Movement as old as time dictated the roll of her hips as she rose for a moment, then drove back down. The sensation of power and control and pleasure mingled in a heady potion, driving her to seek more and more of it.
As the water splashed around them, Zaid’s hands left her to spread long arms on the rim of the pool, his head going back as he lounged, imperiously like the master and commander he was, against the rock. Then half-closed eyes the colour of polished topaz watched her with heated encouragement as she propelled them both to the edge of the glorious abyss.
Something in his expression drove her to take him deeper, increase the pace of her movements. His face grew tauter, twin swathes of colour staining his cheekbones as his breathing turned choppier. ‘Yes,’ he encouraged hoarsely. ‘Take me, habiba, as I have taken you.’
Esme didn’t need a second bidding. Fingers splaying on either side of his strong neck, she gave in to the siren song whispering through her body.
It wasn’t long before the crescendo built to insane proportions, and Zaid’s groans were turning guttural. Feeling even bolder than before, she stole another kiss from his sensual lips, then got lost in it when he took over. Connected in every possible way, they tumbled over the edge in unison, devouring each other’s vocal expression of the nirvana they were drowning in.
They were still connected when his strong arms came around her and he rose from the pool and strode, dripping wet and not caring, back into the tent.
They were still fully connected when he lowered her onto the bed and then he froze for a split second, his eyes going wide with shock, before he disengaged and flung himself away from her with an ear-bleeding curse.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE DIDN’T NEED a cipher to know something was wrong. Very wrong.
‘Z-Zaid?’ Hard on the heels of her earth-shattering climax, her voice was nowhere near steady as she watched him pace from one end of the tent to the other. For a mad instant she was jealous of his ability to do so while unashamedly naked. In contrast, Esme couldn’t pull the sheet—the newly changed sheet, she absently observed—over her body fast enough.
‘I cannot believe—’ He stopped, went a little white, then turned his back on her one more time. He completed two more lengths of the room before he stopped at the foot of the bed, out of touching distance. ‘We didn’t use any protection just now...in the pool,’ he stated in a grave voice steeped in dark regret.
She went cold despite her taking another few moments to fully grasp his meaning. When she did, her stomach hollowed out. Then, forcing herself to think, she blurted, ‘I’m...on the Pill.’
The immense relief that crossed his face was almost comical. Almost. Because something severed any trace of laughter from her heart before she had time to absorb it.
And also because a frown was beginning to replace that relief. ‘Why were you on the Pill if you weren’t sexually active?’ he whipped at her.
‘Because my doctor recommended it to help regulate my periods,’ she explained.
He exhaled. Nodded as relief returned, full blown. His fists started to unclench.
Just as memory began to poke holes in her hasty assurance.
He started to round the bed towards her. Then he froze again when he saw what must have been near horror on her face.
‘But... I...’
‘But what, Esmeralda?’ he snapped.
‘I ran out last week, when we were in Dishnaja. Nashwa managed to get a prescription filled for me yesterday, but I missed three doses...’ Her voice trailed off as the enormity of the consequences hit her. Had she been standing, she was certain she would have lost the use of her legs. As it was, she felt the blood drain out of her head at the grim look that overcame Zaid’s features.
‘Three doses, so three days’ worth?’ he pressed, his face once again rigid with tension.
She nodded miserably.
‘What are the repercussions of missing them?’
Dread steeped deeper. ‘Anything more than one missed dose and... I have to use extra precautions,’ she whispered raggedly.
He uttered another curse in his language, then sank heavily on the mattress. Still out of reach. Ominous silence ensued.
‘Zaid, I didn’t think...when you summoned me here last night, this...what happened wasn’t what I was expecting.’
He rubbed a hard hand over his jaw. ‘That is inconsequential in the circumstances. Once is all it takes. And if there is blame to be laid, I’m far more culpable in this than you. It was my responsibility, and while I have no excuse for my carelessness, I will say in my defence that you enchanted me to a degree that I forgot myself.’
At any other time, his words would have filled her heart with joy. Not now, though. Not when they were delivered in a clipped tone that told her he was berating himself a thousand different ways for the situation they now found themselves in.
‘When will you know?’ he asked after another sharp exhalation.