Page 51 of Enemies with Benefits

The depths of bitter conviction in his voice said this was as much about him as it was about me. I looked up and his jaw was set in iron, his gaze on a faraway point I suspected didn’t involve me. And yet, I still felt...wanted.

The earlier need to probe his own family situation rose again but I was a little terrified and a lot selfish to lose the warmth and security of his arms. So I bit my tongue, closed my eyes and breathed him in.

After an eternity, I felt his gaze on my face. ‘Are you glad you came? And don’t say yes because this is work,’ he tagged on gruffly.

Raising my gaze, I met his. ‘Yes, I’m glad I came,’ I replied, my voice a husky mess. We were crossing an invisible but dangerous line and yet, I was...exhausted with resisting its magnetic pull.

Jasper dropped his head slowly, and I held my breath until his lips sealed over mine. We kissed with slow languor, allowing the heat to build between us until we were both breathless.

He raised his head in torturous increments and when he spoke, his lips still brushed mine. ‘The sunsets here are quite spectacular. Want to experience the outdoor bath tonight?’

I shook my head. ‘Too tired to appreciate it,’ I replied, just as a yawn caught me unawares.

He stood and held out his hand. ‘I think an early night is on the cards. We have a full day tomorrow.’

I frowned, trying to remember the itinerary and realising...there was none. ‘What exactly is happening tomorrow?’

That boyish grin, totally lethal to my state of mind, flashed into life as I let him help me up. ‘Everything.’

With that ominous declaration, he tugged me back into theriad, to the master suite. Then, catching my hem, he freed me of my dress and panties, and nudged me into the bathroom. Bypassing the Jacuzzi bath, he switched on the jets in the shower, then made short work of undressing himself. All the while watching me with an expression that made my breath catch and my heart squeeze.

To mitigate the erratic mess that was my pulse and my emotions, I reached for an apple-shaped bottle with an exquisitely carved stopper top in the shape of the M’Goun Valley rose, the national flower of Morocco.

Jasper stopped me with a soft grip. ‘No, let me.’ He took the bottle, uncapped it, poured a decent measure into his palm, then motioned for me to come closer. I watched him rub his hands together, that simple act so intensely erotic, my nipples beaded and my thighs clenched hard with desperate need. ‘I’ve dreamed of at least two dozen ways to do this.’

Swaying towards him, I lifted eyelids that were curiously heavy to meet his gaze. ‘We’ve showered together before.’

‘Hmm, but always when one of us had to rush off somewhere. Or when one of us needed to fuck the other super urgently.’

Heat rose up my body. Yes, so I’d attacked him the last time we’d been in the shower together. ‘No need to rub it in my face.’

‘Oh, I intend to rub it in all right. All over your body.’

Laughter caught me completely unawares, a peculiar strain of joy fizzing through me. It died in a sigh as Jasper’s hands proceeded to wreak exquisite magic on my body. I didn’t bother to hold back my moans of pleasure because it felt disingenuous in this place. Instead, I closed my eyes and gave myself over to him. And by the time he swung me into his arms and carried me to the four-poster, I was a boneless, mindless creature, ready to receive everything he had to give.

Like the kiss before, the lovemaking was indulgent, decadent and slow, tapping into the rhythm of the land.

And just like before, I blinked back tears when it was over. Then gasped with a different sort of pleasure when, with a touch of a remote, the doors slid back to reveal the insanely gorgeous sunset he’d promised.

From the perfect vantage point of our bed, it felt as if we were being treated to the creation of an extraordinary oil painting. The world itself seemed ablaze, streaked with the richest scarlet, vibrant orange and saffron yellow.

‘My God, that’s beautiful,’ I whispered.

Jasper pulled me tighter against him. ‘Yes. And just in case I didn’t mention it before, I’m glad you came, too.’

Later, when it all went wrong, I would remember this moment.

The moment that last sane string unmoored me from reality as I knew it and gaily wove its way through the air into the hands of the last man I should’ve trusted it to.

The next day, rested and sated from glorious early-morning sex, we set off on dune buggies to a desert encampment half a mile away that formed part of the resort. The objective of the visit was to judge the experience as a possible business retreat and relaxation exercise. The twelve Bedouin tents were each large enough to host up to thirty guests and, as evidenced by the signals from our laptops as we got down to work, the business facilities were more than adequate.

By lunchtime we’d pronounced it a success and moved on to the next item on the agenda. Thrilled at the rate we were checking things off our extensive to-do list, we didn’t stop until after the sun had gone down.

Dinner was an exquisite lamb and vegetable couscous cooked in an authentic tagine, followed by a creamy locally made dessert of sugared almonds and crushed dates served over a baked yoghurt. Over rich, cream-laced coffee, Jasper regarded me with heavy-lidded eyes. ‘I’m getting you in that bath tonight.’

Since the stars were shining bright and I’d had exactly the same idea, I smiled. ‘You have my full cooperation.’

With a heart-stopping smile, he reached for the tablet next to his coffee cup. I’d discovered to my delight that most amenities within each suite could be operated digitally and when I heard the sudden rush of water hitting the cavernous bath, my temperature rose. I set my coffee down as Jasper reclined back in his seat, his eyes promising everything he intended to do to me. But I intended to flip the script on him tonight.

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