She nodded, unable to get a single word out.
“You understand, tomorrow I am again the emir of Zeena Sahra.”
“But tonight you are just a man,” she reminded him in a desire-laden whisper.
“Yes.” The sound was closer to a growl than a word.
He kissed her again, this time his mouth devouring hers, his hold on her head implacably keeping her lips right where he wanted them. His aggressive passion might have frightened her but for the gentle way he continued to knead her breast and rasp her nipple.
Putting off a lifetime of restraint, she reached out to do some of her own sensual exploration. His skin was hot against her fingertips and smoother than she expected. The black curls of hair on his chest were also surprisingly silky, his small male nipples ridged.
There was nothing soft about the layers of muscle bunching under her touch, though.
Chest, biceps and abdomen cut with defined muscles.
His body was so different than hers.
Sure, there was the male/female thing. But it was so much more than that.
Wearing the egal, or not, Sayed exuded power. He would always be alpha, never the beta. His physical and mental strength was awe-inspiring and in this moment those traits inspired her arousal, as well.
So focused on experiencing his body, she didn’t notice his hands moving at first.
But when he unclipped her bra with a single efficient movement and peeled the lace-and-silky fabric away from her body, she couldn’t ignore that.
Her already-hard peaks pebbled tighter at the direct exposure to air. She’d felt that hundreds of times in her life, when she undressed for bed.
What she’d never felt was the corresponding throb between her legs she experienced now. Or this new need to be touched there.
A desire she could only express with wordless whimpers and the tilting of her pelvis in a wanton display that should have mortified her.
It didn’t.
His big hands slid around her sides and up her rib cage, leaving prickles of arousal in their wake until he cradled both her breasts.
“Lovely.” Approval laced his tone. “A truly sweet handful.”
“You have big hands. So hot,” she rambled.
It was only when his rich laughter washed over her that Liyah realized how her words could be taken.
“I didn’t mean to say I’m...that’s not...”
He brushed his lips over hers. “Shh. You are perfect. We will leave it at that.”
She had no chance to reply as his thumbs swiped over her electrified nipples. She’d thought the thin barrier of silk had made no difference in how these caresses felt, but she’d been wrong. Very, very wrong.
While the sensation of emptiness and need grew in her core, the rest of Liyah’s body grew increasingly sensitive. Heat washing over in wave after wave of unadulterated lust, her skin ached for his touch in a way she hadn’t even known was possible.
He seemed to understand, because his caresses moved on from her breasts to brush over her stomach, along her sides and right up to her underarms. Usually ticklish, the only response this unexpected touch elicited was gasping shivers and a hope he would not stop.