Page 26 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
“You sound certain.”
“As certain as I can be.”
“Okay then,” said Amare, standing up. “Let’s explore.”
He unlocked a door to a room and held it open for her to enter.
“You realize,” she said with a smile, “that it was the chief eunuch who was trusted to lock and unlock the doors of the Imperial harem every evening and morning, to take shifts guarding the doors, to watch those entering and leaving and not to allow anybody in from the outside.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a eunuch?”
“Not at all.”
“I should hope not, otherwise I’d be compelled to prove that I’m not.”
She wished she hadn’t said anything. So much for her attempt to tease, to lighten the atmosphere. It had only made it more sexual.
“There’s no need,” she said.
“It’s no bother, really.”
She slipped past him and into a room which made her forget everything. “Wow,” she breathed as she walked in, enticed inside by the richly colored decoration on the walls. Amare strode in and swept open curtains, filling the room with sunlight. First one corner and then another was exposed, revealing the glory of what was, Janey suddenly recognized, the most intimate of rooms. It was everything she wanted to see, except not with this man. Not with this man who threatened her resolve at the best of times. But here? With the smell of incense still lingering among the dust sheets which shrouded the beds, she knew she wasn’t safe. She backed toward the door and bumped into him.
“Amare! I—”
“You what?” She turned to face him. He stood too close. Way too close, but she couldn’t move for the life of her.
“I have to go… check out the place where I believe the diamond is.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You’re not interested in this, most important of places. The room where the King wasentertainedby his harem?”
Her mouth was suddenly dry, unlike other parts of her. She shook her head.
“Habibti,” he said, reaching out and taking a lock of her hair, which had fallen free of her clip and winding it around his finger, tugging her face closer to his. “What, my darling, am I going to do with you?”
Her sex throbbed in answer. The words she should have said were nowhere to hand, locked away by her traitorous body. And damn the man, he knew. She could see it in the curl of his lips, the darkening of his eyes, and the tightening of his grip on her hair. He knew alright. She was his for the taking.
CHAPTER12
He dipped his head to hers and she opened her mouth with a slight gasp, readying herself for a kiss, which didn’t come. Instead, he swept his lips across her face as if he wanted to taste and smell her.
“I must know you again,” he said, his voice smoky with lust.
And she had no thought of denial anymore. “Then know me.” She reached up and curled her fingers around his neck tentatively, sliding her index finger down the nape of his neck, exploring the muscle and bone. She needed to know him again, too. She looked up into his eyes and knew, in that instant, there was no going back. Nor did she want to. Just this once. That would be it. She couldn’t leave here without giving herself what she most wanted. Him. The memories would have to last her a lifetime.
She raked her fingernails through his scalp until she held his head between her hands. She raised herself onto tiptoes and took the kiss she’d been imagining for so long.
At first, she wondered if he was going to hold back because he didn’t move. Just allowed her to press her lips against his and feel them stir beneath hers. She moved her mouth over his, coaxing him, needing his mouth open. It was only when she slid her tongue across his bottom lip that he gasped. He gripped her waist tight, opened his mouth and slid his tongue against hers.
She’d forgotten how good it felt. She’d forgotten how the taste of him was so exactly what she needed. She’d forgotten everything. It turned out her dreams were a pitiful shadow of the reality of him. It swept away any last vestiges of caution. And when he slid his fingers beneath her shirt, she didn’t pull away. Instead, she deepened the kiss, wanting everything, every taste, every intimate touch of him against her.
She moaned as his fingers moved over her bare skin, sending shivers of delight through her body, waking it from its self-imposed slumber. Instinctively, she pressed her hips against his, her heartbeat sent racing by the feel of his hardness against her stomach.
Suddenly, he pulled apart, pressing his forehead against hers, his breath coming hard and fast against her cheeks.
“I want you now, Janey. Say you don’t want me, and we’ll stop right here, right now.”
She shook her head. He must have misunderstood her meaning, because his face creased into something akin to pain.
