Page 43 of At the Sheikh's Command
“I didn’t think it would come,” she breathed, touching his cheek. She huffed a laugh of disbelief. “It’s incredible after everything that’s happened.”
For a moment, a cloud of doubt covered his eyes. “Is there anything—”
She pressed her finger against his lips, not wanting him to continue. That discussion was for another time. Not now.
Only when his lips curved into a sensuous smile beneath her finger did she remove it. And replace it with her lips.
His hands slid beneath her robe, but she pulled away from the kiss. Instead, she stepped away, shaking her head, and began to undress him. Slowly, she pushed aside his robe. He soon got the message and succumbed to her control. She knew it wouldn’t last. He was a sheikh and he was in command—always. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Except now, for a few moments, it pleased them both for her to take her time drag her nails against his skin and to press her lips to his muscles, which clenched under her caresses.
Before this moment, she’d wanted him fiercely. She’d wanted to claim her orgasm from him by pressing her body hard against his, by taking him. But now, everything was different, and he sensed it, too.
Naked, he turned her around and slowly unfastened her dress, kissing the newly exposed skin of her neck, her backbone and lower, before pushing it gently from her shoulders. Only then did he turn her around and kiss her on the lips, while her dress shimmied to the marble floor.
Before he unclipped her bra, he ran his finger between her flesh and the lacy bra, sending exquisite shivers of desire to her core. With one quick flick, the catch was undone. He tossed the bra aside, stood back and admired her through dark, shining eyes.
“You are so beautiful.”
He kissed her, and slipped his hands between her knickers and her skin, pushing them down until all she had to do was step out of them. The only thing coming between them then was his erection. He kissed her again, this time barely able to restrain his need for her, and lifted her into his arms. She hooked her legs around him and, still kissing, he walked to the bed and laid her down tenderly.
Outside, the birds were quiet in the heat and the afternoon sun shifted, its rays shining on them. The world seemed to slow and focus only on them—his skin against hers, her lips upon his and an entwining and coupling of their bodies, which took them both to a place where neither had been before.
Darkness had fallen,and Darrius was asleep beside her. They’d made love all afternoon and evening and into the night, and Leonora knew she’d never be the same. As she looked down at him, illuminated only by the starlight shining in through the open windows, she wondered how on earth she could have stayed away from this man for so many years—years wasted in an abyss of cold ambition. She shook her head. She could hardly believe the woman she’d been. But she understood her. She was the product of her upbringing, forced to develop a hard shell to defend herself from the psychological blows her father had inflicted. And Darrius had understood, and he’d helped her move on. To heal.
The sudden screech of a night hawk sighting its prey woke Darrius. A slow smile spread across his face at the sight of her, propped up against the pillows, watching him intently.
“I remember waking up to find you watching me, before. It seems to be a habit of yours.”
“That sounds creepy.”
He took hold of her hand and kissed it. “No. Your expression isn’t creepy in the least.”
“What is it like?”
“It’s as if you’re trying to understand something.”
“If I live a hundred years, I doubt I’ll be able to understand you.”
“I think the thing you were trying to understand was yourself and your reaction to me. Your feelings,habibti.”
She winced at his accuracy. He understood her better than she did herself, which was incredibly unsettling. She felt as if she had no place to hide. She tried to turn away, but gently he tilted her head to face him again.
“Don’t turn away, not now. I remember—”
“I don’t want to remember.”
He frowned, and she hated her neednotto remember. But it was true. She didn’t want to remember because that caused other memories to surface, memories of which he was entirely unaware.
“Why?” said Darrius. “I’m curious. Tell me why you choose not to remember those days. Is it me?”
She shook her head as the memories hammered at her head. She forced a smile. She had to divert him.
“No, of course not.”
“Good,” he murmured, kissing her fingertips, one by one. “I hope you are not planning how you will make your escape.”
Leonora rolled onto her back, under him. He moved his fingers over her throat, her breasts, and her stomach. She caught a breath as he descended lower still. Then he stopped with a smile. “Are you?”
She shook her head. “The opposite. I was trying to figure out how to make you want me to stay.”
