by Kristi Gold
Instead, Ben entered, his face all hard lines and angles. His expression relaxed somewhat when his gaze contacted Jamie’s. “I see that you are safe, no thanks to J.D., my slumbering guard.”
Jamie laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Yeah, I noticed J.D. was snoozing.”
Ben’s face hardened once again. “Did you go outside after I told you not to? Do you have a death wish?”
“I went to the window—”
“Did I not tell you to stay away from the windows?”
“I just took a peek—”
“That peek could have cost you your life!”
“But it didn’t.”
Ben turned away in a swirl of white and black robes as he left the room. Furious, Jamie followed. Of all the stubborn, hardheaded sheikhs she’d ever known…
Lord, she didn’t know any other sheikhs except this one. But she had known stubborn men, namely her father. And the best way to deal with them was to let them know point-blank that they didn’t have the upper hand.
“I’m going crazy!” she shouted at Ben’s back.
He spun around to face her, fire in his steely eyes. “Better crazy than dead.”
Jamie braced both hands on her hips, expecting steam to pour out of her ears at any moment. “Well, I might as well be six feet under the way you’ve made me a prisoner here.”
In a rush, Ben grasped her arms. “Do not say that. Do not ever say that!”
Jamie tried to move away, but his grip tightened. “You’re hurting me.”
He finally dropped his hands. “I am sorry, but this is for your own good. This man will stop at nothing to get to you.” At least he looked somewhat contrite.
“Who is this man?” she asked, hoping now he would give her just a clue.
“The man who wishes to hurt you.”
Jamie rolled her eyes. “So we’re back to that again.”
“You need know nothing except that you are still in danger. And until this is no longer the case, you must stay on guard at all times. You must stay with me.”
And in doing so, she’d turn into a blithering idiot. Not unless she could convince this obstinate prince that she needed some space. Needed to do something besides hang out in his house worrying about what would happen next.
Jamie remembered her mother saying that honey drew more flies than vinegar. Jamie turned on the honey, nice and thick. “Ben, I’m really, really going stir-crazy here. Can’t we go somewhere? Anywhere? In the backyard? For a drive?”
“No.”
She snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it. I know you have horses. I saw them out the window. We could go for a ride on your land. You do have riding horses, don’t you?”
“Yes, but that is an insane idea. You would be a sitting target.”
“How many acres do you own?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
Jamie swallowed hard. And she’d thought her father’s five-hundred-acre farm was more than enough to manage. “Okay, that’s a lot of wide-open spaces. Couldn’t we find one spot where we’re hidden? I mean, with all that land, what are the chances he’ll find us?”
“Too great for us to take.”
She drew in a deep breath and called up all her reserves. “Look, Prince Ben, if you don’t take me out of this house and on a horseback ride, I’ll run away. I swear it.”
“Then you would be a fool.”
“I mean it. These walls are closing in on me. If you don’t let me out of here, then the minute you turn your back, I’ll be gone, and then where will you be?”
“The question is, where will you be? A victim?”
She hated his logic. Hated his unshakeable will. But she couldn’t hate him, not when he was simply considering her safety. “Look, you’ll either let me get out of here for a while, or you’ll have to…have to…tie me up!”
The man had the nerve to smile. “Perhaps tying you up might be a pleasant option.”
Turning, she headed for the door. She wasn’t going to stick around for his mind games. “I’m going for a ride. If you want to come with me, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine, too. It’s broad daylight. The man would be an idiot to come here when anyone could see him.”
When she reached the door, Ben’s hand came around her and slapped the solid wood surface. His warm breath ruffled her hair, glanced across her ear. “If you insist on doing this, I will accompany you on a horseback ride. And I will be by your side, trying to keep you safe. You’d best pray that I am able to do that.”
Without thinking, she turned and circled her arms around his waist and gave him a solid squeeze. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
He stepped away from her as if she’d slapped him instead of hugged him. “I will go change clothes.”
“No!” She hadn’t meant to sound so forceful, but she liked the thought of him riding with the wind whipping through his robes. Her fantasy come to life. She grabbed for a quick excuse. “It’ll be dark soon. There’s not time. Can’t you manage with what you’re wearing?”
He looked down, then back up at her. “Yes, I will manage with my clothing, but I must take something with me.” He walked to the corner of the room, slipped open a bureau drawer and withdrew a metal object that glinted in the harsh overhead light. Jamie didn’t have to see it to know it was a gun even though he quickly tucked it in the back of his slacks, underneath his robes.
Well, she would just have to put up with it in order to get her way and get out of here for a while. She hoped he didn’t have any reason to use the gun.
Four
Ben silently cursed and called himself a fool while they rode through the near-barren terrain. He kept his eyes trained ahead as they passed through the oil fields, knowing each derrick could serve as a hiding place for Klimt. Even though Ben had kept men posted at the gate and several work hands riding the fence lines bordering the property, he still did not feel assured. His land was vast, and vulnerable in places. He did not have enough men in his employ to watch every area, every inch of barbed-wire fence where someone could easily slip underneath.
Yet he had allowed Jamie to talk him into this imprudent journey. But when she had looked at him with those innocent green eyes, he knew he would walk through fire to please her. And that weakness for her troubled him almost as much as the risk he now took. Angered him as well. He could not let down his guard.
With his free hand, he reached behind him and touched the gun, but it afforded him little comfort. He prayed that Klimt would not have the resources, or the strength, to garner a weapon. Unless he stole one. That was a possibility Ben did not care to consider at the moment.
He glanced at Jamie and noted the brilliant smile on her face. Obviously she enjoyed her freedom. At least she rode in silence so that he might keep his ears tuned to the sounds. Blessedly, all he heard was the rush of the breeze through the coastal grass beneath them, the steady thump of horse hooves, and the occasional cow bawling in the distance.
She met his gaze and her smile melted into a frown. “Lighten up, Prince Ben,” she said. “This isn’t all bad.”
“We must head back soon.”
“Not yet,” she said. “You promised me an hour.”
An hour would be enough time for Klimt to find them. Why had he made such a promise? He knew why, but he did not care to examine his reasons. “The sun is going down, and it looks as though it might rain.”
Jamie turned her face up to the sky. “Yeah. Smells like it, too. But it won’t come for a while yet.” She patted the leopard-spotted gelding’s withers with one hand. “I was expecting you to own Arabians, not Appaloosas.”
He allowed a brief smile. “They are well-suited to this country. My neighbor, Matthew Walker, has helped me establish a breeding program.”
She gave the gelding another pat. “And what’s this guy’s name? I bet it’s something exotic.”
“Buck.”
Her grin deepened, causing Ben’s pulse to quicken. “Just Buck? That’s funny.”
“He was already named when I bought him.”
She pointed at Ben’s mount. “Let me guess. Barney?”
The sorrel stallion danced for a moment as if disturbed by the insult. “He is called Fire, a part of his registered name.”
“I guess that suits him.” Jamie twitched in the saddle. “Can we lope for a minute? I’m tired of walking.”
He’d expected her to ask sooner and had hoped for never. “We may trot, if you wish. I do not want you getting away from me for even a moment.”
“Sure. Trot. Whatever.” With that, she kicked the gelding into a gallop.
This time Ben verbalized his curses as he cued the stallion into a run. He managed to catch up to her, and, although he shouted at her to slow down, she did not heed his command.
Only when they approached the tree line surrounding a pond did she pull up. Ben stopped beside her, resisting the urge to tug her from the saddle to give her a healthy shake. Or a long kiss.
“This is beautiful,” she said, her eyes wide. “It doesn’t look like it belongs here.”
Ben understood her admiration. He’d discovered the place the first time he had ridden the fields. The pond was framed by a few ancient live oaks that had survived the unforgiving elements. Yellow and lilac-colored wildflowers lined the banks that dipped down to the water’s edge. An oasis of sorts—as close as he would get to one in this place called Texas.
Jamie continued to stare, silent, as if drinking in the sight. Ben studied her delicate profile, her soft lips, the column of her throat. He visually followed the path downward to her high round breasts. Heat coursed through him when he imagined kissing that same path, her flesh in his palms, naked and soft. His whole body seemed to lurch, reminding him that he did not dare give in to desire. Duty was of the utmost importance.
He cleared his throat to speak. “I come here often to think.”
She turned her vibrant eyes to him. “I can see why. It’s beautiful.”
So was she, Ben thought. “Yes, it is.”
With both hands on her hips, she leaned back in the saddle. “Boy, am I sore.”
Without thought, Ben dismounted, led the stallion to a tree and tied him loosely to one branch. When he turned, he expected to see Jamie following suit, but she remained in the saddle. He walked to her and held out his arms to assist her. She braced her slender hands on his shoulder.
The act of helping her dismount should have been simple. But nothing about Jamie Morris was simple. Ben realized that fact when he slid her down the length of him. He had not meant to hold her so close. Perhaps he had, but not consciously. Regardless, she was close—so very close—that every place their bodies contacted, flames were left in the wake.
In his logical mind, he knew he should step back once her feet met solid ground. But he did not. Could not. She streaked her tongue across her bottom lip, fascinating him. Inviting him. He could not refuse such an invitation even though he knew to do so would be the most inadvisable thing he had done thus far.
Lowering his head, he captured her mouth, seizing the opportunity to sample what he had only imagined until now. Her lips parted, both surprising and delighting him. He slipped his tongue inside, softly, cautiously, not wanting to frighten her, or give her the excuse to pull away. Not until he had his fill of her, as if that were possible.
She readily accepted the play of his tongue and even engaged in some play of her own. Ben pulled her closer, but not close enough. His djellaba provided a barrier between them and for that he should be grateful. Had he been wearing his normal riding clothes, jeans and shirt, she would know how much this kiss was affecting him. How much he wanted her.
Jamie melted against Ben, relishing the feel of his strength, the spicy scent of his cologne. She pulled her hands from their resting place against his chest and slipped them beneath the robe so that she could span the width of his strong back. Feel the muscles she had admired on several occasions.
She heard a moan, but she wasn’t sure who it had come from. Right now she felt like moaning all the way to Oklahoma and back. Never had anyone kissed her this way, with such a thorough gentleness, with only a flutter of his tongue in slow, fluid movements that made her feel like a bundle of hot, feminine yearning.
She was lost. Totally, completely disoriented, consumed by a raging need as unfamiliar to her as were the customs of this man now kissing her until she thought she wouldn’t have a brain cell left in her head once he was done. She hoped he’d never be done.
Feeling incredibly brave, she slid her hands down his back, slowly, slowly, intending to rest them on his hips. Then she touched the cold hard steel of the gun.
Ben pulled away, looking as shaken as she felt. “We must go.” He walked to the stallion busy gnawing on a leaf from a low-hanging branch.
Shocked, Jamie couldn’t move. Not an inch. It was as if the kiss had melted her feet, cementing them to the ground.
With the reins in one hand, Ben turned back to her and looked around. “Where is Buck?”
To heck with Buck, Jamie thought. Where was her brain?
Glancing behind her, she noticed Buck wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere in sight.
“Buck’s gone,” she said, thankful she had found her voice.
Ben scowled at her. “Did you not tie him?”
“Of course not. You didn’t give me a chance after you dragged me out of the saddle.”
“I did not drag you. You came willingly.”
“And you willingly put me in a lip lock.”
“I do not remember you protesting.”
Jamie didn’t remember much of anything except the way he’d made her feel. “How did you expect me to say anything when you had your…your…”
“My mouth occupying yours? I believe you asked for my attention by opening your lips to mine. Is that not so?”
Jamie wasn’t sure why they were playing this blame game. They were both to blame. And quite frankly, had she to do it all over again, she wouldn’t change a thing. Even now, as he stared at her with those gray eyes the color of the near-night horizon, it would take only one move toward her, and he could have her again. All of her. Right here in the grass surrounded by flowers and weeds with the threats of a storm and a murderous man hanging over their heads.
She had really gone nuts. But it was Prince Ben’s fault. He was driving her insane…. Crazy. Crazy for him.
And somehow, some way, she would have him again. She wanted more kisses. More of what she had never experienced in her twenty-two years. If she was in danger, she might not live to see twenty-three. Heck, life was a gamble. She could get struck by lightning, right here on the spot, because of her wicked thoughts. She refused to leave this earth without knowing what making love was all about. Without experiencing the heaven that existed between a man and a woman. And who better to teach her than the perfect prince named Ben.
Ben lay awake in his lonely bed for hours, wondering what he should do with Jamie Morris. What he could do about his weakness for a woman too hard to resist, even for a man who had spent his life practicing iron control. He could not afford to compromise her safety by again losing his head.
Rain drummed the tin roof above, a deluge that had come moments before they had arrived back at the ranch after they had finally located Buck. After the kiss. And Jamie, her skin dampened by the sudden downpour, hair wet, face innocent, had almost made him kiss her again. Instead, he had quickly retreated to safety, away from all that temptation.
A clap of thunder shook the walls, and he cursed the fact the storm muffled any suspicious noises coming from outside. His security system was the best money could buy, yet he still could not assure that a man as clever as Klimt—a man who had eluded them all—might not find a way to gain entry.
Aside from that prospect, he worried more about his feelings for Jamie. About his growing desire. Another threat to her well-being.
Perhaps he should make arrangements for Jamie to take up residence with another club member. But who? Certa
inly not his neighbor, Matt. He was planning to wed Lady Helena in the near future and they needed their time alone. Not Justin Webb and his wife, Winona. They had the responsibility of a child recently adopted by the couple. Aaron Black and his new bride, Pamela, awaited the birth of their firstborn. Which left only one member, retired air force colonel, Dakota Lewis, who had lived alone, estranged from his wife, for the past three years. As long as Ben had known the man, he had never heard Dakota mention being with another woman, perhaps because he still longed for his wife’s company.
Yes, Ben could trust Dakota Lewis to keep Jamie safe. But what if he had been deprived of lovemaking so long that Jamie tempted him as well? Although Dakota was an honorable man, he was still a man.
Ben tightened his hold on the pillow in his arms, a poor substitute for a woman. For Jamie. He could not stand the thought of anyone touching her. Except for him. But he could not have her. Neither would he allow someone else to have her as long as she was in his care.
He was the only logical choice. The only one to protect her. He had made a vow, and he would not break it. He’d promised to keep her safe, and he would, even if that meant keeping his distance from her. He refused to let his desires override his common sense.
Rolling over, Ben flattened his face against the pillow. Did he really believe ignoring Jamie would be so easy? Did he truly think he could rein in his libido when every word she uttered, every smile she favored him with, made his heart gallop in his chest and his body come to life?
He must be strong. If he had to hide behind cool indifference, even anger, then he would. After all, it was for her sake—and his sanity.
He had no choice.
“Ben?”
At the soft sound of her voice, Ben’s head snapped up. He could make out Jamie’s small figure in the doorway. She was dressed in a short nightshirt that barely covered her thighs, her arms crossed over her breasts. His body again reacted to her presence even though she stood several feet away.
