“Perhaps I should undress myself,” he said as he finished unfastening his shirt, then tossed it aside.
“I’d like that.”
She shrugged out of her bra and toed out of her shoes, then moved back into his embrace. Now her bare breasts rested on his skin. He could feel her tight nipples brushing against him. They groaned together.
He cupped both her breasts and caressed her with his fingers. As she dropped her head back and closed her eyes, he nudged her toward the bed.
Kiley felt the mattress behind her and waited for the flash of fear. There wasn’t any. Just a building need that made her want to hurry things along. Her blood raced with an urgency that made it impossible to catch her breath. More. She wanted more. She wanted all of it.
She sank onto the bed, pulling Rafiq down beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled, drawing her across him until they were both stretched out on the sheets. Even as he kissed her, he touched her breasts, rubbing, teasing, making her ache and need.
When his hand moved lower to her already-open jeans, she grabbed for the denim and pushed. Jeans and panties slid down her thighs until she was able to kick them and her socks off. He settled his hand between her legs and began to explore all of her.
She parted for him, knowing what would happen and more than ready to experience pleasure again. But this time was to be for both of them, so as he touched her, she reached for him.
He was hard. She felt the length of him through his slacks. Even as he circled around her and rubbed, she matched the movements on his erection.
After a minute or two he pulled back and looked at her. “You’re distracting me.”
“Really?” The thought if it made her smile.
“More than you know.”
“Then let’s do more.”
He laughed and sat up. After taking off his shoes and socks, he stood and quickly removed his slacks and briefs. Then he was naked, and she could see all of him.
He was lean and muscled and very much aroused. When he joined her on the bed, she reached for him.
“I want to touch you,” she said.
“I have something better in mind.”
He knelt between her thighs. As she watched, he gently parted her, then slowly began to push inside. At the same time, he rubbed that center spot, making it difficult for her to think about anything but the way he made her feel.
Still, even as her body tensed in anticipation of her release, she felt him filling her. The stretching was unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable. She stiffened slightly and he stopped.
“Does that hurt you?” he asked as he lightly caressed her breasts.
“Not really. It’s just strange.” She fought the need to close her eyes as his fingers worked their magic. “My doctor told me that I’m not going to bleed or anything. There’s no physical proof.” Ack! Talk about embarrassing. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. Does this feel good?”
He lightly squeezed her nipples between thumb and forefinger.
“Oh, yeah. That works.”
He moved his right hand between her legs. “And this?”
He began the rubbing again. Instantly she felt herself spiraling toward her release.
“Good,” she gasped. “Really good.”
“Then let me pleasure you.”
He spoke softly, not the least bit commandlike, yet she found herself wanting to obey. He rubbed faster and faster, pressing a tiny bit harder, arousing her until release became inevitable. She felt him moving deeper inside of her but was more caught up in the rising tension and the way his fingers took her to the edge and then pushed her over.
Her climax engulfed her. She got lost in the waves of pleasure. He kept touching her. She rocked her hips, liking the sense of fullness as she came. Rocked a little faster until she realized he was moving, too. Moving inside of her.
Her eyes popped open. He was over her, his arms supporting his weight as he slowly moved in and out of her. She could see the tension in his face, the need in his eyes as he watched her.
“We’re making love,” she whispered.
“So we are.”
“I like it.”
“Good.”
He moved a little faster. She spread her legs more, inviting him to go deeper. As he did so, she felt a hint of anticipation, a flutter of wanting. This had possibilities, as well.
But that was for next time. Now she simply wanted him to experience what she had.
“Come for me,” she whispered.
He smiled. “As you wish.”
He closed his eyes and pushed into her twice more before stiffening, then groaning her name.
Rafiq poured more champagne into Kiley’s glass. “Are you still hungry?” he asked.
She looked at the demolished plate that had originally held a burger and fries, along with the empty bowl of what had been ice cream.
“Nope. I’m completely full.” She sipped the bubbly liquid and grinned. “I’ve never had champagne with a hamburger before.”
“What do you think of the combination?”
“I like it.”
They sat next to each other on the comfortable sofa in the suite’s living room. She pulled her robe more securely around her and tucked her bare feet under Rafiq’s thigh.
It was done. She’d officially changed her status to nonvirgin, and the entire event had been spectacular.
“You look happy,” he said as he rubbed her bare calf.
“I am. Thank you for tonight.”
“My pleasure, and I mean that most sincerely.”
She leaned against the sofa and smiled at him. “This has been a good day. One of my best ever. You made my first time perfect.”
“I wanted to.”
She believed him. She knew that he’d been concerned about her while they’d made love. She liked that about him, along with other things.
Who was this man who made love with her so wonderfully? How could she have worked for him for two years and never noticed his goodness and humor and how incredibly sexy he was?
“You don’t go back to Lucia-Serrat very often,” she said.
He looked at her. “An interesting change in subject.”
“I was thinking that you’ve been little more than a boss to me until very recently. I never allowed myself to see the actual man inside the suit. Now I have and it changes things.”
He nodded. “I don’t go back to the island much. In time it will be important to me to live there permanently. But not yet. My father runs the country well. He is busy with that and with his wife and family.”
Kiley tried to remember all she knew about Lucia-Serrat and its ruler. “His wife is American, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Phoebe grew up mostly in Florida. They met when she was on vacation. They fell in love very quickly and have been married nearly twelve years. They have two daughters.”
“I know. The half sisters you refuse to shop for. You’re better about your brothers.”
“That’s because they’re boys and I know what they want.”
“Do you stay away to give them a chance to be a family?” she asked.
He shrugged. “In part. I would be expected to move into the prince’s residence. While the girls are so young, it is better that they have their father’s attention.”
She snuggled close and rested her head on his shoulder. “Tell me about the island.”
“It’s very beautiful. There are beaches and a rain forest. One of the world’s largest banyan trees is there. And, of course, the famous Lucia-Serrat meerkats.”
“I love meerkats.”
“Most women do.”
“They look like little bandits. So cute. Do you miss your home?”
“Sometimes.”
And yet he stayed away because it was the right thing to do. Talk about a tough act to follow. He was going to make falling in love with someone else a bit of a challenge.
She raised her head and sipped her champagne. “Do you kn
ow who you’re going to marry?”
He stiffened slightly. “Why do you ask?”
“Don’t panic,” she said with a grin. “I’m not hinting. I’m asking. You’re going to have to marry and have heirs. Do you know who it is? Have you picked out some innocent schoolgirl who will be raised in proper princess fashion?”
“Not yet. I may choose as I like or have my father arrange a match.”
“That will never happen,” she told him. “You’re too stubborn to let someone else pick your wife. You might want to stay away from Carmen, though. She had quite the temper.”
“I remember.”
The nature of their conversation surprised Rafiq. He braced himself for the not-so-subtle hints indicating that Kiley would make the perfect wife, but they never came. Now that he thought about it, she had never mentioned extending their affair or talked about the future at all.
“You need someone tall,” she said. “A lot taller than me.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “Because, she’ll look better in her clothes and therefore in all the pictures. There’s a reason fashion models are so tall. Make sure she’s smart and funny. You’d hate it if she was dull. But not too skinny. Look for childbearing hips.”
“I find it disconcerting to discuss my future wife with my current mistress.”
She looked surprised. “But we’ve seen each other naked. You deflowered me. I wouldn’t have thought there were any topics off-limits. I guess I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”
“I’m not sensitive,” he said with a growl.
She patted his arm. “Of course. My prince, a delicate flower. Who would have known?”
He took her glass and set it on the coffee table next to his own. He then grabbed her and pressed her back into the sofa.
“You dare to defy me?” he asked in mock anger.
“Pretty much every chance I get. Is that a problem?”
Her hair was mussed, her eyes the color of midnight velvet. His stubble had rubbed a raw spot on her chin, and the robe she wore was two or three sizes too large. She was possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“You are mine now,” he told her. “I have been your first and you will always remember that.”
“I know.” She smiled and pressed her fingers to his mouth. “I guess neither of us is going to forget, huh?”
He hadn’t considered that. Not forgetting. But she was right. Kiley would be with him, always.
“Come live with me,” he said, speaking almost before the thought formed.
She blinked. “What? You mean move in with you?”
He understood her surprise. He’d never asked a woman to do that before. He hadn’t felt the need to spend that much time with one of them before. But Kiley was different. He wanted her in his bed every night. He wanted to see her in the morning and late in the evening. He wanted her there when he returned home from work.
“Until our time is up,” he told her. “Come live with me.”
She stared at him, but he had no idea what she was thinking.
“Are you offended?” he asked.
“No. Of course not. A little shocked, maybe. I didn’t expect you to ask. What if you get tired of me?”
“I won’t.” He couldn’t imagine it.
She nodded slowly. “I’d need to keep my apartment. I don’t want to have to move my stuff into storage for three months and then move it back. I guess I could temporarily forward my mail. It’s not like I have a dog or anything to worry about.”
Always practical, he thought with a smile.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“It is. If you’d like me to, I’ll move in.”
“Good.”
He bent down and kissed her. As he pressed his mouth to hers, he tugged at the robe until it pulled open, exposing her naked body to his touch.
She reached one arm around him and pushed the other between them.
“Two can play at that game,” she whispered as she reached for him.
He was already hard and he relished the feel of her hand on his erection.
“I want to please you,” she said.
He heard the hesitation in her voice. “You’re sore.”
“A little. So I was thinking about all the really interesting stuff you did to me. Could I do that to you?”
His interest quickened. “If you would like to.”
Her answer was to push him until he was seated on the sofa. She slid onto the floor and moved between his knees. After taking him in her hands, she licked the tip of his arousal and then smiled.
“Tell me what to do.”
Chapter Ten
Kiley walked through her apartment one last time before heading out to Rafiq’s place. It was sort of sad to think she’d lived here for three years and had never done anything to make the place her own. Sure, she’d hung pictures and she’d sewn curtains for the eating nook by the kitchen, but she’d never checked with the manager about painting or bought any furniture she really loved. She’d decorated in early hand-me-down because she’d always planned to buy real furniture after she and Eric were married.
How much of her life had been on hold for those three years? How many things had she put off, waiting for the day she would get married and her life would change forever? Since she’d always wanted to be a wife and mother, she’d allowed that desire to reduce the rest of her life to a giant waiting game. In the end, she’d lost her dream and Eric—although that was turning out to be much less of a loss than she’d realized—and the time.
Where would she be if she hadn’t expected to marry Eric and become a wife and mother? Although she loved working for Rafiq, in truth she would never have gone looking for a job she considered temporary. She would have looked until she found something that challenged her. Something that made her grow and gave her room for advancement. She would have looked for a career.
Talk about being foolish, she thought sadly as she picked up a picture of her family and tucked it in her tote bag. She’d given up too much for a man who wasn’t worth it.
So what was she going to do now? What would she do differently? What changes did she want in her life?
Kiley stood in the center of her living room and turned in a slow circle. When her affair with Rafiq was over, she would start looking for another job. In truth, now that they were lovers, she knew she could never go back to being just his secretary. She couldn’t stand to take calls from other women, knowing he was doing to them what he’d done to her. She wouldn’t want to make reservations, buy gifts, watching from the fringes.
But expecting him to want to continue things past the three months was just plain crazy. He was a foreign prince and she was just some middle-class American girl. Sure, she was smart and funny and had a lot to offer. But a prince? On what planet?
No, this time she was going to keep her eyes open. This time she wasn’t going to be a foolish dreamer. For the next two-plus months she was going to experience a world she knew very little about—everything from drinking champagne while eating a hamburger to living in a stunning home in Malibu. When the time was up, she would return to her regular world and build a life she could be proud of. There wouldn’t be any looking back.
That decided, she locked the front door and walked to her car. As she started the engine, she thought about working out a plan with her parents. One in which she paid them back over time so she could buy a condo and have a place of her own. Maybe she would even get a dog.
But in the meantime she needed to get to Malibu. She wanted to see Rafiq, hold him and have him hold her. She wanted to see his smile and make love.
Thirty minutes later she drove down his driveway and stopped in front of the garage. As she stepped out, she looked at her aging but sensible car and started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Rafiq asked as he walked out of the house toward her.
She grinned. “My car. It’s not exactly fitting in with the neighborhood. Quick, get me a remote co
ntrol for the garage door so I can hide it. Otherwise you’ll get complaints from the neighbors.”
He crossed to her and pulled her close. “Do you think I care what they think?”
“Not even a little. But it is important to build relationships in the community.”
“Always the middle child,” he said as he brushed his mouth against hers.
She let herself relax against him, enjoying the feel of his hard body so close to her own. She parted her lips and he swept inside. At the first brush of his tongue, tingles raced through her and made her toes curl. Funny how every time he touched her, she only wanted him more.
Trouble, she knew, even as she held on tight. At the end of this, he would walk away and look for his next conquest, and she…well, she wasn’t sure what she would do. She had a feeling that getting over Rafiq was going to be more difficult than getting over Eric. Perhaps a smarter woman would have been able to resist Rafiq’s considerable charms. Or a more-experienced one. But she didn’t know how and now it was too late.
A once-in-a-lifetime event, she reminded herself. That’s what this was. If the price was pain at the end, then so be it. She was strong and she would recover.
“Come inside,” he said, stepping back and taking her hand in his.
She smiled. “Are you about to use me for sex, because if that’s the case, I have to tell you, I won’t protest.”
He led her to the front door, then waited for her to step inside.
“I had wondered if you being so innocent would make things more difficult,” he said.
She stared through to the living room where the ocean stretched out before her. It was as if she could see to the ends of the earth.
She turned back to him. “What was your concern? That I might be shy and afraid of intimacy?”
“It crossed my mind.”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “To be honest, I have a lot of time to make up for. I guess you’ll just get stuck with that.”
“I’ll do my best to survive.”
“How manly of you.”
He wrapped his arm around her. “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?”
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