The Sheik's Reluctant Lover Page 0,34
help the chuckle that escaped. “So stop trying to order me around.”
One side of his mouth tilted up in a semblance of a smile. “It’s in my nature.” His hand slipped around her waist, drawing her closer. “What am I going to do with you?”
She inhaled sharply when he pulled her against him, his dark eyes conveying his desire for her. “Maybe you could just enjoy my company before you head back to Dunari,” she said softly, pulling her eyes away from his and staring at his chest. She really didn’t want him going back home, she thought with a touch of sadness. She wanted him here where she could laugh with him and talk with him. Just being in the same room with him was stimulating, although at times he terrified her.
“I was without your beautiful presence for six years. Do you really think I’m going to just leave you now that I have you right where I want you?”
She stopped breathing with those words. “Where do you think you have me?” she asked worriedly.
“In my arms.” He grinned and took a sip of his brandy with his free hand, “And in my house with no one else around.”
Those words startled her and she looked back towards the kitchen. They were too far away for her to see or hear anything but she suspected that he was correct. Her shivering increased and she gripped her brandy glass with both hands. “Would you take me home?”
He shook his head. “Not before I kiss you,” he replied.
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
He chuckled and she felt that sound throughout her whole body. “I know, love. But it’s something I have to do.” He paused to let those words sink in as he looked at her dress. “And what are we going to do about this flagrant disobedience about my instructions on your attire tonight?”
She glanced down at her dress, then back up to him with a grin. “I don’t take orders from you, Rais.”
He shook his head and bent lower so his lips were almost touching hers. “Ah, but I like it when you disobey me.”
Her eyes widened and she started to pull back, but the arm around her waist was too strong. “What are you going to do about it?”
He took another sip of brandy before setting it down on the table behind him. “Oh, there are a numbers of punishments I can dole out for a major infraction like that.”
Again, another giggle slipped out and she shifted in his arms so that her free arm was higher on his shoulder, almost wrapped around his neck. “Can you give me some examples?” she suggested. “Maybe I’ll choose one over another.”
He looked back at her askance. “You don’t get to choose your punishments, my dear.”
“Why not?”
He took her brandy glass out of her hand and set it down next to his. When both of his hands were free, he used one to take her other hand and place it on his shoulder. “Because that would defeat the purpose of punishments, my love.”
He bent low and kissed her neck, causing Rachel to shiver and move closer to him. She even tilted her head so he had easier access. “I need to get home.”
“Not before I kiss you,” he countered, nibbling on her collar bone.
“I think you’re already kissing me.”
“I’m not kissing you where I want to kiss you.”
She wasn’t sure where that was, and frankly didn’t want to know. She loved the way he touched her, the electrifying way she felt in his arms. No other man had even come close to making her feel this way and she shifted against his hard length, even feeling the pressure from his erection against her stomach. The thought occurred to her that she actually wanted to hold him there, to feel him and explore that part of him.
She didn’t feel the zipper slide down her back but when he pushed the material off of her shoulders she looked up, confused. At that moment, he covered her mouth with his and all the confusion was superseded by the desire for this one man. The fear didn’t even rear its ugly head and she kissed him back with everything she was feeling.
His hand slid down her spine, tickling and teasing her. Her fingers had been clenching at his shoulders, but with his touch, she felt emboldened to touch him back, wanting to make him feel the same things she was feeling. Her arms came down from his shoulders