“You should believe.” He took a step closer.
There was something about his eyes, something…
“What are you thinking?” she asked, half afraid of the answer.
“That I want you. I will not take you. Not yet, but I want you.”
His words made her tremble, but not with fear. Instead an emotion swept through her—one she couldn’t identify right away. And then she knew.
Desire.
She wanted him. While she was nervous and uncertain, she still wanted to know what it would be like to be with him.
He moved close but didn’t touch her. Instead he slowly walked around her. “You told me you were a virgin,” he said, his voice low. “How far did you and Eric go?”
The question embarrassed her. “Some kissing,” she whispered.
He stopped in front of her and touched her cheek. “I only wish to understand how much is familiar and what is new. I want to excite you, Kiley, not frighten you.”
Of course. “We, ah, did some touching. You know, he, ah, touched my br**sts.”
His gaze never left her face. “Anywhere else?”
“A little. Just through clothes.”
“Did you touch him?”
“Not, um, there.”
“Did you see him naked?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“But you do understand what happens between a man and a woman?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I got an A in health class.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure you did.”
He moved behind her. The dressing room was a circle of mirrors so she could see him as he lowered his head and lightly kissed her shoulder. She saw as well as felt the scrape of his teeth on her skin. Her br**sts tightened. The outlines of her ni**les were clearly visible.
When he brought his hand around in front of her, she was sure he was going to touch her there. Instead he rested his palm on her belly and splayed his fingers. She felt the imprint of each one.
Move! She silently screamed at him to shift higher, to touch her br**sts. They ached, and she knew that only his touch would make things better. Heat burned her through the silk, but he did not move. Just when she was about to cover his hand with hers and lift him into place herself, he straightened and stepped back.
“We should go now.”
“I’ve never gone through a drive-thru in a limo before,” Kiley said as she unlocked her front door and stepped into her ground-floor apartment. “I’m just glad we managed the turn. I’m sure everyone there talked about seeing us.”
Rafiq watched as Kiley flipped on lights, then showed Arnold to the bedroom.
“I made room in my closet earlier.” She eyed the hanging bags and boxes, then shook her head. “But not enough. We’ll be a second,” she called to Rafiq. “Make yourself at home.”
He did as she requested, moving around the living room, stopping to look at family photographs on a shelf in the corner and above the unit holding the television. There were photos of three girls, obviously sisters, and parents.
Pictures from graduations, weddings, and vacations. None that could be Eric, though, he thought.
Arnold and Kiley came out of the bedroom. His chauffeur nodded and left, while Kiley picked up the bags of burgers and fries. “Do you want to eat in here, or in the dining room? Well, it’s not a room, really. More of a nook. But there are chairs and a table. Or we could eat at the sofa. Do you want to watch something on television?”
She still wore the clothes she’d had on at work that day. A narrow skirt and pale-pink blouse, sensible high heels. He preferred her in the nightgown…or perhaps nothing. Yes, that would be his preference. Bare skin.
“Why are you nervous again?” he asked. “I thought you were more comfortable with me now.”
“I am. It’s not you. It’s me and the apartment.” She shrugged. “I like it here.
The place was built in the 1920s so there are lots of architectural details. I like the high ceilings and arched doorways. But it’s still a one-bedroom apartment. You’re Prince Rafiq of Lucia-Serrat. Have you even been in an apartment before?”
“Yes. Several times.” Although not one like this, he thought. Still, he liked the pretty furniture and the plants that grew in brightly colored pots. “This place suits you.”
“Thank you. I like it. No pets, though, and I always wanted a dog. Not that Eric did. Don’t you want to eat?”
He shook his head. “I am not hungry, but you go ahead.”
“Is it the burger thing? Should we have gone somewhere more upscale?”
“It is not about the food at all.”
“Then what’s wrong? You seem…restless.”
He was. The logical part of him, the civilized man, knew that seduction would be the most pleasurable road for both of them. But the desert warrior wanted to simply take the woman before him. He wanted to know the heat of her embrace, the taste of her skin. He wanted to hear her cries of pleading, then of pleasure, as he coaxed her into surrender.
So he held on, knowing it was too soon and yet still needing that which he could not have.
“I find myself in the unique position of waiting for what I want,” he said.
She tilted her head. “I don’t understand.”
“You.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “But we have an agreement. I’m a sure thing. You could just…you know. Do it.”
He smiled. “As we’ve discussed. But there is more to being with a woman than the act itself. There is anticipation and then joint pleasure. I’m not interested in getting off, Kiley. I want you to be as ready, as aroused.”