by Nalini Singh
Every male instinct in him was aroused and alert. This was his woman, and he was at once proud of her and ravenous. She was so sexy she was a fantasy and yet it was the very human softness of her that he found the most enticing. His ice princess had turned out to be a woman of hot blood, and he couldn't have been more pleased.
Holding that dark gaze, he undid the buttons on his jeans and stepped out of them and his underwear at the same time. Her throat quivered as she swallowed.
Aware of the ways his wife's body betrayed her arousal, he looked at her thighs. Beneath the water, they were pressed tight together. Her body was flushed with heat that hadn't been present a moment before, her lips parted as if waiting for him.
He walked into the bath, conscious that her eyes had dropped to his erection. He was huge with desire for her, and he was proud of his passion. This was something no other man had ever given her and no other man ever would. He reached her as that possessive thought crossed his mind. He could think of a hundred things he could do to his princess and she to him on this slow desert evening, but first he just wanted another kiss. A kiss that was given joyously by the woman who loved him.
"Marc," she murmured against his lips. "Husband mine."
He went to kiss her again, but, with a mischievous smile, she slipped away and into the water. He followed, stalking her into a corner. "Princess, come here."
"Why do you call me that?" she murmured, letting him trap her.
He winced. "At first it was because you made me so mad when you went all icy."
She chuckled and kissed him, telling him he was forgiven for those early taunts. "And now?"
"Now, I feel like the hero in some fairy tale who got the girl." His hands began to slide over her body. "I beat the dragon and won the princess." The timbre of his voice dropped, becoming husky and intimate.
When Hira thought he would pull her into his lap and take her, he put strong hands around her waist and lifted her to the edge of the bathing pool. She gasped as cool marble met her bottom.
In front of her, he spread her legs to position her as it pleased him. Very aroused, she let him stroke her thighs apart, fingering her own hands through his hair. "Husband," she whispered. "Why do you do this?"
His laugh was hoarse. "Baby, you know I like the taste of you." Against her sensitive skin, his breath was a hot caress, a lover's kiss. Moving closer, he put her legs over his shoulders.
She gulped as his hands stroked her flanks, as if leading up to a taste of her. "But you wish to come inside me now. This isn't what you wish."
His grin seared her. "Cher, have you got a lot to learn about your husband. But don't worry, I have a lifetime in which to teach you the finer points." There was such sheer delight on his face that she found herself laughing with him. "Lesson number one--what I wish is for you to be screaming when I take you."
That was all the warning she got before he dipped his head. Hira shuddered and tried to keep her control, but it was futile. Before long she was clutching her fingers in his dark hair, moaning her desire and asking him for more. He gave her more, took more, demanded more. And at last she screamed.
When he finally pulled her down, the water lapped over her in a cool caress that soothed her sensitized flesh but did nothing to quench the boiling cauldron inside of her. She wrapped her legs around him and, with a sigh of exquisite relief, welcomed him into her body, even as their eyes locked in an even more intimate dance.
Her American hunter took her and she let herself be taken. It was far too late to fight, because at last she knew that she was conquered territory, marked with the stamp of this one man alone.
Perhaps it might've made a weaker woman angry to be considered as such, but Hira wasn't weak. Belonging to Marc allowed no half measures. But, she thought with a smile as the stars exploded around them, Marc wasn't a man who loved by half measures. He'd given her all his passion, all his strength, all his heart. If she'd been conquered, then her conqueror had surrendered into her loving arms.
"People treasure their dreams," Marc whispered into her ear, as they floated down from the pinnacle of pleasure. "Let me treasure you for the rest of my life."
It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. Contrary to his own beliefs, her hunter of a man knew exactly what words to give his wife. "We will treasure each other," she managed to whisper, holding her perfect prince of a man to her.
Books by Nalini Singh
Desert Warrior
Awaken to Pleasure
Awaken the Senses
Craving Beauty
Secrets in the Marriage Bed
Bound by Marriage
Nalini Singh
has always wanted to be a writer. Along the way to her dream, she obtained degrees in both the arts and law (because being a starving writer didn't appeal). After a short stint as a lawyer, she sold her first book, and from that point, there was no going back. Now an escapee from the corporate world, she is looking forward to a lifetime of writing, interspersed with as much travel as possible. Nalini loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website: nalinisingh.com.
ALWAYS POWERFUL, PASSIONATE AND PROVOCATIVE.
Looking for more passionate and provocative stories like the one you just read?
Pick up your next great read from Harlequin Desire. Your destination for powerful, passionate and provocative stories!
Seducing the princess is Mohab's biggest mission impossible. Overcoming past deceptions and present heartaches, he vows to take her from fake engagement to temporary marriage to...forever.
To help Dr. Trinity Matthews fend off unwanted advances at work, Adrian Westmoreland poses as her boyfriend. But when their pretend kisses turn serious, Adrian wants a chance at the real thing.
After a sizzling one-night stand, Wynn Hunter is shocked to see his beautiful, nameless stranger again--and to learn exactly who she is. This time, he won't let her get away!
Six new stories every month are available wherever books and ebooks are sold.
Connect with us to find your next great read, special offers and more!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com
Harlequin.com/Newsletters
www.Harlequin.com
HARLEQUIN BOOKS
ISBN-13: 9781460334317
Craving Beauty
Copyright (c) 2005 by Nalini Singh All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
(r) and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with (r) are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
rayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
