Under a Desert Moon

by Laura Martin

‘I don’t know if I can cope with that amount of pleasure every day.’

  Sebastian grinned again. ‘How about twice in an hour?’

  Emma’s eyes widened and slowly her gaze dropped to the visible bulge in Sebastian’s trousers. Slowly, without moving her eyes, she reached out and fumbled with his waistband.

  Chapter Twenty

  Seb groaned as Emma’s fingers fumbled with his waistband. She was beautiful, lying beneath him looking just the slightest bit dishevelled. He resisted the urge to rip his trousers down himself, knowing the anticipation would only make things better.

  Eventually Emma unfastened enough of the buttons to pull his trousers down over his hips. Seb quickly pulled them all the way off then paused as he caught the look in Emma’s eyes.

  ‘It won’t fit,’ she said.

  Seb chuckled. ‘Thank you for the compliment, but I can assure you it will fit.’

  Emma shook her head in disbelief.

  Knowing he still had to be gentle with her, even though this wasn’t technically her first time, Seb lowered his head and covered her mouth with his own. Softly he kissed her, tracing her lower lip with his tongue and gently catching it between his teeth. Slowly Emma started to writhe beneath him again, unconsciously thrusting her hips up to meet his.

  He could feel his hardness pressing against her and ached to be buried deep inside her, but Seb knew Emma deserved more than that. She deserved passion and gentle lovemaking. And he was determined to give her something she would remember for ever, something to wipe away the pain that lowlife had caused her when he’d abandoned her all those years ago.

  ‘Sebastian.’ Emma moaned his name in his ear. He didn’t know if it was an entreaty for more or just a moan of pleasure.

  He dipped his head and peppered kisses over her breasts, capturing one nipple in his mouth and teasing it with his tongue until Emma begged for mercy. She was thrusting her hips up to meet his with such rhythm and force now Seb knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He wanted her, but more than that he needed her.

  Gently he pulled away and looked into Emma’s eyes.

  ‘This might hurt,’ he said quietly.

  He felt her tense underneath him, her hips freezing mid thrust; a look of panic flooded into her eyes.

  Silently Seb cursed Freddie the lowlife for giving her such a bad experience. Emma was a passionate woman, but here she was frozen at the idea of him entering her.

  Seb looked deep into her eyes and knew he had to fix this. He had to show her not all men were like her ex-fiancé.

  ‘Relax, my love,’ he said as he lowered his head again to kiss her. Slowly, as his lips caressed hers, Seb felt her muscles relax underneath him. Ever so gently he pushed forward, distracting her with kisses. This time when she clenched it was only momentary and Seb gently entered farther.

  A small moan emanated from Emma’s lips and Seb couldn’t help but smile. Her eyes had glazed over and her breathing had become more laboured. As he pushed farther inside her he felt her hips rise to meet his.

  He tried to control himself, knowing this had to be special for Emma, but his desire nearly overtook him. Slowly he pulled back so he had nearly pulled out of her. He felt Emma’s hands on his buttocks, holding him in place.

  ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ he assured her.

  As he thrust back in he looked deep into Emma’s eyes and he knew this moment would stay with him for ever. She was special, this woman of his, and he knew he was losing his heart to her.

  Emma met each of his thrusts with increasing vigour and Seb knew he couldn’t last much longer. Faster and faster they moved together and suddenly Emma’s whole body arched and her muscles clenched against him. It was enough to send Seb over the edge and he felt the exquisite release.

  Breathing heavily, Seb held himself above Emma and looked down at her face. Her eyes were still closed but a faint smile darted over her lips. She looked contented.

  Gently he pulled out of her and lay down beside her, gathering her petite body to his chest. He pressed his torso against her back and felt his breathing synchronise with the rise and fall of her chest.

  ‘Sebastian...’ Emma murmured. ‘You’re very good at that.’

  Seb grinned. ‘Just what a man wants to hear from his woman,’ he whispered in her ear.

  Gently he kissed the nape of her neck and held her tight against him, wondering if he would ever be able to let this wonderful woman go.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Emma woke slowly. She had a wonderful feeling of contentment deep inside and for a few seconds she allowed herself to bask in it. She stretched and eventually allowed her eyes to flutter open.

  The sun was just rising above the horizon and the chill of the night was still in the air. Shivering, she pulled the blanket Sebastian must have laid over her to cover up her shoulders.

  Lazily she rolled over. Then she frowned. She’d assumed Sebastian would still be behind her. She could remember him pulling her body tight against his before she fell asleep and she’d thought he’d still be somewhere close by.

  Slowly Emma sat up and looked around. There was just enough light to make out the surroundings and she took her time trying to make out Sebastian’s form in the dried-up oasis.

  ‘Sebastian?’ she called softly, wondering if he had gone to fetch something to get started on breakfast. She was ravenous and wouldn’t mind having something to still the growling in her belly.

  ‘Sebastian?’ she called a little louder, knowing they were the only two probably within a hundred miles.

  No answer. With a frown Emma reached for her clothes where they had discarded them the night before. She shook out the shirt, knowing the creases would never fall out after it had spent a night in a crumpled pile. Quickly she pulled on her chemise and shirt, then the trousers. She stood to tuck her top half into the waistband of the trousers.

  Knowing she must look an absolute state, Emma was glad there wasn’t a mirror around to confirm her suspicions. She quickly redid her hair, all the time scanning the surroundings, hoping for a glimpse of Sebastian.

  Emma slowly started to pick her way through the scrubby undergrowth, wincing with every step she took on her swollen ankle. She gritted her teeth and continued; at least she could walk on it even if it did hurt.

  When she had covered half the perimeter of the dried-up oasis Emma began to panic. Where on earth was Sebastian? She imagined him fallen into a gorge or bitten by a poisonous animal.

  Then she reached the spot where they’d tethered the horses.

  Wadjet was standing quietly, waiting for the day to start. Emma absent-mindedly patted the horse on the neck as she looked around. Sebastian’s horse was nowhere to be seen. There were hoof marks and half-chewed bits of vegetation, but no horse.

  With a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach Emma hobbled back to the camp as quickly as possible. Surely he wouldn’t have left her? Surely she hadn’t misjudged him quite so badly?

  She was almost sobbing by the time she had returned to where they had slept after making love only a few hours before. She fell to her knees and frantically started searching through the bag she’d kept by her side their whole journey. The bag Sebastian had placed the scroll into last night.

  Frantically she searched through the bag, hoping the ancient scroll was still there, unwilling to think the worst of Sebastian just yet.

  Eventually she emptied the entire contents of the bag onto the ground. When they were spread out with nowhere to hide, it was obvious to Emma that the scroll was gone.

  She felt the tears well up in her eyes. She couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been. She had actually thought that Sebastian had cared for her, that he was different. She’d given all of herself to him and once again she’d been duped.

  Emma thought of the tender way he�
�d kissed her and the gentle perusal of her body. For her that had all been so real; she thought she’d fallen in love with him last night. But for him it must have all been a ruse, something to ensure he had long enough to escape with her precious scroll.

  Emma felt sick at the thought of being used in that way. She’d thought she knew Sebastian. He was kind and true. He wasn’t the kind of man who tricked a woman into bed for his own gains. Or so she’d thought. She wondered if any of it had been real for him, or whether it had been an act from the very start, the performance of a lifetime.

  The tears began to roll down her cheeks in earnest now. What was so wrong with her that men saw her fit only for deception and lies? And why couldn’t she gauge a man’s true character? Why was she always deceived by them?

  She thought back to their time together over the last few weeks. They’d laughed and joked and they’d shared confidences. She had thought Sebastian to be one of the most open and honest men she’d ever met.

  Stuffing her possessions back into the bag, Emma wondered what she was to do now. Sebastian had left her all on her own in the desert. She still had all the food and water...

  Emma stopped still. Why hadn’t he taken any of the food or water? Surely if he planned on continuing to the tomb alone and beating her to the discovery the only sensible thing to do would be to take at least half of the provisions. It didn’t make sense otherwise. Even a few hours in the desert without water was enough to kill a man.

  With these thoughts still circling in her head Emma quickly packed up the camp and transferred all the belongings to Wadjet. She had plenty of food and water, so her decision now was whether she should continue or whether she should turn back.

  The sensible part of her knew she should turn back. If she headed due east at some point she would hit the Nile. Then it would be only a matter of hours heading either north or south until she found a settlement. But she didn’t really want to go back. She wanted to confront Sebastian, to look into his eyes and make him confess how he’d deceived her.

  After Freddie had so publicly disgraced her Emma had hidden in her father’s house for many months, not wanting to see anyone at all, least of all Freddie. She had thought burying her head in the sand was the best way to get over what had happened to her. Now, years later, with the emotional scars still so painful, Emma knew that had been the wrong decision. If she’d been brave and had the courage to confront Freddie, make him explain to her why he’d treated her quite so badly, she might have got some closure on the event much earlier. It wouldn’t have helped her reputation but it might have helped her sanity.

  So this time she wasn’t going to run back to Cairo and hide from Sebastian. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wanted him to face her, make him realise how much damage he’d caused.

  Her heart lurched at the thought of confronting him, but she knew this time she had to stay strong. It didn’t matter that just a few hours ago she’d thought she was in love with him, didn’t matter that when she pictured his face and his tanned body she felt a stab of desire deep inside. He’d taken what he’d wanted from her, stolen her precious scroll and left her in the middle of the desert.

  Part of her brain screamed in protest, crying that Sebastian wouldn’t do that. She knew Sebastian; he would never leave a woman alone in the desert. But you couldn’t argue with the evidence. Here she was all alone and Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

  Deftly Emma untied Wadjet from the dead tree and struggled to mount. The horse stood there patiently as Emma unsuccessfully tried to launch herself onto her back. After a couple of attempts Emma led Wadjet a few steps forward to where she could use a fallen tree branch to boost herself up.

  Once up on the horse Emma took a few minutes to orientate herself. She knew they had been heading south-west the day before, and the plan had been to continue in that direction. Aligning herself with the sun, Emma nudged the horse forward and started her pursuit of Sebastian.

  As they exited the little dried-up oasis Emma thought she saw a flash of white from the corner of her eye. It almost looked like a piece of paper. She nearly turned back to investigate, but thoughts of the gap between her and Sebastian widening stopped her from pulling on Wadjet’s reins and instead she put the paper out of her mind.

  Thoughts of the confrontation ahead kept Emma occupied whilst she rode. She pictured galloping up alongside Sebastian. He would look at her in shock, then fall to his knees and beg forgiveness. He would admit what a scoundrel he was and hand her back her scroll.

  Even these fantasies seemed rather far-fetched to Emma. She kept returning to why he would have taken the scroll in the first place. If they found Telarti’s tomb he would be credited with half the discovery alongside her. Maybe she had judged him completely wrong and he didn’t care about preserving Egypt’s history at all. Maybe instead he just wanted the riches inside.

  It was possible, Emma supposed, but she’d seen how reverently he’d treated the scroll itself, being very gentle, as if he were touching a piece of the past.

  She shook her head. It was no use trying to guess why Sebastian had done what he’d done. The fact was he’d left her in the middle of the desert and her scroll was missing. Anyone would be hard-pressed not to draw a damning conclusion from those facts.

  Emma knew what she was most furious about was that she’d let herself be taken in again. After Freddie she had sworn to herself she would be wiser, more aware of the ways of the world. She had viewed men with suspicion and never until now allowed anyone to get close. But one smile from a handsome, charming man and all her resolve and common sense had deserted her. Emma knew this situation could have been avoided if only she’d hardened her heart as she’d promised herself she would so many years ago.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  That morning Seb had awoken with a start. It was still dark, the sun wasn’t even threatening to rise above the horizon for some time yet, and the fire had died down to nothing whilst they had been sleeping. Seb had wondered what had startled him awake and listened carefully for any clues the sounds of the night could give him.

  For three minutes there had been nothing, not a snap of a twig or a cry of a bird. Just as Seb had been about to lie back down a soft noise had come to his ear. It had been the snorting of a horse still some way away.

  He had frozen completely and listened. He hadn’t been able to hear the plod of hooves or the scrape of stones as they were dislodged, which meant whoever was approaching had been still a little way off. There was a possibility that it had been just a random traveller, a Bedouin trekking across the desert back to his people, but Seb knew that was unlikely.

  Now, four hours later, Seb wished he’d quietly woken Emma and explained his concerns to her. Instead he’d thought he’d be the hero of the day and get rid of their pursuers without Emma even realising he’d gone.

  Seb had dressed quickly and gathered up a few necessities. He’d only planned on being away from their little camp for about an hour, so he’d only taken a small amount of water to sustain him. Then he’d rummaged through Emma’s bag until his fingers had closed around the scroll. For a second Seb had just revelled in the feel of the old papyrus, but, knowing time was of the essence, he had slipped the scroll into a sock and placed it back in the bag, now nicely hidden just in case his plan went wrong.

  The last thing he’d done before leaving the camp was scribble a quick note to Emma just in case she woke up before he returned. He hadn’t wanted her to wake up and find him gone with no explanation. He’d left it close to where she was sleeping, so it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up and realised he had gone.

  Gently he’d leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then he’d mounted his horse and left the camp. When he’d been a few minutes away he’d stopped and listened. Sure enough their pursuers had been even closer. He’d made sure his horse made plenty of noise to draw them aw
ay from the camp and set off into the darkness.

  That had been four hours ago. Now Seb was parched and sweating in the early morning sun. He’d drunk his last drop of water at least an hour ago and already he felt as though his tongue had swelled to fill his mouth. His body was screaming out for water and he knew if he didn’t find a way to head back to their camp soon he would collapse.

  Seb wished now he’d thought of a different plan. One that involved having Emma by his side and plenty of water in his water skin. He cursed himself again, knowing that it was his need to always be in control that drove him to do things like this. He hoped desperately Emma had found the note he’d left her and had followed his instructions to wait for him at the old oasis, stringing up a blanket to form some shade to rest in. She should be comfortable enough, but he had no doubt she would be annoyed with him when he returned. He’d never planned on being away this long.

  He pictured her soft body in his arms and grinned. He was sure he could persuade her to let him make it up to her if she was angry.

  Seb heard the distant ring of voices and quickly looked over his shoulder. For the last hour he’d heard further evidence of his pursuers and he knew they were getting closer. He’d tried to lead them away from Emma and her precious scroll, and his plan had been to loop back to camp before they realised, but he hadn’t counted on how fast they were. He knew if he looped back now they would be close enough to follow.

  Frowning, he tried to spur his horse on, but the animal was also suffering from the lack of water.

  Every minute the voices grew louder and then suddenly there was a shout. Seb knew they must have caught sight of him, but there was nowhere to run and most certainly nowhere to hide. At least when they caught up with him maybe they would have some water.

  He turned to face the four men approaching him, watching as their black robes billowed out as their horses trotted towards him. They did not smile or exchange words of victory; instead all four seemed to remain completely serious.