The lights flickered above them, and he held his breath. God help him, he wanted to do the right thing but the invitation was written all over her face. She gently rocked against his erection, and he was lost.
With a savage growl, he tightened his grip around her and pushed her back, bearing down on her until her back was flat against the floor. As his hands slipped under her shirt to touch her smooth, silky skin, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers for a hot, wet, open kiss. A breathy moan escaped her, and she lifted her hips so that she rubbed against him.
With the touch of her tongue, the danger outside fell away, and he thought only of the perfect creature undulating under him. As he explored her warm, silky mouth, he thought only of what he desperately wanted to do to her.
“Ah, Poppy,” he whispered as he pulled back and stared at her. “You drive me crazy. I can’t wait to explore you. I want to lick and suckle every inch of your body until I discover what makes you moan and scream.”
She bit her bottom lip and squirmed under him. Grounding his erection against her, he leaned down and gently scraped his teeth along the crook of her neck. Moving his hands up farther, he teased her erect nipples over her bra until she arched into his touch.
God, he wanted her to beg. He wanted her to know that he was the man who could make her body ache with desire. A feeling of possession like he’d never known swept through him. Sliding down her body, he lifted her shirt and was fully prepared to get rid of that pesky bra when the door suddenly swung open.
Tensing, he whirled around to protect Poppy. Melka stood on the other side, an angry scowl on his face. “False alarm,” he said in a tight voice. “It was only the grounds keeper.”
“Taj?” Poppy gasped as she scrambled away from Samir. “Is he okay? Did you hurt him?”
“He’ll live.”
Poppy jumped to her feet and ran from the room. Samir couldn’t help but feel jealous when he watched her go. He prayed that Taj was old or ugly.
Samir didn’t share.
“Sheikh, I don’t like this,” Melka muttered. “We don’t know anything about her, and your father ordered that you were to have no contact with anyone until we knew that it was safe.”
“She’s a maid,” Samir growled. “She’s not a spy. You’ve got to relax.”
“No. I don’t.”
Samir’s eyes widened when he heard the coldness in his guard’s voice. He and Melka had been together for a long time, and while he knew the man was deadly in his own right, this was the first time he’d ever experienced a hint of that violence.
“Melka, you may answer to my father when we’re at the palace, but when we’re here, you answer to me. Poppy is not dangerous, and I’m not going to stay away from her. There’s something about her…” his voice trailed off, and he shook his head. “We’re not going to have this discussion again.”
Striding past him, he jogged down the stairs to get a good look at this groundskeeper.
7
Poppy tried to get Taj to spend the night, but he rebuffed her. Apparently, he’d wanted to make sure the generator was working in case the electricity went out. He had driven up in a snowplow, so Poppy felt a little easier about letting the old man leave. He looked like he was pushing eighty, but he was as strong as an ox.
When Samir came downstairs, she quickly bade everyone good night and tried to walk as calmly as possible to her room. Her hands shook as she gently closed the door, and she leaned against it, eyes closed. The ghostly imprint of his touch still tantalized her, and she tried desperately to push the memory away.
It did no good. She still felt the delicious weight of his body pressing against her and the promise of his erection sliding between her legs.
I want to lick and suckle every inch of your body until I discover what makes you moan and scream.
Poppy had no doubt that he would be capable of doing just that.
“No,” she whispered fiercely. “No, no, no, no.” She would not give in to him. She was better than that. She was classier than that. She didn’t fuck her employers, and she certainly didn’t fuck playboys who spent their whole lives drinking and bedding any pretty woman that walked past them. After all, wasn’t that the whole reason why he was here?
Unable to deny herself any more, she stripped off her clothes and slipped between the sheets of her small bed. Closing her eyes, she imagined Samir leaning over her and pressing his lips to her neck again. She moved her hands over her chest to flick lightly at her nipples. Moaning softly, she continued to play with herself.
Imagining that it was Samir’s hands, she moved them over her flat abdomen until she felt the juices slicked over her pussy. Moving her thumb over her clit, she whispered his name and twisted her hips helplessly under her own touch. Finally, she took a deep breath and slid a finger inside herself.
What would it feel like to have Samir’s lips on her clit? Tonguing her? Nipping at her? What would it feel like when he slid his cock inside her?
“Please,” she whispered as she stroked her fingers faster. Thrusting against her own touch, she flicked her thumb over her clit until the orgasm washed over her. Aware that she was moaning loudly, she pulled her hand back and buried her face in the pillows. Although she was alone, shame washed over her.
What was wrong with her? She wasn’t the kind of woman to let a man control her like this, but Samir was taking over her thoughts.
Squeezing her legs shut, she reminded herself that she was in control. She couldn’t do anything to jeopardize her job. If she were going to make it through graduate school, she’d need all the money she could save.