Her Improper Desire, page 7
After taking a deep breath, she chugged everything down in one gulp...and lived to regret it in the next moment. Her body felt like it was on fire now, but when she tried to tell her cousin she felt even sicker, the other girl only threw her a look of scorn.
"My God, Prue. Do you have to complain about every little thing?"
"I'm not complaining. I just feel really—-"
"Oh, for fuck's sake! If you want to throw it all up, then just go and do it."
Alta flounced off before she could say anything in return, and Prue slowly got to her feet when her body continued to feel as if it was being roasted alive from within.
At this point, there was nothing to lose if she did give her cousin's suggestion a try, and Prue struggled to ignore the weird flashes of heat that tingled through her body as she made her way to the ladies'.
It was thankfully empty when Prue got in, and she sank to her knees as soon as the door swung shut behind her.
She tried getting her gag reflex to work, but all she ended up spitting out was saliva, and by the time she gave up and got back on her feet, bile was all she could taste on her tongue. She was also feeling even more feverish and dizzy, but when she tried to recall if she had eaten something bad, she couldn't think of any. Perhaps it was the amount of secondhand smoke she had inhaled? Maybe all she needed was some fresh air?
Prue's legs were trembling as she walked out, and every part of her seemed to just burn hotter and hotter.
Am I dying?
The thought made Prue feel like hyperventilating, but just as she attempted to run in search of Alta, she bumped into something hard, and every cell in her body came to life the moment she stumbled back and Prue realized she had crashed straight into a stranger with the most...incredibly...muscular chest.
SHEIKH KHADEM AL-MASRI, youngest son of the King of Huzna, wasn't surprised when two o'clock came and went, and their eldest brother had yet to show up with his promised bride in tow. The man had been celibate for an entire year. Khadem had a feeling a few more days would come to pass before Saif was able to sufficiently satisfy his needs.
"Shall we call it a night?" Rashad asked.
Ilyas nodded. "I have work to do, anyway."
"I'll take care of the bill," Khadem told his older brothers.
They parted ways soon after, and on his way to the bar, Khadem saw a girl stumble out of the ladies', her lovely cheeks flushed, and her slender body noticeably shivering under her remarkably modest dress.
She went on to walk with wobbly legs, and Khadem raised a brow when the girl ended up bumping straight into his chest.
Prue could only blink once, twice, and then once and twice again when she found herself gazing up at the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. The short dark curls of his head made her fingers itch while his eyes were a mesmerizing shade of blue. But what robbed Prue of speech was the sensual perfection of his mouth. That mouth was made for kissing, and when her mind suddenly conjured an image of this man's mouth pressing against hers—-
Fire blazed through her blood, and Prue's temperature spiked in an instant.
Lord, oh Lord, what in the world is wrong with me?
She had always been a faithful girlfriend to Klaus, and this was the first time she had such thoughts about another man. Even worse was this alien source of heat that was now snaking all around her body. Every part of her was in agony, and the fact that she didn't know why this was happening had Prue looking up at the stranger in unconscious appeal.
"I think I'm sick."
Khadem took one look at the girl with her long, blond plaits and big, brown eyes, and he knew right away it wasn't that simple. She had 'easy victim' written all over her, and he would bet his birthright that this girl had never gone clubbing before this night.
A few years ago, Khadem had been tasked to rescue local girls from being forced into sexual slavery, which was simply one of the many lucrative kinds of crime that the former king had pretended not to know about, in exchange for millions of profit.
When Khadem and his men had successfully raided the secret hideout where the girls had been temporarily housed, the would-be slaves had been given a drug that made them highly sensitive and sexually responsive to an unnatural degree.
Those same drugs were easily available in America as long as one had the necessary contacts, and based on what Khadem was seeing now, he was grimly certain the girl in front of him had been similarly "medicated".
The thought angered Khadem, which was unlike him at all. In the past several years, Khadem had found himself desensitized to evidence of human abuse. But this girl proved different, and he found himself motioning for one of his incognito bodyguards to come forward.
"Find out who did this to her," Khadem bit out in Huznan. "And I want to know everything possible."
Prue was starting to feel like she was losing her mind as she watched the two men talk in front of her in a foreign language. Why did having two men stand so close to her made her body feel even hotter?
Khadem's gaze swung back to the girl when his bodyguard left. The flush in her cheeks appeared deeper, and he saw her lick her lips unconsciously as soon as their eyes met. Her body started to sway towards him, and Khadem automatically reached for her to keep her from falling.
Prue didn't understand what had taken over her. The moment she felt the stranger's hands on her, it was as if his touch had set her world on fire, and the next thing she knew, she was letting out the most embarrassing moan.
Bad, bad Prue!
You've never even made such a sound for Klaus, so why are you moaning like that because of a stranger?
Khadem's expression turned inscrutable as the girl cut herself off mid-moan. She had a look of dazed disbelief on her face, and as expected, she obviously hadn't a clue as to what her body was going through.
Too bad for her, it was only going to get worse from here.
Prue couldn't understand why her heart was racing faster than ever as she felt the stranger's gaze travel over her frame from head to toe.
There was something about him that felt almost brutally uncivilized, and that this image of him being this wealthy, urbane businessman was nothing but a lie. What this stranger was Prue felt she neither had the knowledge nor the experience to define. All she knew was that he was a different kind of animal from all the other men she had met. Different even from Klaus, whom she used to think was the sexiest man alive.
This man was more than that.
This man was a sexual fantasy come to life, with his rock-hard abs that made her ache to run her hands all over his chest. Would it be smooth? Hairy? What would be the color of his nipples—-
Bad, bad Prue!
Why are you thinking of such indecent things?
Khadem was privately amused at the play of expressions on the girl's face. One moment, she was staring up at him with unconcealed hunger. The next moment she looked as if she had just been given a death sentence.
She likely wasn't even aware of what she was doing, but when he thought of how this girl could be staring at another man in the same manner—-
Hell, no.
This girl was his.
He didn't give a damn if this was his first time meeting her. Didn't give a damn that he knew absolutely nothing about her. She had been the first woman in years to incite his lust, and the more he watched her, the more he wanted her.
And he would have her, in time.
But before anything else—-
"Someone's spiked your drink."
It took Prue a moment to understand what the stranger was saying, his words made surreal by his matter-of-fact tone. And surely, he was mistaken? She shook her head at him, saying, "That's not possible—-"
"And rather than being sick," the stranger went on, "what you're feeling right now is an uncontrolled need to fuck."
A gasp broke past her lips as Prue's world started to spin out of control. "You...how..." She struggled to get the right words out, but it was impossible.
Could someone really have spiked my drink?
The more she thought of it, the more things started making sense, and Prue could feel herself start to tremble as the ramifications of those words began to dawn on her.
Someone had to be really mad at her to do such a thing, but who? And why?
Also - how did he know what was happening to her?
Could he be involved?
The answer to her last question came to her just as swiftly.
Impossible.
She knew she was only going with gut feel here, but she just couldn't imagine him colluding with someone to spike her drink. She would bet her life on it. This man had nothing to do with what she was going through. He was a good man, and that mattered to her.
Why that was so, however, was what confused and frightened her, but when she made the slightest move to step back, the stranger did so as well, and Prue was aghast to feel her senses spiral when she felt his thumb slowly trace the outline of her lip.
Another moan broke out of her, and the sound of it was like having her face splashed with ice-cold water. She jumped back, and this time the stranger made no attempt to stop her, and the fact that he didn't made her realize this was all planned.
He had touched her, Prue realized with horror, so she could see for herself that his words were no lie. Someone had spiked her drink, and whatever it was she had unknowingly ingested, that drug seemed to have successfully turned her into a whore.
Khadem knew the exact moment everything had become painfully clear to her, and he waited until her gaze reluctantly lifted back to his before spelling out her fate.
"It's your choice now," Khadem said silkily. "Do you want me to fuck you...or would you rather take your chances with another stranger?"
Chapter Two
It was on her first day in university that Prue had met Klaus. She had been trying to find her way to her first class, and Klaus had approached Prue like some dashing knight in soccer uniform, his smile gentle as he asked her if she needed help.
Since Prue came from an all-girls' school, talking to boys had still been a new experience, but Klaus had somehow made her feel safe. He had also been good at making her laugh, and he had made Prue feel so relaxed that she hadn't thought of refusing when he had asked for her number.
It was only after Klaus had walked her to class, and she had heard how the other kids whispered about him, that Prue realized he was no ordinary student. He was apparently one of the most popular guys in their university, and the fact had made Prue avoid him at first.
But Klaus had been gently insistent, and he would always carve out time from his busy schedule to have lunch with Prue and walk her to class. When Klaus eventually asked her to be his girlfriend, Prue had dreamily said 'yes'...and it was only afterwards that she realized relationships like theirs didn't involve just two persons.
None of Klaus' friends had bothered to hide their dislike and disapproval of Prue, and when she thought about all the times Klaus had defended her to those who thought he deserved someone better...
How could she ever betray him, just because she had this stupid drug in her system?
The thought gave Prue the courage to walk away from the stranger without another word, and she didn't let herself look back even as her shaky knees threatened to give out.
Do you want me to fuck you...or would you rather take your chances with another stranger?
The man's words taunted her endlessly in her mind, but she refused to believe her situation could be so dire. Desperation gnawed at her as she searched the dance floor for Alta. Her cousin could help her. Her cousin would get her out of this mess. She truly believed that...but how could the other girl help her when Prue couldn't find her at all?
This close to the crowd, the music was louder and even more unbearable, with the way its heart-thudding beats made her head pound in rhythm. There were just so, so many people, too, and when a man walking past Prue accidentally bumped her shoulder, that brief moment of contact was more than enough to have Prue cry out...in need.
I can't believe this is happening!
Helpless tears stung her eyes as lust raged through her body like some virus, and feeling it infect every inch of her flesh forced Prue to accept the truth.
He was right.
The need to fuck was uncontrollable, and she was so, so scared that the next time she came into contact with a man, she would end up begging whoever that was to make love to her.
Lord, help me!
Her heart leapt to her throat when she noticed a group of guys walking her way, and Prue's heart shriveled in dread when she recognized them as upperclassmen who studied in the same university she attended. Those guys would definitely know Klaus, and if one of them were to accidentally touch her—-
The thought had Prue backing away in panic, and a cry spilled past her lips when she bumped into what her senses now knew was another exquisitely hard chest. She turned around—-
And it was him!
The stranger who told her the truth!
"Please help me." Prue knew she was being shameless, but the heat inside of her had burned all of her principles away, and she knew it was only a matter of time when even the difference between right and wrong would cease to matter.
"I already told you how I can help."
The purr in his tone made her want to cry and cry out. "Please."
"You know what I want."
Prue stared at him helplessly. "I can't. I have a boyfriend."
Khadem felt himself whiten at the girl's words.
A boyfriend, goddammit.
A boyfriend!
The possibility that this girl could belong to another man hadn't occurred to him, and although a part of him was sorely tempted to break his own rules and pretend he hadn't heard her say anything—-
His bitterness simply wouldn't allow him to forget, and Khadem forced himself to take a step back from the girl. "Then I'm sorry."
Prue was so stunned by the swiftness of his rejection that all she could do was look at him. Did this mean he was going to leave her like this? Was he really going to let her take her chances with the next stranger she'd bump into?
"Please."
But the man was already turning away, and Prue reached for his hand unthinkingly.
Aaaah!
She had forgotten all about her body's crazy response to skin-to-skin contact in her panic, and the stranger turned to face her as soon as her fingers curled around his wrist. His skin felt so unbelievably hot, and when she lifted her gaze to his, it was then she saw the frustration and hunger blazing from his eyes.
He wants me?
The knowledge nearly made her writhe, and Prue desperately fought against the urge to throw herself at him. If Klaus as her boyfriend was difficult to believe, then to have this stranger attracted to her should have been outright impossible...and yet he actually did.
How can he want me?
And why isn't he taking advantage of my situation?
Khadem gritted his teeth upon seeing the expression on the girl's face. She had finally realized that he wanted her, and he could see in her eyes that she was wondering why he wasn't doing anything about it.
"Forget about your boyfriend," Khadem said roughly. "Come with me, and I'll take care of you."
Yes, oh, yes. Those were the words her body was urging her to say, but how could she when she had Klaus?
"I'm sorry," she choked out, "but I can't."
Khadem's fists clenched as the girl spun away from his hold. This was for the best, he told himself. Damsels in distress like her was the bane of his life. The last time he had been gullible enough to love one, the woman had loved him back...but just not enough to stay by his side when it most mattered.
Prue told herself not to panic. Her body might be in turmoil, but there had to be a way she could deal with this herself. All she needed to do was to find some private place before her urges drove all rational thought out of her mind, and—-
"You win."
It was the stranger again, and he was suddenly in front of her, his handsome face taut.
"Just let me take you somewhere safe—-" Khadem reached for her hand, but the girl reared back as if horrified, and it was like the past all over again. When he had asked Alanna to marry him, she had yanked her hand out of his hold like his touch had sickened him.
Prue could tell that the stranger had mistaken her reaction for disgust. She wished she could tell him that he was wrong, and that what she feared was how his touch had the power to make her completely forget her morals. But if she told him the truth, she was scared he would keep insisting on helping her, and she just didn't know how long she could hold herself back.
Khadem's jaw tightened when he saw how the girl appeared close to crying. It reminded him of how Alanna used to call him a brute every time she burst into tears, and the memory had him hardening himself against the way the girl was subconsciously begging for his help with her big, brown eyes.
"I'm not going to force you to come with me," Khadem said tersely, "nor will I spend the rest of the night wooing you. So if you truly do not want my help—-"
Prue forced herself to lie. "I can take care of myself."
Khadem's lips tightened. So be it then. He pointed towards the stairs at the back of the club. "If you don't want me with you, fine. But one of the private rooms upstairs is reserved under my name. It's the first door you'll see. Password is 0908. You can stay there until the drug wears off."
The words seemed too good to be true, and Prue couldn't help but wonder if the offer came with some unseen catch. "Why are you helping me?"
Khadem's lips twisted. "Because you asked me to."
Chapter Three
Prue hadn't a chance to say anything else, with the stranger already walking away. She knew this could be the last time she would ever see him, and every cell in her body was urging her to call for him to come back.
But she couldn't.
Musn't.
I need to do this on my own.
