Desert King, Pregnant Mistress(12)

'Kiss me again,' she  whispered the moment he released her. She had no  idea how she was  torturing him or she wouldn't wind her arms around his  neck like this,  breathing his name so it sounded like a feather on a  breath of wind, a  feather that had the power to travel to his heart and  pierce it like an  arrow.

She pulled him back when he pulled away. 'Don't leave me,'  she begged  him in a way that pierced his heart a second time. But when  he kissed  her now, and felt her shudder of desire through every part of  him, he  knew it would soon be beyond his mortal powers to hold back. He  tried  hushing and soothing her, as he might have calmed a restless colt,  but  trying to hold Beth back while she in her innocence was trying to  hurry  him on only upped the level of torture for them both.                       
       
           



       

'Khal, I know I'm not what you need … '

As  she began to excuse and explain how she felt he was so incredulous,  so  defensive on her behalf, that all he could think was that Beth was   exactly what he needed. And so why was he holding back? With all the   riches of Q'Adar at his disposal, he felt blessed that fate had brought   her to him. 'You're special,' he told her. 'And don't you ever forget   that, Beth Tracey Torrance.' He was staring deep into her eyes, into her   soul, when she answered him with perfect logic.

'Then, if you don't care who I am, what's standing between us? Because there is something, isn't there?'

'Yes,' he admitted. 'My concern for you. I care about you, Beth. I care about you very much indeed.'

She  thought about this for a moment, her face serious and intent, and  he  saw then that beneath all Beth's light-hearted talk she was a deep   thinker who, even now after so short an acquaintance, longed for   something he could never give her-a family and exclusivity. How could he   do that when the very thought of it was out of his reach? And even had   they known each other longer he was married to his country. They both   knew that whatever happened between them now was for today, and only  for  today, because his life and all he was belonged to Q'Adar.

The  thrust of Khal's tongue was so bold Beth felt a wild urge to tear  off  her clothes and offer her breasts for his approval. Her innocence   prevented her doing more than imagining how that might feel, but she was   aching for him so badly in secret places she hardly dared to think  what  it would be like to have him touch her intimately …

Some force  must have taken her over, Beth reasoned. This force, as  elemental as the  sea and as powerful as the man lying next to her took  no account that  she was inexperienced. It was a power that acknowledged  no master, and  only one goal …

The erotic daydream came to an abrupt end. Could  Khal have changed his  mind? Beth wondered as he sat up suddenly. 'There  isn't room for both  of us on the towel … ' Uncertain of her ground, she  tried to make it  sound like a question.

Khal didn't reply at  once, and instead brushed the sand from his  thighs-which drew her  attention to his powerful legs, legs she could so  easily imagine wrapped  around her. And then he firmed his lips as if  he had made his decision.

'Don't … '  She didn't want to hear whatever it was he had to say. She  couldn't  bear to hear him say he didn't want her. 'Don't stop now,' she  murmured  self-consciously, closing her eyes against the expression on  his face.  'Or I shall think you don't want me.'

Khal's answer was to sweep  her into his arms so she could feel every  inch of him intimately. His  energy surrounded her, softening her,  empowering her … This felt so right,  and yet Khal must have sensed some  small remaining doubt inside her  and, instead of growing more  passionate, he eased her down onto the  ground at his side. 'Beth, if  this is all too fast for you … '

'No.'  She breathed the word short and fast, closing her eyes, willing  him not  to pull away. She couldn't bear anything to come between  them-not his  duty, and certainly not her fear. If this was all they  had, this short  time together, then she embraced it wholeheartedly.  'Kiss me … ' Kiss away  my fears, she begged silently, rejoicing when she  felt Khal's warm  breath brush her face.

As the shadows gave way to the moon they  matched their strength against  each other. Khal was always careful,  always tender, so that Beth's  trust in him could only grow. She in turn  grew bolder and more  confident, learning to laugh and to relax in his  arms. She enjoyed the  simple pleasure of being close to him, and for now  she wanted nothing  more. She clutched his chest and rubbed her face  against his naked  skin. She loved the sure touch of his hands on her,  and the hot words  he was whispering to her in a language she didn't  understand. She even  found the courage to loosen the waistband of her  chiffon skirt when the  fabric became twisted round her legs. And when  she arched her back  this time Khal's hands slipped down to cup her  buttocks, and she  whispered, 'Yes … ' Smiling against his lips, she  repeated, 'Oh yes … '                       
       
           



       

Beth's spirit and her growing confidence made  him smile, made him  realise there was a lot more to his feelings for  her than he had first  thought. While he was examining them, she tugged  off the rest of her  clothes. 'Tease,' he accused her softly, filled with  happiness because  she was so happy. She was so impulsive, full of life  and mischief. She  lifted the weight from his shoulders and made him feel  young again. And  how could he fail to notice that without a bra her  breasts were  magnificent? His first impulse was to lose himself in them,  but again  he drew back.

'What's wrong now?' she said, proudly displaying them.

She  was so beautiful, and had no idea of the power under her command.  He  wanted her to discover the mystical powers a woman possessed slowly  and  completely. But Beth was so inquisitive and fearless. He was many   things, but not a saint, and as her tiny hands closed around him,   stroking insistently and persuasively, he hardened into steel.

She  was fast losing focus. She couldn't hide her hunger for stimulation  and  release much longer, but Khal was more experienced than she knew,  and  he couldn't be led. He would set his own pace, Beth realised when  she  tried to guide him. 'What must I do?' she whimpered, half to  herself.  She could see him smiling.

'Be patient.'

'What do you mean?'

'Lie  back and you'll find out. Look at me,' Khal instructed her softly  when  she finally relaxed back on the ground. 'And lie still … '

How was  she supposed to relax and lie still while he was slipping one  powerful  thigh between her legs? She couldn't stop moving when she was  so excited  and aroused, but as Khal feathered strokes down her body she  slipped  into a delicious lethargy, and lay still to enjoy each  spine-tingling  sensation. He broke her trance by hooking his fingertips  beneath her  lacy briefs, to which she responded by wriggling furiously  to help him  get them down.

'Lie still; I thought I told you,' he murmured, smiling against her lips.

Still?  Was he crazy? She had never felt so sensitive and aware before.  Every  single part of her was wired for pleasure, and with every ragged  breath  she took she was moving closer to desperation.

'Don't rush me,' Khal insisted wickedly against her lips.

She  was telling him about tender, throbbing places waiting to be  pleasured,  but he wasn't going to rush, he had every intention of  savouring this.  Seeing her naked beneath him, palest gold against his  bronze, made him  want to do more than have sex with her. He wanted to  taste, stroke, and  watch Beth's eyes darken with pleasure when she  pressed her cushioned  softness against him. The sight of her made him  greedy, but for the sake  of her innocence he would wait.

Beth wondered at her emotions.  This was all so new and dangerous to  her, and the feelings inside her  had far more to do with love than mere  physical pleasure-and that was  scary. 'I love it when you kiss me,'  she told Khal softly. She was  experiencing feelings so new and tender  she couldn't bring herself to  speak them out loud-and so instead she  reached for him, arching her back  and aching for release, longing for  reassurance, and needing more  commitment than she was sure the ruler of  Q'Adar could give.