by Various
Suffering from an explosive blast of sexual arousal, Zafiq took a deep breath and acknowledged that his plan to cover her up had failed spectacularly.
She looked like a temptress straight from a Greek myth.
Frustrated by his own response, he raked his brain for an alternative solution to concealing her. ‘You will stay in the tent today,’ he commanded, and she raised her eyebrows, a hint of humour in her gorgeous blue eyes.
‘Am I supposed to say, “Yes, Your Highness”?’
‘“Yes, Your Highness” would be fine.’
Her smile was apologetic. ‘Trouble is, I’ve never been much good at doing what people want me to do. I was brought up to challenge and question. I have a tendency to do the opposite of what I’m asked.’
Zafiq’s gaze didn’t shift. ‘In that case, I order you to stay out of the tent and to walk around half naked until we leave this place.’
She collapsed into a fit of giggles, her laughter so infectious that he felt the corners of his mouth twitch.
‘You see?’ She was still grinning, a tiny dimple flickering at the corner of her full mouth. ‘You do have a sense of humour. You’re smiling.’
Was he? Zafiq vaulted from the horse, removed the animal’s bridle and urged him towards the oasis to drink, reminding himself that there was nothing amusing about this situation. But he had to admit that there was something incredibly refreshing about being with someone who didn’t automatically say what they thought he wanted to hear. ‘How is your headache?’
‘Gone, thanks. Did you get any sleep on the floor? Must have been pretty uncomfortable.’
‘I slept,’ he lied, unwilling to admit even to himself that this woman would cause him a moment of unbroken sleep. ‘Are you ready for breakfast?’
‘Definitely. I’m starving. Then I think I might go for a swim—naked, of course—and then a long ride in the desert—’
‘You are being intentionally provoking—’
‘No, I’m being me. And you don’t like me, so why don’t you just take me to the city? Then you can have a few days’ peace and quiet. I’m nothing but trouble.’
‘The ability to handle trouble is the true test of a man’s character,’ Zafiq purred, and watched with satisfaction as a flicker of surprise touched her beautiful face. ‘And I love being tested.’
He had no intention of revealing that he’d never been tested like this before.
Never before had he felt such a powerful urge to forget who he was and just lose himself with a beautiful woman.
Irritated by his own thoughts, Zafiq scanned her slender frame. ‘You don’t look like a woman who eats breakfast.’
‘I burn off a lot of calories.’ She sounded defensive, as if he wasn’t the first person to say that to her. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me, OK? I don’t have an eating disorder and I’m not on any stupid diet—’
‘Is that what people say about you?’
‘No.’ Her denial was a little too fast. ‘Anyway, I don’t care what people say. I’m slender because I’m a very physical person.’
Zafiq closed his eyes briefly, trying to dispel the image her words created. Everything about her was bold, physical and athletic, from the long limbs clearly displayed under the remodelled robe to the strength in her slender arms. She was vibrant, energetic and alive.
‘I’m hot after my ride. I’m going to bathe.’ His jaw clenched, Zafiq strode towards the tent and then paused and delivered a warning glare. ‘And I don’t want an audience.’
‘OK, Your Highness.’ The dimple was back. ‘I promise not to peep.’
Growling deep in his throat, Zafiq took refuge in the tent.
She was slowly driving him mad.
Reviewing the success of her plan with delight, Bella sat in the shade of a large date palm, fanning herself with a giant leaf. At this rate she’d be back in the city by lunchtime.
Lying there in the oppressive heat, she realised that the knot of tension in her stomach had eased and that she actually felt rested for the first time in two weeks. Last night she’d slept. No bad dreams.
Brushing an insect off her arm, Bella wondered why. She was still in the desert. She still had all the problems that had been with her when she’d arrived two weeks earlier. What had changed?
Hearing a splash, she stopped fanning herself and watched as the Sheikh powered through the water with rhythmic strokes, the muscles across his shoulders rippling as he swam.
He was fit, she thought dreamily, in more ways than one.
And he was going to go mad when he saw her sitting here.
Whether he’d be angry enough to banish her somewhere civilised remained to be seen.
How long would it take her to get her own way? Hopefully after a morning in her company, he’d be calling the cavalry and expelling her to civilisation.
In the meantime, she was going to enjoy herself. How often did she get the chance to admire a physique like his?
He was, without doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever encountered.
Bella rested her chin on her hands, her eyes following every movement of his bronzed, hard body as he put himself through a punishing physical workout. He was the polar opposite of the pale, artistic society types she mixed with. Not just in looks, but in personality and behaviour.
And then there was the fact that he was so serious.
Bella gave a little frown.
Not her type.
So why was she sitting here watching him?
What she should really be doing was making the best of herself, but it was hard to make the best of yourself without a mirror.
She stared at his discarded robe and suddenly she had an idea.
Glancing across the water to check he still had his back to her, she leant across and picked up the robe, retrieving the knife gingerly.
The deadly blade glinted in the harsh overhead sun and Bella smiled as she tilted it to find the right angle.
‘What are you doing there?’
Caught out, Bella glanced up guiltily and saw the anger flash across his face. Ignoring her thundering pulse rate, she smiled sweetly, raising her voice so that he could hear. ‘Er, fiddling with your dagger and watching you?’
Instead of replying he swam back towards her, each stroke a study in controlled, masculine power.
Remembering that kiss, her heart started to thud and she felt an almost ridiculous urge to make a run for it. But her limbs wouldn’t move so she stayed as she was, sitting in the dust, her eyes on the man, the dagger clutched in her hand.
He emerged from the pool like some glorious vision of athletic perfection, water pouring off his muscular frame, his abdomen flat and strong, his chest and legs shaded by dark hairs.
Bella tried to say something flippant but discov ered she wasn’t capable of saying anything at all when confronted by such raw masculinity.
Raking his dripping hair away from his face, he stared at her angrily. ‘You were not supposed to be watching me.’
‘There’s nothing else to do. I don’t have a laptop, a cellphone or an iPod.’
‘And without those you cannot occupy yourself? You rely on technology for entertainment?’
‘Yes, I do. It’s how I keep in touch with my friends. I can’t do that, so I thought I’d watch you instead.’
‘I am not your friend.’
‘No, but you’re a living creature, which is a start. And you’re pretty good to look at.’ She knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she was desperate for him to take her back to the city and she was pretty sure that he’d crack eventually.
‘You are intentionally provocative.’ Without waiting for her response, he removed the knife from her hand and hauled her to her feet, his furious dark eyes only centimetres from hers as he yanked her against him. ‘What were you planning to do with the knife?’
‘Calm down, will you?’ Bella bit back a gasp as her thigh brushed against his. ‘I was going to use it as a mirror.’
‘A mirror?’
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‘Yes, the blade is shiny…metal—I’ve been trapped without a mirror for two weeks! I just wanted to know whether the damage can ever be repaired.’
He glanced down at the lethal blade in his hand in astonishment as if its alternative properties had never occurred to him before. ‘A mirror—’
‘Look,’ Bella snapped, ‘the desert may be heaven to you, but to me it’s the opposite, OK? I can’t do any of the things I normally do!’
‘You spend your day looking in the mirror?’
Feeling shallow, Bella shrank slightly. ‘Try being me before you pass judgement,’ she muttered. ‘If I leave the house without make-up, everyone is suddenly asking whether I’m ill, or on drugs, or about to be admitted to a clinic. Whatever I wear is scrutinised—people are mean.’
‘Who is mean?’
Recovering from the shocking fact that she’d actually admitted to someone how much the negative press coverage actually hurt her feelings, Bella backtracked. ‘Friends,’ she said vaguely, ‘and family—’
‘Your friends and family scrutinise everything you wear? They’re mean?’
‘Oh, whatever—’ Realising that she was digging a hole for herself, Bella shrugged. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m just saying it’s second nature for me to look in a mirror and just check I haven’t woken up with a huge spot on my nose.’
‘And what do you do if you have?’
‘I stay indoors.’
‘Your life is truly bizarre.’
Bella frowned. She’d lived that life for so long she no longer even questioned it. Was it bizarre?
He gave an impatient sigh. ‘You need to stop thinking about the way you look and learn humility. And obedience. I told you not to sit there and watch. Don’t challenge me, habibiti, because you will not win.’
‘Oh, dear, am I annoying you?’ She forced the taunt past dry, stiff lips and saw the flare of anger in the depths of his gaze.
‘Yes,’ he gritted, his hand tightening around her wrist, ‘but my response to that will not be to send you away, but to keep you closer. Remember that, before you push me too far, Kate.’
Kate? Who on earth was Kate? Bella opened her mouth to tell him that he ought to at least get her name right and then remembered that she was the one who had introduced herself as Kate.
Out here in the burning sands of the desert, Bella Balfour didn’t exist.
What a confusing mess she’d created, although there was something liberating about being anonymous. It would be even better if she could be anonymous somewhere with decent facilities.
‘Why would you keep me closer if I’m annoying?’
His smile was lethal. ‘Because I intend to teach you how to behave. You need to learn respect.’
‘What are you going to do? Throw me over your knee?’ Bella’s tone was sassy but her heart was thudding. ‘This is the twenty-first century.’
‘You are in the desert. Here, time has stood still. And since you are so determined to watch me in the water, you can join me.’ Without warning, he swept her off her feet and dropped her into the water.
Unprepared, Bella sank under the surface, the water closing over her head. For a moment everything was muted and she kicked frantically, swallowed several mouthfuls before she surfaced, coughing, only to find him in the pool next to her. Sweeping her sodden hair away from her face, she took a gulp of air.
‘Are you trying to drown me?’ She coughed again and thumped her chest with her hand, trying to clear the water from her lungs. ‘Why did you do that?’
‘I thought you needed cooling down.’ A sardonic smile on his face, he swam away from her, leaving Bella staring after him.
Filling her lungs with air, she ducked under the water and followed him across the pool, making sure she was deep enough not to create a ripple on the surface.
Where was he?
She peered through the murky grey-green water, wishing she had swimming goggles, and then saw a pair of strong male legs directly in front of her.
Smiling, Bella silently ducked to the bottom of the pool, intending to grab his foot and unbalance him, but a large hand caught her shoulder and hauled her to the surface.
‘You can swim.’
‘Were you hoping I’d drown?’ Grumpy that he’d seen her, Bella fought to catch her breath. ‘How did you know I was there?’
‘Because your behaviour is extremely predictable. It’s designed to cause maximum irritation.’
‘You think I’m predictable?’
‘Kate, you do whatever you can to be as annoying as possible. Are you afraid of wildlife? Because there is plenty in this pool.’
‘Is that what women do around you? Squeal and come over all girly? I hate to remove the opportunity for you to play macho man, but I can lift spiders from the bath without help.’ Bella twisted her hair into a rope, wringing out the water. ‘If you want a screaming maiden, you’re looking at the wrong woman. I tell you what—I’ll race you across the pool. If I win, you take me back to the city.’
His eyes darkened. ‘I will not race a woman.’
‘Why? Because you might lose? Don’t worry, Your Highness. I promise not to tell anyone when I beat you.’
He stared at her in incredulous silence and then he shook his head and started to laugh. Transfixed by the change in him, Bella’s own smile faded.
Moody, he was incredibly handsome but when he smiled…Oh, no, no, no—
Her limbs felt weak and suddenly she was thinking about that kiss.
About his wickedly clever mouth…
This is not good, Bella thought uneasily, trying to ignore the heat spreading through her body. Finding a total chauvinist so shockingly attractive was incredibly embarrassing. Not something you’d ever admit in public. Still, at least no one she knew was around to see her temporary lapse in taste and judgement.
Watching her, he lifted an eyebrow. ‘Now what? No smart remark?’
Arrogance just wasn’t attractive, Bella told herself firmly. ‘I’m just psyching myself up to beat you. I hope you’re a good loser.’
‘I wouldn’t know.’ A sardonic smile touched his beautiful mouth. ‘I’ve never lost.’
Bella gritted her teeth. ‘Everyone lets you win because you’re the Sheikh—obviously.’
‘You think so?’
‘If you’re not afraid to be beaten, then you’d let me race you.’
‘What would be the point? You cannot possibly win such a race, habibiti.’
Bella put her hands on her hips, her irritation increasing by the minute. ‘Watch me! Watch me as I disappear into the distance, Your Highness. You can’t possibly swim that fast because you’re hauling the weight of your ego—’
He was still laughing, as if the mere thought of being beaten had genuinely entertained him. ‘You are the most aggravating female I’ve ever met. And you really do need to learn to show respect.’
‘Respect should be earned.’
‘I agree. So when I win, this ends.’ His smile faded and his tone was suddenly hard. ‘You will stop annoying me on purpose in the hope that I will return you to the city. I am prepared to give you a start.’
As infuriated by his patronising tone as she was by his arrogance, Bella faced him. ‘I don’t need any favours.’ Holding his gaze, she undid the belt she’d made for herself. Reluctant to spend another hour plaiting date-palm leaves, she flung it out of the water and watched as it landed with a splat in the sandy dust by the side of the pool. Then she grabbed the hem of her robe and stripped it over her head.
Get a load of that, handsome, she thought smugly and had the satisfaction of hearing the breath hiss through his teeth.
Without looking at him she bunched the robe into a ball and threw it nonchalantly after the belt. Standing only in her wet bra and pants, she turned and gave him a sunny smile.
‘I was wearing more clothes than you. That gave you an unfair advantage,’ she said airily, but her heart thudded as she saw the blaze of disapproval in his eyes and a tiny
part of her wondered just what he’d do if she did push him too far. ‘That’s all the start I need. Ready, steady, go!’ Without waiting for his response, Bella plunged forward into the water, lithe as an otter, driving forward in a stylish front crawl that was the result of endless races with her siblings in the lake at Balfour Manor.
At school she’d been unbeaten in the swimming races and she was confident that, over a short distance, she’d be the winner. She was fast, light and strong and she had the additional advantage that he clearly underestimated women. So confident was she of success that when she turned her head to breathe and saw him passing her, she felt a flash of shock. Shock was immediately eclipsed by a burning determination to win and Bella put her all into the last few strokes, her heart pounding and her lungs bursting with the effort.
He beat her by a full length and he wasn’t even breathing hard.
Hauling air into her struggling lungs, Bella saw his amused smile and silently plotted all sorts of retribution.
‘I offered you a start,’ he said mildly, reaching forward and removing some weed from her hair. ‘You should have taken it.’
Bella felt her vision darken and in the distance she heard him mutter something in a language she didn’t understand. Then he was scooping her up in his arms and placing her gently by the side of the pool.
‘Why did you push yourself so hard?’ His tone rough, he sprang from the pool, water streaming from his body, his hair slick to his head. ‘You are recovering from heatstroke. You should be taking it easy in the shade. You are the most aggravating, infuriating woman I’ve ever met.’
‘And I love you too.’ But Bella kept her head down for a moment, deeply humiliated that she was showing weakness yet again. Macho man was going to love this. ‘If you’re going to gloat, please go and do it from a distance. I just need a minute.’
‘What you need is a lesson in humility.’ He paused, his expression thoughtful as he studied her face. ‘You’re a surprisingly good swimmer.’
The dizziness cleared slightly. ‘I’m a good swimmer for a woman, isn’t that what you’re saying? Savour your victory while you can—I’ll beat you next time.’
