Grabbed the terrycloth bath sheet before she found it.
His fingers brushed hers. She cried out, swiped the hair from her eyes.
“No,” she said, “don’t—”
Karim threaded his hands in the rich, wet gold of her hair. Lifted her face to his and took her mouth in a hard, hungry kiss.
It was what he’d wanted to do that first time.
Then, he’d been able to stop.
No way could he stop now.
She struggled.
He persisted.
And the kiss changed.
It took all his determination to gentle it into something soft and seductive.
His lips moved gently over hers; he whispered her name, whispered how much he wanted her, first in his own language and then in hers.
Everything within him slowed. He wanted the kiss to last forever …
She stopped struggling. She sighed. Her lips clung to his. Her hands rose, touched his chest.
He could feel her trembling, but not with fear.
He felt his blood roar. Felt the earth tilt.
Now, everything in him said, take her now …
Karim shuddered.
Then he lifted his head, wrapped the towel around her and got the hell out of the bathroom, out of the apartment, out of the honeyed trap that had surely been set by his brother’s clever, beautiful mistress.
CHAPTER FOUR
RACHEL stood where he’d left her, clutching the bath sheet as if it could shield her from him.
Too late, her body hummed, much too late.
He’d already done what he’d wanted. Touched her. Kissed her. Taken her on an emotional rollercoaster ride that had taken her from terror to—to—
She jumped at the sound of the front door slamming.
He was gone.