. Don't forget, if you leave a comment you'll go in the draw to win a signed paperback copy of it! Here's a taste:
Four years after inheriting—and liberating—a concubine, powerful ruler Sayid is shocked to see the transformation of Lina. No longer shy and naive, she is a feisty, irresistible woman. And Sayid has never wanted anyone more! But, duty-bound to his country, Sayid can only commit to a brief affair. Will Lina accept his outrageous proposal of a week in the royal bed?
Scene set-up
Lina and Sayid met four years earlier when her family sent her to the palace as a gift for the Emir. Unlike the previous Emir, Sayid isn't thrilled to find a beautiful young innocent in his bedroom. Despite his instant attraction, honour overcomes lust and he sends her away. Now she's back, even more beautiful and distractingly disturbing and he can't get her out of his mind. Unable to sleep, he takes a midnight dip in the palace pool, only to run into Lina, literally, alone in the dark.
Smooch -
‘Lina! Don’t look at me like that.’ The words ground
from him, harsh and ragged.
Again that quick swipe of her bottom lip, as if her
mouth was as dry as his.
‘Like what?’ Still she didn’t move away.
Sayid shook his head, determined to do the right
thing as soon as he could unlock his hold on her arms.
Except she breathed deep and her breasts grazed him.
A trail of fire rocketed through his ribs and abdomen, straight to his groin.
‘Like you want me to kiss you.’ He heard the rasp in
his voice as duty battled desire, but she didn’t respond to that harsh warning.
She blinked up at him, her lips parted and slowly
shook her head, her hair caressing him. Then her words, soft as the flutter of
a nightingale’s wing, came to him. ‘But I do.’
The night stood still, except for his heart slamming
his ribs and the saw of his breath, loud in the silence. Yet, hard as he
fought, control was beyond him now.
A moment later his mouth captured hers.
*
Hard, callused hands grasped her tight. Sayid’s warm
breath feathered her face. His rich, potent scent swirled within her as if
she’d absorbed his essence. And above all, the press of his wet, hard body
against hers devastated her senses in the most thrilling way.
Lina lifted her hands to his
wet shoulders, relishing the strong bone, solid muscle and satiny skin beneath
her questing hands.
Her daring surprised her, as if she made a habit of
embracing men, when instead she’d spent years learning how to be friendly yet
not encourage their advances.
Because, despite the stunning audacity of it, her
heart, or perhaps her body, had fixed on Sayid Badawi as the only one she
wanted. The one who, he’d made clear as he’d gently but firmly bundled her out
of his bedroom and his life, was not for her. For of course he demanded
sophistication and glamour, women who fitted his world of prestige and power.
This then was magic. A moment’s aberration.
An opportunity not to be missed. For too soon
reality would end it.
Lina fell into his embrace. So long she’d imagined
his mouth on hers. So long she’d pined for his touch. There was no holding
back, no hesitation. And she discovered her imagination was a poor imitation of
the real thing.
Being held by Sayid, kissed by him, made her head
spin and her heart pound in delight. The taste of him, so rich, so…intimate,
made her weak at the knees. Lina would have been completely overwhelmed except
that it felt right.
His powerful arms dragged her up so that her breasts
were crushed against that imposing, naked torso and she revelled in his
strength, the urgency she sensed in him.
His lips were softer than she’d expected. But there
was nothing tentative about his kiss. His tongue dived in, probing, licking and
swirling. It inviting hers to curl in a dance of give and take that made her
body prickle with a searing heat despite her damp swimsuit.
If being near Sayid was like being bathed in
starlight, this was like being tossed up into the bright Milky Way itself.
She slipped her hands higher, combing them through
the drenched hair at the back of his skull, spreading her fingers and cupping
his head possessively.
If she could, she’d hold him here forever. Everyone
knew magic was fleeting and she didn’t want this to end.
His hand dragged up her side, almost but not quite
touching her breast and she shuddered. A second later that large hand planted
itself on her cheek, angling her head higher as he bowed her back across his
arm.
That combination of tenderness and mastery undid
her.
With a great thump of her heart Lina abandoned any
attempt at thought and let herself go, knowing Sayid wouldn’t let her fall.
Everything his kiss demanded, she gave, revelling not just in the delicious new
physical sensations, but her tangled, contrary feelings of power and
helplessness.
When she pressed closer, slicking her tongue against
his, he responded with a growl of pleasure deep in his throat that vibrated
from his slick, hot body to hers. It made her quiver in delight.
She’d never felt so connected to another person. So…
aroused. It was a heady new experience.
Liquid heat poured through her, pooling low in the
centre of her body. Lina squirmed in his hold, trying to assuage the blind
eagerness for more, more, more.
Then suddenly, devastatingly, it was over. Sayid’s
hands gripped her upper arms, holding her steady as he straightened away from
her.
His broad, bronzed chest rose and fell like
overworked bellows. The furnace heat of his body encompassed her. But though she
still tasted him on her tongue, her tingling lips couldn’t reach him and her
hands had slipped from his head as he’d put her away from him.
Doubts assailed her. Regrets. Not for the kiss but
because she hadn’t wanted it to end.
Hadn’t he enjoyed kissing her?
And of course the answer is YES. Sayid enjoyed it very much. He's having a difficult time letting her go.
I'm always interested in body language, behaviour and unspoken signals. So my question to you is, how do you know when someone is attracted? Is there something specific you've noticed (apart from the person telling you) when someone likes you? What do you notice about them?
