Desert Orchid: The Desert Princes: Book 1 (12 page)

Her hands clamped over small breasts and her big eyes went wide.

Aww, she was shy.

How cute was that?

With gentle hands he covered hers and pulled them above her head, anchoring her slim wrists with one hand as he looked his fill.

She was beautifully formed with small, pert breasts and soft smooth skin. Her waist was tiny.

Khalid couldn’t help it, he purred deep in his throat.

She was perfect.

Her skin was the colour of fresh cream where the marks of her bikini had covered her and he wondered idly where she sunbathed.

Under his hot gaze her ruby nipples beaded as she shivered.

"Beautiful breasts. Are you cold, baby?"

She shook her head and wriggled under him in a silent plea for... something.

Her lips parted and in his pants his arousal made a bid for freedom, which made him purr again. His fingers carefully explored the soft fullness of her breast and she groaned and his mouth found hers. He slipped his tongue into her to taste, to explore, and his erection ached painfully as the essence of her, the flavour of her mouth, the scent of her sweet breath and the tremble of her body made him grind his rock hard shaft into the cradle of her pelvis.

He’d thought the darkly erotic dreams of her, of his lonely nights, were hot?

They were nothing compared to the real thing, here, now, and in his bed.

An orgasm tingled the base of his spine and he took a shuddering breath wondering what the hell was happening to him?

What had happened to his legendary self-control?

He pressed his mouth to the hectic pulse under her ear and took a deep breath.

It didn’t help.

She smelled absolutely fucking fabulous and all the while his hand stroked the silky soft skin of her breast before slipping down to her flat abdomen.

With a final burning kiss, he rose.

All Charisse wore were her panties.

And shamefully they were damp.

The slick heat between her legs along with the ache deep in her belly told her she was more than ready for this.

He’d stripped her with a thoroughness and competency that took her breath.

Now, Khalid stood at the side of the bed and those amazing grey eyes simply devoured her from head to toe. With a dark gleam in those eyes and with a slowness that was the most exquisite torture, he pulled the cord of his loose pants and they dropped to the floor.

The whimper that escaped from her throat should have shamed her.

Instead, her eyes went wide.

Oh. My. God.

His sex was a magnificent shock.

Thick as her fist and big, his manhood stood proud and tall.

Her eyes flew to his.

Healthy fear burst the heady bubble of her desire.

This was a terrible, terrible mistake.

No way would he ever fit inside her.

What on earth had she been thinking?

Her mouth felt as if she’d swallowed every grain of sand in the desert as Charisse began to heel up the bed until her skull hit the headboard.

Khalid simply watched her through narrowed eyes that appeared slightly baffled by her behaviour.

And she supposed most women, experienced women, might be thrilled at the thought of being made love to by this big man.

But she wasn’t one of them.

This was going to hurt, and hurt bad.

"Nice panties," he drawled in a thick voice that didn’t arouse, instead it bloody terrified her. "I have a thing for ribbon and lace. And I don’t know where you think you’re going because I’ve got all night to peel them off you."

Charisse realised with alarming clarity that she should have told him the truth right from the very beginning.

She cleared her throat as he whipped off his hair band.

Black, glossy waves fell to his shoulders and he crawled up the bed towards her. He looked wild, untamed, and incredibly aroused.

Her breath panted in her throat.

She simply could not take her eyes from his bobbing erection.

"Khalid," she said sounding as desperate as she felt. "I need to tell you something."

Then she yelped as he grabbed her ankles, yanking her down the bed.

He straddled her.

Placing his arms either side of her head, he bent down to stare into her eyes.

Oh. My. God.

The heady scent of his arousal and clean male had her heart beat crazily against her ribs.

Those grey eyes grew dark with sheer lust as he studied her mouth in way that made her lick her lips.

His eyes met hers.

"Do you, baby? Whatever it is can wait," he growled low in his throat.

He caught her hair in one hand to tilt her head to the side. And then his mouth pressed hot and hungry kisses over her throat as his rough hand explored her breasts, her ribcage and down to her thighs.

Her overheated system, torn between a brutal arousal and utter terror, took her on the rollercoaster ride of her life.

A strong knee pushed her legs apart and pressed against her slick heat.

"Khalid! Please... you need to..."

He gave a throaty chuckle.

"Patience, baby. Hmm, you’re so wet, so ready for me. I’m going to make you scream my name, Charisse."

The lust in his voice made her whimper.

He was going to make her scream all right, and not in a good way.

Something more than panic roared from her solar plexus and into her throat.

She gave sob as her whole system threatened to go up in flames.

And she realised with horror that Khalid had taken the sound as a sign she wanted more.

When he ripped off her panties and positioned himself in the cradle of her hips and his erection nudged her slick folds, Charisse couldn’t help it.

She burst into tears.

It took Khalid between one heart beat and the next to realise Charisse was pressing her palms against his chest not in lustful exploration but in an ineffectual attempt to push him off her.

And she’d turned her head away. Not for him to explore the hectic pulse in her neck, but to speak to him.

Her whimpering cries he’d taken for arousal. And now he realised his mistake.

Those shuddering breaths were not in fact lust, but sheer bloody terror.

Her tears and great heaving sobs actually made his chest ache.

In a smooth move, he sat and stared at her, totally baffled.

What the hell was the matter with her?

She simply lay there like a rag doll with her endless legs spread wide.

A fist was pressed to her mouth and a trembling hand covered her eyes.

What the hell had he done?

She wanted this, didn't she?

Her nipples were bullet hard and her need for him was glistening between her legs.

Frowning, he battled with a frustrated anger.

Was she playing him?

No.

He could see she was beside herself and terribly upset.

Her lips were trembling in a way that made him press his fist to his heart and rub hard.

He couldn’t bear to see her in distress.

Gathering her in his arms, he sat her up with her back against the headboard.

Since her hands fluttered between her breasts and her sex, he handed her a pillow and she hugged it hard as she pulled up her knees.

Positioning himself directly in front of her, Khalid sat in the lotus position and stared in absolute fury at her shuddering shoulders.

"Start talking," he growled.

Huge blue eyes drenched in tears blinked into his. And the tip of her nose was red. White teeth bit down hard on her bottom lip in a pitiful attempt to stop it quivering. And Khalid had never seen anything so beautiful or so utterly vulnerable in his entire life.

"I’m so terribly sorry," she whispered and tears again gathered to swim in those big eyes.

He simply could not bear those tears.

"Stop crying!" he roared like a bull.

Her jolt of shocked surprise made him feel like an absolute bastard, but apparently it had the desired effect.

She blinked rapidly as unsteady fingers swiped her cheeks.

"I’m a virgin."

His jaw dropped.

Excuse the fuck out of me?

For a breathless moment he stared at her in stunned disbelief as his brain attempted to compute the statement.

Yet again she’d thrown him a curve.

Whatever he’d been expecting it certainly hadn’t been this.

But why was he surprised?

She’d come to Onuur at the age of sixteen.

He knew she’d been a good and loyal wife to his uncle.

Every day he spent in the country only reinforced how hard she worked and how much she loved the people.

Why had he assumed she’d had lovers?

Was it because it was easier for him to think of her as a harlot with her eye on the main chance rather than admit how much she’d affected him as soon as he’d laid eyes on her?

He’d accused her of not giving him a chance.

What chance had he given her to show him how she ticked?

And he’d scared her.

Badly.

She was staring at him as if he was a ticking bomb about to explode.

All these thoughts and more raced through his brain.

But the one that brought him the most joy and relief was the realisation that no man had ever touched her. Khalid couldn’t remember a woman coming to his bed untouched. For his whole life women had come to him expectant and demanding.

He could only hope he had it in him to be careful and gentle with her.

Dear heaven, she’d trusted him enough to be the first.

No.

Not just the first, but the only lover she’d ever have.

He only hoped to God that he had it in him to look after her properly.

Her gaze kept flicking down to his aching arousal and the bitter truth hit him like a freight train.

She was terrified that he was going to hurt her.

A deep affection for this beautiful girl unlocked the padlock of the heavy chain that surrounded his heart.

With an unsteady inhale of breath, Khalid reached out to cup her face between his hands and tip it up to his.

"Baby, I cannot begin to tell you how happy you have made me with that news. You did the right thing to stop me."

She blinked and he read a wary relief that warred with a needy disappointment.

God bless her, even though she was scared to death, she still wanted him.

Her courage humbled him.

"I should have told you before but I thought everything would be fine. I’m not stupid, Khalid. I understand perfectly well that the first time will hurt." Those big blue eyes flicked again to his manhood and went wide. "But, it’s just that..."

He tilted her head and smiled into those amazing eyes.

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul.

In that case, Charisse had the most beautiful soul.

"You do great things for my ego. But I’m not much larger than the average man. Will you trust me enough to make it good for you?"

Charisse's hands held on tight to his wrists.

She frowned now in a way that he found absolutely adorable.

"Only if you still want me."

Her faith in him unmanned him in a way he’d never experienced before.

The expression of complete trust on her face made him tighten his grip on her chin and his own eyes went wide.

"Are you crazy? Of course I want you. We’ll take it nice and slow. I’ll stop whenever you tell me to.
You
are in the driving seat here."

She closed her eyes and took a long, shaky breath. "I’ve been incredibly stupid."

Another thought entered his head. "Have you ever been kissed before, baby?"

Her eyes flew to his and he read the honest to God truth.

No wonder the girl was trembling.

Stroking her arms to soothe, he heard her sigh, felt her body relax and her hands slid around his waist.

Very gently he placed his mouth on hers with a tenderness he should have shown her right from the very beginning. But their mutual hunger meant too soon tenderness wasn’t enough.

With exquisite care he made love to her with his mouth and took her deeper.

Her breath hitched. The low moan that came from extraordinary amazement squeezed his heart. And for the first time in his life he truly understood a woman’s needs enough to put her before himself.