CHAPTER ONE
"You're a miracle worker, Charlotte Johns! You're my perfect golden girl!"
Mikaela van Horne draped her elegant arm around Charlotte's neck, hugging her close in a display that was shockingly genuine. Just six months before, the starlet had been floundering in the obscurity of the New York theater scene. A few promising roles hadn't lived up to the promise, and Mikaela was looking at a return to a dull office job if things didn't pick up.
That was where Charlotte had come in. Just as Mikaela was a rising star on Broadway, Charlotte was a rising star at Brooks Publicity. She had taken on the young Mikaela when no one else would, and now Mikaela was off to her first red-carpet event.
Charlotte laughed, hugging the starlet hard. She had been impressed by how much she genuinely liked the younger girl. She remembered being twenty and thinking that the world rose and fell with a single invitation. Now, five years later, she knew that that wasn't true. It was far better to be behind the scenes and pulling the strings.
"You did most of the hard work," Charlotte said. "I just pointed the way and made sure that you got to the right people. Now, remember what we talked about?"
Mikaela nodded dutifully.
"Stay on my feet, smile a lot, don't commit to anything, and take no crap."
"That's my girl. Remember, if you have any problems at all, give me a call. I'm always available, and I am on your side."
As she waved the young starlet into her limo, Charlotte turned toward her own night with a grin.
She was a small woman with brassy blond hair that most assumed she got out of a bottle. She was a little curvier than fashion dictated, but she dressed well for it, choosing dark colors and bright accessories that made her vivid blue eyes seem to glow.
The flowing black cardigan that she wore was professional. When she took it off, she revealed a low-cut, figure-hugging blue dress that definitely was not. She had sent Mikaela off to have her fun, and now, after a campaign that seemed to drag on forever and a day, she could have hers.
She stopped to check her reflection in a nearby shop window. It was after dark on a spring night in Manhattan, and Charlotte wanted to look her best. A few men passing by whistled at her, and she ignored them with the cavalier indifference that an entire lifetime in the city granted her.
She checked her texts, figured out where she was going next, and dialed up her sister as she walked.
"Viviana, come out to see me. I miss you so much!" she said without a greeting.
Her younger sister laughed a little. They could have passed for twins if they kept their mouths shut, but Viviana was always the gentler sister, the sweeter one.
"And whose fault is that? You're the one who had to work around the clock for the past two months."
"It's my fault, all my fault," Charlotte said mournfully. "If you're willing to come out and have a drink, maybe I could make it up to you. Me and some of the girls are meeting up at Delmarr tonight, and I know that I'm not the only one who would love to see you. Come out, and I'll buy you your favorite drink."
"My favorite drink is peach soda, and I can get that from the vending machine around the corner. Sorry, Charlotte, but I need to be on a plane at six sharp. Maybe American Airlines waits for publicists, but they sure don't wait for event planners.”
"Awww crud, I forgot. You're doing that thing in Las Vegas, aren't you? Shoot, that means that I'm not going to see you for a month, at least."
"Well, you could come out to visit me while I'm out there. They're putting me up in a suite, and there's plenty of space for two. You could blow some vacation time and get away from New York and New York guys for a bit."
Charlotte laughed ruefully.
"I guess I've been complaining about my lack of romantic success a little more often than I should have, huh, sis? All right, I'll see what I can do. No promises, though. Get some sleep, and let me know when you've landed safely, okay?"
"Will do. Have fun with the girls tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Charlotte hung up with a sigh of regret. She loved her sister fiercely, and a night out just wasn't the same without Viviana's dry wit and genuine sweetness. However, that didn't mean she was going to go to the bar to mourn.
It was a short walk to Delmarr. Even in the early evening, there was already a line stretching halfway down the block. Charlotte breezed past the line with practiced grace, earning herself more than a few dirty looks as she went by.
The imposing bouncer at the door gave her a long look up and down before asking for her name.
"Charlotte Johns," she said with a big smile. "I should be on the list under Bennett Moragh's party."
The man took his time finding her, but finally nodded, unhooking the velvet rope for her.
"Have a good night, Ms. Johns."
Inside, Delmarr's was dark with glassy walkways and velvet furnishings that called back the camp of the seventies and eighties. Though retro design was big in New York at the moment, Delmarr's came by it honestly. It had been one of the hot spots for hungry talent ever since that era, and when some of that talent had grown up and become famous, they repaid their old watering hole by making it famous.
"Hey, look, it's Charlotte! Over here, Charlotte!"
Bennett was a tall willowy redhead who seemed largely famous for the sake of being famous. She was the heir to an industrial fortune, but Charlotte forgave her for it because she was genuinely a fierce, funny, and sweet girl.
There were at least six women jammed into the circular booth, and Charlotte shoved someone's shoulder until they made room for her.
"I'm so glad to see you," Bennett caroled. "I've not seen you in forever. You showed up just as Aimee was telling us about her date...."
Aimee rolled her eyes. The woman was smaller, darker, and perhaps a little more sardonic than the crowd Bennett usually attracted.
"There's not much more to tell. I got him back to my place, things were going really well, and then suddenly, he started meowing like a cat and kneading my stomach. I'm like, what the hell? I didn't sign up for this. I don't even like cats."
"First, you're a terrible person for not liking cats," said a blonde whom Charlotte didn't know. "But geez, what the hell did you do after that?"
"What could I do? I kicked him out before he started trying to use me for a litter box!"
"Oh, that's not even the worst it could be," snorted Bennett. "I went on one date with this guy who seemed really cute and sweet, right? I think things have gone really well, but when I text him the next day to see if we can get a repeat, he tells me that not only is he married, his wife's girlfriend has seen me on television and doesn't approve. I mean, dating's hard enough when you have to impress one person. Do I have to impress three now?"
Charlotte downed her first drink while listening to tales of errant dating in New York. The city was a fantastic place to meet new and interesting people, but the truth was, at least for her and her friends, it was a place just to meet them. It always seemed to her as if everyone in New York were crazy, and when it came to dating, it was only a matter of time until that crazy was revealed in all its glory.
"I think the mistake we're making is looking for the one," Charlotte said, drawing all eyes toward her.
"Are you suggesting that we should start looking for the two or the three?" asked Aimee, raising her eyebrow. "I don't know about you, Charlotte, but I can't keep track of one as it is...."
"No, not unless you swing that way, Aimee, but let's be honest. Mr. Right sounds awesome, and maybe he'll show up someday, but for me, I might have to say that I'll be happy if he's Mr. Right For Now, or maybe even Mr. Won't Turn Into A Creepy Stalker.
Tori, who had been the one with the story about the boyfriend who tried to camp out on her fire escape after she broke up with him, lifted her glass to that.
"I think,"Charlotte continued, "I'm going to simply start looking for Mr. One-Night Stand. I don't have time for Mr. Right, and if he really were Mr. Right, I bet he'll wait until I'm less busy."
"Here, here," said Bennett. "I like a woman who knows what she likes."
The talk drifted to other things, but Charlotte kept thinking about her pronouncement. She had been mostly joking when she started, but now that she really considered it, she liked the idea even better. She had broken up with her last boyfriend almost nine months ago. She was so busy with her career that searching out the right man would simply exhaust her. She resolved that, for the moment, one-night stands were the way to go.
The evening continued, and at some point, Charlotte challenged Bennett to a word game on their phones. When Bennett lost, she pouted dramatically before throwing up her hands.
"All right, all right. Charlotte, you win. You're better at Word with Frenemies than I am."
"And the bet?"
"Ugh fine. Go to the bar, and bring us back the most expensive bottle they have there."
"Ha, I don't even care what it is, it'll be delicious," Charlotte crowed, as Bennett shook her head in mock disappointment.
Charlotte wiggled her way through the crowd, amused by the men who were watching her with interested eyes. Maybe her next one-night stand was in the place somewhere. If he were, she was going to be the one to find him, not the other way around. If someone she didn't like tried to get her attention, she would simply bring him back to the table, where her friends would eviscerate him.
The bartender didn't bat an eye when she asked for a bottle of their most expensive alcohol. Instead, he disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a bottle that looked plain enough until the light from the bar hit it.
"Why is it so...glittery?" Charlotte asked, momentarily dumbfounded.
"Because those are edible gold flakes that've been suspended in it, love," the bartender said patiently. "You still want it?"
"Of course I do," she said, winking at him. "After all, I'm not the one paying for it. Put it on Bennett Moragh's tab."
The champagne was gorgeous, and she had no doubt that it would taste amazing. At least, she had every intention of telling Bennett that it tasted amazing.
She was excited enough to get the bottle back to the table that she didn't see the overly happy drunk careening toward her, chased by his less drunk, more exasperated friends. He brushed by her quickly, tagging her arm as he did so. She let go of the bottle in surprise.
Charlotte froze, already seeing the expensive alcohol burst in an explosion of gold and glass all over the floor. She waited for it to happen, and when it didn't, she felt almost lightheaded.
Instead of the bottle shattering, it was held in the firm grasp of a tanned hand. She ran her gaze along the sleeve of a suit jacket that she could tell was well tailored, and finally made eye contact with her savior.
He was a tall lean man with dark hair that looked inky in the dimness of the club. With his sharp features, she could tell that he was of Middle Eastern descent, and from the way he carried himself, she knew that he was someone important. Or at least he thought he was.
"Thanks," she said cheerfully. "That would have been pretty embarrassing if I had to go back to my friends covered in expensive booze that I didn't even get to taste."
He grinned at her, lifting up the bottle to examine the label.
"Ah, La Fleur d'Or, the flower of gold. You have expensive tastes, pretty girl."
There was something about his accent that teased her ear, bringing an automatic blush to her cheeks. She was Charlotte Johns—she shouldn't be blushing over a cute accent as if she were a starstruck farmgirl!
"I'm afraid that I have expensive tastes without having the budget to afford it," she said with a grin. "I won that off of a phone game with my friend, and now I'm going to take it back to them and share it."
He grinned, revealing teeth that were as white and sharp as a wolf's. Suddenly, she imagined those teeth nipping along the curve of her neck, and all of her bravado about one-night stands came rushing back to her.
"Something of a very beautiful Robin Hood, then?" he asked, eying her boldly up and down.
"Maybe a little less selfless than that," Charlotte responded. "So...I'm going to take this back to my friends, but will you be around? I might want to talk with you later."
His eyebrows shot up, but he quickly swept down into a bow that somehow managed to look both courtly and sly.
"By all means, pretty girl. I will wait on your command." He handed her the bottle with a flourish.
With a laugh that she knew was a little more breathless than she intended, she turned away. She held the bottle tightly in her hands, and when she returned to the table, she was greeted by six pairs of excited eyes.
"So you're going to tell us who the looker in the suit was, right?" asked Bennett with an eager grin.
"That'll be pretty hard, because I don't know," Charlotte retorted, a grin on her face. "I don't know him...but I think I might like to know him."
They parceled out the bottle of champagne, Bennett still groaning about how her dear friends took advantage of her. Charlotte had been friends with Bennett for years. She ignored her comments, sipping at her champagne with satisfaction.
She wasn't sure that the champagne was worth everything that Bennett had paid for it, but she could tell right away that it was expensive. The bite of the champagne was softened by a faint floral flavor and something that was almost sugary sweet underneath it. She could feel it go to her head a little, making her a little louder, a little funnier.
The conversation rolled in waves all around her, but Charlotte was finding it harder to think about anything besides the dark stranger she had met. Finally, she stood up, making everyone at the table look up at her expectantly.
"It has been amazing catching up with you all," she said, "but I think that I need to put theory to practice and catch up with that man who saved Bennett's very expensive bottle just a bit ago."
Her friends burst into laughter at her declaration, and in a flurry of well-wishes, she strode off into the club to find him. Delmarr was a big place, full of odd corners and nooks. For a little while, she thought that he had left. With a wince, she decided that taking a discreet cab home would be better than returning to her friends' teasing.
Then she caught sight of the man, himself, leaning against one of the bars and looking sinfully delicious.
He saw her before she got to him, and he raised his eyebrow and returned her grin.
"So have you decided that you wish to speak with me?" he asked, making her laugh.
"Come on, now," she chided. "You knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before I got back to you. I mean, look at you."
His smile widened at her admiring appraisal.
"I am glad that I pass muster with your exacting standards," he said graciously. "May I buy you a drink?"
"You may not," she said crisply, sidling a little closer to him. "I've already had one, and I want to make sure that I am...clearheaded for what I'm about to do next."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"I'm going to proposition you."
She knew she had surprised him. He went still and he looked over her again, as if looking for something hidden he had missed the first time.
"Tell me, is this another contest with your friend?"
Charlotte laughed, suddenly realizing how her words must sound.
"No, not at all. The truth is that I'm a busy girl with a busy life. New York is full of fun, but when it comes to starting a relationship, I'm not that interested in doing it here. Of course, that doesn't mean that I want to be as celibate as a nun! What I'm thinking is that we, you and I, have a one-night stand. We have a lot of awesome fun, and then in the morning, no strings attached, we go our separate ways."
He laughed at her blunt words, shaking his head.
"So shall I tell you what my name is, or would you prefer to make one up for me? Something like this, I want to make sure that you get your goals accomplished..."
"You can tell me what your name is," she said magnanimously. "Just the first one, though. Don't want to ruin the mystery."
"Very well then. My name is Aladdin."
For a moment, she simply stared at him, sure that he was teasing her. When he only gazed at her with a level look, she nodded.
"All right then, Aladdin. I'm Charlotte."
He grinned, taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips for a gentle kiss. She cocked her head at him curiously.
"Why do I feel as if I passed some kind of test?" she asked.
"Because you did. That is my real name, and since coming to this country, I have been informed over and over and over again that I seem to share it with a Disney prince. Believe me, I know. The talk about how it is a real name used by real men in the UAE is one that gets old very quickly."
"You could just go by Al...."
"And you could go by Lottie."
"Oh. Ah, I see your point. Sorry about that."
"No harm done. You didn't make fun of it, and that's what matters to me. Do you need to know anything else before we go?"
She thought for a moment, wondering what her sister would say. Likely, Viviana would die before finding herself in Charlotte's position, but she came up with something.
"Oh, all right. Will you promise not to murder me or to try to make me do anything I don't like?"
He held his right hand over his heart, bowing his head.
"I swear that I will never do anything to you that you do not at least ask me to do."
"At least?"
"Well, I might like it if you beg a little. As long as that is not on the list of things you don't like?"
Charlotte barely stopped herself from licking her lips. There was something about this man that ignited a flame of desire deep inside her.
“No, begging for things that I really, really want is definitely a win. So we know what we should and shouldn't do, we know each other's name…do we need to know anything else?”
Aladdin looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, I think that after we have decided that we are not going to kill each other, and that we should both enjoy what we are doing, we have a very promising beginning. Shall we go?”
“Yes. Yes, we should absolutely go.”
With a flourish, he gave her his arm. She took it, amused and oddly touched by his gentlemanly behavior. As they left Delmarr, she passed by her friends at the door. They cheered at the sight of her on Aladdin's arm, and to her relief, he only laughed.
“Your friends are very supportive,” he said as they walked out onto the street.
“You have no idea,” Charlotte replied. “Assuming this goes well, I'll probably be telling them all about it sooner or later.”
“And if it doesn't?”
“Well, they'd probably hear all about that, as well.”
“Ah, sounds fair. I can have my car brought up, and then—”
“Sorry,” she said with a grin. “I like you, but we're taking a cab back to my place. My mother always said never to get into a car with a guy I don't know.”
“Really? And what did she say about inviting him back to your home?”
“Well, we don't tell my mother every little thing....”
Aladdin laughed and obligingly hailed a cab. One stopped almost immediately, and he opened the door to hand her in.
Charlotte's apartment was not far away, which was a very good thing. During the drive, she couldn't take her eyes off of Aladdin. He was every bit as handsome as she thought he had been in the club. She was willing to bet that underneath those well-cut clothes, she would find an impressive body.
For his part, he made conversation with the driver and commented on the neighborhood. It would have been an unremarkable cab ride if he hadn't placed his hand on her knee and started to slide it up. She drew her breath in a little at his intimate touch, but then she put her own hand over his, guiding it further. His hands were surprisingly rough for how well he was dressed, calloused in a way that made her think of her theater friends who built sets. The roughness felt delicious against the delicate skin of her thigh as he rubbed it gently.
By the time they made it to her apartment building, she was ready to drag him right to bed. Despite having toyed with her for the entire cab ride, he seemed in no hurry. He chatted a little longer with the driver, gave him a large tip, and waved him away cheerfully.
Meanwhile, Charlotte could still recall the feel of his warm touch on her inner thigh. When he finally turned to her, she was nearly squirming with eagerness.
“So do you feel like begging yet?” he asked softly, stepping so close that she could feel his breath against her cheek.
She laughed a little, amused at the game he continued to play with her.
“You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you think I'm going to beg after a little bit of fondling,” she murmured. "Maybe you can show me something better if I take you upstairs?"
"That would be delightful," he murmured, and she shook her head at his old-world courtesy in such a new-world situation.
She guided him into the small lobby of her old apartment building. He didn't raise an eyebrow until she pulled open the folding gate of the elevator.
"Is there any other way up?" he asked.
"Well, you can take the twelve flights up to my apartment if you want...."
"Not at all," he said.
The elevator was very small. She could have touched the opposite walls without straightening her arms.
She turned away from the buttons as the elevator began its slow and rickety ascent, facing Aladdin. She looked up into his dark eyes. They weren't the dark brown color she had thought they were. Instead, they were a deep mossy green, a dash of color that gave his dark face a strangely sweet look.
"So what do you think?" Charlotte found herself asking.
"Hmm? About what?"
"About all of this. About me. Was this how you imagined your night ending?"
He laughed. To her surprise, he touched the point of her chin with the tip of his finger, angling her face up a little.
"No, I had no idea that my night was going to end like this," he said softly. "I had no idea that a beautiful woman who shone like a star was going to accost me, tell me in no uncertain terms that she was interested in me, and then take steps to show me exactly how interested she was after that. I would never dare dream that I would be this lucky."
His words struck something deep inside her, something that had not been rung in some time. There was something about him that told her that he was telling the truth. She could feel it, and suddenly, she wondered when she had last been with someone who had been so open and honest with her.
She licked her lips, suddenly nervous. He stepped forward so that their bodies were close enough to touch, and then with a sweetness that barely covered the deep well of passion underneath, he kissed her.
Charlotte wasn't quite sure what she had expected when she decided to take Aladdin home. She had known that she was going home with a gorgeous man, one who would hopefully be good in bed and as invested in her pleasure as she was in his. She had hoped for passion.
No matter what her expectations were, she had not expected this tenderness. There was passion there, plenty of it, but overlaid on top of all of that was a kind of tenderness that she had never quite sensed before.
She felt the brush of his lips over hers, making the soft skin there beautifully sensitive. She felt the way his tongue lapped against her lower lip, sending shivers through her body. One hand had come up to rest lightly on the small of her back, bringing her even closer. Now she could feel his excitement in the way his body responded to hers. It drew a deep groan from her, which she stifled just in time as the door clanged open.
"Oh! Good evening, Mrs. Kaminski!"
The old widow peered at the two through her thick glasses, frowning at them both. At the best of times, Mrs. Kaminski made Charlotte feel as if she were twelve and breaking all the rules. Right now, wearing a dress that showed off her generous curves and with her shoulder-length hair as wild as it would be on a windy March day, it was not one of those times.
"Well, I don't suppose you two are thinking about getting out of the stairwell anytime soon, are you? Some of us have places to be."
Mumbling apologies, Charlotte slid out of the elevator, bringing a bemused Aladdin with her. After Mrs. Kaminski stumped into the elevator and began her descent, Charlotte started laughing.
"Oh my god, that was terrible," she said, shaking her head. "She already thinks I'm a terribly immoral woman for living on my own and doing as I please. What's she going to think about me now?”
"I don't know what she has to complain about," said Aladdin. "We're coming in for the night. She's the one who has somewhere to be at one thirty on a Friday night..."
"You know, I would not have thought of that...."
Charlotte fumbled with the keys to her place, a task that was made harder by Aladdin wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. There was something about his height that ensured she fit perfectly under his chin. Before she opened the door, she pressed back against him, making him growl in her ear.
When she had the door closed behind her again, it took everything she had not to simply lead him to her tiny bedroom.
"All right, I just want to set down the rules."
He raised his eyebrow.
"I know if you tell me to stop, I'll stop, and I know that I'm not going to make you do anything that you do not thoroughly enjoy...."
Charlotte stifled a soft shiver at the promise in those words, but she made herself speak clearly.
"Look, I think I can tell you honestly that I like you, but this is all we are going to have. This is a one-night stand, and we're going to have ton of fun, but after it's over, we're going to go our separate ways. You're not my boyfriend, and I sure as heck am not your girlfriend. If you can't agree to that, we had better just call it quits now."
Aladdin nodded thoughtfully.
"So in some ways, this is like an arranged marriage, only it is arranged merely for a single night."
"Er, I guess so? Basically, I just want to make sure that we are on the same page as far as expectations go. I don't want any surprises and I don't want either of us to be disappointed. Can you agree to that?"
"Yes, I can." Aladdin tilted his head to one side, regarding her curiously.
"Do you have any questions?" she asked a little desperately. She was beginning to feel as if she were a teacher lecturing a particularly stone-faced classroom.
"I do, as a matter of fact."
"Go on."
"When can I touch you?"
She realized suddenly that there was a coiled tension to him, something that had been poised to spring as soon as they walked into the apartment. She had been the one who put a halt to it, but now she had the power to release him. Once she knew that, she didn't hesitate.
"Now," she said. "You can touch me now."
With a deep growl, he crossed the floor between them with a truly astonishing speed. Charlotte was shocked at how quick he was for a man his size. In a matter of seconds, she was in his arms, crushed against him as he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss.
"I have wanted to do this from the moment I laid eyes on you," he murmured into her ear. "I thought about running my fingers through that gorgeous hair of yours, seeing everything that this blue dress hid."
"Do it," she said challengingly. "You said you were going to make me beg, so let's see you do it."
She caught a glimpse of a white grin that was as sharp as a knife before he caught the lower neckline of her dress in two fists and yanked sharply. Under his strength, the fragile material gave way as if it were tissue paper, hanging in shreds from her shoulders. The feeling of being suddenly exposed and bare made her sharply catch her breath. Now he could see the lacy ivory underwear she wore underneath, the color glowing against her golden skin. He didn't need to know that it was the last pair of clean underwear in her drawer.
"So beautiful," he murmured. "So beautiful..."
Without hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her straight to her bedroom. Her double bed creaked under their combined weight, but she couldn't care, not about anything except what this man was making her feel.
With a surgeon's precision, he spread apart the rags of her dress, revealing her form to his hungry hands and mouth. As she shivered with anticipation, he began kissing her, starting with her mouth before moving to the point of her chin, her neck, and her shoulders. He passed his hands along her skin, grazing gently over the areas covered by her underwear until she started to press herself upwards into his hands.
"You're still clothed," she panted. "Don't you think you should join the party?"
"Say please," he said with a grin.
"I'm not begging," she scoffed. "I'm not that easy."
"I'm not asking you to beg. I'm just asking you to be polite."
Well, that was certainly good logic, and she did want to see what was waiting underneath that well-tailored suit.
"Please, Aladdin, won't you take your clothes off for me?"
"There, now was that so hard?"
In a single fluid motion, he quickly got up from the bed and started to shed his clothing. She watched hungrily as it all hit the floor, revealing a body that was lean and muscular, resembling a swimmer’s physique. He was tan all over, and her hands ached to stroke his sculpted chest, his long limbs. Aladdin didn't stop until he was entirely naked. She could see that he was fully aroused now, and though it should have made her blush, all she could feel was a hot desire and a strange pride for having aroused him.
"Thank you," she found herself saying, and he laughed.
"Well, I suppose we will teach you manners yet," he said, climbing back into bed with her.
This time, there was the elegant sensual slide of body against body. She could feel the coarse hair of his legs against her smooth ones, feel the beginning of a five o'clock shadow rubbing against her shoulder.
She wound up on her stomach, with Aladdin knelt between her slightly spread legs. She wondered if he would take her now. Instead, he unhooked her bra, kissing the spot that had been covered before. He kissed his way down her spine to the curve of her buttocks. There, he nipped her firmly with those sharp white teeth. She cried out in something between pain and pleasure, pressing herself deeper into the mattress even as she raised herself toward his touch. She started to ask him for more, but then she bit her tongue. She would be damned if she begged the way he said she would.
Almost as if he understood exactly what she was thinking, he pulled away enough to roll her to her back. With a quick motion, he flicked away her bra, leaving her firm, round breasts quivering with sensation. He bent his head to one hard peak, then the other, laving them with his tongue before brushing them with the sharp edge of his teeth.
She thrashed against him, but she still would not give way. She refused to beg, even if her entire body longed for more of what he had to give her.
Charlotte thought that he must be done teasing her when he tugged her panties down and tossed them to the floor. She could feel how aroused she was, almost smell it, and that was before he passed the heel of his hand over her mons. He pressed lightly, letting her feel the pressure and warmth of his touch against her most sensitive flesh. Involuntarily, she pressed back against him before catching herself.
"Going to beg yet?" he asked with a grin.
She glared up at him. In a way, she knew that she was only working against herself and getting what she wanted, but her competitive streak had been awakened.
"Not likely," she shot back. "I'm not sure I've really been impressed yet."
His laughter filled the small room.
"Well, let's see if we can fix that."
With a quick motion, he was resting between her legs, his hands pressing her thighs farther apart. She groaned, knowing that he could look at her most private parts and wanting him to.
He stroked her intimately for a moment, sliding his hand along her spread flesh. Then, firming his grip on her thighs, he lowered his mouth to her.
The first touch of his tongue electrified her, making her want more. She tried to press herself more firmly up against him, but his hands kept her still. Instead, all she could do was thrash helplessly as he started to run his tongue up and down over her yearning flesh.
She wailed when his tongue slid against her clit. The moment she made a sound, he pulled it away, only returning it when she was still. He lapped at her with a single-mindedness that was arousing in and of itself.
Before she knew what was happening, she could feel the first hot flames of climax running along her legs, igniting a fire in her belly. She started to cry out, perched on the very peak of her pleasure...
Then Aladdin stopped.
"What!"
Her eyes flew open, landing on his satisfied face.
"Beg," he growled.
Somehow, she managed to shake her head wildly. Aladdin's only response was to shrug.
"So be it."
He started tonguing her again, making pass after pass over her clit. She knew what he was doing this time, and she tried to find her climax before he stopped.
She would not have given a stranger credit for knowing her signals, but again, right before she tipped over the edge, he backed off.
"Beg," he said again.
"Not on your life!"
Twice more he brought her to the edge of climax and then stopped. By then, she was a writhing mess, clutching the sheets for some kind of stability.
Finally, just when she was on the edge of coming, he pulled back again, and this time, something in her mind broke. Before he could even ask his question, she was wailing.
"Please!" Charlotte cried. "Please, please let me come. Oh god, please, I can't take it anymore. Please!"
Aladdin was silent for a moment. For a horrible second, she thought that it wouldn't be enough. She thought that he would simply refuse again, starting the cycle of almost unbearable pleasure over again.
Then, with a husky laugh, he bent his head to her straining flesh, and he didn't stop until she had exploded into a million pieces. She felt as if she were unraveling, spinning faster and faster until she had been cast into the sky. She knew she was shouting, pulling hard on his hair, but she couldn't make herself care.
Finally, her pleasure started to ebb, leaving her limp on the bed.
"Now you," she said, speaking in a voice that now sounded deep and hoarse.
"Now me what?" he asked, and she didn't have the patience to figure out if he was joking or not.
"Condoms in the bedside table. Come on. I don't want to be alone in feeling like this."
He chuckled a little, passing a hand over her sweat-soaked skin.
"This would be enough for me, precious star, if that was what you needed."
He raised an eyebrow at the unopened box of condoms, but he pulled one out, sheathing himself with the latex. She had wondered briefly what a man like Aladdin might want, whether he wanted her standing up or bent over.
Instead, he crawled on top of her, resting his weight on his forearms as he pressed himself against her. She was slippery with her own pleasure, and Aladdin groaned as he slid against her.
"So beautiful, and so perfect," he murmured.
Before she could answer, he slid all the way inside her, burying himself inside her to the hilt. There was a brief moment of discomfort as her body adjusted to his size and girth, but then it was over, leaving nothing but pleasure in its wake.
"Feels so amazing," he growled. "So wonderful...”
She couldn't even respond. All she could do was groan as he started to move, pressing deep inside her with every thrust. Despite his desperation and the obvious need of his body, he refused to hurry. Suddenly, Charlotte realized that he wanted to make every moment with her count. He wanted to make sure that he was drawing every ounce of enjoyment from her, making the most of every second he had to spend with her.
When he finally reached his own climax, she reached up to wrap her arms around him. Even after everything that they had done, it was an intimate act, one that made her heart beat faster. As he shuddered above her, Charlotte clung to him, feeling as close to him as she ever had to anyone. She could find it in her to be saddened that it was over, that this was strictly a limited engagement.
After a long moment, he pulled away, padding to the small bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he was done, he only came as far as the doorway, leaning against the frame to watch her.
“What's the matter?” she asked, still slumberous from the pleasure they had given each other.
He smiled slightly, tilting his head to watch her as she remained sprawled on the bed.
“I confess that I don't know what the rules are now,” he admitted. “Do I pack up my clothes and leave without a word? Am I breaking the rules right now by talking to you?”
“You worry about rules far too much,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “You can leave if you want to, but I'd be happy to have you back in bed with me.”
The grin he flashed her was as bright as the sun as he crawled back into the bed with her. She rolled over on her side to allow him to spoon her. In a matter of moments, they were snuggled together as sweetly as if they had done this their entire lives.
“Don't get the wrong idea,” she cautioned him. “This is definitely a no-strings-attached, one-night stand. I'm just not rude enough to kick you out after everything that we have gone through. You made me feel...well, let's just say that it's been a long time since I've felt that.”
Or ever, her mind reminded her. She wasn't sure that she had ever had a partner like Aladdin before—one who had been so intent on her pleasure that his own came far after.
“I'm glad that I could please you,” he said gravely. “And do not worry, I will respect your rules. No attachments, no strings.”
“No more talking, either,” she murmured happily, snuggling closer to him. “You wore me right out. It's time for me to sleep.”
She drifted off into slumber with his soft laugh in her ears, and when she dreamed, she dreamed of his bold green eyes.