Taken by the Sheikh

by Mel Teshco

  He dropped to his knees on the mattress, straddling her hips with his thighs, his cock pulsing against her belly. Her mouth flooded with moisture and her pulse raced. Then he slowly lowered his big body over hers until her sensitized breasts were crushed against his chest, his forearms either side of her head bracing his weight.

  She mewled and wriggled, desperate for him. But he didn’t take pity and enter her. Instead he reached down, parted her outer labia and began to massage her clit. Nerve endings blazed into life. Her breath hissed and then caught in her throat when he slid a finger deep inside her.

  “So tight, Habibi.”

  She parted her legs on the softest of sighs. He’d find out soon enough just how tight she really was.

  He smiled down at her, eyes glinting. “So impatient for my possession.” His hand left her pussy so that he could guide his cock between her thighs.

  She stiffened suddenly. “Wait.”

  He frowned. “You want me to stop now?”

  “What about protection? A condom?”

  His eyes glittered. “Your medical records indicate you’re clean. And I carry no diseases.”

  She blinked. He’d gained access to her medical history? Was nothing sacred? She cleared away her shock to focus on the practical. “What about an unplanned pregnancy?”

  He smiled, and then bent his head, kissing her parted lips between his words. “It will be. No accident. The sooner. You carry our child. The better.”

  His words caused her to stiffen at the same moment his hips thrust forward, driving his cock deep. She gasped, tears springing to her eyes at the barrier he tore even as her inner muscles locked and contracted, rejecting the invasion.

  He froze, a pulse jerking into life in his jaw.

  She turned away from him, shocked by the pain and for the first time in her life at a loss to know what to do or say.

  “Look at me,” he commanded.

  She closed her eyes for a moment as she fought for composure, before she turned back to him. She was headstrong and perverse at the best of times but she wasn’t a fool. In fact she’d never been so overawed. His dominance and power was tangible, his possession undeniable.

  “You’re a virgin,” he rasped.

  She bit into her bottom lip, and though it wasn’t a question she found herself nodding and answering, “Yes.”

  “Damn it Lexi, I thought—“

  “I was promiscuous?”

  He shook his head. “Passionate. Impulsive. Hot blooded.” He bent his head and kissed her throat, his stubble that prickled her skin immediately soothed by the sweep of his tongue.

  She pressed her head back and arched her neck, her tense muscles loosening until her whole body felt like liquid heat.

  His breath was warm against her ear when he murmured, “You’re my perfect match in every way.”

  Her lashes fluttered. “So my being a virgin doesn’t change anything?”

  His head reared back and he let out a slow breath, his stare catching hers. “I would have taken more care, made sure you were better prepared for me.” He stayed carefully still. “The betrothal contract stipulating your virtue wasn’t reasonable.”

  She blinked. The arrangement had been that archaic? “Would you still have kidnapped me?”

  His eyes darkened, uncompromising possessiveness. “Habibi even had you not been promised to me, from the moment I saw you in the flesh I knew you were mine. Nothing and nobody would have stopped me from making you my sheikha. Your home is Omana, ruling by my side.”

  Perhaps if she hadn’t been under his body, wrapped in all his heat and ferocious masculinity, she might have been more conflicted. Instead a wanton thrill moved through her, a desire to be his alone in every way.

  She perceived that he waited for her inner muscles to adapt, but a restless need to be taken by this man caused her to fidget beneath him.

  He groaned at the movement, before he growled, “Are you ready for me, Habibi?”

  She nodded, her pulse leaping. “Yes.”

  The heat that poured from him had nothing to do with the rise of the scorching sun outside and all to do with the passion ignited between them. He drew back from her slowly, and she gasped at the friction of his cock dragging almost free, before he pushed forward again, starting a rhythm that seated him deeper inside her with every thrust.

  She closed her eyes as pleasure built and pain became a memory, every in and out slide of his cock smoother and less resistant.

  “Look at me,” he said hoarsely. “I want to see your expression when you come for the first time with me inside you.”

  Her lashes fluttered open and she watched him as he pumped inside her, his gritted jaw and bulging forearms revealing his restraint. Heaven help her, he was determined to send her over the edge first but she was still a long way from—

  The orgasm hit her like a freight train, drawing her inner muscles tight even as she was thrown to heights that seemed impossible to reach. She distantly heard a cry—hers—before Shahzad too succumbed, his relieved groan long and drawn out as his seed flooded inside her.

  She floated slowly downward, sensing this kind of experience wouldn’t have happened with just anyone. She’d perceived right from the start this man would make her soul soar. What she hadn’t expected was to have a piece of her heart taken right along for the ride.

  Her pulse quickened. Even had he never kidnapped her, she would have known he was dangerous. But she was beginning to realize that danger came in many forms. She’d been with him for such a short time and already she was trying not to fall for him.

  If only he’d known how easy it would have been for him to sweep her off her feet the old fashioned way. He’d had a whole week in which to do it and get to know one another instead of him wasting time following and watching her.

  She had no doubts now if he’d allowed her those seven days to be with him, time in which to romance her and get to know one another, she’d have walked over burning coals for him if he’d asked.

  Instead she was left floundering in the wake of great sex, questioning everything he did and every word he spoke, and wondering if at the root of his desire was his need to butter her up to become his sheikha.

  “Habibi,” he murmured reverently. He carefully disengaged from her before he rolled onto his side and snagged her close. His eyes were intent, serious. “You’re mine now. Always and forever mine.”

  Even had she wanted to argue all her doubts she didn’t have the strength. Instead she gave him a lazy smile as contentment drifted over her and her lashes flickered closed.

  Chapter Six

  She woke slowly, feeling lethargic and yet more alive than she had in a very long time. She opened her eyes, already aware Shahzad was gone—she’d sense him near even if she was blindfolded.

  She sat, the blankets slipping to her hips and her nipples hardening as the warm air touched her nakedness. Going by the long shadows outside the opened doorway of the tent, she’d been asleep for some time.

  At least she knew now that sex really was the key to a deep sleep. She smiled. She just might be able to kiss her insomnia goodbye at last.

  “I hope I’m the reason behind that gorgeous smile?”

  Her smile widened at seeing Shahzad stepping through the doorway of the tent in his Arab attire. Who’d have thought a robe and headgear could look so dangerously sexy?

  She should hate the man, so why did her heart shift in her chest even as her pulse leapt at seeing him? Surely amazing sex alone couldn’t stir such deep feelings?

  At her silence he added, “You must be starving?”

  She pressed a hand to her belly. How long ago had she eaten? “Ravenous.”

  His eyes swept approvingly up and down her semi-naked body. “Then it seems your appetite is healthy in more ways than one.”

  Her nipples tightened further and her face heated as self-consciousness swept through her. For crying out loud, Shahzad had fucked her senseless. He’d seen her naked and had gone all up
and personal on her pussy with his tongue. There should be zero reservations around him.

  Then again, kidnapping a woman didn’t exactly allude to normal in any way.

  His dark chuckle filled the tent. “And you blush too?” His eyes smoldered. “Habibi you are more fascinating by the minute.”

  She bit into her bottom lip, his praise only making her question the happiness inside. She shifted restlessly as uncertainty grew. She was halfway to falling in love with her kidnapper. A man she knew nothing about. Oh, she knew his body well enough, but what about his mind and his ethics?

  If they’d met under any other circumstances she’d have guessed his principles were of the highest order. But there was no getting around his crime. She’d been taken hostage by the sheikh. He’d forced her to leave everything and everyone she loved.

  The hand at her belly balled into a fist. Was her mother even coping with her disappearance? Lexi would probably never find out. Her old life might as well have been on the other side of the universe. But she’d find a way to talk to her mother, to reassure her that everything was okay.

  Shahzad stepped through the gauzy curtain into the portioned off room, and then crouched beside her. Reaching out a hand, he clasped her chin and lifted her stare to his. “Are you okay?” His eyes were assessing, genuine concern revealed in the brilliant, dark depths. “I didn’t hurt you last night, did I?”

  She shook her head and took a steadying breath, except the moment she filled her lungs with his masculine scent of sandalwood and spices, she felt anything but steady. “I’m okay.

  He brushed back stray pieces of her hair. “Okay isn’t anywhere near good enough.”

  She arched a brow. “You’re stressing about a few aches and pains when you’ve stolen me from the only world I’ve ever known?”

  “Any fool could see how underwhelmed you were. Omana is your country now. Just wait and see. It will get into your blood and you’ll never want to leave.”

  She blinked. “You say that like you really know me and what I want, but you don’t know me at all.”

  His head cocked to the side. “On the contrary. I know more about you than I sometimes think you know about yourself.”

  Anger welled and she had a sudden understanding of how a caged animal must feel with scientists studying and evaluating it. “One week of stalking me doesn’t make you an expert on all things Lexi!”

  “On the contrary Habibi, I learned more about you in that one week than I did from your whole lifetime of investigations and reports.”

  Her face went hot and then cold, her voice barely audible through the tremors going through her body. “What are you saying?” She swallowed. “That I’ve been scrutinized all my life by you too?”

  She could barely accept the fact her father had kept tabs on her, let alone this sheikh.

  His eyes narrowed. “You don’t imagine for one moment that the future Sheikha of Omana wouldn’t be tracked and discreetly watched?”

  She shot to her feet as anger exploded within. “And no doubt assessed and found lacking.”

  *

  Shahzad straightened, a rush of blood thickening his cock as he faced the naked, spitting she-cat. Her full breasts quivered with rage, her bedraggled bright hair spilling from her topknot to halo her pale face and flashing green eyes.

  Though she’d yet to realize it had been for her own safety that she’d been watched, he understood her rage. There was nothing more confronting than knowing your life was for public consumption.

  Yet the animalistic male in him wanted only to throw her back onto the mattress and claim her again and again, until ecstasy overtook her fury and his seed overflowed her sweet little sex while she cried out his name.

  But he wasn’t a complete brute. Taking virgins wasn’t his specialty by a long shot, but he’d hazard a guess she’d be sore. There would be much time ahead of them between the sheets.

  Right then he had to tread carefully, explain the Omana way, though it’d be something of a novelty to him. He’d never had to tiptoe around a woman before. The females of his country worshipped him and his brothers as though they were Gods.

  Little wonder his future bride excited him to the core. Not only was she gorgeous, she was high spirited and intelligent, and challenged him in every way.

  It’s why he didn’t want to change her. What he did want was to open her mind to the possibilities right in front of her. She’d been bored in her old life, with her predictable routines and mind-numbing classes.

  As his bride and Sheikha of Omana there wouldn’t be a single day the same as the one before. Unexpected was standard as royalty. He smirked a little. And if by chance her day was unremarkable, he’d make damn certain her nights were extraordinary and her energy expended.

  His cock jerked and he bit back a moan. For the sake of his soon-to-be-bride, it was beyond time to tame his own thoughts and desires. He cleared his throat and focused on her lovely face that all but blazed with fury. God, he knew just exactly how to make her burn in a much more satisfactory way for them both.

  So much for keeping my thoughts away from sex!

  He cleared his throat. “Get dressed, Habibi. I’ll be waiting for you outside the tent.”

  *

  Lexi watched the Arab leave the tent with a long-legged stride. She released a breath. How did he manage to take up so much room? It was as though he sucked all the air out of the space until there was only him.

  She couldn’t imagine him as anything less than a powerful sheikh. The role fitted him perfectly in every way.

  She dressed slowly, her thoughts turning over. Anger and resentment weren’t part of her personality, no matter that she had every right to focus on those emotions. Her destiny was her own to choose, even if her so called father had decreed the marriage before she’d been born. In the end all she had to fall back on was her living-in-the-moment philosophy to see her through the days ahead.

  She already had powerful feelings for Shahzad. Perhaps this once, her future was heading in the right direction? Lord only knew the restlessness she’d suffered from all her life, not to mention her insomnia, seemed to have dissipated.

  She tugged on her sandals and redid her hair into its customary topknot, before collecting her abandoned jacket and shrugging into it. Taking a deep breath, she headed toward the tent’s exit.

  The heat struck her first. Even though it was later in the afternoon and the date palms huge leaves shaded the hot desert sand, it was at least five degrees hotter than the interior of the tent.

  The snort of a horse was followed by a prickling sensation that raised the hairs on her nape. She swung around, her eyes clashing with Shahzad’s.

  She blinked. Her sheikh was astride a beautiful black stallion with flared nostrils and a tossing head. Shahzad held out a hand. “Ready when you are, Habibi.”

  Laughter spilled from her lips. “You really are full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  I like that in a man.

  His teeth flashed white behind the dark growth of his stubble. “I can’t have you bored.” His smile widened. “Although I did consider far more entertaining activities.”

  She swallowed. Hard. Odd how her mouth dried at his words when her pussy flooded with moisture. He motioned her toward him—away from the long length of ropes that were attached to the tent and staked into the ground.

  She stepped his way and then took his hand so that he could lift her onto a flat cushion at the front of the decorative saddle. She smiled. He’d thought of everything, including protecting her very tender feminine anatomy.

  One of his big arms wrapped around her and pulled her against his rock hard chest. She had a fair idea it wasn’t the only part of him that was rock hard. But the moment he pressed the horse into a ground-eating canter, she gave herself up to the breeze in her face and the sensation they were flying just above the sand.

  Shahzad controlled the horse with ease and soon enough the oasis was well behind them and endless rolling sand dun
es before them. He pointed to a herd of Oryx, the antelopes white hides gleaming under the harsh sun and their long, black horns looking as savage as the desert around them.

  The sun was beginning to drift toward the far off horizon when he finally eased his horse back into a walk. The stallion put his head down and, although sinking all the way to his hocks in sand, he surged up the first dune.

  Lexi couldn’t help but think that the powerful flex and pull of the stallion’s muscles wasn’t dissimilar to the man riding him.

  As they topped the rise, her eyes rounded. A blanket was laid out atop the sand, with a picnic hamper and cushions. Shahzad reined the stallion to a halt and then dismounted before she slid into his arms to land on her sandaled feet.

  She looked up at him. “You set this up?”

  He nodded. “I mightn’t be able to take you out to a fancy restaurant, but I can still wine and dine you.” His eyes gleamed. “Still romance you.”

  He must have organized it while she’d been asleep. Was he trying to make her forget the fact he’d kidnapped her? Was it working? Because despite herself, she was more than a little touched by the gesture.

  He wasn’t anywhere near the barbaric madman she’d imagined. Still, she had no doubts few would dare cross him.

  Taking hold of her hand, he led her to the blanket. She sat cross-legged beside him. “Won’t your horse run away?”

  He opened the hamper lid and pulled out a bowl filled with salad. “No. Despite Eblis’ hot blooded temperament, he’s obedient and trained to wait.”

  She arched a brow. “Is that what you hope from me, too?”

  He passed her a plate, his head cocked to one side. “Obedience? I don’t want a puppet with me pulling the strings. Believe it or not I want a wife who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to speak it.”

  She put the plate in front of her on the blanket. “So there’s no inequality in your country?”

  He nodded. “Because many of our neighboring countries hold to a strict moral code with their women, Omana chooses also to keep our women modestly dressed, at least in public…although there are still those extremists who call for the burka—”