Page 29 of Forty Days and One Knight
Darius shifted closer and grinned when Tahira's mouth opened, as if anticipating when his would make contact with hers, but she was going to have to wait a little while longer. It had been at least twenty years since he'd been a teenage girl's first kiss, and he didn't think he'd ever been a woman's first. He wanted to make this special for her—something she would never forget. She deserved it after all she’d been through.
One of his hands went to her temple and brushed back a few of the stray hairs that had escaped her bun. Reaching up, he released the clip at the crown of her head, letting the black, silky strands fall free. He ran his fingers through them, loving how they tickled his palm.
"What—”
"Hush, Princess. I'll kiss you, but we're doing it my way."
He dipped his head down and lightly kissed her closed eyelids. Her hands came up and found his wrists, holding onto them like a lifeline.
"You're so beautiful. So sweet.” His lips left butterfly kisses across her discolored cheek, over her pert, little nose, to the other cheek. He felt her shoulders sag and her grip ease.
"That's it. Relax and just feel," he whispered into her ear. His cock became harder when a shiver went through her body.
Down, boy. This isn't about you.
Darius nuzzled Tahira's ear a moment before kissing his way to the corner of her mouth. He brushed her lips with his own. She inhaled sharply but didn't pull away. Darius kept the kiss chaste, moving his closed mouth over her slightly parted lips, tilting her head a bit to get a better angle. A moan escaped her, and the sexy sound went straight to his groin.
Without encouragement, Tahira opened her mouth further. Keeping his control on a tight leash, Darius ran his tongue over her lips, then sucked the bottom one gently into his mouth. Her hands ran up his arms and encircled his neck. Slowly and tentatively, she began to explore him with her tongue. He flicked his own against hers.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Your Highness! Please forgive my intrusion!”
Tahira jumped back at the interruption, breathing heavily, unwilling to face the staff member that neither of them had heard open the door. Darius had been just as affected by the kiss, but he managed to find his voice a lot quicker. Unable to stand without showing off the bulge in his pants, he turned his head toward the door. "It's okay, Semira. Did you need something?"
The young woman's gaze was on the floor in front of her feet as she stood by the door, fidgeting. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but Her Royal Majesty is on the phone and would like to speak with you, Your Highness. They arrived home safely a short time ago."
Tahira ran her palms over her heated cheeks before glancing over her shoulder. "Thank you, Semira. Please tell her I will be right there."
"Yes, Your Highness." She hurried out the door, closing it softly behind her.
Tahira covered her entire face with her hands. When her shoulders started to shake, it took Darius a moment to realize she was laughing and not crying. The corners of his mouth pulled upward as he chuckled and relaxed back into the couch cushions. “It’s been a long time since I was caught sitting on a couch, necking with a woman like that.”
“Necking? Is that what we were doing?”
Not really, considering it had felt like a hell of a lot more than that to Darius, but he was keeping that to himself. Instead, he shrugged. “Some people call it necking, which is a little passé, others call it making out.”
“Thatis the phrase I have heard Americans use before—making out.” She hesitated, then slowly lifted her gaze to his. Her cheeks flamed brighter. “I liked it very much, Darius—necking with you. Maybe we could do it again sometime?” She quickly added, “To practice, I mean.”
He cupped her chin and grazed his thumb across her bottom lip, which was red and swollen from their kiss. It took everything in him not to lean in and pick up where they’d left off a few moments ago. His voice came out low and husky. “I’d like that very much, Princess.”
Yup, I’m going to hell.
23
After assuring her mother she was okay and wishing her well, Tahira hung up the phone in her father’s office. It had been a mostly one-sided conversation, because Tahira couldn’t get Darius and the kiss they’d shared out of her mind enough to concentrate. She’d lied to him earlier. As a teenager, she’d kissed two boys—but those had been experimental and juvenile attempts to figure out what all her friends had told herthey’dfelt when they’d kissed boys. Some of her friends claimed it was just like the romance novels they’d read, which, of course, they’d hidden from their parents at that age. Fireworks, burning passion, unable to catch their breath—things like that. But after those two sloppy endeavors with the opposite sex had left her feeling empty, Tahira had wondered if something was wrong with her.
Having no interest in women, she knew she wasn’t gay, but had wondered if she might be asexual—someone who didn’t have any sexual desires. But as she’d gotten older and matured more, she knew that wasn’t the case either. Men definitely interested her, they made her crave intimacy, but not with anyone in particular—until now. When Darius had kissed her—hell, before he’d kissed her mouth—he’d ignited something deep inside her that she’d never known existed. It was as if the missing piece of a puzzle that was her womanhood had fallen into place and her body had rejoiced. She finally understood what gave authors the inspiration for writing romantic scenes that left readers panting and wanting more. If Semira hadn’t interrupted them, how far would Darius have gone? How far would Tahira have let him go?
What had startled her even more was the flashes of color that had surrounded the man as they both recovered from the kiss. He’d always been one of those people she couldn’t get a read on, but she’d known instinctively he was one of the “good guys.” He would never hurt a woman—not intentionally—thatshe’d known. But for a few moments there, she’d gotten a glimpse of his aura. There had been reds, pinks, and purples, swirling together, each color fighting for supremacy. However, she’d also seen flashes of brownish mauves, which she’d come to associate with confusion or an internal battle being waged. She would have loved to have known what had been going through his mind at the exact moment those flashes had appeared, but before she’d been able to fully analyze his aura, Darius had pulled back, emotionally. Then his colors had faded, and, once more, she had been unable to read them.
There had been a brief moment of hope blooming inside her during their kiss—she’d felt a connection with him. One she’d never felt before. One that had made her wonder if she’d foundhim. Her soulmate.
“Your Highness?”
Tahira turned toward the door. “Yes, Semira?”
“Is there anything you need me to do?”
Glancing at a clock on the wall, she was surprised to see the late hour. It was just after 8:00 p.m. The woman who managed the Clearwater Beach mansion, and its housekeeping and kitchen staff, had been working over twelve hours today—much longer than usual, unless there was a special occasion. “No, you may turn in for the night. Thank you for your assistance today.”
