Claimed For The Desert Prince's Heir. Heidi Rice

of having you last night.’

      The raw declaration tugged at her romantic heart.

      He cupped her cheek, and her breath seized, the rasp of his callused skin sending heat spiralling into her tender sex.

      His thumb traced her cheekbone, then slid down her neck into the well of her collarbone. The rabbit punches of her pulse echoed in the sweet spot between her thighs.

      ‘I want to make you sob with pleasure.’ His thumb circled her breast through her T-shirt and bra. ‘To make your nipples ripen and swell beneath my tongue.’

      Her nipples squeezed into peaks, as if already being subjected to the promised caress. She panted, unable to catch her breath under his intense gaze.

      He chuckled, the sound arrogant, and so unbelievably hot she felt burned.

      ‘Tell me you want me, Kasia, and we can feed this hunger.’

      ‘Yes.’ The word popped out before she could stop it. ‘I want you.’

      Surely this didn’t have to be wrong? They’d survived a sandstorm. They were young and alive. Their worlds might be miles apart, but here and now she wanted to feed the hunger, too. A hunger that had tantalised her all through the night.

      She would return to the palace today. Cat and Zane would be frantic with worry—she’d been lost for over twenty-four hours already. She would go back to Cambridge at the end of the month. She had no intention of venturing into the desert alone after this, so she would be unlikely to see him again.

      Why couldn’t she have this moment? When she wanted him so much? And what better person to initiate her than a man she had idolised? A man who was supposed to be an incredible lover? A man whose ‘assets’ she’d been assessing most of the night?

      He nodded, accepting her surrender as if he had expected no less. Then he grunted something in his own dialect.

      She didn’t need a translation, though, when his nostrils flared, his gaze becoming so focused her flesh felt scalded.

      Standing, he tugged her to her feet. Framing her face in his hands, he positioned her head, then licked the seam of her lips. She opened for him instinctively. The kiss was firm, coaxing. The hunger roared from her core. She had expected him to devour her, but his tongue danced with hers, allowing her to follow his lead in subtle licks.

      But as the hunger built, the driving need became more urgent, and the kiss changed, his tongue exploring her mouth and capturing her sighs as he demanded more.

      His hands skimmed up her back underneath her T-shirt. The hook of her bra was released. She gripped his shoulders, overwhelmed by sensation as he cupped her breasts, playing with the responsive nipples until she was sobbing into his mouth, the tight peaks yearning for more.

      He lifted his head, his eyes dark and unfocused. ‘I want you naked, Kasia.’

      The gruff request shimmered across her skin, and the ache in her breasts intensified, the hot spot between her thighs throbbing.

      She nodded, no longer capable of coherent speech.

      Stepping back, he lifted the grubby T-shirt over her head, disposed of the bra.

      She folded her arms over her chest, desperately self-conscious.

      ‘No,’ he said as he captured her wrists. ‘Do not hide, you are so beautiful.’

      She felt beautiful as she forced herself to relax, to let him pull her arms gently away from her body. The morning sunlight gilded his chest, making her aware of the bunch of muscle.

      The huge erection stood proud under the loose cotton pants and her mouth watered as she imagined seeing him naked and fully erect. But to her surprise, he sank to his knees in front of her. Undoing the buttons on her shorts, he watched her as he drew the denim down with her panties. His rough hands slid down her legs, stripping her bare with exquisite tenderness.

      She stepped out of her shorts at his direction, the need charging through her system as he blew across the triangle of curls, then pressed his face into her sex.

      She gripped his shoulders—so broad, so solid—to steady herself as he opened her with his thumbs and licked.

      She shuddered, her ragged panting filling the tent as he lapped at the very heart of her. He held her firmly for the shattering exploration. Licking, sucking, discovering the root of her pleasure and ruthlessly exploiting it.

      At last he captured the swollen nub of her clitoris and suckled.

      The climax broke over her, the waves battering her body. She collapsed over his shoulder, the afterglow like an impenetrable cloud of bliss.

      ‘More,’ he grunted, as he stood, lifting her.

      Within seconds, she lay on the bed as he stood over her, blocking out the sunlight. He shucked his pants.

      Her gaze devoured his nakedness, her tender sex melting at the sight of that massive erection—even larger and harder than she had imagined.