‘You weren’t kidding,’ Khaled said, suddenly appearing at her side, his hand low on her back, the other stroking the neck of the camel. ‘You really don’t mind camels. Many people are not so keen, even afraid.’
‘Camels get bad press,’ she said, trying to ignore the pressure of his hand. He was barely touching her yet all her senses seemed to focus on that one point of contact, the warmth that built deep inside, pooling into longing. It was a struggle to pull herself back to the topic.
‘But I’ve learned,’ she continued, licking lips already losing moisture to the arid conditions, yet more so, as if edged with the heat emanating from him, the heat flowing from his gentle touch, ‘that once you get to know them a little, it’s clear their reputation has been unfairly earned.’
‘Indeed? And do you think that observation might have its parallel with the human species? Do you similarly find that there are those people whose reputation has been unfairly attributed?’
He had to be kidding. She paused momentarily, considering him carefully and wondering if he was ever going to remove his hand. ‘Your actions to date go far beyond mere reputation, Sheikh Khaled.’
‘And does that then render me beyond redemption in your estimation?’
‘When compared to camels, you mean?’ She allowed herself a smile at his arrogance and shifted sideways out of his reach. ‘Let’s just say you’re starting off from a much lower base.’
He threw his head back and laughed, the sound rich and mellow. She liked the sound of it when he laughed; she liked the effect it had on his features and the warmth it stirred inside her. Something let go in the muscles of his face and the harshness softened, the angles smoothed. She liked him like this, when he seemed less autocratic, more human.
A feeling akin to regret spiked her consciousness. If only things were different…
The camel bawled into her ear, spiking her out of her thoughts. What the hell was she thinking? Things weren’t different. This guy had all but dragged her off to his desert kingdom with the intention of making her his wife. She was glad things weren’t different. Now there was no way she could possibly like him.
So what that she’d had to accompany him out here? After tomorrow it wouldn’t bean issue. She’d be gone. Long gone. He wouldn’t see her for sand.
She felt his gaze settle upon her, hot and expectant, and she deliberately avoided it, focusing instead on the camels. She needed a distraction. She needed to think about something safe. Camels were just the ticket.
They were dromedaries, or one-humped, the same kind she was used to riding with her sisters on their childhood jaunts to the beach, but these wore different saddles. Instead of the double seat she remembered sharing with her sisters, this saddle was arranged over the hump, higher off the ground and more daunting. Not that she was about to admit that to Khaled.
‘Which one is mine?’ she asked, looking forward to the separation their mounts would bring. She could do with some distance from Khaled right now.
‘This camel seems to like you. I think we will take this one.’
We will take this one? Impossible. That
was so obviously a saddle built for one. If she had to share it with him, she’d be sitting literally in his lap, brushing against him, feeling his body rock against hers every step of the way. She swallowed.
‘You mean, this one is for me.’
His lips curved in to agrin. ‘We’re one camel short. You’ll have to share with me.’
‘Can’t you get another one?’
He looked up at the sky. ‘Too late. The track is steep. We must leave now if we are to make the meeting place by nightfall.’
‘But we won’t both fit. There’s nowhere for me to sit. It’s not fair to the camel.’
‘The camel can handle the slight addition of your weight. As to the rest, let me take care of that.’
Suddenly she wished she’d stayed back at the palace. Even the sullen moods of Saleem were less threatening than the prospect of spending time within Khaled’s grasp.
‘Can’t I stay here? Wait for you to get back?’
‘And miss the experience of a lifetime? A meeting with one of the few remaining Bedouin tribes—you would never forgive yourself for that, surely.’
Was he being obtuse or was he just teasing her? It wasn’t missing the experience she was worried about. Couldn’t he see that? Or did he see it too well?
She sucked in a breath, firing up her resolve. He hadn’t got the better of her yet and she wasn’t about to let him now. It would take more than a simple camel ride to make her change her view of Sheikh Khaled.
‘Okay,’ she said with a sense of bravado that surprised even herself. ‘Let’s do it.’
As it turned out, a few minutes later when they were ready to disembark, there was nothing simple about it. From the moment she’d been hauled into Khaled’s arms she knew she was in for a rocky ride.