Involuntarily she looked down. The cold water had done its job. He was no longer rampantly erect. But, she realised with a rush of heat, Karim still looked well endowed.
The restless feeling between her legs intensified and she shifted her weight—only to brush up against that brawny arm stretched between her and the exit, reminding her abruptly of her own nakedness.
Her brows knitted. She didn’t understand him. ‘You don’t want sex, then?’
Her stomach plunged. It was like when they’d courted. She’d believed then that Karim cared for her, might even love her. She’d daily expected him to propose. Instead, when she and her father had been called away because Rana had needed them desperately, Karim hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye. She’d gone from happiness and breathless expectation to disbelief and hurt in the blink of an eye.
Safiyah reached for the door.
This time he didn’t just bar her way—he took her shoulders and turned her to face him. ‘Of course I want you. Didn’t I tell you so?’
Her heart gave a little shimmy when he said he wantedher, not merely sex. Oh, she had it bad. But she couldn’t find the energy to worry about that now.
His gaze dropped to her bare breasts and Safiyah saw the spark of masculine appreciation in that look. A pulse ticked at his temple and suddenly shefelthis stare. His eyes met hers and her breath snagged. Such intensity, all focused on her.
‘Then why don’t you do something about it?’
His laugh was like a crack of thunder, sharp and short. ‘Because I want to make it good for you, not explode the minute I touch you.’
That was the second time he’d said that. She couldn’t decide if she felt flattered or frustrated.
‘You’ve already made it good for me.’
Better than she’d ever experienced, though she didn’t say that. It was bad enough that he’d guessed her relative inexperience. She refused to act as if this was a big deal.
Safiyah reached for him, her eyes rounding as she discovered him already growing hard.
Karim’s smile was a tight twist of the lips, then he leaned in and whispered, ‘There’s more to come.’
But instead of turning off the water and opening the shower door Karim crowded her back against the tiled wall. He was all heat and slick muscle and she trembled at the feel of skin sliding against skin, heat against heat. Excitement spiked a fizz of effervescence in her blood.
The flesh in her hand was heavy now, soft skin over rearing steel, his erection larger than she’d expected.
As if reading the scurry of sudden anxiety along her spine Karim stilled, then pulled back so he was no longer pinning her to the wall. ‘We’ll go back to the bedroom and take things slow.’
He reached out an arm to switch off the taps, but Safiyah wrapped her fingers around his wrist. ‘No.’ Those remarkable eyes met hers, ripe with question. ‘I don’t want to wait.’
To reinforce her words she pulled one of his hands towards her, planting it over her breast. Instantly his fingers moulded to her with exquisite pressure and the flesh in her hand swelled as Karim stepped closer and his erection slid against her.
Safiyah bit her cheek against the sudden wash of delight.
‘Don’t.’
Karim’s other hand brushed her cheek, her mouth, pressing her bottom lip till she opened her mouth and tasted him with her tongue.
‘Witch!’
Those green eyes seemed to eat her up. A hairy thigh, solid with muscle, insinuated itself between her legs. And a moment later she felt his touch in that most intimate place.
Safiyah’s gaze clung to his as he deftly stroked her, evoking a response that made her hand tighten around him.
‘You like that, don’t you, Safiyah? And you liked it when I kissed you there too. Didn’t you?’
She swallowed, trying to find her voice and failing. Instead she nodded, wondering how much longer she could stay on her feet when each deliberate slide of his fingers made her feel weak and trembling.
She loved what he was doing but she didn’t want to be weak. She wanted to participate. So she took him in both hands, cupping and stroking, delighted when his eyelids lowered, turning his eyes to gleaming slits.
His nostrils flared and his strong features looked stark and tight. He groaned. ‘So much for taking it slow.’ Swiftly he moved her hands away, placing them on his shoulders and then lifting her up off the floor. ‘Hook your legs over my hips.’