After the meeting, Katie managed to escape without too much more manhandling. Khalid was satisfied with the price for the pieces he wanted, and he’d made arrangements to have them shipped straight to the gallery.

He barely looked at Katie as they headed back to the hotel. Alone in her suite, she ordered dinner and ate by herself. She couldn’t help but be peeved that Khalid would insinuate that they would spend the night together and then abandon her on their first night.

It shouldn’t matter. She was able to be a part of the acquisition, and that should have been enough to make her happy.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

Suddenly, the adjoining door to their suites opened. “Are you disappointed that you’re not spending the evening with Batuk?” Khalid growled as he walked straight to the bar.

She paused, her bite of chicken halfway to her mouth. “Did you just walk into my hotel suite without knocking?” she demanded.

“I’m paying for it.”

“I don’t care. There is such a thing as privacy,” she snapped.

He unscrewed the top of a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a drink. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“Also a point of privacy. Whatever man I want to spend tonight with is none of your business.” Her appetite gone, she let her fork fall to the plate and pushed it away. “Please leave.”

He tossed the drink back and turned to glower at her. “I didn’t invite you here so that you could drool all over another man.”

“First of all, I was following your instructions. Be respectful, remember? He licked my hand, and you stood by and did nothing. I felt violated whenever the man looked at me. I was not drooling over him. On the other hand, you wouldn’t even look at me, so I’m not really salivating for your company either.” Angry, she rose and crossed her arms. “You should leave before your security realizes that you’re no longer in your room.”

He poured himself another drink, and she cocked her head and stared at him. She’d never really seen him drink before. He tossed that glassful back as well and then turned to face her. “What happened today was business. I thought you were comfortable with your boundaries between night and day.” His eyes swept up and down her body. “I am sorry about Batuk. I should have stepped in sooner.”

“But business is business?” she asked sourly. “Be honest with me, Khalid. Was I there because you want me tonight, or was I there because you wanted to use me to soften Batuk up?”

His expression immediately hardened. “I would never.”

“That’s what it felt like!” she burst out. “I felt used today, Khalid!”

Before she could blink, he’d crossed the room and grabbed her. “That was not my intent,” he growled harshly. “You cannot possibly think that of me.”

“I don’t know what to think of you, Khalid,” she whispered as she stared into his green eyes. “You don’t let me in. You don’t let anyone in.”

“I’ve given you more than I’ve given anyone.” He reached up and brushed her hair from her face. “What do you want from me, Katie?”

Swallowing hard, the truth threatened to claw its way out of her. She wanted everything from him, but if she told him, she could lose him. “I don’t know,” she said finally.

He lowered his head and kissed her hard. As his arms circled around her and pulled her close, she melted against him. What started out slow and sensuous immediately turned hard and rough as he walked her to the bed. “Get undressed,” he ordered in a thick voice. “Slowly. I want to see every inch of your skin.”

Suddenly, she felt shy. All of their previous trysts had been quick, almost desperate. She’d never been fully naked—most of the time, she hadn’t even been half-naked. Would tonight change things between them?

“Now, Katie. I want to see you now.”

As he unbuttoned his shirt, he slowly sank into the mattress.

Under the spell of his gaze, her hands slowly moved to the straps of her dress. In that moment, she felt as if her body wasn’t even her own as she slipped the straps down her shoulders. Turning her back, she let the dress slither down her body and pool at her feet.

“The bra.” His voice shook just a little.

Closing her eyes, she reached back and unhooked the bra. As it fell, she reached up and unclipped the claw holding up her hair.

“The panties, Katie.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

Hooking her thumbs under the red elastic of her panties, she bent at the waist as she slowly lowered them.

As she straightened, his hands circled around her waist, and she gasped. She’d never even heard him move.

“Spread your legs.”

Without hesitation, she did as he asked.

His fingers lifted her hair, and he pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. Her heart hammered against her chest as he slid one finger down her spine to the cleft between her cheeks.

“Khalid,” she whispered. Her knees threatened to give out from under her, and he’d barely touched her.

“Let me,” he whispered. His fingers slipped between her lips and probed at her juices. “So wet. Is that for me?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he tugged at her hair until she slammed against his body. “Is that for me, Katie?”

“Yes,” she gasped. “Always for you.”

Her back was pressed against his naked chest as his hands moved to the front of her body. As he sucked at the column of her neck, his hands caressed her abdomen before traveling north to her breasts. He pinched and rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb, and she moaned and rubbed against him.

His erection was hard against her, and he growled in her ear. “Hold still.”

“I can’t. Please, Khalid. Give me more.”

“So greedy. Get on the bed. Hands and knees.”

Hands and knees? Seriously?

She wanted to balk, but her body was screaming for release. Feeling like she was walking through water, she slowly made her way to the mattress and crawled on all fours.

“Back it up. To the edge.”

Confused, she complied. She tried to look over her shoulder, but she couldn’t see him. It wasn’t until she felt his fingers sliding across her slit that she realized he was kneeling on the floor.

And then she felt his lips and tongue.

“Khalid!” she cried out and rocked back against him.

He moved slowly, deliberately, as he pleasured her but avoided her most sensitive spot. As he licked and nibbled, she gripped the sheets and felt the energy mounting inside her. She was mindless with need, and it wasn’t until she heard him chuckle that she realized that she was begging for him.

Finally, his tongue slid over her clit, flicking over and over again.

Seconds.

Minutes.

When she exploded, she had to muffle her scream in the pillow.

He licked her through it all until her body was shaking so much that she collapsed on the mattress.

“Easy,” he said soothingly as he stood and moved to the side. “Roll over, Katie.”

It took all of her energy to flip to her back. As she watched Khalid unzip his pants, she bit her lower lip. Despite the fact that her body was still shaking, she wanted more.

He joined her and kissed her deeply. “Can you taste that?” he whispered. “That’s you. That’s what you give me.”

She did taste herself. Tangy. The idea that her juices still clung to his lips woke her body, and she lifted her hips.

“Ah, yes. You like that, don’t you?” he murmured as he moved his lips down to the column of her throat.

Shivering, she mewled. Being so exposed to him put them on a whole new level. This was what had been missing before. This wasn’t just sex. It was an intimacy she’d never felt comfortable giving him.

Now he was taking it, and she was helpless to stop him.

Khalid rained kisses over her body, lightly licking at her nipples and sliding his hands up and down her thighs until she was straining against him.

As he shifted his body, she reached up and circled her hands around his cock. He grunted when she squeezed, and she curled until she could lightly kiss the head.

“No,” he muttered as he moved away from her. “Not tonight.”

“But . . .”

Before she could continue to protest, he slipped a finger inside her and pressed a hot and open kiss to the inside of her thigh. Pleasure shot through her, and she rolled back helplessly.

Closing her eyes, she cried out and moaned as he finger- and mouth-fucked her once again to an orgasm.

“I don’t think I can take any more,” she whimpered as he twisted and moved over her. His cock settled between her legs, and he slid his hands up her arms until his fingers locked with hers.

“You can, and you will,” he demanded as he kissed her.

His tongue stroked in and out of her mouth, long and deep, until she was rubbing up against him. How could someone control her body so easily? How could he make her desperate for him?

Finally, when she thought she might lose her mind, he thrust into her. She brought her knees up and rocked in an attempt to take him deeper.

Hard and fast. Slow and deep. His fingers dug into her body as he licked and nibbled on her, fucking her until she was clawing at him and crying out for more.

“Come on, Katie,” he grunted. “I’m so close. Give me one more. One more. Fuck, Katie. Come for me.”

He pinched her nipples, and she arched against him and shattered.

He immediately cried out her name as he thrust hard and fast, spilling his seed inside her.