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‘Maggie.’ Khalid must have seen the stricken expression on her face. He reached out and pulled her close, tucking her head into his shoulder. He rubbed her back with small, circular, soothing movements.
‘You’ve done this before,’ she murmured, trying to regain her composure and downplay her reaction to his touch. ‘Do you have sisters?’
‘No sisters.’
‘A wife?’
She was dimly aware of his pause before he said, ‘No wife.’
A heartbeat of silence and then he urged, ‘Hold me, Maggie.’
She needed no second urging. Maggie slid her arms around him and burrowed close to his heat. She knew later she’d be horribly embarrased but for now her need for comfort drove her beyond her usual diffidence.
His arms tightened around her and a shiver rippled through Maggie as his warmth seeped into her bones. The rock-solid strength of him, the tangible, living power of muscle and bone and sinew, were more real than anything else in the world. His unique spicy scent invaded her nostrils, making her nerves tingle into an awareness that had nothing to do with solace.
The scent, the feel, even the sound of him, the powerful throb of his heart beneath her ear, were all wondrous. She pressed her face to the fine silk of his shirt. Through the fabric his skin was hot, taut and inviting. She breathed deep, drawing in the heady aroma of warm, healthy male.
That was when she registered his quickening heartbeat, the changed tempo of his breathing. Tentatively she lifted a hand to splay over his chest.
The tiniest of tremors rippled across his skin. The hand palming her back ceased its movement and his other hand clamped down on her arm, as if to drag it away.
Thunder echoed in her ears as her pulse raced. Suddenly this innocent embrace had transformed into something charged with unspoken danger.
With excitement. And longing. It bubbled up inside her like a newfound spring—the need for more. The need for him. This was nothing like what she’d felt with Marcus. This was… elemental, as sudden as a thunderclap and just as unmistakable, even to someone of her limited experience.
Heat blossomed deep within as her breath caught, stilled by the stunning realisation of how much more she wanted from this man.
‘It’s time you moved.’ His voice sounded stretched.
Heat flamed her cheeks. What was she thinking? He’d offered her comfort, not a sexual invitation. Just because she felt that sunburst of white-hot desire didn’t mean it was reciprocated. Hadn’t she learned anything tonight?
‘Maggie, you need to sit up. You don’t want to do something you’ll regret later.’
She frowned. Something she’d regret?
‘What do you mean?’ she whispered at last.
Strong hands pried her away, gently pushing her back to her corner of the sofa. Ebony eyes met hers. His face was grim, his mouth a tight line.
‘You’re upset. You’re not yourself. It’s time to end this. You don’t want to play with fire.’
‘Fire?’ She wasn’t normally obtuse, but surely he didn’t mean what she thought he meant. Was it even remotely possible that he felt it too? The sudden overwhelming need for intimacy that ousted everything else? The consuming hunger? A need for her, for plain, no-frills Maggie Lewis?
His gaze narrowed, flicking down to her mouth, and lower to the V-neck of the robe she wore. Flames licked her skin beneath his trailing gaze and tension coiled tight in her belly as her breathing shortened.
‘I’m a man, Maggie. If we don’t stop now it won’t be comfort I’ll be giving you. It will be something much more intimate.’
The words echoed on and on in the silence between them. They should have shocked her, made her draw back. But instead the blatant weight of sensuality in his bald statement had the opposite effect. Excitement tingled down her spine and drew her stomach muscles tight.
Maggie strove to be sensible, careful, reserved, all the things she’d been before tonight.
But something vital had changed. Now, for the first time, she knew what it was to want a man. Really want, with every fibre of her body. It was an urgent, unstoppable force. A compulsion shuddering through her very bones.
She had two choices. She could pretend this wasn’t real. Shrug on her usual self-effacing persona and try to hide from this surge of powerful desire. Or she could welcome it; give in to the strongest need she’d ever felt.
She could be bold or she could be sensible.
She’d spent a lifetime being sensible and self-sacrificing. Where had that got her?
‘And you don’t want to do that?’
She didn’t recognise her hoarse voice. Excitement and anxiety closed her throat. She couldn’t believe she’d just invited another rebuff, but the new sensations heating her blood were too compelling to ignore. She had to know.
Hooded eyes surveyed her and she felt the distance grow between them. He was going to reject her. Something dimmed inside her.
Finally he spoke. ‘I shouldn’t.’ He raised his hand and thrust it back through his hair in a jerky gesture. ‘I shouldn’t but…yes, God help me, I want to.’
CHAPTER THREE
HE COULDN’T. He mustn’t.
This woman was exhausted, not thinking clearly. He mustn’t take advantage, no matter that his need for her was visceral, all-consuming. She deserved his protection.
Her eyes glowed a shimmering green-gold. She looked pale but beautiful, her fine-boned features pure, alluring and incredibly sexy with that hopeful pout.
‘You’re hurt. This is your pain speaking.’ Khalid forced the words out. ‘But this isn’t the answer. You want someone who can give you more. More than a few snatched hours.’
More than a man who could only promise physical pleasure. Who had given up on emotional commitment years before.
For one absurd moment he felt a piercing jealousy for the man who’d one day give Maggie Lewis everything she wanted.
Her chin tilted fractionally in a way that spoke of pride and pain together.
‘What if I said a few snatched hours are exactly what I want? That I’m not in the market for anything more? Not any longer?’
Tension held Khalid rigid as desire spiralled and his groin tightened. Each muscle was rock-hard at the effort of remaining still when he wanted to lean over and imprison her beneath his hungry body.
Desire he understood. He had a healthy male appreciation of a sexy woman. But this craving was something else entirely. It shook him to the core. Unbelievably this felt far more significant than the simple sexual urge he’d assuaged through the recent years with beautiful, willing women.
This felt…different. More real, more vital than anything he’d experienced in years.
A shadowed vision of velvet-soft brown eyes filled his mind and pain lanced his chest.
‘No. I can’t.’ He forced the words out over a constricting throat.
‘Yes, of course.’ Her whisper drew his sensitised flesh to prickling alert. ‘I understand.’
Khalid drew a shuddering breath. He’d done the right thing, the honourable thing. Now he just had to—
The sight of her bowed head, her white teeth cutting deep into her bottom lip, brought him up short.
‘Thank you for helping me tonight,’ she said stiffly, looking away. ‘I’m sorry I embarrassed you with my…with my…’ She shook her head and soft hair the colour of toffee swirled round her neck, catching the light.
‘I apologise,’ she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. ‘You must have women coming on to you all the time.’
Apologise?
Her profile was taut, her lips pinched. His chest hollowed as he realised he’d caused her more distress. Instinct overcame caution as he cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face around. She resisted, even grabbed his wrist as if to tug his arm away.
‘You don’t owe me an apology.’
Bright eyes met his, startled and disbelieving. He wished the texture of her soft skin weren’t so enticing.
Khalid hoped fate would repay him one day for his superhuman restraint. It was killing him by degrees, inhaling her tantalising scent, sexier than any bottled fragrance. The feel of her, the sight of her, seduced him, more real than any shadowy memories of the past. That scared him, yet he ached to learn the taste of her.
She reared back, away from his touch. Her chest rose and fell rapidly beneath the oversized robe.
‘I understand.’ She spoke too quickly, her words tripping over each other. ‘It’s all right.’
But it wasn’t. She thought he lied about wanting her. Could she really be so blind? What had happened tonight to make her so unsure of her attractiveness?
‘I think I should leave.’ Her voice wobbled on the last word. Automatically she angled her chin higher as if to counteract any sign of weakness.
She was a fighter, this woman who played havoc with his good intentions, who’d got under his skin from the moment he’d seen her. Who had to be one of the most alluring women he’d ever met. Even without make-up, drenched and shivering in her underwear, she’d exerted a terrible fascination.
The hot tide rose in him, welling and cresting, and his resolve crumbled, his caution disintegrated.
One kiss. He’d permit himself a single kiss to alleviate the compulsive need to touch her again. To reassure her that she was desirable.
‘Maggie.’ Once more he lifted her chin, this time bending close. Her eyes widened, her mouth slackened just a little as she realised what he intended. Perfect.
Her lips trembled beneath his and he wrapped his arms around her, sweeping her close. The brush of her slender, feminine form and her fresh, sweet taste on his tongue sent a roaring wave of need juddering through him. Khalid breathed deep, summoning control. He had to concentrate, to keep this a gentle, exploratory kiss.
The feel of her lips shaping to his and the sound of her soft sigh were poignant. She fitted his arms as if made for him. It was as perfect as any lover’s kiss he’d known.
He reeled as the discovery slammed into his astonished brain.
Her tongue slid tentatively against his as he entered her mouth and a dart of pure pleasure shafted through him.
Just another minute…
Maggie clung to his shoulders as the world spun and she closed her eyes, dizzy with delight. The feelings he evoked with the touch of his mouth and his arms holding her close swept her into a new world.
She felt desire, daring, a thrill of excitement as his tongue stroked her mouth. Shivers ran down her spine, along her arms where the skin pulled tight and down to her nipples. She gasped as he delved deeper.
Their hearts pulsed in unison, their mouths fused as need exploded. She clamped her hands desperately to the back of his skull, pulling herself higher, closer.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
Her need for him was a twisting, hungry sensation in the pit of her stomach, and lower, where a curious ache filled her. Maggie squirmed, trying to ease the hollow feeling deep within.
Recklessly she kissed him back, the fever in her blood urging her on. For now, for tonight, this was what she craved, the sweet headiness of shared passion. All Khalid’s magnificent power concentrated on her.
When he cupped her breast she gasped against his mouth, unprepared for the electric charge his touch evoked. Blue-white fire flickered behind her eyelids as he brushed his thumb over her nipple. Incendiary sparks exploded through her, drawing her body tight and expectant.
Maggie pressed forward into his hand and was rewarded as he firmed his hold. She arched her back in a spasm of pleasure. Yes!
‘Please,’ she mouthed, not even knowing what it was she pleaded for.
Devastation hit when he removed his hand, but a moment later he slipped it into the neckline of her robe. Her skin contracted, sensitised to his touch. His hand closed again around her breast, only this time there was nothing between him and her. No barrier. The feeling of him slowly massaging, then gently squeezing her there was indescribable. Perfect.
She sagged back against his embracing arm, breaking their devastating kiss as she gulped oxygen into her air-starved lungs. She gazed up at him.
Eyes like glittering dark pools shone down at her, unreadable. His shoulders rose and fell as he breathed quick and deep. His heavy-lidded eyelids spoke of passion, tightly leashed. So powerfully controlled.
Would he go now? Would he slide his hand away? Could he possibly leave her alone and so desperately wanting?
She couldn’t bear it. He’d given her a taste of something special, miraculous, something only he could give. And she wanted more. Was it so bad to seek, just this once, the intimate pleasure she’d never had?
Maggie covered his hand with her own, pressing into his hold. His fingers tightened and delicious ripples spread through her.
‘Please, Khalid.’ She knew what she asked this time. She wanted him to show her more, let her experience the intimate joy of truly being with a man.
His face looked grim, the flickering firelight emphasising the sharp cut of his cheekbones, the hard, aristocratic line of his nose and his set jaw.
He was going to do it, she realised. He was going to leave her. Pride warred with need. Already tonight she’d cast aside any pretence of dignity.
Wordlessly she pulled the other side of the robe open to reveal her bare breast.
Cool air shivered across her skin.
Her heart pounded fast in trepidation and anticipation. She watched the muscles work in his throat as he swallowed. Then his chest expanded on a mighty breath.
She waited, trembling, but his next move was to slip his hand away.
Maggie knew defeat then. He didn’t like what he saw. Why was she surprised? She’d always known she wasn’t feminine enough with her underdeveloped curves. She dragged the robe back, covering herself, even though it was too late for modesty.
The touch of his hands made her jump. Before she could gather her wits she was hauled off the couch and up into steel-hard arms. His eyes were molten hot as they clashed with hers.
‘Are you sure you want this?’ His voice was a low burr that reverberated deep in that hollow place within her.
She nodded, her mouth too dry to speak as excitement effervesced in her bloodstream. There was silence but for the crackle of the fire. Maggie held her breath, waiting.
‘Then so be it.’
He turned so fast the room blurred. A moment later they were in a massive, shadowed bedroom. Maggie had an impression of sumptuous furnishings, of a vast royal-blue and gold bedspread, before he ripped the covers back in a single ruthless tug and tumbled her down onto the sheets.
Their eyes met and held and her blood pumped harder, faster. It was a thunderous buzz in her ears as his hands went to his shirt and he tugged it off, not bothering with buttons. Seconds later the rest of his clothing dropped to the floor.
