I shook awake, searching for something to grab onto. Gripping the textured fabric of the sofa armrest, I focused on the area around me.

I was alone in this part of the cabin. The staff was nowhere in sight and all I could hear was the rumble of voices behind the partition separating my section of the plane from the front half.

How long had I slept?

I checked my watch and realized it was close to midnight. We’d been flying for two and a half hours.

I guessed the exhaustion of the last few days had finally caught up to me.

The last thing I’d remembered was Ashur sitting next to me for takeoff. He hadn’t released my hand from the moment Veer and Tyler deplaned. It was as if he feared I’d leave.

I wasn’t the one he should worry about leaving. He was the one who would have to decide if he could live with what I’d spent most of my adult life doing. I only hoped he would understand that my work, even if some of it was illegal, had saved the lives of countless men, women, and children.

My gut told me he’d find out my involvement in Solon sooner rather than later.

God, please Ameera’s rescue go as planned.

So far everything was set for a week after we returned from Texas, but things could change in the blink of an eye.

It took all my will to resist the urge to pull out the secured phone I’d hidden in my clutch, log in to the Solon network, and double check everything was going according to the logistics I’d laid out.

For now, the team was in a holding pattern, keeping an eye out for any changes but waiting for the auction. In a few hours the funds would transfer to the Swiss account I’d given Ameera’s captors, and Tyler would receive the access codes to enter next week’s auction.

My heart sank thinking of how Ashur’s money would give me the ability to free Ameera. He’d offered me his fortune when I’d agreed to marry him, but I’d never thought I’d actually have to use it. Now, I was no better than any other woman who married a man for his riches.

I uncurled myself and sat up, pushing the blanket covering me down to my lap.

Releasing a deep sigh, I stood and went toward the lavatory to freshen up. I quietly stepped around the partition, trying not to disturb the heavy discussion Ashur was engaged in with some of the Secret Service agents.

His short hair was a bit messy, telling me he’d run his fingers through it over and over again. His telltale sign that he was thinking through a difficult topic.

He was still sexy as hell even with the hard set of his jaw and lips.

I could almost feel his mouth on me. The kiss he’d given me at our reception had me craving more of his intoxicating taste.

Would I always feel this way?

Who was I kidding—it hadn’t waned in fifteen years. I doubted the attraction would ever stop.

A bit of turbulence shook the plane, making me realize I was dawdling. I took the hallway and walked into the bathroom.

The walls were a toasted beige with a scent of fresh paint, and every fixture, from the faucets to the lights, was a styled oil-rubbed bronze. The space was big, almost five times the size of the lavatories on commercial jetliners.

The bathroom was designed to feel and look like a proper bathroom, including a shower. A luxury for the first family to enjoy when traveling.

Setting my toiletry bag on the counter, I washed my face, dried it, and then reapplied my makeup.

Just as I was finishing up, Ashur walked in and leaned against the door frame.

“Want to christen Air Force One?”

I scrunched my face in an “ew.” “Nope. Besides, I’m pretty sure all kinds of lewd things have been done on here in the past. I don’t want to add to it.”

He walked toward me and set an arm on either side of me, while staring at my lips. “Are you sure? The way I see it, my wife needs something and I want to give it to her.”

“Your wife is fine, thank you.”

“I felt your hunger, Tara. This is only a hint of what I’ve gone through the past two years.”

I held his gaze, hoping he hadn’t noticed my dilated pupils. “You’re mistaken.”

Those beautiful lips of his quirked at the sides. “Let me check.”

He dropped to his haunches and gripped my stocking-covered ankle.

“I love these fuck-me heels you wear. Makes me think of all kinds of dirty things.”

“They’re practical, nothing fuck-me about them.”

“I disagree. The way you walk in them incites visions of bending you over the nearest surface. The way you own the room while wearing them makes any man that sees you want nothing more than to rumple the incredibly controlled and sexy Ms. Zain.”

“Mrs. Kumar.” My breath felt heavy and my mouth parched.

“That’s right. Mrs. Kumar. I’ve waited a long time to hear that from your lips.” He glided his hand along the inside of my leg, over my knees, and to the juncture of my sopping cleft.

“We can’t, Ashur.”

“What can’t we, Tara? All I’m doing is making sure my wife isn’t lying about her needs.”

He grazed the wet fabric of my underwear, and I clamped my thighs to block him from going further. “Not here.”

He licked his lips. “Yes here. Let me taste you. Let me fuck my tongue into your hot, wet pussy.”

My knees grew weak. What would it be like to have his mouth on me, in me, all over me?

I needed him to touch me, but not like this. There was no doubt I’d lose myself to the pleasure, forgetting anything but the orgasms he would give me. And then, I wouldn’t want it to stop there. I’d beg him to fuck me, and I didn’t want our first time as a married couple to be in the bathroom of a plane that belonged to the United States government.

“Please, not here. Maybe in the future, but not tonight.” I looked down to where he knelt.

The plea in my voice must have broken through the lust, and he sighed. He tugged his hand free, stood and pulled me against him, my back to his aroused front.

I grasped the arm he had across my body and then leaned my head against his shoulder, inhaling in short pants, unable to stop the unsteadiness of my breath.

“Look at us in the mirror.”

I lifted my head and studied Ashur’s giant body behind me. He towered over my small frame, but somehow, we fit.

We’d always fit.

He regarded me with hooded eyes that were filled with longing.

“I’m not going to be fucking you in here. I won’t take that from us. When I take you, it isn’t going to be a fast fuck. It is going to be long, hot, and sweaty.”

Relief washed over me. He had me so worked up that I probably would have let him. At least, one of us had some restraint.

“However, we aren’t going out there until I see you coming at least once.”

Strike the restraint part.

“Ashur, no.”

He tugged the fitted hem of my dress up my thighs and over my bottom.

Why wasn’t I pushing his hands away? Why was I stepping a little wider?

Because you want the release as much as he wants to give it to you.

“You’re so wet, baby. I can see your desire soaking your underwear.”

I glance toward the closed door. “I’m not quiet. I don’t want anyone to hear us.”

His hand crept down to the waistband of my thong, ducking inside.

“Why don’t you let me worry about that. You just enjoy.”

His fingers grazed my clit, sending a shockwave of desire down my spine.

I gasped, “Ashu.”

“Are you watching us?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

I couldn’t keep my gaze away from us, even if I wanted to. He was so sure, so confident, so fucking sexy as hell.

He repeated the feathery touch, not going farther than the sensitive nub. He teased me until I closed my eyes and surrendered to his soft caress. He pushed a finger past my dipping cleft and into my aching core, making me gasp and writhe against him.

“Watch yourself, Tara. You are a goddess, a warrior, the siren who calls to me in my dreams. See what I see, when you come.”

I opened my lids and focused on my face. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes glazed. My chest heaved up and down within the constraints of my bra. My nipples rubbed against the lace fabric covering them, causing them to pebble tight. The front of my underwear that was soaked through with my arousal.

My fingers dug into his arm, holding on for dear life.

Ashur’s hand worked me underneath the material, pumping in and out, pressing at the sensitive area deep inside, and driving me crazy.

“Do you want to come, love?”

“Yes, Ashu. I… I… need. I’m dying.”

“No, you’re not. You’re about to shatter on my hand. Now let me see it.” He plunged another digit inside me to join the other.

My body bowed, loving the pleasure-pain of his thick fingers stretching me and working my sopping pussy.

I rode his fingers, my head thrashing back and forth. Just when my body couldn’t hold out any longer, I turned my face, gripped the back of his head, and captured his lips. My pussy contracted and then clamped down on his pistioning fingers. My orgasm took over, making my body shudder and shake. I clamped my eyes closed and cried out my pleasure into Ashur’s mouth as my release flooded his fingers in my cum. He continued his ministrations until he’d wrung the last of my release out of my spasming pussy.

I lost the ability to hold myself up and collapsed completely against Ashur, breaking our kiss. He held me to him, murmuring words I couldn’t really understand into my hair.

Slowly he slid out of my still-convulsing core. “Now, Mrs. Kumar. I believe we need to prepare ourselves for landing.”

I nodded but was unable to move. Even when Ashur reached to the side, grabbed a napkin, and cleaned his hand and my thighs.

“I love how wet you get for me. Like I said, there’s no hiding your need from me.”

I gave an incoherent hum and kept my eyes closed.

“I believe you’re orgasm drunk.” He kissed the top of my head.

Was there such a thing? Who cared? I couldn’t even muster the strength to stand on my feet.

Ashur kept me in his arms for a few minutes longer, letting my mind come back to reality.

“We need to go back, love.”

“Okay. Give me a second.”

I inhaled slow, long breaths until I could finally focus.

Then, I turned in his arms, wrapping them around his neck. “Thank you for the orgasm, Mr. President.”

He smiled, resting his forehead against mine. “You’re welcome, First Lady.”

I cupped his erection, squeezing it. “Do you want me to return the favor?”

“I want nothing else at the moment, but we can’t. Everyone on the other side of the door—” he gestured with his head, “—knows we were up to something in here. Let’s not give them more to discuss.”

Well hell, that was going to be awkward.

“You started it. It’s your fault.”

He stepped back, offering me his hand. “This is the one thing I will happily take the blame for.”