transforming into butterflies the size of buzzards.
She hated baring her body.
Yet last night he’d made her believe he looked at her skinny frame and saw a different woman to the one she knew.
Fear sliced through her and embarrassment. That pulled her up short.
Did she really want to go back to being the woman she’d been before last night? The woman who hid herself in non-descript work clothes? Even if all she’d experienced with Asim was an illusion, it was an illusion she craved.
Did she dare? Anxiety cramped her stomach.
Her hands went to her ponytail. A few practised flicks and her hair fell in waves around her cheeks and shoulders.
‘Now the trousers.’ His voice was gruff. She couldn’t read his face. Yet even after a single night she recognised the edge in his voice. No matter how he tried to hide it, Asim was as desperate as she. At least she hoped he was.
Praying he was right and no one would dare enter, she snapped open the button on her waistband, lowered the zip and wriggled till the fabric pooled at her feet. She felt shockingly vulnerable yet daring.
Her skin was so sensitised the air on her legs felt heavy. She breathed deep and told herself she wouldn’t regret this. She wouldn’t allow herself to.
‘Now come here.’
Gingerly she stepped out of her trousers, leaving her shoes behind, and padded across the carpet. With each step tension coiled higher, till she stopped before him. Now she read his expression and was glad she hadn’t been able to earlier. He looked so fierce that heat licked inside. His eyes glittered as she imagined those of his warlike ancestors might have when they’d spied a trade caravan loaded with riches entering their realm.
She shivered and rubbed her hands up her arms.
‘You’re cold?’ Still he didn’t touch her. She shook her head and he nodded, a tiny, knowing smile lifting the corner of his mouth. ‘You won’t be for long, Jacqueline. Sit on my desk.’
She followed his glance to the antique desk, bare except for a sleek computer and a single tray of papers.
Arousal shuddered through her as she pictured making love on that gleaming surface. It would be hard, fast and satisfying. She wanted him so badly she almost obeyed without a word of protest. She, who’d never been intimate with a man before last night!
‘You’re sure no one will come in?’ Excitement and dread warred.
‘Be assured, Jacqueline. We won’t be disturbed. My secretary has left and locked the outer office on the way out.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You told him to? But he’ll know we’re...’ She shook her head as words failed her.
A small voice inside jeered that, standing almost naked, she’d left it late to have second thoughts.
‘Fahid is utterly discreet. You have nothing to worry about.’ Asim stepped closer and at once the vast study shrank. She felt crowded, excited and aroused, yet at the same time annoyed.
This was utterly unfamiliar territory. Last night had turned her inside out, made her question long-held certainties and put her trust in a man she barely knew. Even so it had felt right.
Now, abruptly, standing half-dressed while he calmly gave orders, unease spiked. If only Asim had come to her, embraced her, done something other than bark instructions. Tension crawled along her shoulders. Indignation rose. She might be desperate but she had some self-respect.
‘Do you make a habit of seducing women on your desk?’ The words shot out and she raised her chin, battling to hide churning distress.
She didn’t expect declarations of undying devotion but she wasn’t some convenience, available to satisfy a passing itch.
Nevertheless, she had to fight her needy body that swayed towards him as if seeking a caress from its master.
He strode forward till they almost touched. His brilliant gaze raked her; the subtle scent of his skin filled her nostrils, weakening her knees. He radiated heat that hazed her skin.
‘I have never seduced a woman here.’ He paused and Jacqui was surprised to see him swallow. ‘My desk has been used for nothing but paperwork.’ His eyes narrowed to glittering darts that scraped her skin. His voice was steely. ‘I spend my days and many of my nights here working, not dallying with women. As for Fahid guessing...’ Asim’s shoulders rose in a shrug. ‘It seemed preferable to have privacy rather than run the risk of interruption.’
‘Because you were so sure I’d give you what you want.’ And he’d been right. Jacqui had bared herself to camisole and panties, desperate for his touch. Were her doubts just delaying tactics so she didn’t have to acknowledge she was putty in his hands? Her stomach cramped.
‘What we both want. Don’t deny it, Jacqueline. I see the flush of arousal on your perfect skin. Your pulse races and your beautiful breasts are rising fast because your breathing is too shallow.’
He was right. Her body betrayed her. She wanted him.
Yet she needed more, proof this meant something to him too. That they were equals in this.
Doubt lingered. Why had Asim made love to her? Had he been motivated by pity and mere convenience? Last night she hadn’t thought so but today he seemed so cold and uninvolved. It was hard to shake a lifetime of self-doubt.
‘Then why haven’t you touched me?’ Despite her intentions it sounded like a plea.
He shook his head, his face grim. ‘Once I touch you, Jacqueline, there’ll be no holding back, no time for finesse. I’ve spent the whole day waiting for you, and I’m not a patient man.’
Startled, Jacqui gazed up at that strongly sculpted face and felt heat squiggle through her. Now she saw more than his piercing gaze. A pulse throbbed at his temple. His squared jaw was set and the tendons visible in his neck spoke of tension. Tension she’d put there? Heady relief and pleasure filled her.
His big hands flexed as if resisting the urge to reach for her. The movement drew attention to the bulge in his trousers she hadn’t noticed earlier.
Remembering the heavy, delicious weight of him, the softness of satin over forged steel, her inner muscles contracted. His body fascinated her but last night, though they’d shared more intimacies than she’d ever experienced, he’d been the one exploring her body. She’d had no chance to satisfy her curiosity.
‘Sit on the desk, Jacqueline.’ His voice was harsh but she caught an edge of desperation. ‘I promise you’ll enjoy it.’
‘No.’
‘No?’ Asim’s head reared back, his eyes rounding. He’d been so sure of her. And not used to anyone denying him what he wanted. ‘What do you mean, no?’ It was a roar of outrage.
Jacqui licked dry lips as excitement and trepidation warred. She made herself meet his eyes.
We’re equals, she told herself. He might be lord of all he surveys but she wasn’t his subject. Besides, something had changed after last night—the way he’d confronted her hang-ups and shown her they meant nothing to him. Her body hummed with arousal and a woman’s curiosity.
‘No, I don’t want you to take me on your desk. Not yet.’ For now she said it aloud she was shocked at how appealing it sounded.
‘Then what do you want?’ His brow furrowed in a scowl.
For a moment longer she hesitated, but her body, primed by a day of physical pampering and now by proximity to Asim, had no doubts.
She dropped to her knees and heard his hiss of indrawn breath. Reaching out, she flicked open the button at the top of this trousers and tugged the zip.
‘This,’ she said, reaching for him.