Page 25 of The Sheikh’s Christmas Present

“Maria?” Jarik asked questioningly.

“Just this,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Just this,” he echoed hollowly. He leaned up to capture her mouth, and as he took control of her hips, he moved her harder and faster against him. Soon, there was nothing but the desperate search for release. She could see the concentration on his face as though he was trying to hold back, and she knew that he was waiting for her.

He didn’t have to wait long. Arching her back, she practically sobbed his name as the dam broke inside her. Harder, more intense than the last orgasm, this one seemed to shatter her from the inside out. For a moment, she felt dizzy. The warm sands and the sound of the water disappeared, and there was only Jarik, still possessing her body.

Dimly, she heard him shout her name and felt him as he arched even deeper inside her.

“I can’t,” she whispered, but she knew that she was lying. She could, and she was.

She was losing her heart to Jarik Shadid.

12

Ican’t.Even though it was nothing more than a whisper, Jarik heard it—and he had a strong feeling that Maria didn’t realize that she’d said it aloud.

What couldn’t she do? What fear was so strong that it had distracted her right before he’d felt her fall apart around him?

Lazily, he stroked the bare skin of her back, which had been warmed by the sun but flushed by him.

He liked that.

“I’m hungry,” he said softly after a few minutes. Despite the crazy heart-pounding sex, they’d both experienced, he knew that she was awake. He could feel her uneven breath on his neck.

“Again?” she asked hoarsely as she lifted her head to stare at him. “I think I need some time to recuperate before we do another round.”

Chuckling, he reached up and pushed her hair from her face. “No. I meant that I’m actually hungry. For food. It has to be well past lunchtime.”

“Food?” she shook her head. “Right.”

“Believe me, I certainly want another chance to make love to you, but I definitely need some time to rest. How about we have a quick lunch, and then we can come back for another go.”

Narrowing her eyes, she rolled off him. “I thought we were meeting someone here.” When he didn’t answer right away, she closed her eyes and sighed. “You lied to get me here.”

“I didn’t lie,” he said quickly. “There is a donor here who wants to help out Christmas Crates, but that donor is me.”

“You?”

“You were so upset about the snow, and there was nothing that I could do to help you. I remembered you saying that you wanted to spend Christmas on a sunny beach, and I figured that this was the only way to get you here.”

There was still suspicion in her eyes when she reached for her clothes. “So you bribed me with money so you could have sex with me?”

“Whoa!” Grabbing her hand, he forced her to stop. “Maria, look at me.”

“Just let me go.”

“Not until you look at me. You’re not sure how you feel about what happened, and you’re twisting things around so you can avoid those emotions. I’m not going to let that happen. Look at me,” he demanded in a low voice.

There was anger in her eyes when they finally settled on him, but he also saw uncertainty swirling around in them. “Maria, from the moment that I looked you up, I knew that I wanted to help Christmas Crates. The fee to get you to fly me was a fraction of what I wanted to contribute. What you’re doing is amazing, and I want to be a part of it. This trip to the beach was so I could finally see a genuine smile on your face. You’ve stressed and worried and hissed and snarled from the moment I laid eyes on you. I wanted you to smile. I wanted to be the reason that you smiled. I won’t deny that I wanted you, but I would have been equally as happy seducing you back in the hotel room. I didn’t do all this simply to get you naked, Maria.”

He didn’t release her until her shoulders relaxed. She gave him a small smile. “Okay, but what you’re talking about is a business transaction, and I refuse to do that while I’m naked. Can we talk about it when we get lunch?”

Jarik could tell that she’d slipped a little out of his grasp, but he hadn’t lost her completely. They’d talk, and he’d make love to her again.

And again and again until she realized that he wasn’t planning on letting her go. Ever. Maybe then, she’d finally give in.

He took his time getting dressed and gave her time to sort herself. He even turned his back until she cleared her throat to give him the all-clear.

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