Modern Romance July 2018 Books 5-8 Collection. Annie West

from him, harsh and ragged.

      Again that quick swipe of her bottom lip, as if her mouth was as dry as his.

      ‘Like what?’ Still she didn’t move away.

      Sayid shook his head, determined to do the right thing as soon as he could unlock his hold on her arms.

      Except she breathed deep and her breasts grazed him. A trail of fire rocketed through his ribs and abdomen, straight to his groin.

      ‘Like you want me to kiss you.’ He heard the rasp in his voice as duty battled desire, but she didn’t respond to that harsh warning.

      She blinked up at him, her lips parted and slowly shook her head, her hair caressing him. Then her words, soft as the flutter of a nightingale’s wing, came to him. ‘But I do.’

      The night stood still, except for his heart slamming his ribs and the saw of his breath, loud in the silence. Yet, hard as he fought, control was beyond him now.

      A moment later his mouth captured hers.

      * * *

      If she’d had the capacity to think properly Lina might have been astonished at how she’d spoken aloud, admitting her desire so blatantly.

      Or by the way she responded to being locked against his hard form.

      By the shivers of sensual delight she felt at the riot of new sensations.

      This was outrageous, terrifying.

      Wonderful.

      Hard, callused hands grasped her tight. Sayid’s warm breath feathered her face. His rich, potent scent swirled within her as if she’d absorbed his essence. And above all, the press of his wet, hard body against hers devastated her senses in the most thrilling way.

      It was like a dream. Like those disturbing fantasies that had haunted her the last four years, growing ever bolder and more erotic.

      Inevitably, as he bowed his head and possessed her mouth, Lina revelled in the fact this was no dream. She lifted her hands to his wet shoulders, relishing the strong bone, solid muscle and satiny skin beneath her questing hands.

      Her daring surprised her, as if she made a habit of embracing men, when instead she’d spent years learning how to be friendly yet not encourage their advances.

      Because, despite the stunning audacity of it, her heart, or perhaps her body, had fixed on Sayid Badawi as the only one she wanted. The one who, he’d made clear as he’d gently but firmly bundled her out of his bedroom and his life, was not for her. For of course he demanded sophistication and glamour, women who fitted his world of prestige and power.

      This then was magic. A moment’s aberration.

      An opportunity not to be missed. For too soon reality would end it.

      Lina fell into his embrace. So long she’d imagined his mouth on hers. So long she’d pined for his touch. There was no holding back, no hesitation. And she discovered her imagination was a poor imitation of the real thing.

      Being held by Sayid, kissed by him, made her head spin and her heart pound in delight. The taste of him, so rich, so...intimate, made her weak at the knees. Lina would have been completely overwhelmed except that it felt right.

      His powerful arms dragged her up so that her breasts were crushed against that imposing naked torso and she exulted in his strength, the urgency she sensed in him.

      His lips were softer than she’d expected. But there was nothing tentative about his kiss. His tongue dived in, probing, licking and swirling. It invited hers to curl in a dance of give and take that made her body prickle with a searing heat despite her damp swimsuit.

      She’d imagined sweet kisses. Had wondered about the open-mouthed kisses she’d seen in movies. But nothing, neither the excited chatter at school or the women’s talk she’d heard in her old home, had prepared her for this.

      If being near Sayid was like being bathed in starlight, this was like being tossed up into the bright Milky Way itself.

      She slipped her hands higher, combing them through the drenched hair at the back of his skull, spreading her fingers and cupping his head possessively.

      If she could, she’d hold him here for ever. Everyone knew magic was fleeting and she didn’t want this to end.

      His hand dragged up her side, almost but not quite touching her breast and she shuddered. A second later that large hand planted itself on her cheek, angling her head higher as he bowed her back across his arm.

      That combination of tenderness and mastery undid her.

      With a great thump of her heart Lina abandoned any attempt at thought and let herself go, knowing Sayid wouldn’t let her fall. Everything his kiss demanded she gave, glorying not just in the delicious new physical sensations but her tangled, contrary feelings of power and helplessness.

      When she pressed closer, sliding her tongue against his, he responded with a growl of pleasure deep in his throat that vibrated from his slick, hot body to hers. It made her quiver in delight.

      She’d never felt so connected to another person. So...aroused. It was a heady new experience.

      Liquid heat poured through her, pooling low in the centre of her body. Lina squirmed in his hold, trying to assuage the blind eagerness for more, more, more.

      Then suddenly, devastatingly, it was over. Sayid’s hands gripped her upper arms, holding her steady as he straightened away from her.

      His broad bronzed chest rose and fell like overworked bellows. The furnace heat of his body encompassed her. But though she still tasted him on her tongue, her tingling lips couldn’t reach him and her hands slipped from his head as he put her away from him.

      Doubts assailed her. Regrets. Not for the kiss but because she hadn’t wanted it to end.

      Hadn’t he enjoyed kissing her?

      She was innocent but not that innocent. There’d been no mistaking his hard arousal between them. And that sound of pleasure he’d made, so low it rumbled through her bones—just remembering it made Lina shiver with luxurious pleasure.

      Maybe she’d done it wrong. It was her first kiss, except for her cousin’s clumsy attempt years ago. That didn’t count, since his mouth had landed on her chin when she’d shoved him away.

      Slowly Lina lifted her gaze, past the Emir’s heaving pectorals with their fine covering of dark hair, past those hard, broad shoulders that had felt so strong beneath her hands. Even his throat looked powerful and sexy.

      Lina blinked, realising she had a whole new appreciation of the meaning of the word. Sexy. That’s what Sayid was. And his kiss sent her into orbit.

      Steeling herself, she raised her eyes further. His mouth was a harsh line, set tight. If she couldn’t still taste the rich flavour of him on her tongue, if her lips weren’t swollen from his ardent kiss, she’d believe that mouth incapable of bestowing such bliss.

      Lina wobbled, her legs unsteady, and instantly his hands firmed on her.

      ‘Steady.’ His voice was low, stroking places in her body she’d barely been aware of before now. She loved the differences between them. His size and strength were so much greater than hers. His experience too.

      Finally she looked up to meet his blazing eyes. They were so dark they rivalled the black velvet sky behind him.

      Whatever the reason for his withdrawal, it wasn’t because he didn’t want her.

      An inner voice screamed that the issue wasn’t just whether he wanted her. She had a say too. But that was a given, she acknowledged despairingly. No matter how often Lina told herself she was now an independent woman, she was utterly in thrall to His Royal Highness the Emir of Halarq.

      ‘Are you all right?’

      ‘Of course.’ Lina struggled to keep her voice steady when