But the sheikh’s whisper was so tender it only made her cry even more.
Shaking his head, the sheikh brushed the tears away and pressed one kiss on each eyelid, making her close her eyes.
The sheikh whispered to her ear, “This shall be the last night we’ll be parted.” His breath in her ear made her shiver, but it was his next words that made her body buckle, the sheikh’s voice a low husky murmur as he commanded, “Now, I would like to keep my promise. Lie on your stomach and let me comfort you.”
The sheikh clasped her by the waist and undressed her swiftly before discarding his own clothes, the rustling sound making her heady with sensual excitement.
A moment later, and the sheikh had returned to her, the heat of his naked body making her tremble. She held her breath as he lifted her hair off her neck, and the air swooshed out of her when she felt him kiss her nape.
Another moment and he was kissing his way down her body, making her spine tingle at the wet, warm touch of his tongue. A whimper escaped her as she felt his lips trace the curve of her bottom.
Behind Ella, the sheikh smiled at her reaction, and he rewarded her by squeezing the plump cheeks of her pert butt. She buckled again, and his smile widened at her responsiveness.
“Exquisite,” he whispered as his hands continued down, caressing her shapely legs. “Exquisitely soft, exquisitely curvaceous…my little Ella is exquisite, and I want to fuck her.”
She started to moan, but he had already anticipated this, and his hand readily covered her mouth, silencing her. “Don’t make a sound, ukhayyah.” He reached for a pillow and handed it to her. “Bite it, scream into it – I don’t care what you do, just be quiet.” His voice was thick with desire. “After the ball, you can scream all you want but not now.”
Her mind whirled at his words, but again there was no time to think much about it, not with the sheikh kissing his way down her legs. It was as if he was worshipping her, and the thought was enough to make her shiver anew.
He was holding her ankles now and kissing the soles of her feet.
She grabbed the pillow and bit into it.
“I think it’s time to turn you around, ukhayyah.” Again, he clasped her by the waist and turned her to her back. She held her breath again, expecting another sensual attack, but instead the sheikh reached for her hands.
He kissed her fingers one by one, and the tenderness made her eyes sting. It almost felt as if he was apologizing for the pain she had endured, and the tears threatened to fall. “It’s not your fault,” she whispered.
“Of course it is,” the sheikh said flatly.
She watched him press her hand against his cheek, her heart thundering at the gesture.
“Tomorrow will be a difficult day, milady,” the sheikh said quietly. “Many will try to keep you from coming to the ball.”
“Including you?”
“Not anymore,” the sheikh answered cryptically. “But that’s no longer the point. I will not be able to help you at all times, but…” His gaze became fiercely demanding. “You must not give up.”
Oh.
She said shakily, “It’s like you’re telling me not to give up on you, Your Highness.” She waited desperately for the sheikh to agree, but instead, his lips only curved in a smile that was as enigmatic as his next words.
“Only if it is what you truly want.” And then he was reaching for her breasts.
Scrambling for her pillow, she brought it back to her mouth and screamed into it.
His gaze still holding hers captive, the sheikh started massaging her breasts, his touch a mixture of reverence and hunger. “Would you like me to suck on your breasts?”
She could only moan at the question, but it seemed enough for the sheikh. He bent down, and his mouth replaced the hand on her breast while his other hand continued caressing its rosy-tipped twin.
Her dazed eyes rested on the sheikh’s dark head as he suckled on her breast, sucking so hard it was almost as if he was only waiting to draw milk from the aching and swollen globe.
“Khal.” The sheikh’s name slipped out of her lips, and a powerful shudder rocked his body just before he sucked even harder on her nipple.
The pressure was exquisite, and it had her eyes squeezing shut as another cry tore out of her throat. The sheikh moved to her other breast, sucking on her other nipple just as hard, and Ella pressed the pillow back to her mouth as she cried out loudly, “KHAL.”
The sheikh shuddered. “Temptress,” he accused, lifting his head to look at her, barely leashed desire in his eyes.
She gasped as he suddenly pulled held her up by the hips. Her lower body was now completely up in the air, her legs dangling down his arms, her pussy on his face.