Leanna lifted her face to his. In the darkness, his torso naked, he looked like the fierce, proud soldier that he was.
“How can I be afraid of anything,” she said softly, “when I’m in your arms?”
Her words were like a knife to his heart. He’d made her a vow that was less a promise than a prayer. Lots could go wrong and if they did, he had only one way of saving her from the sultan.
He didn’t want to think about that.
What he wanted was to carry her back to the bed, make love to her until she forgot everything but him. Because what he felt for her was—it was—
“Cam? I want to—to thank you for what you did before.” She blushed. “In the bath. It was—it was very generous.”
Generous? She made it sound like a charity contribution.
“It was gallant.”
The last thing he felt was gallant. His body was on fire.
“That’s why I’ve decided to sleep on the sofa.”
He blinked. “You what?”
“The sofa in the sitting room. I’m going to sleep on—”
“You are not.”
“Of course I am. I know why you left the bed. I’m not a fool.”
“I left it because I woke up and wanted a drink of water.”
“You left because of me. That’s the reason I’m going to sleep on—”
“What are you talking about?” First she talked about wanting him, then she called him gallant. Now she was hinting that he lacked self-control. It wasn’t true. He had loads of self-control, damn it. Buckets of it. “You’re sleeping in that bed, with me.”
“I am not. You need your rest.”
“I’ll decide what I need. And watch how you speak to me, Salome. I’m only going to take just so much before I lose my patience.”
“Good night, Cameron.”
Each time she called him that, his temperature went up another five degrees.
“My name,” he said testily, “is Cam.”
“Sleep well.”
“Salome. Salome, don’t you dare turn your back and walk away.”
He watched, openmouthed, as she marched away from him, the robe swinging loose on her shoulders, her posture that of a queen who’d just dismissed one of her subjects. What in hell had just happened? One minute, she was in his arms, sweet and sexy as a man could want; the next, she was all but patting him on the head and telling him to be sure and take his vitamins.
“Damn it,” he shouted, “you think you’re the only one having trouble with this?”
“I’m not having trouble with anything. You did that generous thing for me when we were in the tub, and—”
Taut with anger, he went after her, clamped a hand on her shoulder and spun her toward him.
“Do not walk away from me, woman!”
“Please. Calm down, Cameron.”