She would never have believed a look from a man’s eyes could evoke such cataclysmic feelings inside her. And even though Zufar seemed in complete control of his faculties, the look in his eyes rendered her mute.
But she needed to speak. She had to tell him, despite her insides shrinking
at the possibilities of what he would do if he found out that she was untouched. None of them filled her with elation.
Esteemed men like Zufar preferred women who knew how to please a man. The women he’d dated before were all experienced. Sophisticated. The history books she’d scoured in the library had even contained sections on how prospective brides were tutored in the art of pleasing their husbands. She knew nothing except what she’d read in romance books years ago. And even those had sounded unrealistic.
Dejected, Niesha lowered her gaze to his shoes. Zufar had seemed aroused by their kisses, but this was far more than mere kissing. Besides, he’d done all the work and now she was terrified he would find her severely lacking.
‘Speak,’ he commanded, the directive firm and implacable.
‘I don’t... I’m not...’
‘Niesha.’ The dangerous edge to her name sent another skitter of alarm along her nerve endings.
She raised her head, compelled by his voice. His face was a taut, unreadable mask, but she imagined she glimpsed hunger in his eyes. That bolstered her a little.
‘Tell me what worries you,’ he pressed.
‘I’m not...experienced,’ she confessed with little more than a whisper.
A wave of decipherable emotion swept across his face. Slowly his eyes narrowed. ‘I require a better definition of inexperienced,’ he replied.
‘Virgin,’ she blurted. ‘I’m a virgin. And...I don’t want to disappoint you.’
For the longest time, he stared at her, his eyes a deep bronze that saw right to her soul. When his eyes conducted a searing scrutiny from her crown to her toes, Niesha was painfully reminded that she was naked from the waist up.
‘The only way you will disappoint me is if you fail to tell me how that is possible.’
Another fierce blush swept over her skin.
A sound rumbled from him. Once again he seemed fascinated by her blush, his gaze following the tide of pink as it suffused her skin. When his gaze reached her face, he stared deep into her eyes, waiting for an answer.
‘I would have thought it was simple enough. I’ve never been with a man,’ she confessed in a hushed voice.
Niesha was shocked by the naked possessiveness that lit through his eyes. A moment later it was gone, but the searing flame of it remained, heating up her blood as she stared hypnotically at him; as she watched his nostrils slowly flare in a show of frayed control before he sucked in a deep breath.
‘You’re twenty-five,’ he breathed. ‘And you’ve never been with a man?’
Even though she was dying to hide from his all-seeing eyes, Niesha forced herself to maintain eye contact. ‘No, I have not.’
His breath punched out. A single clench rippled through his jaw before he cupped her elbows. ‘Then you will be mine. Only mine.’
The ruthless, irrefutable possessiveness in those words flattened her lungs. She was struggling to breathe when he drew her arms decisively away from her body, exposing her to his eyes. Caught in a web of sorcery he wove so effortlessly, Niesha let her arms drop, trembling before him as his eyes settled on her breasts.
Another rough sound ripped from his throat. ‘You are truly exquisite.’
She couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it. With his eyes and his words and his commanding stature, he captivated her. She stood trembling as he firmly tugged the gaping dress over her hips.
It dropped to her ankles. He lifted her effortlessly out of the tangle of silk and lace. She should have felt vulnerable in just her panties and heels but something about the way he looked at her body sent a thrill of power through her. Maybe he wasn’t as unaffected as she’d first thought.
She had very little idea of what making love with him would fully entail, but for now something about her pleased him enough to remain before her, his eyes tracing over her skin as he leisurely explored her body.
Abruptly he swung her around to face her away from him, drawing a gasp from her as his fingers circled her waist and pulled her back into the heated column of his hard, toned body.
They stayed like that for endless seconds before he notched his head into the curve of her neck, his lips tracing over her skin. Slowly, his fingers wove into her bound hair, and began to tug out the diamond pins securing the elaborate knot. One by one he discarded them until her hair cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. ‘Incredible,’ he breathed again.
Between her thighs, heat built, powering up into unbearable levels as he sifted his fingers through her hair, indolently, as if he had all the time in the world. Only when he was satisfied did his hand drift over her shoulder to the slope of her chest.