Unknown Royal Baby

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

‘O F COURSE I FEEL IT .’ Isam’s words made her sag in relief. ‘But I won’t take advantage of you. Besides, I can’t offer a relationship, not long term. There are expectations on me that I can’t ignore. And I certainly don’t want to lose the best PA I’ve ever had.’

Any other time his compliment on her work would have thrilled her. But Avril had more urgent matters on her mind.

She closed the space between them, standing toe to toe, so her breasts brushed his folded arms as she slid her hands over his solid chest and around his neck. His skin was hot and the sensation of his thick hair against her fingertips elicited a frisson of excitement.

‘Then I’ll take advantage of you,’ she murmured, pulling his head down as she rose on her toes.

Her lips brushed his once, twice, and suddenly he was kissing her back. Powerful arms wrapped around her, pulling her close and high. Against her belly she felt the press of masculine virility and fire exploded in her veins.

Yet Isam’s kiss was slow, almost gentle, and totally at odds with her rush of urgent arousal.

Avril leaned in, opening for him, giving kiss for kiss. Still he took his time, as if needing to be sure of her.

She’d never kissed like this. Clumsy Christmas party pecks and dates with guys who were either too tentative or way too aggressive had made her suspect she wasn’t missing much by not dating.

Isam made her realise she’d had no idea how a kiss could be. But how badly she wanted to learn. She wanted to grab life in both hands and experience everything she’d missed.

Her legs were boneless by the time he lifted his head, surveying her through silvered eyes that shimmered with heat. That look alone would have seduced her. Not that she needed seducing. She clung to his shoulders, fingers digging possessively.

He opened his mouth to speak but she forestalled him.

‘I’m absolutely sure I want this. I don’t care about your position or mine. I don’t care about the future.’ Not even her job was as necessary as this. She breathed deep, his spicy, lemony scent making her heady. ‘I need you, Isam.’

For a second he didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. His proud features looked so tight they might have been sculpted from metal. Then his chest rose mightily, pressing against hers and he shook his head, murmuring something in Arabic she had no hope of understanding.

Before she had time to guess at his response he moved. One second she was standing, stretched taut against him. The next she was cradled in his embrace, held sideways against his torso, his arms supporting her back and legs.

He turned and carried her from the room with long, decisive steps and her heart soared. They weren’t heading for the exit but the bedrooms.

‘You lay waste to my caution, Avril. To everything except my hunger for you. I tell myself I shouldn’t, I can’t, but it’s no good. I want you desperately.’

His voice was rough, almost unrecognisable, and she lifted her hand to his throat where he swallowed hard. Tenderness welled up for this strong man humbled by the same urgent desire that swamped her.

He paused in the doorway, looking down at her, that ferocious blaze of arousal tempered by something that made her heart split open in wonder.

‘But remember, if you change your mind—’

‘I won’t.’

She covered his mouth with her palm. She didn’t want to talk.

Isam kissed her hand, then opened his mouth and dragged his tongue along the centre of her palm and right to the tip of her middle finger.

Avril shuddered and gasped as heat zinged through her body. She’d never experienced such an erotic caress. Her breasts seemed to swell, her nipples peaking hard while inner muscles squeezed tight.

She quivered, shocked at her response and eager for more. If she felt this way now, how good would it be when they finally came together?

She looked up into his assessing stare. Was Isam thinking the same thing? His eyes looked molten hot and she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself. ‘I want you naked. Now.’

She felt a fillip of delight, seeing his eyes widen. But better was her satisfaction as he strode through the suite into a vast, elegantly appointed bedroom.

As soon as she was on her feet she reached for his shirt, scrabbling at the buttons. Yet Isam was quicker than her. By the time she tugged his shirt from his trousers her blouse was unbuttoned and open. He pushed it and her jacket from her body in one smooth movement that reminded her he’d done this many times before.

It would make sense to warn him of her inexperience, but Avril didn’t want anything to interrupt this moment, or give him a reason to have any more concerns. Instead she reached for the fastening of his trousers.

What began as a deliberate act became a blur of urgent movement. Soon they were on the bed, gloriously naked, Avril breathless at the amazing sensations of their bodies together. Dimly she registered Isam reach for the bedside table, retrieving a condom.

As if her body weren’t stimulated enough, the sight of him rolling it on took her to a whole new level of excitement. He knelt above her, exploring her spreadeagled body with hands and mouth so thoroughly and perfectly that it was mere minutes before an orgasm rushed her.

Avril arched off the bed, responding instinctively to his mouth at her breast and his hand between her legs. The sensations were overwhelming, utterly sublime. Yet as she finally came down from that amazing high, her eyelashes spiked with frustrated tears. She’d had no time to explore his fascinating body, much less have him inside her as she craved.

‘Avril, you are you okay?’ His voice was a concerned rumble against her ear as he hauled her close.

He wrapped his arms around her as she sank against him, bones melting in ecstasy. His tone grew imperative. ‘Tell me. What’s wrong?’

She shook her head, her vision blurry as she opened her eyes to meet his worried gaze. ‘I couldn’t wait. It was incredible.’ He was incredible, so passionate yet tender. The way he touched her both reverent and carnal. ‘But I wanted the first time to be with you. Not your hand but...’

A grin cracked his taut expression as he rolled her onto her back, nudging her thighs wide so he could settle between them.

Her already overburdened senses frantically registered new delights. The weight of him, even though he propped himself on his elbows. The incendiary heat and the fascinating hardness of his erection. The tickle of chest hair against her breasts that made her arch and rub her nipples eagerly against him. That felt incredible.

As she moved his breath hissed and his erection pulsed against her, making her eyes widen.

‘Is that what you want?’ he growled. The timbre of his voice made every fine hair on her body stand up in anticipation.

‘You know it is.’

Avril reached down to touch him but he clamped her wrist, pulling it away. ‘Better not.’

There was no time to protest because then Isam moved and her world would never be the same again.

Imagination was no preparation for the wonder of them coming together. She’d known the mechanics but reality dumbfounded her. Strange, yes, with a feeling of fullness she couldn’t describe. A momentary flinch of pain, quickly gone, obliterated by delight.

It felt as though she’d waited a lifetime for this. The wild beauty of it. The earthy reality of body joining with body. And something more. Something like relief and glory and compulsion all tangled together.

Isam looked so serious, watching her hawk-eyed as he moved slowly, awakening her body to a new reality. But Avril was eager to learn and share the ecstasy he’d already given her. Soon she was moving with him, hands clutching him tight.

His gaze flickered when she hitched her heel around his muscled thigh. Instinctively she’d wanted to lock them closer together, only to discover the new angle heightened her pleasure. He helped her hook her other leg around him.

Isam paused, teeth bared, nostrils flaring, a man on the edge.

He looked...untamed. And she revelled in the change from urbane businessman to elemental lover.

This was how she needed him.

With gritted teeth he withdrew then bucked his hips, driving her to a new, extraordinary height.

After that there was no more slow. The control he’d so obviously exerted crumpled under a rush of sensual need. They moved together, gasping, hearts racing, and Avril felt a rush of pleasure gathering again in her pelvis, her breasts, her blood. Until her vision started to splinter as ecstasy engulfed her.

She opened her lips to call his name just as he claimed her mouth and their striving bodies hit the summit together.

The world spun out of control as light burst behind her eyelids. There was only Isam, holding her tight as he lost himself in her, introducing her to paradise.

Later, much later, when she could conjure the energy, Avril smiled and pressed her mouth to his damp skin, rejoicing in his tiny shudder of reaction and the murmur of satisfaction that rumbled from his chest into her body.

Life was good. So very, very good.

Get out of bed. Do it now.

Through the curtains no one had bothered to draw last night, the faintest morning light was visible.

Isam had an early flight to Zahdar that he couldn’t miss. Before that he wanted to see Avril home.

Avril, who’d tempted him beyond reason, beyond the limits of his control, into reaching out and taking what he wanted. He’d known he shouldn’t, known that, despite her eagerness, there’d be complications, and still his vaunted self-control had proved no match for his hunger. That was a first.

Never had it occurred to him that she’d be an innocent.

A shiver skated through him as he remembered the moment when he’d encountered that fragile, unexpected barrier and her honey-brown eyes had widened in consternation that turned quickly into pleasure.

Isam told himself that if he’d known he’d never have taken her to bed. Bad enough that he’d broken every rule by sleeping with someone dependent on him for her salary. But to take her innocence too...

In front of him Avril stretched in her sleep then burrowed back against him with a little twitch of her derrière that brought her flush against his erection. Involuntarily his fingers closed harder around her soft breast and his chest grew weighted as his lungs tightened.

Get out of bed. Do it now.

While he still could. Before she woke. It would be better if he were up and dressed by then because it would be easier to resist her. To talk sensibly about the implications of what they’d done.

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to move.

Unfamiliar emotions eddied in his belly. Even when he’d discovered her lack of experience he’d been unable to rein in his desperate hunger. He remembered the final ecstasy of their joining, her clutching tight as he bucked hard and fast. Too hard? Too fast? She’d climaxed. She’d looked adorably sated and smug afterwards but had he hurt her?

Isam wasn’t used to such ambiguities around a lover. He wasn’t used to questioning his actions.

But you’ve never had a lover like Avril.

Even before they’d had sex, something about Avril set her apart from other women. Why?

She wriggled again in her sleep, this time arching so her breast thrust into his cupped hand. A spike of heat shot to his already tight groin.

His eyes rolled back and he gritted his molars at how very good that felt.

Everything about her felt good, which was why he’d broken another of his rules and spent the whole night with her.

Usually Isam slept alone, even after sex. He’d learnt years ago that it helped remind lovers that what they shared was mutual pleasure only, not commitment. He wasn’t ready for a long-term partner, not yet. For when he did, that partner would become his wife. It was what his country expected of him.

Now he’d spent the whole night with a woman. Not any woman but his PA, who, unbelievably, had been a virgin.

What was wrong with men in Britain that no one had tempted her into bed before?

Even as he thought it, he winced at the idea of Avril sharing herself with some other man.

He bent his head a fraction and nuzzled her hair. Last night it had been a revelation when he’d seen it loose for the first time. Thick and long enough to cover her breasts, it was a sensual curtain that only heightened her seductiveness.

He breathed deep, inhaling her honey scent. Not sugary sweet but like the rich dark honey from the mountains of Zahdar, full-flavoured and lusciously addictive.

Addictive is the word. You need to get up now and—

‘You are awake.’ Her husky, morning voice was a caress, making his erection pulse against her. ‘Oh!’

Was that an ‘oh’ of dismay? Or delight?

Isam lifted his hand from her breast and drew away. Only to have her roll over and fix him with a searching stare.

Desperately he tried not to notice all the delicious curves on display. He swallowed hard and kept his attention on her face. She was flushed, a crease down one cheek from how she’d lain on the pillow, and her hair was rumpled. She looked so delectable he had to curl his hands into fists rather than reach for her. Pain scored his palms.

‘You don’t want to have sex with me again?’

Her mouth turned down in a delicious pout.

When had Avril learned to pout? At work she was all professional decorum. The way her lips thrust out was damned near irresistible.

‘I see.’ The pout disappeared and her expression grew sombre. ‘Of course. I wasn’t thinking. It’s time I left so you can—’

He grasped her shoulder as she rolled away, turning her back to face him. ‘Wait.’

It didn’t matter that he’d been telling himself it was time to get up. He didn’t like it when she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

‘It’s okay. I understand. I wasn’t meant to stay so long.’

The fact her words echoed his own thoughts only made him feel worse. Because, whatever this was, Avril wasn’t like any of his previous lovers.

You know what this is. It’s a minefield. A potential disaster. Sleeping with your PA! You’ve never behaved so appallingly.

Yet Isam couldn’t bring himself to regret what he’d done.

That, more than anything, should have raised a red flag. But he was too busy reading Avril’s dull flush and her unhappy expression.

He kept his voice soft. ‘Why do you think that?’

Her mouth turned down. ‘Because you’re a prince. And I’m...’ She paused so long he wondered if she’d continue. ‘Me. Ordinary. Last night was a mistake.’

She reached for the sheet as if to cover herself but he was lying half across it and refused to move, because inexplicably her words fired his anger. She’d merely stated the obvious, but he didn’t like it. Didn’t like her calling herself ordinary. Avril was many things but not that. As for her assuming last night was a mistake...

It didn’t matter that he’d thought the same himself. To hear her label it that was insupportable. He didn’t stop to question why.

‘Do you really think last night was a mistake, Avril?’

Her expression changed. Her jaw set and she met his gaze squarely. ‘No. It was wonderful. The most amazing thing I’ve ever done. But I understand that for you it’s problematic, sleeping with staff. Inconvenient. Maybe even embarrassing.’

He knew she was trying to be pragmatic, yet the words felt like a slap to his face. Even though he’d been torn between berating himself over his behaviour and revelling in the memory.

‘You’re not an embarrassment, Avril. And you’re definitely not an inconvenience. Last night was unfortunate because I overstepped the boundaries—’

‘Unfortunate!’

‘But I can’t regret it. I can’t wish it undone.’

He watched her process that, understanding dawning.

During meetings she was the consummate professional, no sign of her emotions. But now he read her like a book. First hurt at believing herself rejected, then regret, then finally annoyance. Now suspicion mixed with something that made her eyes shimmer.

‘If you don’t regret it, why pull away from me just now? Is it that after last night, you’re just not interested any more?’

He felt his forehead twist into a scowl that she should even think him uninterested. He was about to counter with a reference to his painful erection but stopped.

She couldn’t know what was going on in his head.

‘I know years ago the press painted me as a bit of a Casanova, but I was never as bad as they made out. I’m not so callow.’

Besides, after one taste of Avril how could he conceivably have lost interest?

Only the truth would do.

‘I spent the night alternately dreaming about you and awake, fantasising about having you again.’ He watched her eyes grow round. ‘But I thought you needed your rest so I resisted waking you. Especially in light of your inexperience.’

Isam waited for her to say something about that. To explain why she hadn’t warned him, though he suspected she’d feared, rightly, that he’d stop.

Such confidence in your self-control. You were in such a lather, chances are you wouldn’t have been able to hold back even if you’d known.

‘You wanted me...after?’

‘I did, do.’ He saw the spark of excitement in her gaze and felt compelled to go on. ‘You’re right, we’ve created a complicated situation—’

Her voice was breathless. ‘You want me.’

There it was again, that satisfied smile he’d found so bewitching last night. Isam couldn’t help but respond to it. His facial muscles stretched in a grin that he knew was more lascivious than circumspect.

Because suddenly, despite the caution he should employ, despite a lifetime learning to put royal responsibilities and expectations before everything else, he couldn’t dwell on the complications they’d created. He was just a man, bewitched by an alluring woman. A woman watching him with wonder and excitement.

Blood rushed to his groin, leaving him light-headed.

‘I want you,’ he admitted again and felt the last shackles of restraint fall away.

‘I’m glad.’

That was all it took. Her sweet smile, her shining eyes and her welcoming smile. All thought of protocol, duty and the world beyond this bed became hazy and insubstantial.

Isam stroked her cheek with his knuckle, watching her voluptuous shiver that made her berry-tipped breasts shake invitingly. Then slowly, because, despite the thrumming urgency of his need, this was too important to rush, he gathered her to him.