There had to be a solution. And he had to find itnow.
Rosanna heard Salim get out of bed then the snick of a door closing.
Her breath escaped on a sigh that was part bliss and part wonder. She’d never felt like this in her life. Boneless, weightless and buzzing with absolute pleasure.
She’d been engaged, had been with Phil for a couple of years. Yet what she’d just shared with Salim was totally new territory. She felt wrung out, her body well-used and exhausted yet at the same time trickles of rapture still coursed through her and a sense of absolute rightness filled her.
Salim had taken her to places she’d never known and brought spectacular, unrivalled joy. He’d called hersweetheartin a way that had melted her heart. He’d given her tenderness as well as shockingly raw carnality. She felt like a different woman, sexy and powerful as never before.
And conflicted.
The smile curving her lips faded as the real world crowded in. The world beyond this vast, decadent bed.
Rosanna opened her eyes and saw afternoon light slanting across the room, picking out the gold embroidery on the rich coverlet. It was daylight and she was lolling on the sheikh’s bed.
Would staff come looking for him? What if he had more meetings? Or if not, would they bring refreshments to his rooms?
She had to leave before she was seen.
Yet, with her body lethargic from bliss, she found it hard to move.
Dazed, she lay there, telling herself she’d move in a moment, when she gathered strength to stand. Staring up, she realised the stars on the ceiling weren’t some painted, regular pattern. They sparkled like gemstones, and instead of being in neat rows, they were scattered across the vast space in what she realised now was a star map showing constellations she’d seen in the night sky.
The sight distracted her. That someone had taken the time to create a virtual starry night especially for their sheikh was amazing. And that they’d done it with...no, surely they weren’t real gems...
That thought brought her back with a thud to reality. Naked and ravished to within an inch of her sanity by Salim, her body gently throbbing from his possession. No wonder she was grinning again.
Except Salim wasn’t simply the man she’d yearned for. He was trouble. A client. A king. Surrounded by watchers and commentators. A man who could snap his fingers and have whichever woman he wanted.
What had she been to him?
Rosanna wanted to believe she was more to him than an afternoon’s indulgence, but that would be a problem of monumental proportions. Neither of them was suited to an affair. Salim because he was searching for a wife. Rosanna because she wasn’t into short-term flings. This was her first. A liaison had the potential to wreck her mission here and through that both her reputation and her aunt’s business.
She snatched in a sharp breath that caught between her ribs. She catapulted off the bed then paused a moment, knees trembling and heart pounding, but she couldn’t afford to linger. Hurriedly she stumbled forward, snatching up her crumpled dress. A puddle of gleaming anthracite grey silk caught her eye and she lunged for her underwear near the foot of the bed.
Where was her bra? And her shoes? Had they been kicked under the bed?
She was hunched over looking for them when warm fingers shackled her wrist. Instantly she froze.
‘Not so fast, Rosanna. Where do you think you’re going?’
Slowly she straightened, her pulse quick and high in her throat. Excitement stirred but she struggled to fight it, knowing she couldn’t afford to be dazzled again by carnal enticement.
Rosanna turned and there he was, looking even bigger, more handsome and imposing than when he was fully dressed.
She fought the urge to forget common sense and lean against him so he could gather her close. She wanted the comfort of Salim’s body wrapped around hers so she could ignore for a little longer the harsh realities that faced her.
‘I’m going to my room, after I find all my clothes.’
His raised eyebrows told her he hadn’t expected that. ‘You think you can just walk away?’
That superior stare cut through her dazed thoughts. It was a timely reminder that her exciting, wonderful lover was an autocratic ruler, used to having everything he wanted.
Including women?
The idea dimmed Rosanna’s lingering joy. He’d convinced her that he too had been affected by their meeting in Scotland. That he’d been fighting their attraction.
Yet how well did she really know him? Her track record with men was terrible. She’d trusted Phil and planned a future with him but he’d turned out to be nothing like the man she’d believed him. He’d made a mockery of her vaunted skills at sizing people up.