Awakened by the Passionate Sheik (The Ladies of The Burling School Book 2)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Long legs, he thought, refocusing on Tamera. Strong. When she shifted, the long muscles in her calves flexed. She was a runner, he realized. Long distance runners had a specific muscle formation in their calves.

  His eyes traveled higher and his body reacted to the strength in her thighs. In the sleeveless dress, he could see the contours of other muscles, but her figure indicated that she was more into running than any other form of exercise.

  Something else to admire about his lovely fiancée, he thought with increasing relish.

  A man approached their table. He bent down and spoke to the two men, both of whom shook their heads. The stranger grinned, then turned to Tamara.

  Oh, bad move, Jurid thought. From what he could tell from that exchange, the stranger had just asked the men if he could dance with Tamara. If Jurid knew one thing about women in general and Tamara in particular, he was sure that they didn’t like being thought of as a possession. And this stranger had just asked the wrong person if she was free to dance.

  Sure enough, he smiled at Tamara, tilted his head towards the dance floor, then looked at her hopefully. Tamara shook her head and returned to her conversation while the rejected man wandered off.

  Okay, so Jurid had thought of the lovely princess as “his” after their night together. But his pride in her strength was different. How that was different, he didn’t know, nor was he going to analyze the issue too closely. He enjoyed the feeling, that sense of possessiveness towards Tamara increasing – ironic, actually. He felt possessive of a woman who didn’t want to feel like a possession.

  So sue him, he thought with a chuckle. He was a bit of a sexist, but he wouldn’t make the mistake of asking another man if she would like to dance.

  He noticed that her drink was almost gone. With a look towards one of his guards, he nodded. Immediately, the guard walked over to the bar, put in an order for another martini, and watched as the bartender mixed the drink.

  A moment later, Tamara smiled up at the guard, assuming he was one of the wait staff for the night club. She took a sip of the drink, then carefully set it onto the small, glass table in front of her.

  That’s when something occurred to him. She’d started off with a full drink about an hour ago, but he hadn’t seen her drink anything. Where had her previous drink gone?

  At that same moment, another man walked up to her, bending low and whispering in her ear. Obviously, this was another request to dance but this time, she accepted.

  Jurid’s fingers closed into a fist as he watched her stand up, those long, sexy legs straightening. The man took Tamara’s hand and led her towards the dance floor. Instinctively, Jurid wanted to leap over the table, scoop Tamera up, and leave with her in his arms, but he took a deep breath and waited, biding his time.

  Jurid watched as Tamara danced. She didn’t seem to even notice the other man, just swaying to the beat of the music on her own. The stranger raked his eyes up and down her figure and the smug smile that played about his lips warned Jurid that this dance wasn’t going to end well.

  Instead of nodding to one of his guards to intercede, Jurid stood up, determined to move in and take over. He’d observed long enough. It was time for action.

  Stepping around dancers gyrating under the flashing lights, he made his way toward Tamera. That’s when he saw the man’s hand move to Tamara’s waist and slide lower. A startled and irritated expression flashed across her lovely features. She twisted the man’s fingers sharply. Jurid swallowed a laugh as the stranger’s face twisted in pain as Tamara pulled his hand out from underneath her dress. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded frantically. A fraction of a second later, she stalked back to her table, where her friends were laughing.

  Jurid was more turned on than he’d thought possible! Tamara knew how to take care of herself, which was…hot! She hadn’t allowed a man to paw her without permission. Damn, his admiration for her increased exponentially!

  Time to move in, he decided. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a group of men who were grouped around a cell phone. Jurid walked over and, sure enough, the men were watching a video of Tamara’s actions. The video had perfectly captured the man’s look of startled pain as his fingers were twisted. Jurid chuckled as well, then took the phone away, handing it to his guard who was right behind him.

  “What the hell, dude!” the shorter man exclaimed.

  Jurid put a firm hand on the man’s shoulder, effectively holding him still. “Just a moment, please,” Jurid warned the man. His guards were already circling the group. Jurid knew that the guard behind him was deleting the video after forwarded it to a private e-mail account.

  “But…that’s my phone! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  The guard handed the phone back to Jurid. “Here you go,” Jurid said to the man, who looked more than slightly stunned. “Thank you so much for your vigilance.” Jurid decided it was time to ask his lovely fiancée to dance. It had been too long since he’d held her in his arms and tonight he wanted to make up for lost time.

  Stepping up behind Tamara, he opened his mouth to ask her to dance when a vodka martini suddenly splashed over his shoe. The mystery of the missing drinks was answered. His lovely lady didn’t drink the martinis. She poured them onto the floor!

  Mike and Joe gaped in stunned silence. Obviously their expressions warned Tamara because she looked over her shoulder.

  “Jurid!” she gasped and stumbled up from her small chair. “What…what are you doing here?” she demanded, stepping closer automatically, but immediately stepped back again.

  Jurid was having none of that and pulled her against his side, his arm wrapped around her waist. “Good evening, my dear,” he whispered against her ear, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin and he felt her shiver. “Are you having a good time?”

  Tamara smiled up at Jurid, trying desperately to hide the joy she felt at the sight of him. But he was here! Slowly, her hands shifted so that she could lay her palms against his chest. “What are you doing here?” she asked, and cleared her throat so that her voice didn’t sound so…husky.

  “Because you’re here.” He shifted his weight and she gasped quietly at the evidence of his arousal against her. “Dance with me,” he ordered.

  Tamara was tempted to argue, but decided against it because she did want to dance with him. She’d been watching the other men in the dance club and found them all lacking. For the past hour, she’d compared every man here to Jurid, his strong body and commanding personality. None of the men even came close.

  Now he was here and…goodness, he felt amazing! Better than she’d remembered. Or maybe she’d remembered, but had dismissed the memories, not believing that they were real.

  But now he was here, holding her close, and she wanted to just wrap her legs around his waist and beg him to make love to her.

  Had it only been two nights since she’d been in his arms? It felt like months!

  “Dance with me, Tamara,” he urged, and took her hand, leading her confidently through the dancers to the edge of the dance floor. Here, they were mostly in the shadows, but the flashing lights hit them occasionally. Enough so that they could both feel the beat and the energy of the other dancers, but they weren’t in the thick of the crowd.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. She started to repeat her question, thinking that he couldn’t hear her over the music, but his hand slid around her waist, pulling her closer and he lowered his head, his lips tickling her ear.

  “I’m here because you left my bed.”

  His mouth hovered over hers, his hips shifting ever so slightly against her body. With every brush, she shivered with awareness. Trembling, she locked eyes with him, watching as his irises dilated. “What should I have done?”

  “Stayed with me. Made love with me again.”

  She shivered. “I met my friend for breakfast.”

  “And then you got into a cab and flew home.”

  His arm
tightened around her waist, pulling her in closer. Could he feel her breasts? They felt heavier with each brush of his hard chest against her taut nipples. If she pulled back even slightly, he would see the evidence of her arousal just as she could feel his. Even that, feeling his erection pressed against her stomach, was exciting. Because she’d done this. She’d turned him on! This powerful man was hers!

  “Why did you leave me?” he asked, his hands smoothing up and down her back as they swayed to the music.

  “I met Willow for breakfast. We’d arranged it the night before.”

  He looked down at her, his eyes hard and unforgiving. “Tamara, why did you leave me?”

  She bit on her lip, staring up into his eyes. He wanted the truth but… “I don’t know, Jurid. You scare me in ways I don’t fully understand.”

  Her explanation must have been what he wanted to hear, because he kissed her. It was just a gentle brush of his lips against hers, but it was enough. An opening salvo or a kiss of forgiveness, she wasn’t quite sure. Or maybe it was both.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, his hands low on her hips, keeping her in place. They were barely moving now. It was more of a slow swaying to the music in their heads. She didn’t notice the overly loud music or the flashing lights, the pounding beat or the other couples dancing only feet away. She only had eyes for Jurid.

  So what was stopping her? She lived here in London, having an affair with Jurid wouldn’t automatically lead to marriage. She could control her destiny. Tamara watched him, fascinated with the flashes of desire in his eyes. For her! He wanted her! Not because she was his fiancée. At least, she hoped that wasn’t why, she thought.

  Jurid wanted her. And she wanted…him! She remembered the intense pleasure she’d felt in his arms, the way he’d touched her and stroked her, the culmination of everything and then…floating back to earth, secure in his arms.

  Tamara wanted that again. She wanted to experience that kind of bliss as often as she could while he was here in London. And looking up at him, she couldn’t think of a single, legitimate reason not to.

  “Jurid, I’m tired of being here,” she whispered, pressing her body closer. “Will you drive me home?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you,” she pulled back. “I just need to tell my friends.”

  “My guards will inform them,” he countered, taking her hand and leading her away. But this time, they weren’t heading towards the front of the night club. Instead, he led her through a different set of doors. This was the back hallway and it wasn’t as nicely decorated as the front areas. In fact, this was brightly lit and she could see marks on the halls where the paint had been scraped away by the heavy equipment brought in and out of the club.

  There were two guards ahead of them and, when she glanced over her shoulder, discovered that there were two more behind them. The men had earpieces and one of them was muttering into the mic on his wrist. She wanted to slow down and find out what was going on, but then the front guards pushed open a metal door and the night enveloped them. There was a limousine waiting with the doors open and Jurid helped her into the back seat.

  Before the back door was closed, he already had her in his arms, lifting her onto his lap and she didn’t hesitate, kissing him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Tamara was no longer aware of anything except Jurid. The way his hands slid down her back, cupping her bottom and then pulling her hips closer so that she was more completely cradling his erection, the way his hands moved down her legs, sliding up underneath her dress. All the while, he kissed her.

  She was unware of her hands sliding through his hair or the way her hips ground against his shaft, making him groan. All she knew was that he was touching her and she never wanted him to stop!

  So when he did, she whimpered helplessly.

  “We’re here, honey,” he said. “Go upstairs and pack a bag. You’re staying with me tonight.”

  Tamara pulled back, not wanting to stop touching him for even a moment. “Come in with me,” she whispered into his ear. And because she’d read it in a story once, she nibbled on his ear lobe gently, then pulled back, watching his reaction.

  The heat in his eyes burned her skin, and her shy smile grew.

  “Inside! Now!” he ordered. Instead of waiting for her, he scooped her up and carried her into her building. Thankfully, her apartment was on the ground floor so it was an easy walk from the limousine to her doorway.

  Jurid plucked the keys out of her fingers, handing them off to a guard, then pressed her back against the wall just outside of her apartment.

  “What’s going on?’ she asked, her breath catching in her throat as he pressed a knee between her legs.

  “My guards need to check your apartment before we go inside.”

  “Oh,” she whispered, but stared up at him. She could literally feel the tension between them increase the longer they waited. His hands didn’t move from her waist, but his fingers tightened and his eyes darkened. She also felt a throbbing low in her belly and she wanted to shift her legs, try to ease the need that swamped her.

  As she watched and waited, Jurid’s lips curled up. “Stop it,” she whispered, wishing the guards would just go away. Yes, they had a job to do. But couldn’t they speed up the process?!

  “Stop what?” he asked, amused and she felt his thigh shift again. He was trying to press his leg higher, but Tamara clenched her legs, not letting him have his way with her while they stood outside in the hallway.

  “You know exactly what you’re doing,” she whispered, and glanced over his shoulder. The other two guards were staring out at the hallway and the outer door to her building. She assumed that some of the guards were still outside.

  “Look at me, Tamara,” he urged.

  Tamara looked back up at Jurid and could almost feel his thoughts. And none of them were innocent!

  “Just relax,” he soothed. “They will be done soon.”

  The guards stepped out of her apartment and nodded. Jurid took her hand and tugged her into her apartment, closing the door with a snick, locking it behind them.

  “We’re not going to make it to your hotel, are we?” she asked, a smile forming as he backed her up step by step towards the only door in the apartment. Tamara’s place wasn’t large since she wasn’t here very often. It was simply a living room combined with a small, galley kitchen at one end, a white couch and small coffee table against a wall and a bookcase on the other side. The space opened up to a small balcony. Real estate was very expensive in London and Tamara hadn’t wanted to spend their company profits on a personal living space, preferring to funnel the profits back into the business so they could expand to additional rental properties.

  So the one bedroom apartment had always suited her perfectly. But as Jurid backed her into the bedroom with only a queen sized bed in it and a small wardrobe, she wondered what he thought of her space.

  “Your father is stingy with his allowance if this is all you can afford,” he commented, barely glancing around at the room lit with only a small, bedside lamp that she’d turned on before leaving tonight.

  “My father doesn’t give me money,” she told him as his fingers laced with hers.

  That announcement seemed to stop him and he looked down at her with confusion. “Why the hell doesn’t your father give you a monthly living allowance?” he demanded.

  She shrugged, surprised by the anger in his voice. “Because he doesn’t approve of me living here,” she explained. “He said if I wanted to live at home like an obedient daughter, then he would pay for my living expenses. But if I were going to be a disobedient child and run away from home, I had to make it on my own in this world.” She lifted her chin. “Which is what I’ve done, Jurid. I don’t want his money. I pay my own bills and everything leftover is put back into my business.”

  “Yes, but…” his eyes moved around the room that was sparsely furnished. “This is…”

  “Mine,” she whispered, standing on her to
es to kiss his chin. That brought his attention back to her and she smiled up at him. Releasing his hands, she let her fingers move up his hard chest, exploring the ridges underneath the warm skin as she pushed the sports jacket off his shoulders. “Would you mind if we stayed here for a bit?” she asked. She carefully folded his jacket, rightfully assuming that the one piece of his wardrobe probably cost more than the mortgage payment on her apartment each month. “Because I really want to ravish you right here,” and she kissed his neck. She could only reach the warm skin right above his collar if he bent down a bit more, but that touch was enough to return his attention from her living space to her. “Would your guards be upset if we didn’t leave immediately?”

  “I’m sure they already know what’s about to happen,” he told her, then lifted her up into his arms, carrying her the last few feet towards the bed.

  “They don’t!” she gasped, horrified.

  “They probably expect it, Tamara,” he whispered, his hands sliding up over her bottom and that was all it took to distract her from his guards’ potential ponderings of their activities.

  She might not like a group of men standing outside of her apartment knowing what was happening inside, but that was an issue for later. Because at this precise moment, Jurid wasn’t letting her think about anything other than his hands and his mouth.

  With an expertise that should have startled her, his hands released the hooks and zipper on her dress. A moment later, the whole thing fell to the floor, pooling at her feet. She barely had time to gasp in surprise before he pulled her into his arms. He placed her in the center of her bed, and stripped off the rest of his clothes as he watched her watching him. Tamara pushed up on her elbows, amazed at the strength revealed with each piece of clothing that fell to the floor.

  “You’re so handsome,” she whispered, bending her knees.

  “Don’t do that, honey.”

  She blinked up at him. “Don’t do what?” she asked, shifting again.

  “No, stay there on your back,” he ordered as he pushed his slacks and boxers off of his legs, tossing both over the chair in the corner of her room.