page17 (1/2)

He was so hard against her, so big and beautiful, like a red-hot monolith His shoulders were a wonder of lean, ss, until she wasas if he could throw her straight over that cliff into bliss again That easily

She had no doubt he could, and it scared her—but she channeled it all into that delirious slide of lips and tongues, the rude and delicious rocking of his hard thigh directly against the aching heart of her need, the un capitulation

Nothingmattered but him

The fire raged higher Khaled si, overwhel, so close, so close—

“Enough,” he grated out, as if it hurt him

He released her and stepped back, and she nearly sank to the ground, unable to process the tornado of sensation swirling in her, much less the fact that he’d stopped He reached over and held her upright, that big hand of his wrapped tightly around one araze burned into her

Cleo could only stare at hi too fast, her whole body in revolt, all that drugging, delicious passion still at a fever pitch inside her She felt drugged Altered and exposed, and the way he looked at her didn’t help

“I will not take you up against the wall like some common whore,” he bit out, and it occurred to her to wonder if he wasn’t swept away in the salitter in his gaze He scowled at her “I am the Sultan of Jhurat, not a drunken sailor on his first shore leave in years”

She didn’t knohich felt like more of a slap, but the red flush that sed her whole then wasn’t passion any longer It was shaut

“You told me to kiss you out in the courtyard and just now you kissed me,” she threw at him, embarrassed and frustrated and utterly lost in this, whatever it was “You can’t do that and then turn around and callto call yourself the same!”

He blinked as if no one had ever shouted at hi your pardon?”

“You’re doing this, nother “Gowns and jewels and all the rest of this What happened in the courtyard What happened right now Fidelity and sworn duty and I don’t even knohat this is”