position and couldn’t control the climax. All she could do is hold on and ride out the pleasure, praying she survived.

Chapter 25

Was she walking funny? Tasha walked carefully down the long hallway towards the family quarters, her body tender from a nearly sleepless night in Khal’s bed. Their sleeplessness wasn’t all caused by his demands either. There had been a couple of instances when Khal’s hand had brushed over her back or her thigh and she’d needed to kiss him, touch him, or…make love to him.

So yes, she was incredibly tender this morning. And beaming about it. Every inch of her felt more alive, more sensitive. Tasha felt as if she could feel the air particles bouncing off of her skin. It felt…amazing! Never before had she experienced that level of intense pleasure with her previous boyfriends. Granted, there had only been four boyfriends and only two of them had made it into her bed. But those two experiences had convinced her that her body simply wasn’t made for sex.

Khal had shown her that her other lovers were merely pathetic boys who had never taken the time to get to know her body. It had also warned her that she had a bit of learning to do as well. He’d teased her until she’d told him what she liked. He’d eventually demanded that she guide his hand against her body, showing him in intimate detail the best way to touch her to bring her to such glorious pleasure. Then he’d taken her hand and shown her exactly what he liked.

When she turned the corner, heading towards Marianna’s room, she paused. “Khal?” she called out.

He stopped and Tasha noticed the flash of frustration on his handsome features. They lightened immediately when he spotted her and he walked quickly towards her. “What are youdoing in this area of the palace?” he asked as he pulled her gently into his arms. He gave her a soft kiss before she had a chance to answer.

Tasha blushed. After leaving his suite this morning, she’d assumed that they would keep at least a façade of normalcy between them. As in, no public displays of affection in places where his bodyguards or palace security could see.

But she couldn’t resist lifting her head to accept his kiss. This was Khal, after all.

He turned, leading her back towards the administrative area of the palace. “Where were you heading?”

She sighed. “I suspect that Marianna is struggling right now. I was going to talk to her, maybe to have breakfast with her and see if there was some way I could help ease her transition to life here at the palace.” She grimaced, looking up at him. “I know that palace intricacies can sometimes be confounding.”

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