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

a kiss as he drew hard, then kissed, then sucked hard again.

      Suddenly light exploded in her soul, in her veins. Her vision blurred and she grabbed his head, hanging on for dear life as a cataclysm burst upon her, burning from the inside out, rolling through her in massive wave upon wave of delight.

      Ecstasy.

      As the universe-melding power of it eased and she came back to herself, Lina finally understood the meaning of the word. To stand outside yourself. She knew the dictionary definition, but never till this instant understood the stunning reality of it.

      For moments there Lina had been both within her body and galaxies beyond it, exploding like a star in a distant solar system.

      Slowly, infinitesimally slowly, her body floated back down to the bed, to limp satiation. To Sayid’s tight smile and the high flags of colour across his cheeks. As if he’d got pleasure from her pleasure.

      Except the proof that he was still unsatisfied lay heavy against her bare leg as he moved up beside her.

      Abruptly embarrassment welled. Sayid had watched her come apart, more vulnerable than she’d ever been to anyone. It was another layer of self-possession peeled away by this man against whom she already had too few defences.

      ‘I want to watch you come.’ The words were out without her consciously forming them.

      ‘That can be arranged.’ His voice was gravel and black velvet. Yet he didn’t move, instead meeting her stare with a look that told her he was trying to read her thoughts. ‘You’re not happy? What’s wrong, Lina?’

      Put like that, she felt ungrateful. What did she have to complain of when he’d given her such pleasure? She’d heard enough gossip to know some men didn’t feel obliged to satisfy their partner’s needs. Far from being ungenerous, Sayid had taken her to the stars and back. And yet...

      Lina reached out and cupped his face, feeling the tiny abrasions from what would become his beard. It was the first time she’d touched him like that and she revelled in her right to do so. Her hand splayed over the sharp angle of his jaw, fingers stroking his cheek. That was better, that connection.

      ‘It was wonderful. Spectacular. But I don’t want to be alone. I want you with me.’

      She firmed her mouth, afraid of what her words would reveal. But instead of looking concerned, Sayid smiled and it was a caress, bathing her in luscious warmth.

      ‘As I said, that can be arranged.’

      After that Lina grew a little crazy, for Sayid stripped her of her clothes, but slowly, taking his sweet time peppering her with kisses and even, occasionally tiny nips that made her flesh tingle and need grow anew. He learned her body from the sensitive place behind her ears to her wrists where her pulse throbbed frantically. From the hollow near her hip bone, where his stubble was erotic bliss and torture at once, to her ankles which to her amazement were another erogenous zone when Sayid lavished attention there.

      This time she got to touch too, to kiss and stroke him wherever she could reach. He tasted salty and rich, hot against her tongue. She loved the tiny little quivers under his skin when she found a particularly sensitive spot. Then he’d growl, low in his throat and whip his hand out, gently but firmly stopping her caresses as he took his time meandering over her body, turning it into an instrument tuned only to his touch.

      She would have protested his determination to be in charge except she was too overcome by bliss.

      Then, finally, she felt the feverish heat of his skin against hers, the hard-packed weight of him brushing her from breasts to thighs.

      Propped on one elbow he peered down at her while his other hand stroked the damp curls between her legs and she juddered against his touch.

      This time when she slid her hand downwards he didn’t stop her and she encountered the hot, rigid swell of his arousal. He’d put on a condom she realised as her fingers closed around him. She hadn’t even been aware of him doing that. But what occupied her thoughts was the nervous certainty that there was no way this could work. She was an average-sized woman but Sayid was—

      ‘Lift your knees, Lina.’ Already he was palming her inner thigh, lifting it up against the jut of his hip. Instinctively she bent her other knee, cradling him between her thighs.

      ‘Sayid...’ She wanted this but it struck her that perhaps this wouldn’t be as simple as she’d imagined. ‘We need to talk.’

      His mouth covered hers, blocking her words. At the same time she felt him move between her legs. ‘Later, sweet Lina. I can’t wait any longer.’ He pulled her hand away from him, then slid his hand under her, tilting her pelvis higher as with one smooth movement he thrust.

      Her gasp was eaten up by his ravenous mouth, tongue probing and caressing in a way that sent her senses reeling. Just as the feel of him pushing deep sent waves of shock pulsing through her.

      Lina felt pressure, so much pressure. But the insistent drag of his mouth against hers and his harsh hum of approval counteracted her sudden tension.

      He stilled. She felt the rise and fall of his heavy chest against hers. In that instant she registered the unfamiliar tickle of the hair on his thighs, the rigidity of his muscled arms where she grabbed him and a scent, musky and rich, unfamiliar yet enticing.

      He began to withdraw and immediately Lina wrapped one leg high over his hip, trying to hold him close. This wasn’t...comfortable, but she wanted it all.

      Sayid’s head lifted, ebony eyes snaring hers. She heard the sound of rasping breaths in the still night air.

      ‘I’m hurting you.’ She wouldn’t have recognised it as his voice, so rough and thick.

      ‘You’re not.’ There was discomfort and a strangeness, but no pain. ‘Besides, you promised.’

      ‘Promised?’ He spoke through clenched teeth and for the first time Lina noticed the sheen of sweat glazing his bronzed features. Belatedly she realised the powerful muscles in his arms were quivering with tension, the pulse at his temple hammering.

      She did that to him. She stroked her hands up to his shoulders and felt him shudder. For reasons she didn’t fully understand, the realisation of his vulnerability made her body soften against him.

      ‘That I could watch you come.’

      His eyes blazed down at her but Lina didn’t fear him now. She slipped her hands up to anchor at the back of his neck and lifted her other leg, locking her ankles across his back, holding herself to him as surely as he held her.

      Immediately he slipped further into her cradling body, so when the slide became a thrust Lina’s moment of smugness evaporated in a gasp of astonishment. It felt as if Sayid was planted so deep within that he touched her heart.

      Then there was no time for thought as he withdrew, only to arch his spine and push back again, then again. Each surge seated him further and each movement caused a delicious friction that created delight and a hunger for more. She lifted herself against each thrust, addicted to the feelings he evoked.

      Dark eyes held hers as his tempo increased and with it her body’s sensitivity. Lina tightened the clasp of her legs, just as Sayid slipped his hand between their bodies and lightly touched her clitoris. A second later he powered hard against her and the world burst into flame.

      There was a cry of wonder, a moment of strained disbelief, then rapture engulfed her just as Sayid arched his neck and pumped hard into her, spilling himself in a throb of ecstasy.

      Through the whirl of sensation, the blurred, overwrought senses and piercing delight, Lina watched him lose himself in her. It was as if he fought a great battle but finally, as rapture took them both, his head fell to her neck, his breath searing her flesh, and they were one.

      A great well of protectiveness filled Lina. She wrapped her arms around him, adoring the weight of his slumped body, the intimacy of their joined bodies and the intensity of the connection. Even now echoes of pleasure rippled