Page 17 of Her Desert King

“I love looking my fill of you,saghira.”

Harper grimaced.Saghirameant little kitten. Was he saying that he only had to touch her and she would mewl—-

At the same time, she felt his fingers trail her spine, and her body stretched and arched. His fingers went up, threading through her hair, and her head fell back, her lips parting as she mew—-

Her eyes flew open!

No! Hell no! she was not going to be hissaghira,dammit!

And so she yanked away from him, water splashing about their bodies as she crossed her arms over her breasts and whirled around to face him, growling, “Stop touching me like that, too.”

But Khalil only gave her a lazy, predatory smile. “Enjoying it too much?”

“Ye – I mean, no!” Shit. That smile was too sexy, and it was confusing the heck out of her.

He raised a brow. “Is it a yes or a no?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she snapped, “because I’m out of here.” She tried to rise out of the water after that, hoping for a quick escape, but of course Khalil proved too fast, and she had only risen an inch before he had hauled her back to the water, causing Harper to tumble down, her breasts flat against his chest.

Oh!

“How stubborn you are,qalifa,” the sheikh sighed. “Did I not warn you earlier about leaving without my permission?”

“Permission?” she choked out. “I don’t need your damn permission—-”

At the same time, Khalil murmured, “I must claim another part of your body as punishment.”

Punishment?She gaped at him.Was he mad?People didn’t punish other people just because they had left without saying goodbye. Didn’t he freaking know that? She opened her mouth to argue –

But it was too late.

The sheikh had already bent his head, cupped her breasts, and took one nipple in.

Oh. My. God.

She tried her best to resist the sweet pleasure of his suckling mouth, but it was impossible. It felt too, too good. Oh, so, so good. And before she knew it,herfingers were the ones threading through his silky hair this time, gripping his head hard as she pushed her nipple deeper into his mouth.

A moan of protest escaped her when he lifted his head, but it turned into a whimper of desire when he moved to suckle her other breast.

Oh, this felt heaven – and maybe it would be heaven, if only a devil like him wasn’t the one laying a claim to her body.

By the time the sheikh carried Harper to his bed, she couldn’t keep her eyes open, couldn’t eventhinkof protesting against the liberties he was taking.Three orgasms in a row,she thought dizzily. Was that normal for a man? For a woman?

When he joined her in bed and hauled her close, she told herself that she could justify letting it happen because she was bone-deep exhausted. She could get mad at the sheikh later, when she wasn’t so sleepy.

As the sheikh pulled the covers over them, a thought nagged at her about the setup. There was something she was missing. Something important –

But the thought eluded her.

Tomorrow, she could – would – think about it.

But not now.

Now, she just wanted to burrow in the sheikh’s arms and forget about the world.

****

HARPER DREAMED ABOUTthe first time she and her father had flown back to America after his hero’s welcome in Ramil. She had never been the popular type, but when she had shown up in school the following Monday, Harper had been shocked at the way everyone was suddenly too nice to her. The boys kept telling her she was cute, and even the popular girls were saying she should hang out with them one time.

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