* * *
‘Would you like to swim?’
The question took Aziza by surprise. All the way through the long, steady ride to the oasis, Nabil had been silent and distant, absorbed in some thoughts that he didn’t let her into. She might as well not have been there at his side, the sleek elegance of her mare dwarfed by the size of his huge stallion. Although he rode easily, with a loose rein, it was always as if he was holding the powerful horse in check—or perhaps, looking at his face, it was himself that Nabil was holding in check.
So the last thing she was expecting was the casual suggestion that he tossed her way once she had slid down from the saddle, with a nod of his dark head towards the inviting coolness of the water beneath the palm trees.
‘I’d love to—but I didn’t bring any swimming costume.’
‘That didn’t worry you the last time.’ A gleam of amusement lit in his eyes.
‘There wasn’t a party of bodyguards around then. Can’t we send them back?’
‘I wish.’ It sounded almost as heartfelt as her own thoughts. ‘But I can help you with one thing.’
Reaching into the saddle pack, he pulled out a jade coloured one-piece and tossed it her way.
‘And if you have any other concerns about a place to change...’
He folded his large hand around hers and led her away from his men, rounding a huge rock to where a large, black woven tent stood at the water’s edge.
It was more than a place to change, Aziza realised once Nabil led her inside. A beautifully woven carpet, glowing in rich jewel colours, covered the desert floor. Low divans piled with embroidered cushions and blankets stood at right angles to each other, each of them large enough to form a double bed.
‘What are you planning?’ She turned an enquiring face to Nabil.
‘Not planning.’ His smile flashed wider. ‘It’s all arranged.’
‘We’re staying here tonight?’
‘Sleeping under the stars...’ He gestured towards the roof of the tent where thousands of tiny stars were embroidered into the decorative hangings. ‘And the bodyguards have orders to keep their distance.’
‘It will be just the two of us,’ Aziza breathed, her smile widening naturally as she thought of the hours spent away from the rules and protocol of the court. As Nabil had said, just a man and a woman.
That phrase caught and stayed in her thoughts as the afternoon passed in a haze of delight. She swam in the cool, clear water of the oasis and drowsed in the warmth of the evening, sitting beside a fire to share a meal that had been brought along in the baskets slung over a packhorse’s back. The firelight played over the carved planes of Nabil’s face, casting shadows and light and turning those brooding, dark eyes into deep black pools.
Now Nabil took her hand again and led her towards the dark, warm privacy of the embroidered tent.
Just the two of us. Man and wife.
* * *
It was late when they finally fell into a sleep of exhaustion, tumbling into a deep, dark pit of unconsciousness which closed around Aziza, until something raw and distant, a violent, restless movement, pulled her unwillingly up towards the surface.
‘No... No!’
It was Nabil’s voice, rough and thick, his head thrashing from side to side on the pillows.
Instantly Aziza was awake, pushing herself up into a sitting position as she saw his restlessness, the way his hands flailed, as if pushing something away.
‘Nabil?’
Tentatively she reached out to put a gentle hand on his arm. But it seemed that her touch only disturbed him more, making him mutter in his sleep.
‘Sharmila—no.’
And that name had her freezing. Even her heart seemed to thud to a halt, her breath catching in her lungs.
Around the edge of the tent flap, she could see a thin edge of light where the dawn was breaking. For the first, the only, time, Nabil had stayed with her; he had shared her bed all night. But as a result of that she was forced to face the fact that, while in her bed, he had been dreaming of his first wife—his first—his only—love.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘I LOST MY heart once. All it taught me was to use my head very carefully from then on.’
Nabil’s words came back to haunt her, making tears burn at the back of her eyes so that she had to blink hard and fast.
She had known this all the time, hadn’t she? Told herself she could accept it. So why would it trouble her so much more now?