THE words were barely out when strong arms brought her down on the bed. Tahir’s lips met hers as he peeled her clothes away.
The heat of his body against hers and the fervour of his kisses incited a heady recklessness that didn’t allow second thoughts.
Annalisa wanted him so urgently; her need was overwhelming. She shuddered with the force of it as she helped him with clumsy fingers.
Then cool air caressed her skin. Tahir sat back on his heels. His eyes glowed, devouring her in a way that sent flickers of fire racing through her body. He was so intent. Utterly absorbed. Like a hungry man sighting a banquet laid out just for him. Her heart leapt against her ribs.
Annalisa reached for his shirt, needing him close. That scorching scrutiny made her feel vulnerable as never before. She was excited yet nervous, desperate for Tahir but not wanting time to examine what was happening.
For once she wanted to feel, not think.
‘No.’ He clamped his fingers around her hand. ‘Not yet. Let me look at you first.’
His trawling gaze moved across her naked breasts, her waist and thighs. It should have made her ashamed or indignant. Qusani women were modest and demure. Annalisa had always thought in that at least she was like her peers.
Now she discovered potent proof that she was different. Instead of feeling disgust she was excited by the flare of lust in Tahir’s gaze. She revelled in his unsteady breathing, the pulse throbbing in his neck, and wondered at the reckless woman she’d become.
‘Take your hair down.’ His whisper grated over her nerves.
Obediently, not taking her eyes from his, she raised her hands to the pins securing her hair. She fumbled, all thumbs, and his gaze dipped to her breasts.
Annalisa barely had time to register the tumble of long tresses on bare skin before Tahir was over her, pushing her into the narrow bed with his body. Solid thighs tangled with hers, the fine weave of his suit slid against her bare flesh and she’d never felt anything so wonderful.
She trembled in delight tinged with anxiety, realising she was utterly in his power.
Then his hands cupped her breasts and he lowered his head. Every nerve in her body centred on that exquisite point of contact.
He touched her nipple with his tongue and she froze. He opened his lips over her areola and she sank into indescribable pleasure, clasping him to her. He settled closer, the unfamiliar weight of his body, his potent masculinity, anchoring her to the mattress.
He suckled, gently at first, then more strongly, and Annalisa cried out in shocked delight, arching convulsively. Her body zinged and sparked with sensations she’d never felt.
How had she lived so long without this? Without him?
‘Tahir,’ she gasped, ‘don’t stop.’
With the words Tahir’s restraint shattered. His hands roved ceaselessly. He skimmed, stroked and teased till her cries of pleasure grew hoarse. He touched her everywhere, nuzzled the back of her knees, kissed her inner elbow, even sucked her fingers, till it seemed there wasn’t one part of her body that didn’t sing out with need for him.
She’d never realised physical love could be so consuming. Maybe, if she had time to think, she’d be scared by this intensity. But Tahir didn’t permit her time to question.
Restlessly Annalisa shifted, barely noticing the way her thighs opened wider, letting him sink the full weight of his lower body against her.
What she felt there, the long, solid proof of his virility, made her blood pump faster even as shock filled her. This was real, unfamiliar yet compelling.
Gently he bit her ear and her body softened, her breath sighing out.
She responded to Tahir’s touch with an eagerness that left her light-headed. Her fingers dug into the soft fabric of his clothes with growing desperation.
She wanted…more.
Whether he sensed it or whether she’d cried it aloud Annalisa didn’t know, but finally Tahir let her undo his shirt. Or begin to. Halfway down her hands clenched uselessly against the fine cotton, when his hand arrowed between them, touching her intimately.
Her gaze clung to his heavy-lidded eyes as long fingers slipped to a place no man had touched. The light brush against one tiny, sensitive bud made her whole body jerk as if from an electric shock. A blush seared her throat and cheeks as he watched her.
Part of her wondered at her boldness, letting him caress her so. Yet she couldn’t deny her need for him.
His touch circled and there it was again. Unmistakable. High-voltage pleasure at his lightest caress.
She heard her breath loud in her ears, felt her ribcage expand with the desperate need to draw oxygen.
Her breath whooshed out as his touch moved down and into slick heat. Without conscious thought she clamped her muscles around that tiny invasion.
For what seemed for ever Annalisa hung suspended, aware only of the pleasure of his caress and the grim stillness of his face. Tahir looked as if he concentrated every effort on control.
His hand moved fractionally, building a gentle rhythm: along, down, in. And back. And with each stroke she felt herself slip further from the rational world.
She might have no direct experience to draw on but Annalisa understood what her body told her. What Tahir was doing, the pleasure his caress promised.
Her voice was a raw gasp when it finally emerged. ‘No, Tahir. Stop.’
For a moment it seemed he didn’t hear. Her body was moving against his touch, her hips rising when his probing fingers stilled. Annalisa bit down a cry of disappointment, her body still throbbing to the beat of his making.
‘No?’ The single syllable sounded strangled, so foreign she barely recognised it.
‘Not like this.’ She lifted a shaky hand to his shirt, but was too unsteady to grapple with buttons. ‘I want you, not…’
Her words petered out under the weight of sudden shyness and the incendiary flare in his eyes. They blazed like burning sapphires.
Before she had time to gather her thoughts he was gone, rolling off the bed to stand on the matting.
Her instant protest died in her throat as he ripped open his shirt, shrugging out of it and his jacket in one rapid movement. Before she could catch her breath he’d discarded the rest of his clothes.
Breathing became impossible.
Despite the bruises and cuts marring the symmetry of his body, Tahir was the most beautiful being she’d seen.
He moved, and the lamplight caught a line of old scar tissue low on his back. Then he turned and Annalisa’s mind atrophied. She’d never seen a naked aroused man. She’d never known one could look so magnificent. Wonderful and slightly frightening at the same time.
He didn’t give her time to think. Tahir lowered himself, his bare flesh against hers, hotter than fire. His thighs rubbed hers; the soft hair on his chest abraded her nipples. She welcomed the weight of him pressing her down, took his roughened jaw in her hands and planted a fervent, clumsy kiss against his lips.
A deep rumbling growl vibrated through his chest. Teeth scraped the sensitive skin at her neck and she arched, burying her fingers in the rough silk of his hair. Then she felt pressure where he’d caressed so intimately. Tahir shifted his weight, pushing her legs wide.
She stiffened and the caress at her neck became a tender bite, sending lush waves of pleasure through her. At the same time Tahir moved, pushing up in a slow surge of power.
Pleasure splintered as a ripple of something like pain shot through her, a stinging discomfort that made her catch her breath and stiffen in his hold.
But before she did more than register the sensation Tahir withdrew, lowering his mouth to her breast and laving it until she shivered with renewed desire. She held him near, overwhelmed by the emotions stirring as she watched him, felt him.
When he pressed close again Annalisa rose to him. The feel of his big body against hers held a magic she couldn’t resist. Urged by large hands at her thighs she lifted her legs, clasping him close, revelling in the feel of his hot satiny skin.
He raised his head, eyes meeting hers.
There was movement, that bombarding of curious new sensations, and through it all his gaze didn’t waver. It held her steady and safe, connected in a way that made her heart swell in her breast as their bodies joined.
This time there was no pain as he pushed deep.
Her body opened to his as if it was meant to be.
He stilled.
There was no sound except a riffle of night breeze against the tent flap and the discreet chirrup of an insect down by the wadi. Annalisa didn’t breathe. Nor did Tahir. The moment stretched long and portentous between them.
Their gazes meshed as she absorbed the full weight of what they’d done. She read the grim tension drawing his lean features. The strained muscles of his shoulders and neck. The flare of his nostrils. The fact that his gaze had turned utterly unreadable.
Was he regretting this?
She should be shocked to be in this position. Yet it felt right. They felt right together.
Warmth welled in her chest, filling the place pain had hollowed.
Tentatively she smiled, clasping his face in her hands. The tickling caress of his beard felt better than velvet under her palms. She reached up to bestow a brief breathless kiss on his lips.
Tahir pulled back just far enough that she could see the light blaze in his eyes. His mouth turned up at one side, creating that sexy groove in his cheek she so adored.
The air smelt of the desert night, of the spicy musk of Tahir’s skin, and of happiness.
Then he was kissing her, open-mouthed, slow yet passionate, as he moved within her. She gasped at the feel of his hard length sliding against her, igniting ripples of extraordinary pleasure.
He smiled against her mouth, his movements building to a steady pace that stole her breath all over again.
Then, abruptly, she began shaking. She was overloading on physical delight. Fire licked her belly, ecstasy sizzled along her nerve-ends and a quaking started deep inside.
‘Tahir?’ Her voice cracked as wave after wave of pleasure broke over her. She clung, suddenly scared.
His lazy smile was gone. But his look reassured her. ‘Trust me, little one. Just let it happen. I promise you’ll be safe.’
Not allowing her respite, he moved faster, harder, further, till she couldn’t bear any more. Suddenly, gloriously, the volcanic force exploded into a starburst of euphoria. Wave after wave buoyed her up, till she floated high above the earth, suspended in utter bliss.
She heard his breath quicken, a groan as if of pain, then an exultant shout as he rocked faster, out of control, and suddenly the stars exploded again.
Through it all Annalisa held tight to the man in her arms, sensing for the first time a feeling of true belonging.
He felt like hell. Every bone and muscle ached. His head pounded sickeningly. He drew a slow breath and exhaled pain. The ribs he was pretty sure he’d bruised or cracked in the chopper crash hurt like the devil.
Yet he’d do it all again for the pleasure of seeing Annalisa experience orgasm for what he was pretty sure was the first time.
Heat ignited and his blood headed south at the memory of her gasping his name as she climaxed.
She’d been gorgeous. Glorious. Addictive. And the feel of her! The exquisite pleasure of being inside her!
He couldn’t remember the last time sex had been that good. He doubted it ever had been.
Even though his memory had now returned, he could barely remember the last time he’d been with a woman. For months his libido had been non-existent. But he hadn’t cared enough to worry about it. He’d given up caring about anything much these last years.
Too many years abusing his body with too little sleep, too many parties, too much alcohol, far too many women. Pushing the limits as he sought new challenges and pleasures. Anything to divert him from the grey pall that threatened whenever he stayed in one place too long.
Yet he’d been anything but bored in the dead heart of Qusay! With a woman who had no notion of how innately sexy she was. Who’d trusted and cared for him as no woman ever had.
An unfamiliar sensation slithered down his backbone. Regret? A pang of conscience?
It was so novel he concentrated his meagre energies on pinning it down. Was it conscience?
People thought Tahir Al’Ramiz didn’t possess a conscience. He’d cultivated that view since he’d given up trying to be a perfect son and yielded to the weight of his father’s hatred.
If you can’t beat them join them.
Tahir had emulated his father in developing a taste for sybaritic decadence. By the time he was eighteen his family hadn’t been able to stomach the sight of him. There’d been no tears shed at his exile.
But, despite his reputation for dissoluteness, he had some standards, even if he didn’t broadcast them. He never harmed the innocent. He’d even privately helped a few of those who didn’t have the benefits of wealth. Casual charity was easy. It didn’t make him a good man. It was simple to give away what you didn’t care about.
And he had never stooped to deflowering virgins.
Until last night.
That cold sensation was back again, slipping like ice down his spine and cramping his belly.
He didn’t even have the excuse of amnesia. He’d known who he was last night: the sort of man who had no business consorting with innocents. He’d known his past, his present and, fate preserve him, his future.
Tahir hated thinking about the future. Other people dreamed of it. Like Annalisa. She’d been incandescent with delight about travelling and seeing the world. He’d been riveted by the sight of her excitement.
He couldn’t remember ever feeling that happy.
His future would be the same as his past. Nothing significant enough to hold his attention.
Boredom.
Yet he hadn’t been bored with Annalisa. The feral thought lodged in his brain.
Despite the pain and the infuriating slowness of his recovery, he’d enjoyed being here.
The realisation sideswiped him.
Talking with an inexperienced girl who’d never left Qusay about astronomy, the need for local schools, the latest plans for irrigating the edge of the desert. About customs he remembered from another life and people he’d never met, about the small communities that made up her world. Even about the care and feeding of an orphan goat. And he’d been content!
For days the bounds of this oasis had circumscribed his world and he hadn’t hankered for more.
An image of Annalisa’s smile appeared: the way her eyes softened when she laughed, the way the sun brought out gold and bronze highlights in her rich brown hair. The way her slim fingers felt as she tended his wounds. The scent of cinnamon and honey that haunted his sleep.
She was the reason he’d been content.
More than content. He’d been happy!
A sound interrupted his thoughts. Soft humming, off-key yet delightful.
He slitted open his eyes, seeing daylight. He’d slept late. He might even have been unconscious after the sheer stupidity of having sex despite cracked ribs and head wounds.
Ripping off his shirt last night had almost killed him. But he’d have died for sure if he hadn’t felt Annalisa’s hands on him, her sweet body against his.
His erection was instantaneous and achingly powerful, just at the memory of her.
The humming ceased and the tent flap lifted. His heart banged painfully against his ribs as she entered, wearing her hair down for the first time. Tendrils curled invitingly around her full breasts. She turned and a shaft of sunlight caught her back. Her hair rippled like finest silk, spun with threads of mahogany and gold.
She bent and retrieved something from the ground and his gaze fixed ravenously on the perfect peach shape of her bottom. His mouth dried.
Yet her movements weren’t as graceful as usual. When she stepped across to tie up the tent flap he was sure of it.
She moved as if it hurt to walk.
As a woman might walk after a stranger had stolen her virginity. Then followed it up with a second bout of sex that had been far less restrained and even more desperate.
He’d been so needy. Despite his pain and her exhaustion he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her awake and taking his fill of her again. He’d ensured she’d climaxed again, not once but twice. Yet he should have controlled himself. He should have known.
Hell! What did he know about virgins?
And, frankly, what did he care? Once he’d had Annalisa under him he hadn’t been able to wait to have her again.
She turned and sunlight fell across her face.
What he saw there made his pulse thump out of kilter.
The cold feeling at his spine crept through his body, turning his organs to leaden lumps of ice.
Her once flawless skin was marred by angry reddened rashes. Around her mouth, on her cheeks and neck.
Whisker-burn.
More, there was a purpling mark on her throat. Another just visible at her neckline.
Where his teeth had grazed her.
Tahir’s stomach swooped as it had the day his chopper crashed. But this time it didn’t stop falling.
He shut his eyes against nausea as a vision from the past rose. His father staggering from a banquet with his closest, must corrupt cronies, his newest mistress tucked close beside him. Except his mistress had been a scared teenager who’d cringed at Yazan Al’Ramiz’s touch.
His father had swatted him away like a fly when he’d tried to intervene, a skinny thirteen-year-old without the skill to tackle a full-grown man who knew every dirty trick. Tahir had gone down hard, cracking his head and coming to far too late to intervene again.
But he’d seen her the next day. Pale, with a livid bruise along her cheek. She hadn’t seen him. She’d been too absorbed in misery to notice anyone.
The sound of Annalisa’s off-key humming broke across the memory.
Last night hadn’t been the same.
Annalisa had wanted him. Pleaded with him.
Except he’d used his sexual expertise to make her beg for something she didn’t fully understand. He’d wanted her and set out to get her, even to the extent of having her admit it was she who wanted him.
As if that exonerated him.
Nothing changed the fact that he’d stolen her innocence.
Now she looked at him with stars in her eyes. Even through barely opened lids he saw her innocent wonder.
As if he was some fairytale hero.
As if he was the answer to a maiden’s prayers.
The knot of glacial ice in his belly had sharp edges. It ripped his guts when he tried to breathe. It cut through his self-satisfaction and his excuses about last night.
It reminded him he was his father’s son. Decadent. Self-interested. A man obsessed with pleasure.
The fact that Tahir found pleasure almost nowhere these days didn’t alter the truth that he was as flawed as Yazan Al’Ramiz. He was the last man on earth she should be building castles in the air over.
For that was what she was doing. He could see it in her eyes. Annalisa was so refreshingly transparent.
Regret lanced him, so powerful it was a physical pain even stronger than what he already suffered.
He ignored it.
Annalisa would not be a casualty of his vices. She’d forget about him and get on with her life with never a backward glance.
He’d cure her of her romantic daydreams.
He owed her that much.