“You were staring into the candle like it made an inappropriate advance.” He held her tightly, and at the mention of inappropriate advances, she felt Issam’s cock twitch between them.
He had already been thinking about her before he came into the dining room.
It made Mackenzie’s blood sing, the way his body needed her like this. But people’s lives were at stake, and—
“I need more of you.” Issam cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face back to his. “I need more of you, right now.”
Oh. Oh.
His eyes were dark pools of lust, and Mackenzie’s mind went spiraling off in two different direction
s. She needed to have this conversation with him, but she wanted him to look at her that way, and—
Issam leaned down and kissed her. It was so hard and possessive that Mackenzie gasped. He lifted her into his arms, her skirt riding up around her waist as her legs went around his, and she pushed playfully at his chest. “Issam, we’re in the dining room—”
“You have a problem with the dining room?” He pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. “Let’s go elsewhere, then.”
And he was off, striding from the dining room and down the hall to his bedroom.
“What about dinner?” she teased, but it was only half-teasing. As much as Mackenzie loved having sex with Issam, the conversation had been a crucial one, and she’d gathered so much momentum—
“Dinner will wait.” He went through the door and kicked it shut behind him. “On your hands and knees.”
Sweat collected between Mackenzie’s shoulder blades as she rolled over, pushing herself onto her hands and knees, still reeling from the first round of Issam’s dominance. He had thrown her onto the bed and stripped off her clothes with rough movements, and it had turned her on. It had made her so lightheaded with pleasure that she struggled to keep her talking points within reach.
And she had to do that, because once Issam had had his way with her—and oh, god, it was a good way—she still wanted to talk to him about the shelter.
They flew right out of her head when Issam reached between her legs and spread her open with his fingers. It was so wickedly filthy, the way he touched her like that—as if she belonged to him, as if every part of her belonged to him in a way that was so primal, it made her even wetter. She wriggled against his hand to provoke him, and he responded with a growl, his hand coming down hard on her hip to keep her in place.
“Head down,” he said sharply, and Mackenzie pressed her cheek against the cool surface of the pillow. Issam ran his hands over the curve of her back, his fingertips lingering there, and it had the effect of spreading her open wider, and oh—
Issam drove into her slowly, letting her feel every inch, and Mackenzie took him, slick and wet from his earlier attentions. He was quiet, small noises escaping from the back of his throat, and all of her heated and warmed at how much he needed this. He needed to possess her. And she needed to be owned. The sheer submission of it made her clench around him, and he groaned.
“You’re too much,” he said through gritted teeth. “Too much—” And then he was thrusting harder, his hips slapping against the curve of her ass with a filthy sound, and it was so deliciously dirty that Mackenzie came while he was buried deep inside her. Issam reached his own release, and she felt his gorgeous abs tighten as he forced himself to stay upright to the bitter end.
When they’d both come down from the peak, Issam wrapped an arm around her waist and they tumbled into the sheets.
Mackenzie curled up next to Issam, her hand on his chest. His heart beat evenly, as if he hadn’t exerted himself at all, although his skin had a glowing sheen to it. She studied him for a few long moments. His dark lashes rested peacefully against his cheeks, though his abs in any form never looked peaceful. They looked like an invitation.
She traced her fingers over those ridges and cleared her throat. “Did you have a good day today?”
“Yes.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “Though this was the best part by far.”
Mackenzie laughed. “I’d have to say the same.”
Issam opened his eyes and looked at her. “How did the planning go?”
“It was fine. It was—more than fine.” She propped herself up on one elbow so she could see his face. “I’ve been having some very productive discussions with some of the women I’ve had meetings with.”
“About the wedding?” Issam’s voice held a note of caution.
“About the wedding, and about the shelter.” She went right into it with a confidence she didn’t entirely feel. “I wish I’d known it earlier, but many of the women in this industry are very well connected, and their businesses are successful enough that they have influence over certain organizations, and—” She was veering sharply away from the point. “I’ve learned a lot about the fort, about what it would take to make the housing sustainable, and what it’s going to take from Al-Dashalid to safely occupy and fortify—"
“Are you paying attention to the wedding at all?” He’d gone tense beneath her touch, his dark eyes suspicious.
“Issam, what do you mean? Of course I have. I sit in meetings all day with all kinds of planners and vendors.”
“You just told me that you’ve been spending your time talking to them about the shelter.”