Desert King, Pregnant Mistress(13)

CHAPTER SIX




AS  BETH arched her back, resting her hands above her head in an  attitude  of innocent sensuality, Khal found the urge to bring her  pleasure  overwhelming. But still he held back, knowing delay would  bring its own  rewards. He gave her lingering kisses on her lips and on  her neck. He  suckled her nipples until she writhed helplessly beneath  him, begging  for more. He lavished his attention on her soft, warm  belly, and was  impatient to discover if this cushioned perfection  extended to every  part of her.


While they were kissing he removed his shirt,  and the sensation of  naked flesh on flesh hit him like an electric  shock. The one thing he  hadn't bargained for was Beth releasing the  fastening on his jeans  while he was recovering. It made him laugh at her  audacity, it made him  hold her in his arms and transmit all that he was  feeling into her  eyes. It felt so right, so good to him, and as they  wrestled playfully  he discovered they fit together perfectly, even  though he was so much  bigger than she was. She was like a tiny, tender  kernel at the heart of  a ripe fruit and as she strained towards him,  drawing her legs back in  anticipation of even more pleasure, he teased  her with the tip. Almost  at once the pleasure waves threatened, and as  she bucked towards him,  exclaiming in excitement, he drew back. 'Not  yet … '                       
       
           



       

'Why not?' she demanded, eyes wide as she struggled to understand the complexities of love-making.

'Because I enjoy teasing you.'

'Then  I'll have to take matters into my own hands,' she threatened,  though he  knew she would wait for him to set the pace. Escaping her  grasp, he  moved down, tasting and teasing her, preparing her and laving  her with  his tongue until she rolled her head from side to side,  gasping with  excitement. There was no awkwardness between them now,  just hot, hungry  need, and as he eased her legs apart even more she  gripped his shoulders  and stared into his eyes, showing him how much  she trusted him.  Pouting, silky warmth greeted him, a playground in  which to lose  himself, a welcoming cushion where he could sink.

'Now,' she begged him. 'Now!' she cried out more insistently. 'I want more of you … I want all of you … '

He  sank into her like coming home, wondering if he had the willpower to   endure such pleasure. Beth's fingers bit into his shoulders while he   moved carefully at first, and then firmly and rhythmically to give her   the satisfaction she craved. He plunged deep and then withdrew, so that   it was like taking her for the first time over and over again, and she   cried out with increasing pleasure at each stroke. He was sorry when it   was over for her too soon, and realised it was a measure of her   inexperience, but as she cried out his name he used all his wiles to   prolong the pleasure for her. He wanted her to enjoy every moment. And   when she quietened he continued to move gently and insistently, kissing   her all the while until he felt her respond.

'You're amazing,'  she whispered, starting to work her hips against him.  How could she be  ready for more? But she was. Incredibly, she was. He  had awoken  something in Beth that matched his own hunger, and it  touched him to see  her blossoming into a woman in his arms.

Khal never tired. How  could that be? He was at her service, pleasuring  her until she couldn't  stop herself, and until all thoughts of control  had vanished from her  mind. She was greedy for him, and he was offering  her a feast. When he  withdrew briefly one time she weighed him in her  hands, marvelling at  his size, and wondering at the pleasure he could  give her. She was on  the point of asking him directly where his stamina  came from when he  moved behind her, bringing his leg over hers, and  trapping her in the  most deliciously receptive position imaginable,  telling her, 'I think  you'll enjoy the Q'Adaran way now … '

'I'm sure I will,' she  agreed, gasping a little when Khal pressed her  forward and took her  again. He moved so deeply he stretched her, and,  at the same time as  setting up a regular rhythm, the hand that wasn't  pressing her forward  was playing a delicate game with fingertips that  brought such extremes  of pleasure she could only moan her appreciation  in time to each stroke  and thrust.

'Yes?' Khal husked against her back.

Did he  expect her to speak? She could only make a sound like an animal  urging  him on. How many times was it now? So many times. And this time  was so  powerful she must have passed out for a moment-because the next  thing  she knew she was safely nestled in Khal's arms, and he was  stroking her  and kissing her, lulling her to sleep.

'Can't we stay here for  ever?' Beth asked Khal later, impulsively, when  they emerged hand in  hand from the sea. They had made love again  beneath the stars and the  moon, and with the ocean bathing their limbs  in warm, limpid water.

'For ever is a long time.'

His  words sent a shiver down her back. Only minutes before she had been   resting on a pillow of undulating water with her legs locked round   Khal's waist. His feet had been firmly planted on the sea bed, while she   gazed at the stars and dreamed of 'for ever'. Now it seemed her cries   of release had mingled with the surf and carried those dreams away. She   had spoken carelessly. It sounded foolish and childish to her now, and   as Khal let go of her hand Beth felt he must think so too. Returning  to  dry land was a return to reality for both of them. The sheikh and  the  shop girl's relative positions in life had been firmly  re-established.  Making love with Khal had been the most extraordinary  experience of her  life, as well as the most deeply moving … for her. But  for him … Was it over  now?                       
       
           



       

'I'll take you back when you're dressed,' Khal said.

'I'd  like to go straight back to my room, if you don't mind?' Beth  said,  proud of herself when her voice remained as steady as his. She  still had  her pride. 'I need to shower all this salt off me.'

'Of course.'

Khal's  matter-of-fact tone spoke more clearly than any words could  about the  wedge between them, and it was growing wider all the time.  The  fairy-tale was over, Beth thought, casting a wistful glance behind  them  at the ocean.



The clock struck as they arrived back in  the courtyard outside Beth's  room. Was it possible she had only been  with Khal so short a time? It  had felt like a lifetime of growing closer  and learning to trust, until  the doubt had set in. Beth paused with her  hand resting on the rough  stone archway, watching Khal stride away. He  was purposeful now, moving  on to the next part of his life. They had  parted with the briefest of  caresses-just a touch of his hand on her  face. If she closed her eyes  she could still feel it …

'Ms Torrance.'

Beth  gasped guiltily and swung around to see the Dowager Sheikha   approaching. 'I'm sorry, Your Majesty, have you been looking for me?'

The  Dowager Sheikha took a step back, and her gaze swept over Beth. 'I   missed you in the ballroom. They told me you had left the palace, and I   wanted to be sure you were safe. I want you to leave Q'Adar with happy   memories. You have enjoyed your stay, Ms Torrance?'

'Oh, yes,  Your Majesty!' Beth exclaimed, her honesty bursting through  the need for  caution. Beth blushed deep red, realising she had almost  betrayed  herself. Had the Dowager Sheikha seen her son leave the  courtyard?

'You're a sweet child, and I can tell that my son is very much taken with you.'

'Oh?'  Beth bit down on her lip, acutely conscious of how tender and  swollen  it was after all Khal's kisses, and she knew that her cheeks  must still  be red from the rasp of his stubble.

'You don't have to pretend  with me, Ms Torrance. Hard as it may be for  you to believe, I was young  once, and I too met a sheikh under unusual  circumstances … '

Beth  wished she could think of something to say to allay the Dowager   Sheikha's fears. Having seen the beautiful princesses, she knew Khal's   mother had high hopes for her son's marriage. But what could she say? It   wasn't her way to lie or fudge an issue, and she could hardly confess   the truth. The truth. The truth was burning its way through her heart.   She dipped into another curtsey. 'I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Your   Majesty, it's very late, and I'm sure you must be tired.'