The Sheikh's Stubborn Lover (The Adjalane Sheikhs 2)

He kissed her hip, bit softly, and asked, “Here?”

She arched, lifting one knee to press against his hardness. He nipped her bottom lip. “Behave.” Sitting up, he slipped off his shirt and trousers. He had to feel his skin against hers. He pushed her legs apart, making a place for himself between her thighs. He used one hand to fit himself to her wet heat.

“Adilan,” she said, the word a soft groan. The sound nearly undid him. He loved hearing his name spill from her lips.

He lowered himself onto her. She arched her neck, and he couldn’t resist biting her collarbone lightly. When she moaned in pleasure, his control broke. He needed to be closer. He nudged his way inside the tiniest bit. “Lift your knees up and wrap your legs around my hips. Once I am inside you, it will be a race to the finish and I don’t want you left behind.”

She gave another moan and her eyes slid closed.

Adilan kept kissing her even as he slid all the way into her. He held himself still for a moment, savoring the moment. She was a touch of heaven. Her breathing had quickened and he wet hair spilled around her face. He had never wanted a woman like this.

When she shifted her hips and arched, he gave up trying to go slow.

“Michelle, open your eyes and look at me,” he urged her. She did. He was pleased to her eyes had darkened, the blue swallowed up by black. Her face was flushed with the beginnings of pleasure. She gave a moan. His body tightened.

He held her gaze as he pulled out and pushed deeper. “Keep watching me,” he told her. He knew he was on the verge of finding his own pleasure, but he wanted to see her come apart. He wanted to see hear her say his name again. Her skin heated and slicked against his. Reaching between them, he touched that spot at the apex of her core. She arched against him, hips bucking, calling out his name.

The force of her contractions sent him over the edge. Pleasure swept through him in a sharp jolt. He’d wasn’t prepared for it and felt as if the sandstorm outside had swept him up in its grip, spinning him until he didn’t know up from down. This had never happened before. Always he had been in control. Always he had taken and given pleasure with some part of himself held back. This time there had been no holding back. It was impossible to deny her any part of himself.

He looked down at her, her lips swollen, her breasts pressed flat against his chest, her face flushed. He kissed her temples—right then left, and slowly kissed her lips, finding them soft as rose petals. He wanted to gather her close, to shield her. He wanted things from her he had never thought to want. An image flashed in his mind of her with a babe in her arms. Ah…that would be heaven. And impossible. She was the daughter of his father’s enemy. She was the woman who stood between him and all he wanted. And still he cradled her.

“Rest now,” he said rolling to the side and pulling her with him. He kissed her ear and whispered, “Habibiti.” But he wondered if he really meant the word this time.

Chapter 11

The wind had stopped when Michelle woke. She was surprised she had slept at all. The cushions were also bare. Pulling on her shirt, she headed outside. She found Adilan in the nearest spring. Letting her shirt drop away, she waded in. This spring was deeper than the other one she had been in. The water covered her, warm and scented with minerals. She swam over to Adilan.

“I never want to leave,” he said and wrapped his arms around her.

She gave a soft hum. “We’ll have to sometime. You can only hold the real world at bay for so long.”

“For you, I would hold it back forever. I would have camels bring us food and clothing and we would live here.”

She laughed and pulled away from him. “You’d be bored in a week, and so would I.”

Grinning, she swam closer, his green eyes darkening. “Never. With you, how could any man be bored?”

Michelle’s face heated. She’d never had such flattery. She tried to imagine Alan saying such things and failed utterly. Turning, she swam to the edge of the spring and climbed out. Grabbing her shirt, she turned back to Adilan. “Thank you. Thank you for this day, for showing me the springs, for…well for a memory I will never forget.”

He climbed from the water, skin glistening. Michelle’s mouth dried. He seemed to be all muscles and long limbs. The water beaded on his dark skin, caught on the curling hair on his chest. He slicked back the black hair on his head and came to her. “Must it end?”

She shook her head and pulled on her shirt. “There never was a beginning, Adilan. Just a moment we could grab.” She touched his face, ran her thumb over the edge of his jaw line. “My life is a long way from here, and your life—well, I don’t think you were looking for a long-term relationship, now were you?”

He put his hands on her hips, sneaking his touch up under the shirt that barely covered her ass. “What if I told you I was not looking, but what I have found with you—I have never felt like this.”

She smiled and shook her head again. Putting a hand flat on his chest, she held him back with the slightest of touches. “Adilan, let’s not ruin this with promises that neither of us can keep. Isn’t that how your dad and my mom got into hot water? Let’s not…well, let’s try and be better than that.”

Slipping away from him, she headed back to the tent to dress. But already her heart was aching. How could she be so stupid as to fall for a guy she barely knew. It had to be the romance of the desert and the oasis. This was a…a fantasy. A mirage. She would dress, she’d go back to her hotel, and then she’d have to figure out what to do. If worse came to worse, she’d have to call her mother for advice. She let out a sigh. Was she ever going to have her own life? Or was it always going to be her running around and doing her mother’s bidding?

***

Adilan cursed as he struggled to clear the sand from the engine. He had stalked back to the tent and dressed quickly, his mood turning sour. Why could he not smile and kiss Michelle and thank her for a lovely afternoon. He had done what he wanted—he had shown her the Zia oasis, he had seduced her and softened her mood. Of course she would make the trade for land, and then she would fly back to America.

That thought left him frowning at the Hummer’s engine. Why should he care if she was here and then gone? Wasn’t that how he liked all his affairs—brief and simple.

But Michelle—he already wanted her again. He wanted to find out her favorite foods, he wanted to take her dancing under the stars, he wanted to stay up all night making love with her and watch t

he sunrise over the ocean.