Wordlessly her heart seeming to fling itself against her ribs, she stepped aside. Malik came into the room and shut the door behind him.
‘You’re sure?’ he asked quietly, his gaze steady on her, and Gracie let out a laugh that was half wild.
‘Am I sure? I’ve been wearing grooves in the floor, pacing, wondering if I should go and find you.’
‘That answers my question, then,’ Malik murmured, and then he came towards her. ‘We’ll have our wedding night a little early.’ He paused. ‘Assuming you have made a decision...?’
‘Was there any decision to make?’
‘You asked me to give you time, Gracie.’
‘I know.’ She swallowed hard, excitement and trepidation surging within her. She felt as if she were on the edge of a precipice, about to take that nerve-jangling step into the utter unknown. ‘I don’t need any more time, Malik. I’ve made my decision.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I will marry you.’
‘Then you have made me very happy.’ The words ended on a shudder as Malik slid his hands from her shoulders to her waist. His palms fitted perfectly, his fingers splayed over her hips. Gently he drew her towards him.
‘We are going to have a good life together, Gracie,’ he whispered, and brushed a kiss across her lips.
Gracie let out a breathy laugh. ‘I don’t know why I feel so nervous.’
He brushed a tendril of hair away from her face, his fingers skimming her cheek. ‘There’s no need to be nervous.’
‘I know. But...’ She hesitated, then continued with a flush, ‘it’s been a long time for me.’
‘And me, too.’
Somehow she didn’t think Malik had been celibate for ten years. ‘I mean, a really long time.’
His gentle smile morphed into a frown of puzzlement. ‘Do you mean...?’
Gracie nodded. ‘You’ve been my only lover, Malik.’ Before he could say anything, she rushed on, ‘I know I haven’t been yours. I’m not asking...’
‘There haven’t been that many. A handful of meaningless exchanges,’ Malik murmured. ‘And trust me, no one has come close to you, Gracie.’
‘Okay,’ she mumbled. Her face felt fiery. He took her fingers and kissed them.
‘But I don’t want to talk about any of that,’ he said, and with a little smile he nibbled on the tips of her fingers. ‘In fact, I’m not sure I want to talk at all.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ If they talked any more, she might really put her foot in it. She might, caught up in the moment, admit she was falling in love with him, and she couldn’t bear to see the appalled look in Malik’s eyes when he heard that revelation. No, she’d keep that particular news to herself, at least for now, and hope that one day he might want to hear those words.
Malik drew her to him again and kissed her softly, like a question. Gracie answered by parting her lips, letting his tongue sweep inside. The second kiss was deeper, seeming to plunge right inside her. And then she stopped counting because the kisses were merging into one another, melting her insides.
Malik backed her towards the bed, laughing softly as he gently tipped her onto it and then came to lie down next to her.
‘Do you remember...?’ he began, and Gracie nodded, for the memories were sweeping through her, colliding with the present in the most achingly emotional way.
‘Yes, I remember everything. Every moment, every touch.’
‘So do I,’ Malik whispered, and kissed her again. ‘I remember how soft your skin felt,’ he said as he slid the straps of her nightgown from her shoulders. ‘I remember how perfect your breasts were. And still are,’ he added as he slid the nightgown to her waist, and kissed each rosy tip. Gracie let out a shudder of longing. ‘I remember how you liked this,’ Malik murmured, taking his time, lavishing attention on her body in a way that made Gracie writhe in need. ‘I remember how you responded. You were so untouched.’ He lifted his head to look at her with glittering eyes. ‘And so was I. You were my first, Gracie. My first everything.’ He pressed a kiss to her stomach and then moved lower. ‘My first and my last,’ he said, and Gracie gasped both from his words and the touch of his mouth at her centre.
Her hips arched up helplessly as she pressed her head back against the pillow, awash in sensation, drowning in pleasure.
Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as the intense pleasure she was feeling tightened into an aching, ascending point that peaked as she let out a cry, her body relaxing as the waves rippled through her.
‘And that’s just the beginning,’ Malik promised. Gracie laughed shakily.
‘I’m not sure I can take much more.’
‘Oh, trust me, you can. I’ll make sure of it.’ He lay braced on his forearms, his gaze fastened on her. ‘Touch me, Gracie.’
The plea reached right inside her and with a shy smile she skimmed her hands down the hard planes of his chest, her fingers exploring the ridge of the scar on his torso.
‘Where did you get this?’
‘An assassination attempted by a member of a hostile tribe.’
‘Assassination...’ Gracie withdrew her hand as she stared at him in appalled surprise. ‘I didn’t realise it was that dangerous.’
‘It isn’t any more. And that man wasn’t in his right mind.’ Malik reached for her hand and drew it back to him. ‘And I’m not in my right mind, not until you start touching me again.’
Laughing softly, Gracie glided her hand down his chest and thigh before she wrapped her fingers around his arousal, amazed at the sheer power and strength of him. He was so beautiful, so male, and he was hers. She stroked him gently, her fingers playing with the hot, silky length of him, as Malik’s breath hissed between his teeth.
‘That feels very good.’
‘It’s been so long,’ Gracie whispered. She found it hard to believe that she could affect him so powerfully. ‘And I have so little experience...’
‘Your touch lights me up like no other, Gracie. I promise you that.’
The idea that she affected him more than anyone else was heady. Gracie’s strokes became bolder and more daring until Malik rolled her over onto her back, poised above her, his erection nudging her thighs.
‘What about protection?’ she whispered, and his mouth twisted.
‘We don’t need any.’
Realisation slammed into her. ‘I’m sorry...’
‘Don’t be.’ He kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘You are all I want, Gracie. All I need.’
‘You’re all I need, Malik,’ she returned on a gasp as he slid inside her, filling her up, making her shudder with both the strangeness and rightness of it.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as they began to move in rhythm, finding it instinctively, reaching for that release yet again, their bodies straining and searching.
‘Malik...’ Gracie gasped, and then she couldn’t manage any more for she was climbing, climbing, and then it felt as if fireworks went off inside her as they reached the peak together, Malik burying his head in her neck as his body shuddered.
Afterwards Gracie was conscious of the sudden quiet, her thudding heart. Malik was still inside her as he kissed her collarbone and then her lips, and then gently rolled off her. Gracie felt the loss, but that momentary pang was quelled when Malik turned to smile at her, reaching for her hand.
They lay there quietly, fingers interlaced and resting on top