He spoke the word into her open mouth and Laura trembled 'What is it?' she whispered.
He wanted to say Don't kiss me like that. He wanted her to act dirty—that was how he liked his women to behave in the bedroom Not like like
With ruthless erotic efficiency he began to stroke her 'How can I play with you when you make me want to rip this exquisite nightgown from your body, push you up against the wall and take you like I was a teenage boy?' he demanded unsteadily 'Tell me, is that how you like it? Hot and fast? Or slow and sweet?'
'I don't know,' she whispered, wondering what a man of the world would like best
At another time and in another place her submissive reply might have been one of the most erotic things anyone had ever said to him But coming on top of the emotional impact of the evening and his subsequent unburdening to her, Xavier felt exposed—as if the dry, gritty sand of the desert was being buffeted against his naked body
'You don't know?' he repeated sarcastically
She was going to mess up, she knew it Josh had been right. 'Show me '
Show her? He tensed as the unbelievable flew into his head 'Mon Dieu,' he breathed 'You're not a virgin?'
Was that how she appeared—as fumbling and inexperienced as if she had no knowledge of men? 'Of course not'
What the hell was he thinking of—asking a question which risked making a fool of him? Since he had been transported to this exotic and unknown land he had started inventing fairytales—was that it? As if a woman of her age who looked like she did would be a virgin!
Oh, yes—he would show her, all right He began to slide the slippery silk up her leg, splaying his hands and stroking his fingertips along the soft surface of her inner thigh until she gasped.
'Unbutton my shirt,' he instructed unevenly.
Laura complied, silently willing her fingers not to fumble, but she was so eaten up with nerves and excitement that it wasn't easy Please make this everything I think it could be and want it to be. Or was that asking too much? 'My hands are trembling,' she admitted.
'So I see,' he said drily
'Xavier' she gasped, just as his mouth dipped to kiss the curve between neck and shoulder, just as his hand slipped down between her legs to where the heat was most intense
'Shall I make you come first with my finger?' he mused 'And then my tongue? And then with this?'
He guided her hand down to where he was exquisitely hard Just let go, she told herself If this is the only night you have with him, then why not give in to your every fantasy? 'No,' she whispered as she touched the rocky ridge of him 'I want to feel you inside me '
'MonDieu'' he moaned 'You drive me crazyl You touch me and you talk to me like ' Like what? Not like a virgin, no But with some quality which made it feel special, different As if she was speaking from the heart
He was used to worldly lovers who used polished and erotic skills to pleasure him—but there was something so unaffected about the way Laura reacted to him As if it really mattered Xavier tensed And it didn't matter.
Who cared if she was unworldly? She was a woman he had been foolish enough to confide in—but that was done now, and this was the perfect opportunity to wipe that memory away and replace it with something else.
In that second, something in Xavier's resolve changed, and he felt it in the almost imperceptible hardening of his body. It was time to demonstrate his finesse, to make love to her in such a way that every man who followed would provide just a pale imitation of the pleasure she had known with him.
Without warning, he lifted her up into his arms 'What are you doing'?'
'What do you think? I am taking you to bed because I want to enjoy you in comfort,' he ground out, as he began to carry her towards his bedroom
Enjoy you in comfort.
She couldn't work out whether that was sexy or insulting But her craven body told her that it was too late to back out now, and she just leaned back against his hard chest as he carried her into his bedroom.
Her first thought was that this room was on a much more lavish scale than hers, but then he was laying her down on the bed and towering over her like a dark statue—his black eyes gleaming as they swept over her in sensual assessment
'I think that I am wearing a little too much, don't you?' he observed, as he peeled his shirt off and tossed it aside.
Laura swallowed. His torso was rock-hard and honed with muscle, and the sprinkling of dark hair on his chest arrowed enticingly down to where he began to unbuckle his belt.
He saw her emerald eyes widen as he began to slide the zip down, and he smiled, because this was how he liked it.
This was Xavier in control Xavier about to pleasure a woman and then walk away, as he always did. Maybe not today, or even tomorrow—but walk he would eventually, without a backward glance or a single doubt.
'Xavier,' Laura whispered, because as he slid his trousers off she became suddenly daunted by the sheer magnificence of his body. Those tensile thighs, like iron itself, and narrow hips, and Laura closed her eyes.
'Open your eyes,' he said softly, as he moved onto the bed and pulled her into his arms, a frown creasing his brow 'Why do you shiver so? You are frightened? Because I am so big?'
'Daunted'
He gave a cool laugh 'You have the lawyer's precision with words—but this is no time for them, and you are wearing far too many clothes Viensio '
He slid her negligee off, and the matching nightgown—until she was as naked as he was He groaned as he looked at the lush breasts and the enticing triangle of dark red hair between her thighs
'Later I shall feast my eyes on you,' he murmured 'But first we shall feast on each other, because my hunger is too great to wait any longer' Xavier bent his dark head to take the puckered rosy tip of her nipple into his mouth, his tongue flicking around it, his teeth gently grazing
A shaft of desire shot through her 'Oh' gasped Laura, her head falling back against the pillow .
'Oh, Xavier'
Xavier lifted his head and murmured his appreciation as the dark red hair tumbled into a fiery waterfall down her back He let his tongue move between her breasts, roving to the dip of her navel, then continuing on an inexorable path downwards Laura caught hold of his shoulders
'No'she cried 'Xavier, please '
He heard the raw appeal in her voice and something touched him through the slow burn of desire He lifted his head again, ebony eyes narrowed 'You don't like that?'
She wasn't really sure, because Josh had never been a big fan—and it suddenly seemed just too matter-of-fact to discuss their erotic preferences like this. Like going shopping in some sort of sexual supermarket, and she didn't want it to be like that.
Laura had convinced herself that this was never going to be anything more than great sex—but she was only human, and wasn't there also the very romantic side which no woman could ever quite suppress? That dreamed of hearts and flowers and happy-ever-after when she was intimate with a man? And even if they didn't mean it, then surely they could pretend.
'What is it that you want, cherie' he questioned, sensing her doubts.
'I want you Properly' She didn't want him to perform a million of his clever little variations on a theme, for she was terrified that she wouldn't know how to respond to half of them, terrified that he might compare her to other women he had known who did.
'Tell me,' he murmured, and put his face very close to hers 'I want you to fill me I want I want '
'Want what, Little Miss Lawyer'?' he teased, even though he was aching in a way he had never ached before 'Don't tell me that a word has escaped you '
'I want to feel you,' she said boldly Inside me '
Xavier could not see her blush, but he could feel it in the warmth of her cheek against his, and suddenly he felt more than a little overwhelmed. Was it because a blush was something a woman couldn't fake? Because it was a true glimpse into the way she was feeling—and Laura was feeling shy about making a request that had sounded so delightful to his ears.
'Then feel me you will,' he said starkly 'Right now'
He moved over her, bending his head to kiss her as he thrust into her and set about making love to her as if it was a master class. He loved to take women to the edge over and over again, until they were begging him to put an end to their sweet torment. But Laura was different.
She kissed him a lot. She touched his face a lot She ruffled his hair with her fingers and traced light little patterns across his skin with her fingertips until he shuddered—and he couldn't work out why. But she made love as if it was important—and even though it wasn't, it didn't seem to affect his response to her
So that for once it was Xavier who was lost—swept away on a wave of something so so delicious that it defied description.
Afterwards he lay looking up at the moon-dappled ceiling, telling himself that it was just an incredible orgasm But Laura's head was leaning against the crook of his arm and her hair was spread all over his chest, and he fell asleep with a much deeper feeling of contentment than usual.
CHAPTER NINE
Molten gold morning sun flooded over her bare skin and Laura blinked as her eyes accustomed themselves to the light Someone must have opened the shutters She yawned, still disorientated in the aftermath of a fitful night spent
Her eyes snapped open as she turned her head to see the empty rumpled space beside her A night spent making love with Xavier de Maistre'
'Good morning,' came a soft voice from the other side of the room And there was Xavier He was naked, except for a tiny towel wrapped around his hips, and his hair was still damp from the shower And he was watching her as a wary biologist might observe a newly discovered species
'Did you sleep well?'
'I ' She met his eyes. He had woken her three times in the night to make love to her. It had been the best night of her life, and at one point she thought she might have told him so. Had he forgotten all that—or did things you said while you were having sex simply not count? Was this the language of sophisticated lovers—that next morning you acted as if nothing had happened? Or was he using a subtle code to warn her not to make it into something it wasn't—not to come out with gushing words of praise for his undeniable sexual prowess or—worse—to tell him how easy it would be to fall in love with him?
Well, she would take her cue from him They were both adults—she wasn't going to play coy or cringing or regretful or anything else negative She had enjoyed every second of it—and so, presumably, had he.
'No, I feel great this morning,' she murmured back.
He walked over to the bed and kissed her hair 'You smell great, too '
'So so do you '
Their eyes met as he slipped his hand between her legs, and suddenly Laura felt shy without the concealment of darkness and kind shadows cloaking expressions and hiding any tell-tale signs of vulnerability or insecurity
'Xavier' 'Mmm?'
'I think I ought to be getting up '
'Shh, that's my job Take the towel off,' he instructed on a sultry whisper
Had she thought she needed darkness to feel liberated? Well, that just went to prove how wrong she could be—because with him touching her in that light, teasing way Laura was suddenly overwhelmed with desire, and she pulled the towel from him and tossed it away.
'Like that?'
'D'accord Just like that'. He shuddered and closed his eyes as she encircled him 'Mmm—that is so good, cherie '
'Is it?' Made bold by his murmured praise, Laura rubbed her hand up and down him in a wanton way which seemed both alien to her and yet utterly right. Or was that just the Xavier effect? Making a relatively inexperienced woman suddenly feel as if she would like to work her way through the entire Kama Suira.
'How good?'
'Too good,' he groaned, and, snatching her hand away, lifted her up and slowly lowered her onto him instead, placing his hands on either side of her hips and moving her up and down on his body, while he pierced her honeyed sweetness with his thick shaft.
It was unbearably erotic to see the contrast of her pale skin with the thick curtain of dark red hair which spilled down over her rose-tipped breasts But her eyes were closed 'Look at me,' he urged 'Laura, look at me '
Laura did—feeling suddenly shy For it seemed the most intimate act of all for their eyes to meet and hold while he thrust into her She felt her pleasure suddenly escalating out of control—her heart contracting along with her body as a great whooshing wave of emotion began to carry her away
'I can't wait,' she cried out as spasms of profound pleasure began to pull her under.
Xavier's felt her tighten around him 'Then don't,' he urged, helpless himself when, minutes later, he let go and was sent shooting into orbit by another orgasm of such intensity that his heart seemed to stop for a brief moment And when the waves of pleasure had died away he was shaken as that feeling stole over him again—the lazy contentment which made minutes drift into hours, so that he must have slept.
When he awoke it was to find Laura lying watching him—and as he stretched luxuriously he wondered if they could get away with spending the whole day in bed
'Hello, again,' he said, and stretched lazily.
Laura knew she had to pull herself together She had been lying there watching him while he was sleeping—the two thick black arcs of his lashes feathering the dark olive skin Mainly, she'd been feeling a kind of dazed bliss.
In sleep he looked softer—almost vulnerable Yet hadn't there been traces of that same vulnerability when he had been telling her about his reaction upon meeting the man who had sired him? Or was that just Laura projecting what Laura wanted to see?
'Hello,' she said, and then, employing her usual sharp thinking instead of some love-hungry little-girl yearning, she forced herself to confront the reality of the situation.
Fact they had just had sex
Fact Xavier was hereto spend time with his father, not to be in bed with his father's lawyer.
So what would any other woman do in this situation? She would give him a cool thanks-for-the-memory kind of smile and she would get out early, with her dignity and her pride and her heart still intact
'I'd better go,' she whispered, and even managed to lean over to plant a kiss on his nose.
Xavier shook his head 'Let's ring for coffee,' he yawned.
'Id rather not—I don't want anyone to know I'm in bed with you '
'Why not? Malik didn't make you sign a vow of celibacy before you arrived, did he?'
'Of course not,' said Laura 'I just don't particularly want to broadcast what we've been doing, if it's all the same with you'
'Oh, come on' He gave a slow, cynical smile 'You would have to be very naive if you believed that anything which goes on within the walls of this Palace isn't already known by Malik and his spies' He tilted her chin with his finger 'And I am sure that this bewitching lawyer is far from naive '
There was something in his tone she didn't like—something which was making her regret what had happened.
Determined not to make a big deal of it, Laura slid off the bed and began to pull on her clothes as unselfconsciously as possible—which wasn't easy with those eyes following her every move.
It wasn't until she had dressed and composed her face into the kind of even-though-we've-just-had-sex-I'm-not-going-to-come-over-all-heavy-on-you expression she knew was expected, that she dared to look at him again And despaired that her heart melted at just the sight of him.
'So what are you going to do now?' she asked
She had clammed up, he thought suddenly. Retreated from him in a way he was unused to. His eyes narrowed Now, why was that? 'I presume you aren't talking breakfast?'
'No ' Her cool expression was starting to slip, and Laura was torn between wanting to be spirited out of there and wanting to climb back into bed and into his arms 1 meant how long are you planning to stay here, in Kharastan?'
Xavier stretched his arms above his head, not bothering to hide his nakedness or the fact that watching h
er slipping on her underwear had been enough to make his body stir once more. He ached. He wanted her again—but he was damned if he was going to beg her to get back into bed with him. Women did not usually leave his bed unless he asked or ordered them to. He was the one who left it first.
Frustration bubbled over into anger, but he sublimated it with a cool look
'Are you interested from a professional or a personal point of view?' he questioned.
Laura's heart missed a beat There was something in his voice she didn't like Was he worried that she was going to start getting all clingy and possessive? And warning her not to?
'Professional, of course,' she said crisply
'I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet,' he said slowly
His troubled face in the dead of the night came back to haunt her It had torn at her heart then and it tore at it now 'Why not stay?' asked Laura gently Because—no matter what the outcome of their intimacy— she felt that he owed it to himself to explore his roots 'And get to know your father'
'You think I should?'
Did that mean he valued her opinion? Laura felt as if she'd been given some kind of moral reprieve and nodded her head 'Definitely!'
Xavier's black eyes narrowed suspiciously as everything suddenly began to click into place How completely she had switched from cool to passionate, then back to cool again Her seemingly inexplicable appearance in his room last night, wearing clothes designed to seduce—as indeed all her clothes were
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