She turned to look around as his clothes hit the floor and felt the blood drain from her cheeks. What was she thinking? He was massive and tanned, hard muscles sculpted like a Michelangelo statue; there was so much of beautiful, perfect him, and all of it in formidable proportion.
‘Shy now?’ he asked with amusement.
‘No,’ she defended, but he heard the lie in her voice.
Coming to join her on the bed, Khalid stretched out his magnificent, naked length alongside her and, resting his chin on the heel of his hand, he viewed her steadily as if she were a new and fascinating exhibit on board his yacht. He knew how aroused that made her, and how aroused she still was after his skilful attention. ‘You want me,’ he said.
The faint smile on his mouth was all it took to make her want him even more. ‘Not as much as you want me,’ she countered, determined, even at this late stage, to fight her corner.
He shrugged and his lips pressed in response.
‘If you didn’t want me, why are we here?’ she asked with perfect logic, she thought. ‘Unless you invite all your female guests to share your bed?’
This made him laugh. ‘Millie, Millie, Millie. Do you think I make a habit of stopping my elevator between decks?’
‘I don’t know. I’d rather not think about it,’ she admitted. ‘I’m sure there are those who think there are advantages to be gained by sleeping with you, but I’m not one of them.’
‘No,’ he whispered, ‘You’re not.’
He’d been toying with a lock of her hair as she spoke, and now he drew her into his arms. A great hunger swept over him for more than sex: to be joined, to be close, to give pleasure. This would be a sensuous and lengthy seduction. Millie was young and inexperienced, and deserved nothing less. The reward would be extreme pleasure. The thought of sinking into her hot, eager body was—
‘Where are you going?’ she asked as he moved away. Reaching for his hand, she caught hold of his wrist. Her boldness made him smile. She was a tigress.
‘I’m twice your size.’
‘Good,’ she said, her grip firming. Her gaze was steady on his face.
Physical pleasure was a gift, to be cherished and worked on. It was not enough to become a great warrior, he had been told by the elders of the desert; a man must prove himself a great lover too. Eroticism was valued by the travelling tribes he’d joined as a youth, when he’d had no expectation of becoming the ruling sheikh of Khalifa.
‘Your Majesty seems distracted.’
‘By you,’ he said, staring down into Millie’s laughing eyes. ‘You distract me.’ He toyed thoughtfully with a strand of her long, silky hair. ‘I’ll keep you safe.’
‘I don’t want to be safe,’ she whispered fiercely.
‘What do you want?’
‘To forget,’ she said as she closed her eyes.
Coming back to lie close, he soothed her trembling body with long, rhythmical strokes. The bond between them was tightening. Was that fair to Millie?
Being naked in bed with Khalid was a recipe for skewing her thoughts. Drugging and amazing, it was as if every nerve ending she had were standing to attention. Moving her body with increased confidence against his heightened her senses as never before. The lights were out and night enfolded them in a thick black velvet blanket. His soothing strokes and the almost imperceptible movement of the big ship added to her arousal. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her in a way that made tears spring to her eyes. She was glad of the dark, shielding her. Her emotions were raw. She forgot her concern as he mapped her body with knowing skill. ‘How long does the teasing go on?’ she asked, aching with need.
‘As long as I deem it necessary—’
She gasped as he swung her on top of him. There was no avoiding the thrust of his arousal, and no way to call this safe. She was equally intimidated by his size, and excited by it. Her body quivered with expectation, though she wasn’t even sure she could take him. On the edge, hovering dangerously close to plunging over, she thought, Spread me wide and take me. Make me forget.
‘Will you teach me all you know?’ she asked. ‘Stop it,’ she warned when she saw his teasing expression. How could she not want this man? Outwardly stern, privately human—even warm, she thought. He might be twice her size, but the time for caution was over. Winding her legs around his, she proved her trust. He brought them even closer to kiss her lips, her neck, and then her breasts, as he continued to tease her with feather touches. Moving down the bed, he treated her breasts to a feast of pleasure, and with each insistent tug, she experienced a corresponding pulse between her legs.
‘Is this what you want?’ he asked, raising his head. He smiled faintly, teasing her again with delay.
‘As if you don’t know,’ she whispered.
Running his fingertips over her breasts, he moved on to stroke her belly, which was incredibly arousing. ‘And this?’ he asked as he parted her legs.
‘So much,’ she gasped out.
Lifting her buttocks, he rested them on a soft pillow to spread her wide, and then he arranged her legs comfortably over the powerful width of his shoulders. She almost lost control at the first touch of his tongue. She’d never experienced anything like this. Sensing how close she was, he pulled back, his expression stern.
‘When I say you can and not before,’ he warned. ‘The delay is for your benefit,’ he added.
She didn’t doubt it as eager forerunners of that bigger release gripped her repeatedly. She had everything to learn, and was a most willing pupil. But nothing—nothing could have prepared her for this. Khalid knew exactly how to prolong her pleasure, and when to hold back, until she felt as if every delicious pulse of sensation she had ever experienced had gathered and was waiting to be unleashed.
‘Now, please,’ she begged.
This resulted in a little more attention on his part, but not enough to tip her over the edge.
Resting back, she closed her eyes, temporarily defeated. When she opened them again, the expression in Khalid’s eyes was enough to send her over, but he was the master of pleasure, and knew how to keep her under control.
Short, sharp, noisy gasps shot from her throat as he returned to teasing her with his tongue. She gripped the bed, fists turning white. How much longer was she supposed to hold on? She loved his hands on her buttocks, so firm, so sure as he lifted her to his mouth. A fierce desire to isolate the place where sensation ruled consumed her. Reaching down, she helped him by pressing her legs apart even more, and now she was floating, suspended on a plateau of sensation, where there was no possibility of rational thought and only one way down.
‘Now.’
He spoke the single word so softly. It was the only prompt she needed. ‘Now!’ she agreed fiercely.
Her body worked with wild abandon to capture the waves of pleasure as Khalid buffeted her rhythmically. He was amazing, launching her into a world of pleasure that beat at her senses; he showed no mercy when she wailed, and made sure she experienced every last throb of ecstasy until she fell back, utterly exhausted and yet hungry for more.
‘You are so aroused,’ he remarked, staring down. ‘So warm and plump and pink, and accommodating. Good,’ he approved, holding her firmly in place when she surprised herself with a second release that didn’t