Page 39 of The Sheikh's Desert Princess

His senses were being driven wild by this woman. It was as if something had been loosened within him, something he'd locked away in a cage. Need strengthened even more. He felt his desire harden.

Eva seemed to react to that sudden change in him. Almost as if she could already read him like a book, he felt her tense, sensed her movements become hesitant.

Suddenly, as quickly as their kiss had begun, he felt her head move away from him. She looked up at him, her gaze still heavy with desire. Her breathing was still quick, and he saw her cheeks were flushed.

Then a brightness flickered into life in those eyes and the corner of her mouth creased into the hint of a smile. He felt her pull away from him slightly. Part of him wanted to rebel, was tempted to claim her lips again, but he could see that a change had taken hold of her.

Eva swallowed and drew in a deep breath, taking one tiny step backward. But that step was enough to tell him that the moment had passed. Disappointment flared in him but he took control of himself, eager not to allow that to spoil the moment.

Eva lifted a hand to her hair. Some locks had become loose and she tucked them behind her ear. Then she turned away.

She paced for a few, agonizingly long moments. He realized he needed to know what she was thinking. Had he acted too rashly? It didn't matter, because the force which had driven him to kiss her like that had been unstoppable.

Then she turned and smiled. "Thank you for the lovely evening, Riaz. I think I best get back to the tent."

He paused a moment, tempted to object, but he saw there was no real point in doing so. Was that it? She was just going to walk away without saying anything?

His first impulse was to object, to try to explain what he'd just done. Why he'd done it.

But then he saw just how much she'd been affected by their shared moment of unleashed passion.

"Of course," he said simply. His heart was still poundingbut he could already feel the desire beginning to fade.

Then Eva smiled at him one last time and started back in the direction of the camp.

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