The Sheikh's Hesitant Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 7) by Cara Albany

answering his need with her own, and his mind emptied, all thought evaporating under the onslaught of sensation that her sudden eagerness had ignited in him.
    Zarif wrapped an arm around Rachel's back and drew her hard against him. Her breasts pressed against his chest. He opened his eyes and gazed at her for a moment and saw that her eyes were closed. She seemed lost in a miasma of ecstasy. He moved his lips down to her neck and tasted her flesh there, inhaling the sweetness of her perfume, hurling himself into the same lost world that Rachel was now inhabiting.
    Zarif heard her groan as he ran his tongue up the exquisite length of her neck, finding that delicate spot behind her ear. He felt her quiver in his arms. For a moment he was consumed by an insane wish never to let her go. She belonged here in his arms. His mind forced the truth into his awareness once again.
    This was the only place he wanted to be. She was the only woman he wanted to be with.  
    Tasting, sensing, feeling.  
    Loving.
    That thought stunned him momentarily with its abruptness, with its sheer, obvious truth. He felt a momentary hesitation. What if Rachel was as he suspected? What if she was wholly innocent? Unspoiled? Dare he step over that line? Dare he break down that barrier between them?  
    His mind flashed onto the consequences of that choice. A mixture of anticipation and hesitation seized him. He felt himself straighten, sensed a sudden distance.
    However, in the next moment, the inevitable happened, and there was nothing he could do to combat it, to defy the urges that rose within him.
    Rachel twisted in his embrace, gasping. She traced a hand down the front of his chest, curling fingers into his flesh and, once again, he was lost in pleasure, abandoning all thought, every hope of rational thinking.
    He kissed her, crashing his lips down upon hers, a punishing, insistent need coursing through his body. He'd moved beyond a point of return and sensed within himself that now was the moment.
    Zarif leaned away from her and twisted his torso. Rachel's fingers slipped away from his chest, her hand dropping down to her side and she gazed at him, her eyes drowsy looking with desire. Seeing her expression stiffened his resolve and he scooped her body up and lifted her off the seat.
    Rachel squealed and smiled as Zarif stood upright, easing her weight into his arms. She felt light in his grasp, her body pressing against his midriff. Zarif smiled at her, and she gazed up at him, reaching one arm up, settling it across the back of his shoulders.
    Rachel looked out across the balcony. "You going to throw me over the edge?" she joked.
    Zarif felt his nostril flare, and he fixed her with an intense gaze. "That's not the edge I have in mind."
    He saw her eyes widen as she realized what were his real intentions.  
    Zarif strode around the sofa and carried Rachel back into the sitting room. He glanced down at her and suddenly saw a change had taken hold of her expression. Her jaw had tightened into a firm line, and there was a clear thoughtfulness in her narrowing eyes. Maybe he'd miscalculated, he told himself as he strode across the sitting room, only one destination in mind. The doubts that had tugged at him moments before, flickered back into his mind.
    Rachel still held onto him, still had one of her hands clutched firmly against his shoulder. But it was clear to him that her own mind had been seized by doubt, by hesitation. His simple declaration had broken the spell, he realized, cursing himself for his lack of sensitivity.  
    A few more steps and they were in the hallway. Zarif slowed, pausing in front of the bedroom door and glanced down at Rachel. Her eyes were averted as if she was trying to hide something from him. It was the first time all night that she had drawn her attention away from him, and the sight of it made emotion tighten his throat. Desire had drifted away to be replaced by a tightening knot of regret.
    Zarif eased Rachel down, and