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She desired the Emir.
Even now, with his mouth flat with disapproval, Lina wanted to kiss him again. And so much more.
Defiantly, ignoring the warning glitter in his gaze, she hiked her chin up. She wasn’t ashamed of kissing him. He was a grown man, a powerful, experienced man. She hadn’t forced him to kiss her.
‘That was a mistake.’ His low voice ground across her skin like sandpaper rasping tender flesh. ‘It should never have happened.’
Lina opened her mouth to blurt out that it hadn’t felt like a mistake. It had felt as close to perfect as anything she’d experienced in her life.
His expression snapped her mouth closed. She might disagree but clearly he felt differently.
For the first time since he’d kissed her, Lina felt the hot sear of embarrassment. It branded her from her flaming cheeks to the soles of her feet and everywhere in between. Not because she’d responded with abandon, forgetting every lesson about modesty and morals. Not because there’d been nothing but the negligible barrier of her swimsuit between their naked bodies. But because, now he’d come to his senses, his distaste was obvious.
She was an orphaned charity case, a country-bred nobody who’d only just learned her letters. Who was she to think of kissing a prince?
She looked down, away from that haughty, beautiful face. But that gave her a view of the perfect symmetry of his collarbone, his masculine strength and—
‘I’m sorry, Lina. That was my fault.’
Her head jerked up, eyes widening. ‘No! It was mine.’ She’d been the one incapable of hiding her desire. She’d urged him on, admitting she wanted his kiss. A fresh tide of heat engulfed her but Lina held his gaze. ‘I’m sorry.’
It was a lie. She didn’t regret any of it, except the moment he’d pulled away. And the troubled expression he wore now.
The forbidding lines clamping his mouth eased a little and his gaze warmed. ‘Perhaps we could share the blame and agree it won’t happen again.’
Belatedly Lina nodded, knowing it was another lie. One taste of his passion wasn’t enough, but what option did she have but to agree? For a moment longer he regarded her in silence. She wished she knew what he was thinking. But on second thoughts, it was probably better not to know.
Words formed on her lips, a tumble of emotional, desperate words that would only betray her feelings and embarrass him. Resolute, she kept her mouth closed.
‘Wait here.’ He released her and swung away.
Instantly she missed his warmth, his support. She even found herself stumbling a fraction, she who’d inherited her mother’s grace and balance.
Lina told herself not to but her gaze followed him as he strode around the pool. Completely naked, his back view was one of the most enthralling sights she’d witnessed. Far more fascinating than the glaciers and remorseless mountain peaks that had captivated her in Switzerland. The curve of the spine that ended in the strong, bunching muscles of his glutes. The breadth of his shoulders compared with his narrow hips. The long, strong legs that—
He grabbed a towel and swung round, whipping the fabric around his hips as he turned. Immediately Lina blinked and averted her stare, pretending fascination with the aqua luminescence of the pool.
‘How did you know about the pool?’ It took a second or two to clear her head and focus on the words.
‘Pardon?’
He stood before her now, arms crossed over a chest that was definitely heavier and broader than it had been four and a half years ago. The sight of him sent another judder of appreciation right to her core.
‘The pool, Lina. How did you know where to find it?’
Lina ripped her attention away from his body. Was it always like this when a woman desired a man? She’d had no idea such feelings could addle the brain.
‘I caught a glimpse from my rooms, but I didn’t—’
‘Your rooms?’ He didn’t sound angry. His voice wasn’t much above a whisper, yet she sensed something wrong.
She nodded. Of course her suite was a mistake, too grand for her. It was probably meant for some visiting ambassador and there’d been a horrible mix-up.
But not hers. She’d done nothing wrong. Except throw yourself at the royal ruler of the kingdom.
‘Down there.’ She waved a hand towards the far end of the courtyard. ‘You can just see a patch of water through the plants. I thought this wing was deserted, you see. I’d never noticed any lights but mine.’
‘You’d better show me.’ Again his voice was even and well-modulated. Yet Lina knew he wasn’t happy.
* * *
Sayid followed her along the path. She paused where they’d grappled, bending to retrieve a towel she’d dropped.
His eyes had adjusted to the semi-darkness and nothing could have prevented his gaze following her movement, zeroing in on that peach-perfect backside so lovingly moulded by her swimsuit.
Heat sluiced his body as desire flamed red-hot.
He knew lust of old. Had learned to manage it, giving in to it only for short stints. But this... He shook his head. This was unprecedented.
He’d swear Lina didn’t know how provocative that movement was. Or that the sway of her hips as she walked was pure invitation.
Her supple movements as much as the delicious shape of her body ratcheted up his tension, and his arousal. Too easily he imagined himself entwined with Lina, her legs around him, pulling him to her with the raw enthusiasm she’d exhibited when they kissed. She’d be a passionate lover and he wanted her badly. He actually shook with the effort it took not to give in and haul her against him, under him and—
Lina stopped. Sayid realised she was at the door to the main guest suite.
It wasn’t one of the regular suites. This was reserved for the Emir’s most intimate friends. Part of his private apartments, it was set aside for his lover of the moment.
‘Who let you in here?’
Her forehead crinkled at the bark in his voice but she didn’t shrink back. ‘Your chamberlain. Is there a problem? I thought it a mistake. I didn’t expect to be in such luxurious rooms.’ Her hands tightened on the towel she held. ‘I’ll pack up now and—’
‘No. There’s no need.’
And no point. The damage was done. By now it would be common knowledge to anyone who cared to find out that Lina had spent each night apparently at his beck and call.
It made no difference that nothing had happened between them. Except for that incendiary kiss. What mattered was that Lina had moved into the rooms reserved for his short-term lovers. Moving her out now would achieve nothing but speculation that he’d grown tired of her.
Sayid rubbed a hand over his tight jaw. The very thing he’d sought to protect her from, or at least part of it, had happened despite his good intentions.
Many of his uncle’s staff had been replaced in the last few years, but obviously someone in the palace remembered Lina’s arrival as a personal gift to the Emir. The expectation that she’d become his concubine. They must have informed the chamberlain, who’d assumed Sayid would want his lover near.
What a hellish mess.
Yet as he thought it, part of him, the ruthless part ready to snatch what he wanted and hold it by force if necessary, revelled in having her so conveniently close.