by Alice Raine
‘I know. I can’t believe I slept for almost two days.’
‘You obviously needed it.’ Leaning on the poolside, he pulled in a breath of the night air. ‘I don’t need a great deal of sleep, so I often swim at night. I have a pool at my place, too, but it's not as grand as this one. Mine's just for swimming lengths.’
So he was a horse rider and swimmer. That certainly explained his ripped physique.
‘If the water feels good on your aches and pains, why don’t we move to the Jacuzzi area?’
There was a Jacuzzi? That sounded amazing, but as he jerked his thumb to the other corner of the pool, my eyes shot open wide and I shook my head. Moving would mean admitting that I only had my knickers on, or somehow trying to hide the fact, both of which seemed far too embarrassing to even consider.
‘If you’re worried that it will hurt your bruises then don’t. It has multiple settings, I can put it on the gentlest,’ he reassured me softly, holding out a hand to me.
Oh God. How did I get out of this?
After squirming for a few seconds, I lowered my face away from his inquisitive gaze. ‘It's not that, it's just that I didn’t have a bathing costume, so I’m … well, I’m …’ Gah! This was so much harder to say than I had expected. ‘I’m topless,’ I blurted.
Silence hung between us, seeming to stretch out into a painfully strained moment until I finally gave in and looked up at him. I wasn’t sure what reaction I was expecting on his face, but the open lust on Khalil's features was clear to read and made me pull in a sharp gasp. His face was glowing, pupils dilated, and jaw tense as he simply stood there staring down at me. His gaze dropped to the water, as if trying to see my breasts, and even though I knew it was probably dark enough that they were not visible below the shifting surface, I tightened my arms around myself.
Suddenly, Khalil jerked his eyes back to mine, and smiled. It was the same wicked, wolfish look he’d given me when he’d joined me on the bed, and it was so sexy that I felt my core clench and stomach quiver.
‘I can leave you alone, if you wish?’ he asked, but his tone said quite the opposite. He sounded like he wanted to stay, and in truth, I wanted him to stay, too. ‘But that wouldn’t be very safe given your concussion. How about we sit in the Jacuzzi and enjoy the beautiful evening together? I’ll turn off the poolside lights, and I promise not to watch while you move across.’
I hesitated, and Khalil let out a low laugh. ‘Despite appearances, I can be quite an honourable gentleman when I choose, little one.’
When he chose. So I’d have to trust that he would stand by his promise. For some reason, I did trust him, though. He’d saved my life and tended me back to health. He might flash me sinfully seductive glances, and flirt like a champion, but if he said he wouldn’t peek, then I would trust him.
In the end, the idea of a relaxing Jacuzzi was just too tempting to resist, and so I nodded. ‘OK, deal.’
Khalil grinned. Then, after making a mock bow towards me, he swam back to the steps at the far end. He climbed from the pool, the water causing his swimming shorts to cling to his bum and highlight just how toned every single part of his body was. God, he was gorgeous.
He moved to the towel hut and flicked a switch, causing the pool lights to switch off, casting me back into darker shadows and giving me the confidence to move across to where he’d said the Jacuzzi was.
As I waded to the opposite corner, I found a submerged circular seating area that I hadn’t spotted earlier. No sooner had I taken a seat than bubbles burst to life around me.
I giggled in delight and looked up to see Khalil standing on the edge of the pool with his hands over his eyes. ‘Is it safe? Can I look now?’ He was teasing me, and below his hands I could see his beautiful mouth curved into the most addictive grin.
I grinned, too, but then felt a tightening of nerves in my chest as I noticed that the front of his swim shorts was bulging slightly from our flirtatious play. God. The attraction between us was just crazy. Right from the moment we’d met I’d felt it, even though I’d been flat on my back and winded from my fall. Now, after nearly two days of sleeping, I was back, and, quite clearly, so was the magnetism between us.
What was I doing flirting with a man like him? He was older, sinfully sexy, brimming with confidence, and undoubtedly more experienced than me. I’d be playing with fire even considering getting involved with him. It could only lead to trouble or heartbreak, of that I was sure.
Pushing my fears aside, I tried to remember why I’d first come to Somora – to truly experience life and all that it had to offer. I hadn’t been thinking of romance when I’d made the list of things I wanted to do – sightsee, experience new cultures, try different foods – but looking again at Khalil's confident stance by the side of the pool, I started to think it might not be such a bad addition to my list. Perhaps if I played this right and kept my emotions out of it, instead of trouble and heartbreak, Khalil might open up a door to excitement and new experiences.
Deciding to just see how things played out, I swallowed down my nerves and crossed my arms over my breasts again. ‘I’m covered. Come on in.’
Dropping his hands, Khalil grinned and threw himself into the pool like an exuberant teenager, sending water splashing in all directions. His actions might have been youthful, but his body was all man, with his strong muscles tensing and rippling as his perfect dive cut through the water.
Throughout all of this, I just sat there staring at him like a gawking idiot. I’d never felt an attraction like this before, but a few hours with this man and I was utterly enthralled.
Khalil popped up about halfway across the pool, then took his time swimming towards me, the grin still stretching his lips and his eyes never leaving mine.
With every stroke closer, my heartbeat accelerated as I watched his expression morph into something darker, and filled to the brim with wickedness.
My body felt like it was on high alert. Every nerve ending seemed to be zinging with energy. That potent energy was hanging in the air again; some sort of anticipation that had been building between us ever since I’d felt his erection against my back on that first day.
Was this the elusive “sexual chemistry” that my friends back home always talked about? I’d never felt it myself, so I had no clue, but whatever this thing between Khalil and I was, it was certainly powerful, and apparently mutual.
He retook his seat in silence, and rolled his head back to stare up at the stars. ‘I like the peace of the darkness. It feels less intrusive somehow.’
I could understand that. In my limited time here on Somora, I’d experienced just how hot the daytimes could be. The sun was almost too bright to allow you to fully relax, and even with sunglasses on I had found that I always squinted.
I’d been nervous about Khalil making a move on me, panicking that my inexperience would be blatantly obvious to a man like him, but he didn’t. Instead, he flashed me a brief wink and relaxed back. Neither of us spoke for several minutes, but the tension in the air grew, taking the humid night and almost making it seem difficult to breathe.
As I sat there stewing in these new-found feelings I was experiencing, I decided that, actually, him making a move straight away would have been better than this strained silence. Finally, after minutes of silent eye contact, I could take it no more. ‘What are you thinking?’ I whispered, my voice high-pitched and tight from nerves.
Khalil tilted his head, but continued to observe me. ‘I was thinking it was a beautiful night.’
It was a beautiful night, but from the purposeful look that still lingered on his face, I didn’t believe that was what had been on his mind, and I scrunched my face into a disbelieving expression.
He looked at me long and hard, then smiled wickedly. ‘OK, you got me. That wasn’t what I was thinking about.’
When I didn’t say anything, he licked his lips and his eyes briefly dropped to the surface of the water again. ‘I was thinking how lucky I was to have such a beautiful g
irl sitting topless in this pool with me.’
‘Oh.’ Even though I’d suspected he had naughtiness on his mind, my cheeks absolutely flamed at his words, and I only just resisted the temptation to tighten my arms around my breasts again.
Khalil leaned forwards in his submerged seat and gave me one of his desire-laden stares. It was so potent that if I hadn’t been sitting in a swimming pool I knew I’d be able to feel the wetness of arousal between my legs. ‘Hmm. Yes. You still seem tense, though. If you’re worried I can see your body through the water, I can’t. It's too dark.’
‘Right.’ He was a hot-blooded male, so he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Khalil ran a hand through his wet hair, slicking it back from his face, and observed my reaction with apparent amusement. Seeming to come to some unspoken conclusion in his mind, he grinned before sliding from the Jacuzzi area back into the main pool where he disappeared under the surface.
I had no idea what he was doing, but several sets of bubbles broke the surface of the water before his head finally popped back up. He seemed to be treading water in the centre of the pool, then he lifted his right hand and produced something from under the water. It was dark, dripping with water, and I had no clue what it was, but as he flung it across onto the pool side and it landed with a loud slap, I realised in shock that it was his swimming trunks.
Oh. My. God.
He’d removed his shorts. Was he crazy?
My mouth hung open in shock as Khalil swum back towards me, but he clearly felt none of my surprise, because his face looked positively gleeful as he took his seat in the Jacuzzi area once more. ‘It feels good to be naked, doesn’t it? Very freeing,’ he commented lightly.
Freeing? Freeing? The idea of his tackle now floating free below the water was so distracting that I could barely think straight.
He lifted a hand from the water, waved it above where his lap would be, and shrugged. ‘See? You can’t see anything below the waterline, can you?’
Instinctively my eyes dropped to the surface of the water, but he was right. Even with faint moonlight falling on us, it looked like black glass. It didn’t stop me imagining, though, and as my mind wandered, my cheeks burned.
‘So you can relax now, yes?’
I swallowed hard and nodded before slowly dropping my arms away from my breasts. ‘I guess so.’ Although the fact he was naked and sitting within a few feet of me wasn’t exactly conducive to relaxation.
We sat there for a long while in silence, simply surrounded by the combined heat of the night and our unspoken bond. Then, finally, I saw him sit up out of my peripheral vision and glanced across at him. ‘My fingers are starting to wrinkle up. I think perhaps it's time we got out.’
The water was starting to feel cooler around me now, so I nodded my agreement, all the while wondering how I was going to manage it without blatantly flashing my boobs at him.
Khalil swam away from me, his stroke easy and skilful. Then, to my surprise, he strode from the pool completely unashamed of his nakedness. I’d expected him to retrieve his shorts from the side of the pool and slip them back on, but no, Khalil clearly had no such intentions. Given how flirtatious his nature was, I suppose behaviour like this was what I should have expected.
My eyes widened as I watched his body move around in the moonlight. As he walked to a lounger and picked up a towel I sighed wistfully. He really was stunning: firm muscles, a trim waist, a masculine smattering of hair across his body, and an arse to die for. I could only see the back of him, but holy crap, it was quite a sight.
Khalil was just so confident in his skin. It oozed from his posture; every movement was effortless. He was also in no rush to cover himself up, because he took a minute or so to dry his face and hair then finally wrapped the towel around his waist.
Turning back to the pool, he laughed when he saw that I hadn’t moved an inch. Or perhaps it was my gawking expression that was amusing him, who knew?
He picked up the robe he had arrived in, opened it out, and walked back to the edge of the pool by the steps. ‘Come. You can borrow my robe.’
He might not have minded giving me the pleasure of viewing his arse, but I had no intention of returning the favour. I knew I had a nice body, but sashaying from the pool with my boobs out seemed a bit too much in front of a virtual stranger. ‘Can you just leave it on a lounger for me and turn your back?’
Khalil grinned, and placed one hand over his heart. ‘I promise not to peek.’ He then proceeded to hold the robe out for me, with his eyes closed and a huge grin on his lips.
I was left asking myself the same question as earlier – would he keep his promise, or not? With that expression he didn’t look trustworthy at all. Wicked and alluring, perhaps, but not trustworthy.
The more important question was, did I really mind either way? Things were definitely heated between us, so if we continued in this direction he’d be getting a far more intimate view of my body at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Deciding on a whim to trust him, I slid from the Jacuzzi and made my way back towards the shallow end.
‘I have my eyes closed, but I still want you to exit the pool with your arms at your sides, and your head held high. You’re beautiful, Sara, be confident.’
His words made me pause. He’d hit the nail right on the head – I did lack self-confidence. No one had ever picked me up on it before, though. No one had ever said I was beautiful before, either, apart from my mum, but that didn’t exactly count. His tone was different, too; lower and more commanding. Almost compelling me to do as he had asked.
Biting on my lower lip, I decided to follow his command, and tipped my chin back as I made my way up the steps. It felt good to drop my inhibitions, and by the time I reached him and slid my arms into the robe I was smiling broadly.
I pulled the silk around my body, expecting Khalil to step away, but he didn’t. He stayed right behind me, his warmth seeping into my body, and the next second his hands were on my hips, sliding over the smooth fabric as he reached around me and tied the belt of the robe in a bow across my stomach.
I might be covered up now, but there was no getting away from the intimacy of the moment. His chest was pressing against my back, damp skin sticking to the silk of my robe, and his breath tickled the hairs at the nape of my neck.
I stood frozen in his grasp, wondering what would happen next, and Khalil didn’t keep me waiting long to find out. His grip on my hips tightened and he spun me in his embrace, so he could stare down at me. I don’t know if it was the warm night, or our wet bodies, but electricity sizzled and curled between us, and I heard his breath catch, just slightly.
His eyes strayed to my lips, and the tension between us heightened by several notches as he opened his mouth and his tongue briefly wetted his lower lip.
Oh God. He was definitely going to kiss me this time, I just knew it. I also knew that I wasn’t going to stop him.
‘I have to kiss you, Sara.’ No sooner were the ragged words out of his mouth, he tugged me against him and his mouth found mine with a desperate urgency that stole my breath. He used my gasp to explore my lips, kissing his way along the lower lip and nipping at them as if requesting access.
I needed to touch him. Automatically, I wound my arms around his neck, fingers digging through the damp hair at his nape and pulling him even tighter against me with a strength I didn’t realise I possessed.
A low moan escaped his mouth, or perhaps mine, I couldn’t be sure, but then my lips parted wider and our tongues found each other in some sort of crazy duel.
His kiss was perfect. Hard and possessive, yet somehow tender, too. In this moment, I felt like I was the centre of the entire universe to him. It was everything my romantic heart had always longed for, but never found.
Not until now.
Not until Khalil.
His body felt just as perfect below my fingertips as it had looked; flat, firm slabs of muscles, warm skin, and the roughness of the short, dark hair
that seemed to cover most of his body. I realised another hardness was pushing against me, but this time, instead of being pressed against my back, his erection was hot and steely against my belly, and barely contained by the towel at his waist, making it feel so much more erotic.
When we pulled back to snatch a breath, our eyes locked again, and I could see his desire reflected in the moonlight. He wanted me, just as much as I wanted him.
Even though my fears and naivety were rushing up on me, I couldn’t stop him. I didn’t want to. I knew he must be experienced in this, vastly more so than me, but right now, I couldn’t summon up the will to care. I needed his kiss. His touch.
As our mouths joined again, his kiss softened, as if his initial desperation had been sated and he was now happy to just take his time with me. His hands lingered on my hips, then began an upward path across the slippery silk, kneading and massaging, and trailing across ticklish spots on my ribs.
Higher still his hands travelled, until they were just below the swell of my breasts. Khalil broke the kiss to stare down at me, both of us panting hard, and just as affected as the other. With our eyes still locked, he gently circled his finger around one of my nipples. A shocked gasp tore up my throat from the instant pleasure that ignited in my body. Sparks of desire heated my skin and my core clenched with need.
The feeling was so overwhelming that I had to grip at his shoulders to steady myself, and I saw a knowing smile curve on Khalil's lips. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and judging by the twinkle in his eye and the insistent firmness pressing against my stomach from his erection, he was loving every second of it.
Khalil's other hand joined in the play, circling my opposite breast, and I glanced down to see both of my nipples peaked and standing out against the silk like little pebbles. I flicked my gaze back towards Khalil and found his eyes still rooted on me, possessive and filled with lust. With his eyes still burning into mine, he lowered one hand, trailing it over my belly and tracing the top of my knickers before dropping down again and cupping me though the wet lace.
