Diamond in the Desert(12)

Holding her face between his hands, Emir made her look at him. Gazing  into the burning stare of a man who knew so much about her body made it  easy to forget her doubts. Her face must have shown this transition,  because he brushed her lips with his. And from there it was an easy  slide into a passionate embrace that ended with Emir manoeuvring her  into a comfortable position on the bench-which just happened to be under  him.

'Is there any part of this you don't like?' he said, smiling down at her.

She liked everything-too much-and at what risk to her heart? Right now  she didn't care as another part of Britt Skavanga, warrior woman,  chipped off and floated away. At one time sex was little more than a  normal function for her, like eating or sleeping, but now...

Now that wasn't nearly enough.

But Emir's hands were distracting her, and as he traced the line of her  spine she embraced the feelings inside her. They were so strong she  could hardly ignore them. She wanted this man. She wanted him so badly.  She wanted to be one with him in every way. Unfortunately, Emir's  approach to sex was much like hers had used to be, and being on the  receiving end of that was very different from doling it out. But then  her mind filled with pleasure as his lips caressed her neck. He knew  just how to work her hot spots until she softened against him and  relaxed. She had always taken the lead in the past-she had been the one  who knew what she was doing and where she was going, the one who was  completely in control-but with Emir there was no control. She was his.

'I love your body,' he said as she writhed beneath him.

'I love yours too.' How could she not?

Emir was built on a heroic scale. She doubted she had ever met a bigger  man. There wasn't a spare inch of unnecessary flesh on his hard, toned  body, and each muscle was clearly delineated after his strenuous  physical exercise in the lake. He was every bit the soldier, the  fighter, the leader, yet he had the most sensitive hands. She groaned as  he massaged her scalp with his fingertips.

'What do you want, Britt?' he murmured.

'Do you really need me to answer that?'

'I like you to tell me,' he said.

Emir's voice had the power to arouse her almost as much as the man  himself. Raising her chin, she took a deep breath and then told him what  she wanted.

'So open your legs wider,' he said.

Her first thought was, No. I can't do that-not while you're looking down at me.

'Wider,' he said.

She wanted this. He excited her-

'Wider still...'

'I can't-you're merciless-'

'Yes, I am,' he agreed in the same soft tone.

'Enough,' she begged him, reaching out. She needed human contact. She  needed closeness more than anything. She needed a kiss-a tender kiss.  She still longed for the illusion that they were close in every way,  Britt realised, feeling a pang of regret for what could never be.

He had never seen anything more beautiful than Britt at this moment,  when every part of her was glowing and aroused. His desire to be joined  to her was overwhelming, but something as special as this could not be  rushed. It must be appreciated and savoured. One of the so-called erotic  secrets of Kareshi was nothing more than this lingering over pleasure.  Making time for pleasure was a so much a national pursuit he had been  forced to persuade the Kareshi people to balance their country's  business needs against it, but he would never wish these old traditions  to die out. In fact, he had every intention of fostering them, and as  Britt reached for him he took her wrists in a firm grip. 'Not yet,' he  whispered.

'Don't you want me?' she said, arching her back as she displayed her breasts to best advantage.

She had no idea how much.

He held her locked in his stare as she sat up. He even allowed her to  lace her fingers through his hair, binding him to her. Britt was easy to  read. She was already on the edge. Intuition had always helped him in  the past-in all sorts of situations, and now this. With Britt he  mastered his own desires by channelling his thoughts into all the things  that intrigued him about her.                       
       
           



       

'How can you bear to wait?' she complained.

'I bear it because I know what's best for you,' he said. 'I know what you need and I know the best way to give it to you.'

'How do you know?' she said, writhing with impatience.

On the sexual front that was all too obvious, but knowing Britt wasn't  so hard. She was the oldest child, always trying to do her best, the  lab-rat for her sisters, the one who would have been given the strictest  upbringing by her parents. Britt was used to bearing the weight of  responsibility on her shoulders, and with duties at home and then duties  in the business she hadn't had much time to explore life, let alone  discover the nuances of sex and how very good it could be.

'So, how did you like our Nordic traditions?' she murmured against his mouth.

Distracted, he brushed a kiss against her lips. 'I like them a lot. I'd like to know more. I'd like to know more about you-'

The look of surprise on her face almost broke the erotic spell for him,  and then she said with touching honesty, 'I'd like to know more about  you and your country.'

'Maybe you will.'

Closing his eyes, he inhaled her wildflower scent, and realised then  that the thought of never smelling it again was unthinkable. He was  still on guard, of course. There was still a business deal to do and it  would be unwise to underestimate Britt Skavanga. She was everything he  had been warned to expect...and so much more.

* * *

When Emir kissed her she was glad of his arms supporting her, because  he didn't just kiss her breath away, he kissed her thoughts away too. It  felt so good to drop her guard and lose herself in sensation, shut out  the business robot she had become. It was good to feel sensation  spreading in tiny rivers of fire through her veins, and even better to  feel Emir's erection resting heavily against her thigh, because that  said he wanted her as much as she wanted him. She groaned with  anticipation when he nudged her thighs apart. Moving between them, he  started teasing her with delicate touches until she thought she would go  mad for him.

'Wrap your legs around me,' he instructed, staring deep into her eyes.

'Don't make me wait,' she warned, but in a way she was glad when he  soothed her with kisses and caresses first. She cried out and urged him  on. There were no certainties other than the fact that she was being  drawn deeper into a dangerous liaison with him.

As if sensing her unease, he took her face in his big, warm hands and  drugged her with kisses. Gentle to begin with, they grew deeper and  firmer as the embers inside her sparked and flared. She loved it when he  took possession of her mouth, and loved it even more when he took  possession of her body. She loved being held so firmly. She loved the  powerful emotions inside her.

'Have you changed your mind?' he said as she tried to rein them in.

She denied this, and then he did something so amazing she couldn't have  stopped him if she had tried. A shaking cry escaped her throat as he  sank slowly deep inside her. She could never be fully prepared for Emir.  The sheer size of him stole the breath from her lungs. He was such an  intuitive lover. He understood every part of her and how she responded.  He knew her limits and never stepped over them, while his hands and  mouth worked magic. Today he was using the seductive language of  Kareshi-soft and guttural, husky and persuasive-to both encourage and  excite her. It must have succeeded because she found herself pressing  her legs wide for him with the heel of her palms against her thighs.

'Good,' he approved, thrusting even deeper.

She cried out his name repeatedly as he moved rhythmically and reliably  towards the inevitable conclusion. But suddenly some madness overcame  them, and control was no longer possible as they fought their way to  release.

She was still shuddering with aftershocks minutes later. Her internal  muscles closed around him gratefully, to an indescribably delicious  beat.

Neither of them spoke for quite a while. They had both experienced the  same thing-something out of the ordinary, she thought as Emir stared  down at her. At last his eyes were full of everything she had longed to  see.

'I take it you enjoyed that?' he murmured, and, withdrawing gently, he helped her to sit up.

'And you?' she said, resting her cheek against his chest.

'I have one suggestion-'

She glanced up.

'Next time we try a bed.'

His grin infected her. 'Now there's a novel thought,' she agreed, but  after she had rested on him for a moment or two harsh reality intruded  and she remembered who she was, who he was, and the parts they played in  this drama.                       
       
           



       

Lifting her chin, she put on the old confident face. 'Don't get ahead of yourself, mister. I sleep alone.'