The Sheikh's Captive American (Zahkim Sheikhs 1)

Settling himself between her legs, he pushed in so slowly she almost took the leap to actually begging. She wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to drag him into her, but he held himself up and back.

With a smile, he told her, "I will set the pace."

She gave a growl. "What is it about ‘hard fuck’ don't you understand?"

He gave a low laugh, which she felt rumble through her like thunder.

And then he was moving, pushing into her. Throwing her head back, she closed her eyes and let the waves take her. He started slow, then faster and harder. He held himself up by his arms, so it was simply his cock pushing into her, his hips pressing her into the bed. She drew her legs up so he could push in deeper, and she gave a low hum at the new sensation.

That seemed to set him off.

His hips bucked again, and he pushed faster into her, his hips jerking now. Sweat slic

ked his skin and hers. Tess put her hands on his shoulders and dug her fingernails in.

"Yeah." The word came out more like a moan.

And then light exploded inside her, filling her with heat and leaving her body tingling. She seemed to be floating for an instant, but Tarek was still pounding into her, harder, stronger. She was coming apart for him. Her heart rate surged. She gave a cry, one of need and desire, and she so wanted his mouth on hers again, but she could barely breathe.

With a low moan, he pushed even deeper and then froze, his body connected to hers and suspended over her. She dragged her eyes open to stare at him, at his muscles outlined by the light from the other room, at his angular features half shadowed now, at his eyes, closed so only the dark fringe of his eyelashes against his cheeks could be seen.

He pushed in twice more, leaving her tingling and shooting small pulses of pleasure through her like fireworks. Then he let out a breath and rolled off her. She gave a sigh. She was wet—soaked. She would feel this tomorrow. Even without the aches and pains from the day, it had been a long time since she'd slept with anyone. Reaching out, she patted his chest. Sleep was already stealing in, weighing down her muscles, leaving her limp.

"That was more than a good fuck…that was a great fuck."

She got back a hum that could mean anything from agreement to disagreement, but right now she didn't care. He'd given her exactly what she'd wanted—he'd made her feel fully alive. She could sleep now and not dream of planes crashing. She'd dream of him instead.

And when the morning came—well, she'd deal with that then.

Chapter Five

Tarek stirred sugar into his morning coffee. Last night had been a mistake.

He had let his desire for Tess override his common sense. She had urged him to give into his instincts, and he had. He could kick himself for that now.

He was a rational man. He was not a man who lost control and fucked a guest in his palace as if she was his personal toy. That should not have happened, and it would not happen again. No, Tess Angel could stay at the palace as his honored guest. He, in turn, would make certain he kept his distance, his mind sane and his cock could stay in his pants. He would ignore his body’s insistence that possessing her had been the best idea ever.

However, he could not ignore his grandmother, who disconcertingly sat across the breakfast table from him. She had been discussing a feast in Tess's honor, and those plans needed to be derailed.

He waited for her to run out of steam and then said, "My first priority this morning is to ensure Zahkim's communications continue to operate smoothly. The military has been put in charge and there will be no outage of the Internet or mobile phones." He smiled. "I'm certain you do not intend to hamper my ability to see to my duties today with this scheme of yours."

Amal's mouth flattened. She had finished her breakfast of fruit and now placed her cutlery across the plate. They always breakfasted together in the small dining room off the central gardens. He thought of it as pretending to be a normal person for an hour, before he had to face the reality of his position.

Fixing her stare on him, she stated, "You cannot be in meetings all day. You have a guest to see to."

Tarek put his gaze on his coffee. He did not want to think of Tess. After he'd left her asleep, he had done nothing but think of her, and then he had dreamed about how those long, luscious legs had felt wrapped around him while he…

His spoon clattered against the china saucer. "Tess has the palace at her beck and call. She will also have her own business to attend to."

The old woman huffed out a breath. "That is not enough. In my day, a man knew—"

"This isn't your day. It is mine."

"So you mean to be a monster who calls out the military for no reason? That will not endear you to the people."

"Perhaps not, but having access to emergency services and keeping businesses open so this country can continue to run will. And now, Grandmother, I must start my day."

"You would do better to start it by courting your fate. You cannot escape what is meant to be." He shook his head. She stood and faced him. "Believe what you like, and I'll believe my feelings about this. We'll see who's right, my modern grandson."