Scandal: His Majesty's Love-Child (5 page)

Now, reading the glittering hunger in his eyes, she knew a reckless desire to walk straight into danger.

Not giving herself time to think, letting instinct drive her, she stepped close, lifting her hand to the hard line of his jaw.

Sensation shot through her as her sensitive palm scraped his shadowed chin. His days-old growth of beard tickled and teased. Darts of fire scorched through her, making her belly cramp and her legs quake.

His mouth firmed to a severe line and he drew a slow breath. Did he too notice the suddenly heavy scent of musk and heat on the night air? His hand clamped hers.

‘You’re not thinking straight.’ His words were harsh and she read tension in his shoulders.

‘Please, Tahir.’ She didn’t know what she pleaded for, yet she knew she couldn’t bear him to turn away.

‘What is it you want, Annalisa?’ His deep voice sounded strained and his pulse hammered beneath her touch. That reminder of his vulnerability gave her the courage to meet his gaze head-on.

Mutely she shook her head, unsure how to answer, yet sure she needed
something
from him. Just the warmth of his living skin against hers was balm to a heart that hadn’t been allowed time for grief.

The sense of connection felt so real, so profound, she couldn’t turn away.

Annalisa raised her other palm and pressed it against the lapel of his dark jacket, absorbing the rhythmic thud of his heart against her hand. So strong. So alive.

‘Annalisa.’ His deep voice turned gruff with warning—or displeasure. ‘Don’t.’

Yet he didn’t move away. He held her gaze with glittering eyes half-veiled by long lashes that somehow emphasised his utterly masculine features.

‘Please…’ It was a whisper of sound as she raised herself on tiptoe so her breath feathered his neck, his chin. His warmth enfolded her, drew her.

This near, his mouth was an implacable line, his jaw a study in tension, but the compulsion to touch him, as a woman touched a man, was too strong.

Just this once.

Her eyes flickered shut as she pressed her lips to his. His mouth was soft. Surprised, she pushed closer, enjoying the slight friction as her lips slid along his, revelling in the tickle of stubble against her cheek. She felt daring and powerful and anything but lonely.

She pulled back and opened heavy lids. Her breathing had quickened—or was that his? Their bodies touched in intriguing ways she wanted to explore.

But, looking into his tense face with its brooding angles, Annalisa realised she’d overstepped the mark.

The fluttering excitement in her chest died and her stomach plunged. Heat scalded her cheeks and she looked down at the lapel of his tuxedo.

Some tiny part of her mind told her if she lived to be a hundred she’d never see a man look so good in formal attire. But mostly she just wanted the earth to open and swallow her whole.

She bit her lip, an apology trembling on her tongue. Kissing a man wasn’t as easy at it seemed. Especially when he hadn’t invited a kiss.

Hastily she stepped back, only to find her way blocked. An arm like iron barred her way.

Startled, she raised her head. His face was set in grim lines yet the burning heat was back in his eyes.

‘Is this what you want?’ He dipped his head so the words feathered her lips.

Without giving her time to respond, he slanted his mouth across hers. His lips moved, caressed and stroked, and bliss reverberated through Annalisa’s body. She trembled and sank against him.

Her hands slipped up to hang on to his broad shoulders, lest she collapse. She felt as if she was falling.

His tongue slicked her bottom lip and she drew a surprised breath. Before she realised what he intended Tahir was stroking the inside of her mouth.

Startled, she stiffened. Then her muscles went lax as he caressed her tongue, inviting her to meet him kiss for kiss.

Tentatively she responded, and was rewarded with a throaty grumble of approval like the purr of a sleepy lion. His other arm lashed round her, drawing her in as he delved deep, leaning over her as if he couldn’t get close enough. As if needing to dominate and protect.

The idea thrilled and terrified her.

Powerful thighs surrounded her legs as he tucked her close. Her mind whirled in overload at the intimacy of being held like this. Of sharing a sensual kiss that shattered the boundaries of her experience.

A dull throb pulsed in her stomach and she shifted to ease
it. The movement brought her in contact with Tahir’s pelvis and a telltale hardness.

A quiver rocked his body and he hauled her nearer.

Annalisa gasped. Not with shock or disgust.

With delight.

It was all she could do not to slide forward against that exciting bulge.

What sort of wanton had she become?

She was panting, her chest heaving, when he broke the kiss and straightened. His eyes were narrowed slits she couldn’t read. But she had no trouble reading the rapid tattoo of the pulse in his neck. It mirrored hers.

Did he feel like this? All warm and jittery and lax? Trembling and dazed and hungry for more?

If anything he looked more in control than ever. His face was as still as a wooden mask. His body rigid but for the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

‘Tahir?’ She slid a hand from his shoulder up the side of his neck, cupping hot skin. Pleasure skittered through her at that simple contact.

His eyes flickered shut and he bit back a sound that could have been a groan. Instantly she was alert.

‘Did I hurt you? Are you in pain?’ What had she done? Her hands skimmed the back of his skull, his temple, then down over his wide shoulders. ‘Where does it hurt?’

Suddenly she found both hands clasped together in his. Still he didn’t open his eyes.

His head was thrown back and she watched the long burnished column of his throat as he swallowed hard.

‘Tahir!’ Panic edged her voice. ‘What’s wrong?’

His lips quirked up in the half-smile that always melted her insides. A long crease furrowed his cheek. She wanted to press her lips against it and taste his skin.

‘Nothing’s wrong, little one.’ He looked at her now and his expression held her immobile. Her breath jammed in her throat. ‘You didn’t answer. Is that what you wanted?’

Jerkily she nodded, eyes fixed on his.

‘Say it, Annalisa.’ His voice was harsh, but somehow she knew it wasn’t anger or disgust that roughened his words. It was the same ribbon of excitement that threaded her body, drawing each muscle and sinew tight.

‘I want you to kiss me,’ she whispered, spellbound by what she saw in his eyes.

‘Is that all?’ He leaned forward and she felt his words, small puffs of breath on her ear. She shuddered and his hands firmed around hers. Surprised, she realised they were unsteady. ‘What else do you want?’

‘I…’ How could he ask questions? She didn’t want to think and talk. Just wanted to feel.

‘Is it this?’

Long fingers brushed the bare skin of her neck, trailing down to the V of her shirt.

Her breath snagged as she willed him to continue. Was that a flicker in his darkening gaze?

Finally his hand slid down, skimming the fabric of her shirt till his palm warmed her breast. She almost cried with frustration as he stood, watching her, almost,
almost
touching her as she wanted,
needed
to be touched.

It rose in her like a tide—a yearning she didn’t fully understand, a craving for more, much more.

Annalisa pushed forward into his waiting palm.

His hand closed convulsively around her. It was bliss. It was more than she’d thought possible. Her breath sighed out as he rubbed his thumb over her burgeoning nipple.

Instantly heat jolted through her, right down to her belly. Lower. Where it felt as if she melted.

‘Please, Tahir.’

He shook his head, a single jerky movement. ‘You need to tell me.’ His voice was raw and uneven, as if he held on to control by a thread. ‘You want me to touch you like this?’ His palm circled and pressed and her knees gave way.

Abruptly his hands closed on her arms, tight enough to hold her steady.

‘Annalisa.’ Just the sound of him saying her name was too much pleasure to bear. ‘We should stop now.’

‘No!’ She wrenched herself from his hold and plastered herself against his tall frame, no thought now of shyness or distance.

‘I don’t want to stop. I want…everything, Tahir.’ She drew a shuddering breath and forced herself to think of the words, not just the sensations. ‘I need you. Please.’

T
HE
words were barely out when strong arms brought her down on the bed. Tahir’s lips met hers as he peeled her clothes away.

The heat of his body against hers and the fervour of his kisses incited a heady recklessness that didn’t allow second thoughts.

Annalisa wanted him so urgently; her need was overwhelming. She shuddered with the force of it as she helped him with clumsy fingers.

Then cool air caressed her skin. Tahir sat back on his heels. His eyes glowed, devouring her in a way that sent flickers of fire racing through her body. He was so intent. Utterly absorbed. Like a hungry man sighting a banquet laid out just for him. Her heart leapt against her ribs.

Annalisa reached for his shirt, needing him close. That scorching scrutiny made her feel vulnerable as never before. She was excited yet nervous, desperate for Tahir but not wanting time to examine what was happening.

For once she wanted to
feel,
not think.

‘No.’ He clamped his fingers around her hand. ‘Not yet. Let me look at you first.’

His trawling gaze moved across her naked breasts, her waist and thighs. It should have made her ashamed or indignant. Qusani women were modest and demure. Annalisa had always thought in that at least she was like her peers.

Now she discovered potent proof that she was different.
Instead of feeling disgust she was
excited
by the flare of lust in Tahir’s gaze. She revelled in his unsteady breathing, the pulse throbbing in his neck, and wondered at the reckless woman she’d become.

‘Take your hair down.’ His whisper grated over her nerves.

Obediently, not taking her eyes from his, she raised her hands to the pins securing her hair. She fumbled, all thumbs, and his gaze dipped to her breasts.

Annalisa barely had time to register the tumble of long tresses on bare skin before Tahir was over her, pushing her into the narrow bed with his body. Solid thighs tangled with hers, the fine weave of his suit slid against her bare flesh and she’d never felt anything so wonderful.

She trembled in delight tinged with anxiety, realising she was utterly in his power.

Then his hands cupped her breasts and he lowered his head. Every nerve in her body centred on that exquisite point of contact.

He touched her nipple with his tongue and she froze. He opened his lips over her areola and she sank into indescribable pleasure, clasping him to her. He settled closer, the unfamiliar weight of his body, his potent masculinity, anchoring her to the mattress.

He suckled, gently at first, then more strongly, and Annalisa cried out in shocked delight, arching convulsively. Her body zinged and sparked with sensations she’d never felt.

How had she lived so long without this? Without him?

‘Tahir,’ she gasped, ‘don’t stop.’

With the words Tahir’s restraint shattered. His hands roved ceaselessly. He skimmed, stroked and teased till her cries of pleasure grew hoarse. He touched her everywhere, nuzzled the back of her knees, kissed her inner elbow, even sucked her fingers, till it seemed there wasn’t one part of her body that didn’t sing out with need for him.

She’d never realised physical love could be so consuming. Maybe, if she had time to think, she’d be scared by this intensity. But Tahir didn’t permit her time to question.

Restlessly Annalisa shifted, barely noticing the way her
thighs opened wider, letting him sink the full weight of his lower body against her.

What she felt there, the long, solid proof of his virility, made her blood pump faster even as shock filled her. This was
real,
unfamiliar yet compelling.

Gently he bit her ear and her body softened, her breath sighing out.

She responded to Tahir’s touch with an eagerness that left her light-headed. Her fingers dug into the soft fabric of his clothes with growing desperation.

She wanted…more.

Whether he sensed it or whether she’d cried it aloud Annalisa didn’t know, but finally Tahir let her undo his shirt. Or begin to. Halfway down her hands clenched uselessly against the fine cotton, when his hand arrowed between them, touching her intimately.

Her gaze clung to his heavy-lidded eyes as long fingers slipped to a place no man had touched. The light brush against one tiny, sensitive bud made her whole body jerk as if from an electric shock. A blush seared her throat and cheeks as he watched her.

Part of her wondered at her boldness, letting him caress her so. Yet she couldn’t deny her need for him.

His touch circled and there it was again. Unmistakable. High-voltage pleasure at his lightest caress.

She heard her breath loud in her ears, felt her ribcage expand with the desperate need to draw oxygen.

Her breath whooshed out as his touch moved down and into slick heat. Without conscious thought she clamped her muscles around that tiny invasion.

For what seemed for ever Annalisa hung suspended, aware only of the pleasure of his caress and the grim stillness of his face. Tahir looked as if he concentrated every effort on control.

His hand moved fractionally, building a gentle rhythm: along, down, in. And back. And with each stroke she felt herself slip further from the rational world.

She might have no direct experience to draw on but Annalisa
understood what her body told her. What Tahir was doing, the pleasure his caress promised.

Her voice was a raw gasp when it finally emerged. ‘No, Tahir. Stop.’

For a moment it seemed he didn’t hear. Her body was moving against his touch, her hips rising when his probing fingers stilled. Annalisa bit down a cry of disappointment, her body still throbbing to the beat of his making.

‘No?’ The single syllable sounded strangled, so foreign she barely recognised it.

‘Not like this.’ She lifted a shaky hand to his shirt, but was too unsteady to grapple with buttons. ‘I want you, not…’

Her words petered out under the weight of sudden shyness and the incendiary flare in his eyes. They blazed like burning sapphires.

Before she had time to gather her thoughts he was gone, rolling off the bed to stand on the matting.

Her instant protest died in her throat as he ripped open his shirt, shrugging out of it and his jacket in one rapid movement. Before she could catch her breath he’d discarded the rest of his clothes.

Breathing became impossible.

Despite the bruises and cuts marring the symmetry of his body, Tahir was the most beautiful being she’d seen.

He moved, and the lamplight caught a line of old scar tissue low on his back. Then he turned and Annalisa’s mind atrophied. She’d never seen a naked aroused man. She’d never known one could look so magnificent. Wonderful and slightly frightening at the same time.

He didn’t give her time to think. Tahir lowered himself, his bare flesh against hers, hotter than fire. His thighs rubbed hers; the soft hair on his chest abraded her nipples. She welcomed the weight of him pressing her down, took his roughened jaw in her hands and planted a fervent, clumsy kiss against his lips.

A deep rumbling growl vibrated through his chest. Teeth scraped the sensitive skin at her neck and she arched, burying her fingers in the rough silk of his hair. Then she felt pressure
where he’d caressed so intimately. Tahir shifted his weight, pushing her legs wide.

She stiffened and the caress at her neck became a tender bite, sending lush waves of pleasure through her. At the same time Tahir moved, pushing up in a slow surge of power.

Pleasure splintered as a ripple of something like pain shot through her, a stinging discomfort that made her catch her breath and stiffen in his hold.

But before she did more than register the sensation Tahir withdrew, lowering his mouth to her breast and laving it until she shivered with renewed desire. She held him near, overwhelmed by the emotions stirring as she watched him, felt him.

When he pressed close again Annalisa rose to him. The feel of his big body against hers held a magic she couldn’t resist. Urged by large hands at her thighs she lifted her legs, clasping him close, revelling in the feel of his hot satiny skin.

He raised his head, eyes meeting hers.

There was movement, that bombarding of curious new sensations, and through it all his gaze didn’t waver. It held her steady and safe, connected in a way that made her heart swell in her breast as their bodies joined.

This time there was no pain as he pushed deep.

Her body opened to his as if it was meant to be.

He stilled.

There was no sound except a riffle of night breeze against the tent flap and the discreet chirrup of an insect down by the
wadi.
Annalisa didn’t breathe. Nor did Tahir. The moment stretched long and portentous between them.

Their gazes meshed as she absorbed the full weight of what they’d done. She read the grim tension drawing his lean features. The strained muscles of his shoulders and neck. The flare of his nostrils. The fact that his gaze had turned utterly unreadable.

Was he regretting this?

She should be shocked to be in this position. Yet it felt
right. They
felt right together.

Warmth welled in her chest, filling the place pain had hollowed.

Tentatively she smiled, clasping his face in her hands. The tickling caress of his beard felt better than velvet under her palms. She reached up to bestow a brief breathless kiss on his lips.

Tahir pulled back just far enough that she could see the light blaze in his eyes. His mouth turned up at one side, creating that sexy groove in his cheek she so adored.

The air smelt of the desert night, of the spicy musk of Tahir’s skin, and of happiness.

Then he was kissing her, open-mouthed, slow yet passionate, as he moved within her. She gasped at the feel of his hard length sliding against her, igniting ripples of extraordinary pleasure.

He smiled against her mouth, his movements building to a steady pace that stole her breath all over again.

Then, abruptly, she began shaking. She was overloading on physical delight. Fire licked her belly, ecstasy sizzled along her nerve-ends and a quaking started deep inside.

‘Tahir?’ Her voice cracked as wave after wave of pleasure broke over her. She clung, suddenly scared.

His lazy smile was gone. But his look reassured her. ‘Trust me, little one. Just let it happen. I promise you’ll be safe.’

Not allowing her respite, he moved faster, harder, further, till she couldn’t bear any more. Suddenly, gloriously, the volcanic force exploded into a starburst of euphoria. Wave after wave buoyed her up, till she floated high above the earth, suspended in utter bliss.

She heard his breath quicken, a groan as if of pain, then an exultant shout as he rocked faster, out of control, and suddenly the stars exploded again.

Through it all Annalisa held tight to the man in her arms, sensing for the first time a feeling of true belonging.

He felt like hell. Every bone and muscle ached. His head pounded sickeningly. He drew a slow breath and exhaled pain. The ribs he was pretty sure he’d bruised or cracked in the chopper crash hurt like the devil.

Yet he’d do it all again for the pleasure of seeing Annalisa experience orgasm for what he was pretty sure was the first time.

Heat ignited and his blood headed south at the memory of her gasping his name as she climaxed.

She’d been gorgeous. Glorious. Addictive. And the feel of her! The exquisite pleasure of being inside her!

He couldn’t remember the last time sex had been that good. He doubted it ever had been.

Even though his memory had now returned, he could barely remember the last time he’d been with a woman. For months his libido had been non-existent. But he hadn’t cared enough to worry about it. He’d given up caring about anything much these last years.

Too many years abusing his body with too little sleep, too many parties, too much alcohol, far too many women. Pushing the limits as he sought new challenges and pleasures. Anything to divert him from the grey pall that threatened whenever he stayed in one place too long.

Yet he’d been anything but bored in the dead heart of Qusay! With a woman who had no notion of how innately sexy she was. Who’d trusted and cared for him as no woman ever had.

An unfamiliar sensation slithered down his backbone. Regret? A pang of conscience?

It was so novel he concentrated his meagre energies on pinning it down.
Was
it conscience?

People thought Tahir Al’Ramiz didn’t possess a conscience. He’d cultivated that view since he’d given up trying to be a perfect son and yielded to the weight of his father’s hatred.

If you can’t beat them join them.

Tahir had emulated his father in developing a taste for sybaritic decadence. By the time he was eighteen his family hadn’t been able to stomach the sight of him. There’d been no tears shed at his exile.

But, despite his reputation for dissoluteness, he had some standards, even if he didn’t broadcast them. He never harmed the innocent. He’d even privately helped a few of those who
didn’t have the benefits of wealth. Casual charity was easy. It didn’t make him a good man. It was simple to give away what you didn’t care about.

And he had never stooped to deflowering virgins.

Until last night.

That cold sensation was back again, slipping like ice down his spine and cramping his belly.

He didn’t even have the excuse of amnesia. He’d known who he was last night: the sort of man who had no business consorting with innocents. He’d known his past, his present and, fate preserve him, his future.

Tahir hated thinking about the future. Other people dreamed of it. Like Annalisa. She’d been incandescent with delight about travelling and seeing the world. He’d been riveted by the sight of her excitement.

He couldn’t remember ever feeling that happy.

His future would be the same as his past. Nothing significant enough to hold his attention.

Boredom.

Yet he hadn’t been bored with Annalisa.
The feral thought lodged in his brain.

Despite the pain and the infuriating slowness of his recovery, he’d enjoyed being here.