The Sheikh's Forbidden Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 1) (14 page)

"It's natural for you to react like that," Zayed said. "The darkness out here is more intense than people are used to in the city. We're many miles from the nearest artificial light, and there is no moon tonight. Now, perhaps you understand what a risk it was to make our way back to camp. We could have become lost," he said.

Listening to his voice was strangely reassuring. His words echoed around them both. The sound had a different quality, as if the words were coming from a very long way off.

Chloe leaned her head against Zayed's shoulder. His scent was powerful and alluring. It filled her senses completely and for a moment, she submitted to his warming presence, happy to seek shelter in his tender embrace.

Chloe felt his arm enclose her, drawing her against his firm body. There was a brief moment when she stiffened, reluctant to lean her head completely against his shoulder. But, from somewhere deep inside herself, a need appeared. It was okay to be this close to Zayed.
 

Just for this moment.

Even as she had that thought, it seemed absurd. As if she could ever be this close to Zayed and not feel something overpowering and intense.

Chloe glanced up at Zayed's face. In the soft light, she could see the concern in his eyes.

Their eyes met. "Are you okay?" Zayed whispered.

Chloe managed to nod and Zayed smiled back at her.

Chloe's heart started to thump, and she was sure Zayed must be able to feel the beating. The cave was so silent Chloe was sure the sound of her beating heart must be reverberating around the confines of the dark place.

Chloe glanced around the dark cave. "You must think I'm the craziest woman you've ever known."

Zayed shook his head, smiling tenderly at Chloe. "You're the most amazing woman I've ever known," he growled. The words echoed in the darkness beyond the small lamp.
 

Chloe tried to turn her head away from Zayed, but she felt his hand on the side of her face. With a gentle pressure, he persuaded her to look at him again. She knew she mustn't. Chloe was sure that just looking at Zayed would make her resistance start to crumble.
 

But, she looked at him nevertheless.

"The only person who's crazy here is me," he whispered.

Chloe frowned at Zayed. "Why?"

Zayed smiled softly, but Chloe could see the fire start to burn in his gaze. "For letting you go. That is how I know I am crazy. Only a madman would let someone as beautiful and precious as you escape."

Chloe felt her entire body start to tingle from head to toe. What was he doing to her? Didn't Zayed know that saying these kinds of things to her was dangerous?

Zayed shifted his body and leaned back slightly. Chloe shifted onto her side, allowing Zayed to support her against his strong torso. He shifted his long legs, laying one firmly against Chloe.

Chloe tried to put some distance between them, but his hold on her was firm and determined. Chloe felt her eyes become heavy. It felt to good to so close to Zayed. Just like it had felt in the tent at the encampment. Only, this time, there was no storm threatening their comfort. They were alone in a cave, miles from anyone.

Was she safe? Could she trust Zayed?
 

Chloe thought about those questions and knew that Zayed's heart was good, even though, in the past years, Chloe had felt so let down. She could trust Zayed. She knew that.

But, could Chloe trust herself?

Chloe glanced into Zayed's eyes, seeing the battle that was going on behind that supremely confident, yet tender, gaze.
 

Chloe saw Zayed's mouth open slightly, his full lips moist and tempting.
 

Zayed must have seen that look in Chloe's eyes because in the next second he took that look as a sign, as permission. His head swooped down and he claimed Chloe's mouth with his tender lips.
 

In a second her lips became conduits of pleasure for her body. Chloe inhaled deeply as Zayed's tongue probed and tested her lips, seeking entry.
 

Chloe entire being lit up in flame as Zayed clutched her tight against himself. The strength of his embrace drew the breath out of Chloe, and she gasped.

Zayed pulled back suddenly, concern in his gaze. He said nothing but his eyes were filled with a desperate inquiry. Chloe knew this was no time for words. She reached up her hand and ran her fingers through Zayed's thick, dark hair, drawing his head closer.

And, at that moment, all show of negotiation was set aside. Chloe knew that she needed Zayed; wanted him in every way possible.

Zayed dipped his head and claimed Chloe's lips again, this time with an urgent need.
 

His hands took her head, holding her carefully, supporting her. She felt his body tighten and then he set her head gently back down onto the small rolled up blanket she had been using as a pillow. The way he guided her head down was as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

Then Zayed twisted and in a second their bodies were entwined, Chloe clutching Zayed fervently against her. Zayed leaned over Chloe, leaning astride over her.
 

Chloe wrapped an arm around Zayed's shoulders, desperate for closeness, needing his heat. She felt the chords of muscle on his neck tighten as he strained to control his position over Chloe.

 
Zayed tugged the thin blanket away to one side and Chloe settled back onto the thicker blanket Zayed had stretched out earlier upon the sand-covered floor.
 

Chloe felt a sudden, intense joy that Zayed had surrendered to her yet again. In spite of all her previous doubts, she rejoiced at having this amazing man next to her, his passion pure and clear.

Chloe's body softened against Zayed's increasingly tight body. Chloe felt she was suddenly walking a tightrope of passion. Her mind kept trying to draw her back to another reality, but every time it did so, the eagerness curling inside Chloe sent those logical thoughts racing away.

Zayed's tongue drew gasps from Chloe, and she realized Zayed had gasped at the sensations.
 

Chloe felt her nipples harden beneath her thin shirt. Zayed's shirt had drifted open, and she could feel the roughness of his dark chest hair brushing harsh against the protective fabric. But, for how long would it protect her?

Chloe shuddered as Zayed dropped the weight of his body down upon her while taking some of the pressure with his elbows.
 

Chloe slid her legs apart, aware that such a gesture would only ignite Zayed's craving even more. And indeed it did, because she heard Zayed suck in a huge, deep breath, his ardor growing even more, intense.
 

Chloe felt her core soften and warm as Zayed ground his hips against her middle. How could something she had missed for so long feel so overpowering? So right.
 

So welcome.

Chloe felt her own restraint start to crumble as Zayed enveloped her in his embrace, seizing her with a raw, primal force. There was a fierceness in his touch that set her body on fire.

She turned her head to one side, and, as she had intended, Zayed took that as a request to find the sensitive spot behind her ear. Sensation flooded every nerve in her body, sending shock waves of torturing rapture all the way to her core.

Grasping at the hair on the back of his head, Chloe tugged, delighting in his appreciative reaction. Zayed lifted his head and gave Chloe a thankful look, combined with a wolf-like grin. His brows rose and his nostrils flared.
 

Chloe had forgotten just how untamed Zayed could look.

Zayed reached down and opened Chloe's shirt, revealing her breasts and the tender peaks of her nipples. Zayed's head dipped and his mouth claimed one of Chloe's nipples. His ravenous tongue laved her nipple sending shockwaves once again through her torso. Chloe groaned, the sound of her primal moaning so at home in such an ancient place.

Chloe ran her hands down Zayed's arms, savoring the strength of his muscles, relishing the feel of his arms shaking slightly with barely contained desire. She was sure that Zayed was going to explode with passion any minute now.

Zayed shifted his attentions to her other breast, and once again she felt herself shudder with delight as his expert tongue traced circles around her nipple. Chloe's body lit up with the heat. She realized she was almost quivering with pleasure as Zayed rested upon her.

Zayed pressed his hips hard against Chloe's middle and she felt his hardness against her soft belly. Chloe's hips undulated beneath Zayed and his answering movements told her everything she needed to know about the effect she was having on him.

Chloe shifted, uttering a moan of pleasure. Zayed raised his shoulders, his head towering high above Chloe. He looked down at her, his eyes widening with delight at seeing the joy he had wrought in Chloe. Once again there was a silent, wordless communication, a secret assent to what they both knew was inevitable.

Then, Zayed shifted and Chloe felt him loosen himself, freeing his firmness from restraint.

There was a movement of hands, a shifting of fabric and then Zayed's lips crashed down upon Chloe's mouth. With one sweet, tender thrust, Chloe and Zayed were one, yet again, after what had seemed to Chloe like an eternity.

Chloe reached up, stretching her arms away from her, and Zayed descended upon her, his movements urgent, yet loving at the same time.

Chloe had never known such pleasure, such a sense of completion. It had never been like this before. Absence had created a tender fury within Zayed. His every movement drove Chloe higher and higher. Zayed's head dipped down and he suckled at her breasts.

Chloe felt Zayed's breath against her skin and the scent of his passion was intoxicating. With yet more soft, skillful movements Chloe was driven yet higher until she could see the peak ahead of her, feel the impending fall.

Chloe dragged in a deep breath, feeling her body begin to shake, sensing the inevitable melting of her bones. Her mind emptied of all thoughts except how wonderful it was to be one with Zayed again, how whole he made her feel.

And then, with one gentle twisting movement beneath Zayed, she felt herself quiver, a thunderous shifting of the ground beneath her, as if the desert itself had moved and she was falling off a cliff that she had forgotten existed a very long time ago.
 

In that same instant, she heard Zayed cry out like a lion of the desert, grasping Chloe tight against him, muscles shaking, a sudden pulsing movement in his body.

They lay in each others arm, sunk in the glow of the feelings they had summoned up out of the darkness of the past.

But, the darkness did not seem so terrifying now. As she lay in Zayed's arms, gazing at his handsome face, seeing the glow of passion written on his features, Chloe knew that the darkness would never frighten her ever again.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Zayed awoke, he reached over expecting to touch Chloe, feel the soft, warmth of her body, but his hand only found the cold blanket.
 

The interior of the cave was lit by a weak beam of light from the gap in the cave roof.
 

Zayed jerked upright.
 

He was alone in the cave, and for a moment he thought Chloe had run off, leaving him to consider the consequences of what had happened mere hours earlier. Images flashed through his mind; Chloe's wide eyes; her beautiful body astride him; the expression on her face as she reached the peak of ecstasy. After their first love-making in a long while, the temptation for more had proved too much. Zayed sighed contentedly as he recalled bringing Chloe to many peaks of pleasure. Then, he dragged himself back to the moment.

So, where was she?

Zayed stood quickly and strode over to the cave entrance, panic gripping him. What if Chloe had taken a horse and was now racing across the desert, alone, vulnerable? Maybe she would get lost, and he knew if that happened he might never find her.

Near the entrance, Zayed tripped and staggered over a pile of rocks, cursing out loud. Picking himself up, he emerged from the entrance. What he saw calmed his spirit immediately.

Chloe.

She was standing with her back to him, and she was gazing out across the desert. The sun had risen a short time before, and now the sky was a clear blue with soft, shimmering rose color tinting the distant horizon. It was a sight Zayed had grown accustomed to over the years, but he realized that, to Chloe, this must seem like a very special sight to behold.

Chloe didn't turn to Zayed. There was only a slight move of her head while she remained with her back to him. Then he heard her voice, which contained more than a hint of teasing. "Finding it difficult to stay on your feet this morning?" she asked with a quiver of good humor.

Zayed paused and smiled. Chloe must have heard his clumsy stumbling inside the cave.

"I wondered where you were," he said.

Chloe turned, and Zayed was momentarily shocked, even stunned, by how beautiful she looked in the early morning sun. Her eyes seemed to shimmer with a glorious inner glow. She looked truly happy. Zayed was pleased to see that the feelings he had pulsing inside himself were more than matched by Chloe.

Zayed went up to Chloe and wrapped an arm around her waist. He pulled her against his body and claimed her mouth with a firm, demanding early morning kiss. He felt Chloe soften in his grasp.
 

Reaching up behind her head, Zayed ran his fingers through her hair, drawing her mouth even harder against his own. Chloe's lips tasted sweet, and Zayed knew he could have stood there all day kissing her, but after a few moments he felt Chloe's head pull away.
 

Her gaze locked on him and she smiled. "Whoa, there," she gasped. "That's some good morning kiss you've got there," she said with a grin.
 

He loved the way that her eyes had lit up. There was such a powerful light in those eyes. Up close now, he could almost feel the emotion in that look. It started a fire inside him that he wasn't sure he could contain.