And as he spoke he matched his words with the deed, easing forward to penetrate her with one deep, powerful thrust that drew a shocked gasp from her as she was forced to accept the awesome length of his erection.
Erin's sharp cry was born of shock rather than pain. She was so aroused that her vaginal muscles quickly stretched to accommodate him, but the feel of his pulsing length pushing deeper into her was startlingly new, and her breath came in shallow pants as her body slowly relaxed and absorbed his male strength.
Zahir had stilled when he felt the unmistakable barrier of her virginity, and at his hoarsely muttered, ‘How is this possible?' her eyes flew open and met his stunned gaze.
She felt him ease back, as if he was going to withdraw from her, but now that the first moments of panic were over she was starting to enjoy the way he filled her so completely, and she wrapped her legs around him and urged him forward again. Her muscles were contracting in sharp, pleasurable little jerks, and with an instinct as old as time she began to move her hips against him.
She heard him growl something in Arabic as he lost the battle waging inside him and matched her movements. His hands settled on her hips and he thrust into her again and again, establishing a pulsing rhythm with deep, steady strokes that created the most incredible sensations inside her. The pleasure was so intense that she lost track of who she was and became a wanton creature, responding to him with mindless passion as she dug her nails into his shoulders and then slid her hands down and cupped his buttocks, urging him to thrust faster, deeper, to take her to the edge of some unknown place.
Surely her body would explode with pleasure? Surely it was not possible to withstand any more? But still it built, and still he drove into her, while she tossed her head from side to side, her mind, her body, her whole being concentrated on the exquisite sensations he was arousing deep in her pelvis which were now reaching a crescendo.
‘Zahir … ' She sobbed his name over and over, her pride long since discarded. He was her master and she his willing slave. And suddenly she was there, suspended for timeless seconds on the edge of ecstasy, before he drove into her again and she felt herself falling as her body convulsed with an intense pleasure that was beyond anything she had ever imagined.
Even then, when she was writhing beneath him, he did not stop, but increased his pace, thrusting into her hard and fast, the corded muscles of his neck and shoulders standing out as he sought to retain control. And then, with a savage groan dragged from the depths of his soul, his control splintered spectacularly and he threw back his head, his eyes closed and his jaw clenched, as he pumped his seed into her before collapsing on top of her, his chest heaving as he snatched air into his lungs.
She should have expected such barely leashed, violent and primitive passion from a desert prince, Erin thought numbly as she lay beneath him, his weight pressing her into the mattress and his heart slamming beneath her fingertips. Her sanity was slowly returning and she was appalled-not by his fierce hunger, but by her unrestrained response to him.
Deep down she had clung to a fantasy of one day giving her heart and her body to the man she loved, who loved her in return, but instead she had been powerless to resist Zahir's wildfire passion. She had given no thought to love or respect. Her only consideration had been to assuage the desperate need he had aroused in her. But now, in the aftermath of that passion, she was able to view her behaviour dispassionately, and she felt deeply ashamed.
At last he rolled off her and lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, his dark eyes unfathomable as he stared down at her. Too embarrassed to meet his gaze, Erin attempted to scramble off the bed. But her efforts to escape him were thwarted when he caught her arm and dragged her back down beside him.
‘You were a virgin.' It wasn't a question but an aggressive statement, and only then, as she watched his eyes harden to chips of obsidian, did she realise the extent of his anger. ‘How come, Erin?' he demanded harshly. ‘Although I don't really need to ask,' he added with undisguised disgust. ‘You actually had me fooled the night I rescued you from the desert. I really believed your motive for marrying Faisal and adopting Kazim was because you loved them both. But it's obvious you persuaded my brother to marry you, and make you the only beneficiary of his will, and then reneged on your marital vows. Faisal was sick-he was dying,' he grated bitterly. ‘But you already had what you wanted. You knew you stood to inherit Ingledean, and you couldn't even make the last months of his life happy by being a proper wife to him.'
With another furious oath he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and jumped to his feet, as if he could not bear to be near her. He had received the biggest shock of his life when he'd discovered that she was a virgin, and he was still struggling with the realisation that he was her first lover. And mixed with shock was another feeling that he was ashamed to admit-a ridiculous feeling of elation and primitive possessiveness. The corrosive envy that had besieged him every time he thought of her with Faisal had disappeared, and now he even felt sympathy for his brother.
‘Why didn't you tell me?' he demanded harshly. When she did not reply he continued, ‘I can only assume you didn't because you realised that if you had admitted you were a virgin I would have had proof that your marriage to Faisal was a sham and you had done as I'd first suspected and married him for his money. If I had then refused to consummate our marriage and demanded an annulment, you would have stood to lose all the things you really care about-Ingledean, the fortune you inherited from my brother, and your position as the wife of a billionaire.'
He broke off and gave a grim laugh. ‘Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice the indisputable proof of your innocence? It's possible I hurt you.' His conscience burned when he recalled how he had taken her, with a distinct lack of finesse. ‘But you only have yourself to blame if I did,' he growled, guilt adding to his inexplicable fury that he had in some way ruined a moment that should have been special-for both of them. ‘Perhaps you concluded that all you were gaining financially was worth a few moments of discomfort?' he added scathingly.
‘No. You've got it all wrong,' Erin cried frantically, pushing her tangled curls out of her eyes as she jerked upright, and then blushing scarlet when his eyes settled on her bare breasts. To her horror her nipples immediately hardened to provocative peaks, and smothering a groan of mortification she dragged the silk bedcover around her before she lifted her head to him.
Only moments ago Zahir had taken her to heaven. Now he was looking at her as if she was the lowest life-form on the planet. ‘I admit I lied about the details of my marriage,' she choked, wishing that instead of putting her on trial the minute he had withdrawn his body from hers, he had taken her in his arms and stroked her hair, made her feel that giving her virginity to him had been something to cherish. ‘You're right. I was afraid that if you knew I had been Faisal's wife in name only, you would have used it as leverage to take Kazim from me. But Faisal never wanted me to be his proper wife,' she explained urgently. ‘He only ever loved one woman, and he spoke about Maryam until the day he died.
‘When he was told that he was dying he asked me to marry him purely so that I could adopt Kazim as quickly as possible. And because I believed that Kazim had no one else to bring him up, I agreed. I don't have a family. My mother died when I was young and I spent the rest of my childhood in care. I would have done anything to prevent the same thing happening to Kazim,' she said quietly. ‘And I told you right from the start that my only reason for marrying you was so that I could stay at the palace with him.'