It changed everything.
Her heart hammered and her breathing turned shallow. Her head spun with Salim’s cedar and spice scent and the feel of his body, primed yet waiting for her answer.
‘I can’t think about other women. I can’t concentrate. I’m continually struggling for control because every time I see you, even when Ican’tsee you, I’m fighting the urge to do all the things I know I shouldn’t...with you.’
‘Really? But today—’
‘Today I was in a temper. I apologise for being so short with you. I shouldn’t have taken my foul mood out on you and I’m sorry.’ He scowled and, instead of deterring her, it made something in her chest roll over as she sensed his internal battle. ‘I’ve tried keeping my distance and not see you alone but it makes no difference. I’m not used to being unable to control my reactions.’
‘That’swhy you refused to meet me?’
It threw a whole new light on his actions.
Salim nodded grimly. ‘Much good it did me.’
He sounded sulky, like a man used to getting his own way and suddenly discovering he couldn’t. For some reason Rosanna found that almost endearing. Or maybe it was just the confirmation that he too had suffered.
Salim shifted his weight and the brush of hard muscle against her body made her feminine core tighten needily.
‘I want you, Rosanna.’
She watched him swallow, his Adam’s apple jerking and the muscles in his bronzed throat working. The movement emphasised both his strength and the extremity of his tension. It made her feel suddenly strong, afemme fatalewielding seductive power. Except the power flowed both ways. Everything about Salim called to her, making her weak with longing.
‘I need you.’
Even then he didn’t plead but stood proud and tall, like a warrior of old.
Rosanna squeezed her eyes shut. Her imagination was on overload. She didnotneed to start imagining his as some romantic hero of the desert, swooping in to claim the woman of his dreams.
‘Rosanna?’
His arm dropped from around her back and her eyes snapped open in dismay. He was releasing her?
That’s when it truly struck her. That despite the pair of them together being a terrible idea, the alternative—to walk away—was impossible.
‘I need you too.’
She hadn’t meant to say it, but looking into those dark velvet eyes the truth just tumbled out.
Rosanna saw him absorb her words, not with a smile but with a clenching jaw and flared nostrils. Far from leaning in to scoop her closer he seemed to straighten still further, towering above her.
Never had she been more conscious of his power, of the fact that he was all hard, male muscle, honed by his desert heritage and military training into a force far stronger than she could ever be.
Yet that didn’t scare her. It thrilled her. For the look in his eyes, hunger melded with something she couldn’t name, told her he wouldn’t use that power against her. It was himself he battled.
The knowledge, sudden and sure, made her feel like a different woman, as assured as a queen, any doubts fading to nothing.
She lifted her hand, intending to caress that clenched jawline, but he moved faster, long fingers wrapping around her wrist before she could touch him.
‘Not here.’
His voice was thick, almost unrecognisable, but Rosanna understood, because she felt the same. They needed absolute privacy for what was to come. Because one touch would lead to another then another...
Rosanna’s breath hitched and a smile trembled on her lips.
Did she imagine his eyes dilated? Before she could be sure, he turned, still holding her wrist, stalking away from the window. They passed groups of sofas and occasional tables, heading for a door on the far side of the room.
Salim’s stride didn’t seem hurried but Rosanna took two paces to each of his, her pulse ratcheting faster with each step and each hasty indrawn breath.