I focused on keeping my breathing even while listening to the sheikh moving about the room, and I only allowed myself to open my eyes when I heard the door of the en-suite shut closed.
*****
IT WAS SURPRISINGLYintimate, listening to the man I loved taking a shower. And when I thought about the fact that he was on the other side of that door, with nothing but water and steam between us...
My whole body flushed.
Could Mik’hail be thinking of me while he showered?
The thought alone was enough to make my heart race, and my mind wandered to dangerous places. What would happen if I were brave enough to open that door? What would he do if he saw me standing there?
Would he send me away?
Or would he finally, finally stop fighting this thing between us?
An eternity seemed to have passed by the time Mik’hail came out of the shower, and unable to resist the urge, I found myself peeking just a little.
To my relief I found the sheikh standing with his back to me. He was rubbing his hair dry with a towel, and he was dressed in nothing else but a loose pair of slacks.
Just seeing the sleek golden muscles of his back made me feel warm all over, and I couldn’t help thinking that if tonight went my way, I’d soon be able to touch all that glistening skin and feel his muscles ripple under my fingers.
The sheikh started to turn towards me, and I quickly closed my eyes.
When the other half of the bed dipped, I pretended to stir and roll towards him. When I stopped in the middle of the bed, the sheikh immediately asked tautly, “Aurora?”
I mumbled incoherently in response and allowed a few more moments to pass before letting out a little cry as if caught in the throes of a nightmare.
The bed shifted and dipped again, and it was all I could do not to cry out when I felt him draw my body close.
I had spent several nights researching the possible side effects of sleeping pills. I knew what I could and couldn’t do, and so when I felt him stiffen the moment he realized just how little I wore under my nightgown—
I allowed myself the tiniest of sounds, and I heard the sheikh suck his breath hard.
Oh.
I could feel it now.
The way his body had responded to mine.
The thought was exhilarating, and I couldn’t help it. I started shifting against him, just tiny, restless movements like someone caught in a dream. Tiny movements that let him feel just how much I ached for him, too.
Mik’hail cursed under his breath, but not once did he move away.
He touched my shoulder. “Aurora, you’re dreaming...”
I pretended to mumble, my eyes still closed. I flipped to my back, mumbled incoherently for the second time, and then I let my body roll back to him.
“Mik’hail...”
I let my voice tremble, needing him to continue thinking I was still heavily sedated.
The sheikh cupped my face. “I’m here. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
The fierce protectiveness in his voice made my heart squeeze, and if I hadn’t been sure of what I was doing earlier—
This time there was not a single doubt in my mind, and so when I heard him whisper my name—
I used it as an excuse to start trembling and pressing closer to him. I tried to act like I was trapped in the past and reliving my worst memories, but at the same time I used every moment to get closer and closer and closer...until I was practically wrapped around him, my body molded to his, close enough to feel his heart pounding against mine.
