Reclaimed by the Powerful Sheikh

It was his silence that finally drew her gaze reluctantly back to his. It was as if he was waiting for her full attention.

‘I am truly honoured that you would offer me such a gift.’

It took a moment for his words to sink in. He hadn’t undermined her by asking her if she was sure. He hadn’t second guessed her decision, a decision she hadn’t made lightly. He didn’t take away the power of her choice, and instead his next words gave over all control to her. Gave over himself to her.

‘At any point, any, Mason, I will stop. It doesn’t matter what we are doing, how far you think we may have gone. I will stop.’

She felt the truth in his words as a promise written against her skin. It was complete acceptance of her and who she was. And for the first time since she’d left Australia and come to New York, feeling overwhelmed and insecure, unsure of her choices and herself, when she was anywhere but on the back of a horse, this...this was the first time in months that she felt right, that she felt complete. The assurance, the faith that he would protect her, that he too wanted her with the same matched conviction and desire with which she wanted him, was the most intoxicating thing she’d ever felt.

She nodded to indicate that she’d understood what he was offering her, incapable of words, and rose to meet him where he stood. She reached for him then, wrapping her hands around his neck, his height such that she had to stand on tiptoe. Even then that wasn’t quite enough for her to reach his lips. His arms outlined the sides of her chest, and she felt his fingers brush the sides of her breasts, through the thin silk of the top she was wearing. They traced the outline of her body, until they reached the hem, and he went to pull off the garment. She laughed as it got caught around her neck and pulled from his embrace to help remove it. In a second she was back in his embrace, returning her touch to his toned chest. She marvelled at the hard body encased in the finest cotton shirt, her roughened fingers catching on the fine threads. Her fingers dipped between the shirt buttons, relishing the feel of Danyl’s smooth, hot skin and almost laughed again as he shivered the moment her cool hands met his torso. She slipped the buttons from their holes and pressed her lips against his chest, exalting at the feel of his skin against her mouth, her tongue. A growl rose from beneath her kiss and he pulled away, so that his mouth could find hers once more.

Sensation and desire and need all warred within her as he stepped backwards, leading her, unwilling or unable to break the kiss. They backed into the bedroom and the moment they were through the door, instead of heading to the bed, he spun her around so that she could feel his chest against her back, his arms around her waist holding him to her as if he didn’t want to let go of her, of this moment. Her arms went up, once again, to meet behind his neck, pulling his head down to hers, as he pressed open-mouthed kisses across her shoulder, sending a cascade of shivers throughout her body. She felt his fingers at the clasp of her bra and it was quickly discarded. His hands came around to cup her breasts, the warmth of his palms soothing the tightness of her nipples. His fingers played across her skin, gently teasing groans of pleasure from her and building the throbbing between her legs. One hand dipped over the thin waistband of her silk skirt and threaded between her legs, her legs opening enough to let his palm press heavily against that desire.

‘You will be my undoing,’ he whispered into her ear, his tone dark and needy. She sucked in a breath of air that sounded desperate to her own ears as he flexed his hand between her legs. Sensations sparkled straight from her core, sending a flush across her skin.

‘Open your eyes,’ he commanded, and she reluctantly opened her drugged eyelids, not realising that she’d had them closed.

She looked straight into a mirror hung on the back of the bedroom door. And what she saw stole her breath.

She saw herself, her head back against his broad shoulder, his forearm across her naked breasts, as if protecting her modesty. Her long auburn hair ran like a waterfall across her shoulder, reaching almost halfway down to her waist. But it was the sight of his other arm, the one that covered the centre of her body, the hand retreating from between her legs, that made her want to cry out and tell him ‘no’. She locked eyes with his in the reflection in the mirror, and caught the ghost of his smile as if he knew what she was thinking.

But his fingers were bunching the thin material of her skirts, bringing it higher across her thighs as if both teasing her and allowing her the time to put a stop to his movements. Her eyes flickered between his gaze and his hand, and all words, all thoughts stopped when he reached beneath her panties and trailed one long finger down to find her clitoris. She gasped out loud then, a violent shiver of pleasure rocking her body within his arms. Again and again he traced over the sensitive skin, until he plunged that same finger into the wet heat of her core. Her chest rose away from his, pushing her breasts into his hand, arcing from him and simultaneously allowing him greater access. Need coursed through her, the blood in her veins pounding in her ears, but not enough to mask the sounds of arousal falling from her lips. Sighs, groans, incomprehensible words littered the air as he plunged his fingers into her again and again, each time drawing her body against his, where she could feel the power of his erection behind her. She wanted...she wanted...so much it was impossible for her to tell.

‘Open your eyes,’ he commanded again.

But she shook her head where it rested against his shoulder. She couldn’t, she dared not look at what he was doing to her. It would send her over the edge, she instinctively knew. This tightness, this need—it was overwhelming. It was building in her, begging for release.

‘Please, Mason, I want to see you. I want to see it happen. Just let go and open your eyes. Let me give you this pleasure, let me show you what it can be,’ he asked of her.

She opened her eyes, and met his once more in the reflection. The need she saw there, the desire...it was as if he too was as overwhelmed as she. His deft fingers plunged once more into her and her whole body rushed to meet them in an explosion. Stars, she saw stars, and brightness, and the last thing before she saw almost nothing was the look in his eyes, humbled and awed.

Her muscles clenched around his fingers, again and again as her body was rocked by the most intense orgasm. Her legs turned to jelly as his strong arm held her in place against his body. He turned her in his arms, sought her mouth and claimed her with a kiss that branded her with passion. She kissed him back with everything she had, everything she wanted to say but couldn’t. It was as if he’d tasted her very soul.

He picked her up where she stood and walked over to the bed with her in his arms, laying her down gently on the bed.

‘Remember what I said. We can stop. At any time.’ The sincerity in his eyes was so much a gift she couldn’t respond with words. She nodded instead, pulling him into a kiss. He broke it only long enough to remove his clothes, and the rest of hers.

She’d thought that the sight of him fully naked might make her nervous, might make her worried, but instead she only felt need. The need to give him what he’d given her, the need to find that incredible height she’d felt before she’d fallen completely. The need to join with him and take him inside her... He reached for a condom and she watched him roll it over the

long, hard length of his erection. He lay beside her, his hands roaming freely over her shivering skin, over her breasts, over her toned thighs, between her legs once more. Mason didn’t think it was possible to feel that desire again so quickly, but he teased it from her, once again bringing forth the sound of her pleasure, her need. She pulled him towards her, and instinct took over, somehow her body knowing what she wanted before the thought could enter her mind.

He braced himself on his forearms, either side of her head, locking his gaze with hers, as if desperate to see everything she felt, every tiny reaction her eyes might express.

She felt the tip of his arousal at her core and unbidden pleas rose to her lips; she wanted to feel him, inside her.

He entered her slowly, allowing her to get used to his size, to get used to the feel of him she wanted so much. It was strange, and for a moment slightly painful, stinging in a way she hadn’t quite expected. His fingers came up to her face, smoothing across the planes of her cheeks.

‘Okay?’

She waited and her body adjusted, welcoming him, needing him more. Her hips shifted beneath his, experimenting with the feel of him inside her.

‘Very,’ she said with a small smile, her hands tracing the length of his back, urging him deeper into her. She gasped as he filled her completely, an exquisite feeling she could never have imagined coming over her.

Before long, the slow, controlled movements weren’t enough. She wanted so much more. She pulled him into her again, and he smiled, increasing his pace until he too was lost to all but sensation. His own sounds of pleasure increased hers tenfold and once more sparkles dusted her skin, sticking to it with the slick evidence of their need. He plunged into her, so fully, she felt that he had reached her soul, and the tension that had built impossibly between them reached a crescendo that she thought she might never recover from.

CHAPTER FIVE

December, present day