“We can’t,” she whispered even as he found the zipper at the back of her dress and tugged it down. “Kardal, I’m a virgin.”
Her dress slipped off her shoulders. She pressed the fabric to her breasts. He cupped her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. She saw the tightness of his expression—the need flaring there.
“I want you,” he repeated. “It would be worth any price to touch you, to teach you, to make love with you. Please, do not deny me the glory of making you mine.”
Had he demanded, she might have found the strength to say no. Had he teased or cajoled she would have had some recourse. But the dark pleading, the raw need he exposed to her left her unable to deny him anything. Even when she knew they would both pay a price for this moment.
He reached for the dress she clutched to her chest. Reluctantly she released the cloth and he drew it away. The garment fell soundlessly to the floor.
Underneath she wore silk panties and a bra. The peach lace exposed as much as it concealed. Before Sabrina could react to being nearly naked in front of him, Kardal glanced down at her and caught his breath. He made an audible sound—a gasp of pleasure. As if her body were as beautiful as the ancient treasures that filled the castle. Reverence joined need in his eyes. Suddenly she wasn’t embarrassed. She was proud to be the woman he desired.
“I would die for you,” he breathed and stunned her by dropping to his knees.
Sabrina didn’t know what to think. Kardal kneeling before her? What did it mean? But before she could figure out an answer, he pressed an openmouthed kiss to her belly and all rational thought fled. Sparks seemed to flare inside of her, leaping through her body in all directions. Goose bumps erupted on her arms and legs and her breasts swelled even more.
He ran his tongue around her belly button before dipping inside. A trembling started in her thighs, then moved both up and down, making it nearly impossible for her to stay standing. Without thinking, she pressed one hand to his shoulder and the other on his head. She slipped her fingers into the thick layers of his dark hair and gasped when he moved lower, kissing her just above the elastic of her panties. Then lower still, nibbling along her thighs.
It tickled. It was perfect. She trembled so much, she could only remain upright by clinging to him. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist, holding her in place. Kisses and bites and tantalizing licks—all up and down her thighs. Finally he tugged at her panties, drawing them down her legs.
She was confused by what was happening. Shouldn’t they be in bed? Shouldn’t it be dark in the room? Or at least more dim than it was with sunlight streaming in through the windows? They were up high enough in the castle that no one could see in, but she felt exposed and awkward as he urged her to step out of her panties. Exposed and very vulnerable.
“Kardal, I don’t think we should—”
He kissed her. Not on the stomach or the leg, but in that most private place. A kiss of lips and tongue that made her stop breathing. Pleasure shot through her with an intensity she’d never felt before. Without meaning to, she parted her legs so he could do it again. She held on tighter and prepared herself for the next wonderful kiss.
He did it again, parting her curls and licking her deeply, finding that single point of pleasure and flicking it with his tongue.
She cried out and her knees gave way. He caught her easily and pulled her against him.
“Sweet desert bird,” he murmured, shrugging out of his suit jacket, then gathering her in his arms and carrying her to the bed. “I wish to make you fly.”
She had no objection. She had no will. She would have done anything he told her, said anything, promised the world. If only he would touch her that way again.
He lowered her onto her mattress, then reached behind her and unfastened her bra. When she was completely naked, he settled next to her on the bed and bent down to take one of her nipples in his mouth.
Sabrina had never felt the soft, damp warmth of a man’s mouth on her sensitized breasts. She’d never felt the gentle tugging that pulled all the way down to her most feminine place. She hadn’t thought she was capable of feeling more, but she’d been wrong.
Over and over he licked her breasts, discovering the shape of them, the sensitive places. His fingers worked on the opposite nipple, making her pant and toss her head. The bottoms of her feet burned, her toes curled into the bedspread.
She didn’t know how long he touched her that way. Finally, when every muscle in her body had tensed with anticipation of a release—any release—he began to move lower.
This time she knew what to expect. This time she nearly wept with the glory of anticipating his tongue on her body. He moved between her thighs and she parted to admit him. When he lowered his head, she caught her breath.