Susan Mallery - Desert Rogues Part 1

So many things fell into place, Dora thought. Khalil’s need to find a solution to a difficult problem. Why the other woman had been so cruel.

“And there I was,” she said. “A tolerable answer.”

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled until she rested on top of him. “Far more than tolerable,” he said, brushing her mouth with his. “You are the light of my life.”

“You love me,” she said.

He sighed. “Yes, Dora. I love you.”

She smiled. “Oh, Khalil, we’ve both been so very stubborn. It makes me sad.”

“It should. The situation was your fault entirely. If only you’d been a cooperative, sensible woman we could have—”

She pushed away from him and tried to scramble off the bed. He held her fast.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, hauling her up against him.

She pushed again, but couldn’t make any progress. The man was too strong. “The dagger is still in the room,” she said, glaring at him. “I think I’ll use it on you.”

He laughed. “Never. You love me too much.”

“I know. I hate that.”

“No, you don’t.”

She relaxed against him. “No, I don’t,” she agreed.

He stroked her hair, then kissed the top of her head. “Have you loved me long?” he asked.

His voice sounded casual, but Dora heard an undercurrent she couldn’t explain. She looked at him. Darkness filled his eyes, something that, had it been anyone but Khalil, she would have labeled as uncertainty.

“Yes,” she told him. “Almost from the beginning.”

“Then how could you have turned away from me all those times I came to your room. Why didn’t you want to make love?”

He asked the question not as a prince, but as a man. A man who has been brought to his knees before a woman. Her heart ached for him. “Every time I struggled against my desire for you. I wanted you desperately. I always want you.”

He kissed her deeply. “As I always want you. The reason I didn’t come to you tonight was because you seemed to feel ill.”

“I know.” She knew so much more now. Amber would never come between them again.

Khalil sat up and pulled off his shirt. He quickly slipped off his shoes, socks, slacks and briefs, then stretched out naked on the bed.

“You have much to answer for,” he said imperiously. “You have denied your husband his proper place in your bed, as well as your heart. The punishment for your actions will be severe.” He motioned to his arousal. “You may begin atoning for your sins by servicing me this evening.”

“Oh, may I?” Dora asked, not sure she could believe he’d actually said that. Tell a man you love him and he assumes he owns the world.

“I would not deny you your opportunity to please me.”

“How gracious,” she murmured and rose to her feet.

So Khalil thought he would get the best of her, did he? She hid a smile. Two could play at this game.

Dora slowly slipped off her dress, then her stockings. She unfastened her bra and let the straps slide down her arms before releasing the garment. When she’d pulled off her panties, she knelt over her husband and lowered herself until her erect nipples nearly brushed his mouth.

“Tell me what you want, Prince Khalil, and I will do your bidding.”

His eyes glazed over slightly as he reached up and pulled her closer. Then he licked her nipple and made them both moan. She shuddered. Already she was wet. She could feel the heat and the pressure between her legs, and he hadn’t even entered her. She was aroused and ready just by being close to him.

“I want you,” he said, gazing at her. “I love you. Promise you’ll come live with me here.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Anything else?”

He thought for a moment. “Promise that you’ll always love me.”

Her feelings welled up inside of her, filling her with a sense of rightness she’d never known. “Forever, husband.”

“Which is nearly as long as I will love you.”

“Is that everything?” she asked. “Do you have more desires?”

“Several.” He grinned. “You may begin satisfying them by making love with me. Lower yourself onto me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She did as he requested, sliding her waiting heat over him, taking him inside, deeper and deeper. He groaned.

“Dora,” he gasped as his eyes sank closed. “I’ve missed you.”

She didn’t bother pointing out that it had only been two nights since they’d last made love. Instead she tightened her muscles around him until he was tense and ready. He arched into her, holding her over him, moving her hips until she rode him up and down in a rhythm designed to take them both over the edge.

She found it difficult to concentrate, but she forced herself back from the edge long enough to speak his name.

“What, love?” he asked.

She held her hips still, then lowered them again, at the same time she brushed his lips with hers. “I’m pregnant.”

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late. His shock had allowed passion to take him unaware, thrusting him into paradise. He gave a strangled groan, a half laugh, then drew her close.

She knew then that she had won. Not just their teasing game, but the love of this wonderful man. What had started out as a marriage of convenience and duty had instead turned into the miracle that occurs between the most fortunate of men and women. She and Khalil were among those lucky enough to find a match that would last longer than a mere lifetime…one that was destined to be written in the clear beauty of the El Baharian sky.

Susan W. Macias

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteeen

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteeen

She was back, and she was never going to leave!

After four years of college and two years of finishing school—in Switzerland of all places—Heidi McKinley had finally been allowed to return to the one place on earth where she felt at home. El Bahar. Land of mystery and beauty, where past and present blended in perfect harmony. She wanted to dance down the main street of the souk and buy pomegranates and dates and clothes and all the wonders available at the marketplace. She wanted to put her feet in the sea and feel the heat of the sand. She wanted to breathe in the scents of the beautiful gardens within the palace grounds.

With a burst of laughter, Heidi raced to the window and pushed open the French doors. Her three-room suite in the guest wing of the palace opened onto a wide balcony. Instantly, the heat of the afternoon sucked the air from her lungs. It was June, the hottest time of the year. It would take her a few weeks to acclimate to the temperature, but even the sensation of freeze-drying like a mummy couldn’t dull her bright spirits. She was back. She was really and truly back.

“I had hoped you would become sensible as you grew up, but I can see my wish was a futile one.”

Heidi turned at the sound of the familiar voice, then smiled broadly as Givon Khan, King of El Bahar, stepped onto the balcony.

The old king, as much a grandfather as her father’s father had been, held open his arms. “Come. Let me welcome you.”