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

separating made him shudder.

      At last he lay on his back, trembling. Undone.

      He’d thought last night a pinnacle of physical pleasure.

      This was...miraculous. Appallingly, outrageously, infinitely better than he’d experienced before.

      His befuddled brain tried to compute a reason for it. His longish stint of celibacy. Muddled perception after a sleepless night. Some secret thrill at bedding a virgin.

      No. Nothing accounted for it.

      Sayid huffed a laugh. Maybe, after years of practice, he’d just got it right for the first time. The way he felt, anything was possible.

      ‘What’s so funny?’

      ‘Me. My brain’s short-circuited.’ Eyes still closed, he reached out and groped for her hand. ‘Are you okay?’

      ‘I’m not sure.’ Lina hesitated and despite believing he’d never move again, Sayid found himself propped on one arm, looking down at her. Lina’s hair was spread behind her like a dark halo, her raspberry-tipped breasts trembled with each shaky breath she took and her skin was flushed.

      ‘Did I hurt you?’ His belly crawled at the idea.

      Instantly that vibrant gaze meshed with his. Another tiny tremor, like an echo of rapture, wove through him.

      ‘Of course not. It was...’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t have words. But you didn’t hurt me. I just never knew anything could feel so good. I feel...changed.’ She chewed on her lip. ‘Is it always like this?’

      Relief made him smile. ‘Rarely. Obviously we’re very attuned to each other.’

      ‘Oh. That explains it.’ She rolled onto her side, moving close. ‘Will you hold me please? I feel... I don’t want to be alone.’

      Sayid stared down at the woman burrowing into his chest and told himself he didn’t do cuddles. Post-coital snuggling was to be avoided in case a lover began to get sentimental. It had been a problem in the past occasionally, despite his precautions.

      But instead of moving away, Sayid slipped his left arm under her head, pulling her across so she was draped over him. His right arm wrapped automatically around her, drawing her snug against him.

      ‘Nice,’ she murmured in a blurred voice and despite himself Sayid grinned.

      But as Lina fell into an untroubled sleep and the rising sun sent shafts of pink and apricot across the room, his smile died.

      He’d lost control, spectacularly. And, if he was honest with himself, he’d do it again in an instant if there was a chance of experiencing something like that exaltation as he lost himself in Lina.

      Lina. That was what was different.

      He’d told himself sex with Lina was like sex with any other woman, but it wasn’t true.

      She had some effect on him he didn’t understand. She’d decimated his command of himself. No, obliterated it.

      Gut instinct warned of trouble. What sort he couldn’t fathom. But there was something about Lina that threatened more than his tight rein over his sensual nature.

      He could walk away from this deal, tell her one night had been enough and a week wasn’t necessary.

      Except, he realised as his hold on her tightened and his soul howled silently in protest, he didn’t want to. For the first time in his adult life Sayid found himself unable to master his desire.

      He wanted her and he intended to keep her.

      For a week. That was all.

      What disruption could a single week cause?

       CHAPTER TEN

      DAY FIVE AND there was no lessening of his hunger for Lina.

      Had he really expected there would be?

      To be fair, he hadn’t had her solely to himself. Usually when he took a lover he was with them around the clock, often at some discreet luxury resort where he could sate his senses without distraction. On those vacations he’d manage the most urgent matters via email and phone for a few hours a day, since the business of ruling could never be avoided completely.

      Now, however, he hadn’t had an opportunity to reorganise his schedule to accommodate a break. Sayid struggled to cram his normal workload and his time with Lina into too-short days. It drove him crazy, for he couldn’t get enough of her. He’d sit in meetings, distracted by the memory of her and the sex they’d had, or planning the sex they’d have when his interminable day of appointments was over.

      He should have planned this better, so he could take her somewhere and devote himself to the passion searing just as white-hot now as it had been in the beginning. Each day it became more apparent that seven nights with her in his bed wouldn’t be enough.

      The idea scraped like a rusty spike through his belly. He’d never needed more than a week with any woman, no matter how charming or beautiful.

      For Lina’s sake, he maintained the illusion they weren’t lovers. He refused to risk her reputation even more by clearing his diary and whisking her off to a secluded love nest. Publicly they were ward and guardian. Sayid was conscious of the need to protect her from gossip that would make things difficult for her when they separated. He could only hope loyalty from the staff who knew her suite adjoined his would prevent gossip.

      Yet each day Sayid found himself altering his schedule to see her. Yesterday he’d suggested to Senhor Neves that his wife might like to join them on a site visit so she could see the countryside. As she and Lina had become friends, and the Portuguese interpreter was only slowly recovering from illness, Lina came too.

      Sayid’s attention had strayed time and again. He spent far too much time noticing the way Lina got on, not just with the foreigners, but the locals who’d come to hear about the mine project.

      There’d been concerns about environmental issues, which was why Sayid himself had attended. But the meat of the concerns hadn’t been raised straight away. Initially discussions were stilted and formal, to be expected between a ruler and his people, yet frustrating when Sayid wanted to hear the truth. Specific fears had only been raised after he’d lingered over mint tea with the local sheikh and his extended family, and the womenfolk had broken the ice, establishing a surprising level of rapport that eased the whole discussion.

      Sayid understood his Minister for Education’s comments about Lina’s charm being worth a dozen professional consultants. For years Sayid had sought to establish a better relationship with his people and he’d made some progress, but being supreme ruler created an automatic distance. With Lina bridging that gap it was much easier. He’d learned more about local concerns in that one morning visit than he had in six official reports.

      Now, today Sayid cancelled a late meeting in order to accept an invitation he’d usually politely decline. A wedding feast celebrated by the community he’d visited last week, when he’d seen the bride-to-be and Lina practising a bridal dance.

      ‘They will be thrilled at your attendance,’ his secretary, Makram, said as he frowned down at his diary. ‘It will be an unexpected honour.’ Valiantly he sought to suppress his curiosity.

      Much as he valued Makram, Sayid had no intention of explaining his decision to attend. This time it had nothing to do with being more accessible to his people and everything to do with Lina. She’d be at the wedding which would run into the evening.

      Sayid had bitten back a protest at the news. When his official duties were done each day he wanted her with him.

      Surely she was as eager as he to be alone together?

      As if reading his carefully camouflaged discontent she’d admitted she’d prefer to return early, but she’d given her word to be there for