A repetitive thud awakened Gabrielle.She sat up suddenly, wondering where she was in the semi-darkness. But a hand on her back restricted her movement. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked around.
Zavian’s arm lay over her protectively. He opened his eyes and smiled at her with a warmth which made her stomach flutter. He pulled her to him until she rolled on top of him, and she could feel he was fully awake.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, pushing away her hair.
They were interrupted by another pummeling at the door.
She raised her eyebrows. “Not me. You. I doubt it’s me they want.” Shouts followed another bout of pummeling. “It’s you. And unless you go now”—she glanced down at his arousal—“we’ll be delaying them quite some time.”
He kissed her, sighed and rolled on top of her, hesitated a moment, and then leaped up. He pulled on his trousers, pushed his fingers through his hair, and went out to the corridor and opened the door.
Gabrielle pulled on a robe and retreated to a corner where she couldn’t be seen, listening while his men talked to him in an undertone.
By the time Zavian returned, Gabrielle had dressed and done the best she could with her hair. She grimaced at herself in the mirror. A bath would have to wait until she could leave the cave and use the tent’s luxurious facilities.
Zavian returned and closed the door behind him. “We must return to the city.”
“What’s happened?” asked Gabrielle with a frown.
“Something has come up which I need to attend to urgently.”
She couldn’t prevent a sly smile. “So your plans are thwarted. It’s not just going to be you and me, out in the desert.”
But he didn’t smile back. “My plans have changed, Gabrielle. You, me, last night… it has changed everything.”
She pressed her lips together. She’d believed him when he said they would take what they desired and be able to leave. Not for her, but she’d believed that he would indeed have sated his desire for her.
“It changes nothing, Zavian. Everything is exactly as it was twenty-four hours earlier. Nothing has changed,” she repeated, her voice low and urgent.
He smoothed his hands over her shoulders, and held her firmly, as if to drive the seriousness of his message through his fingertips into her body. “I thought that by making love to you, I would rid myself of my obsession. But it’s proved the opposite. I want you, Gabrielle. Not just for now, not just for tonight but for tomorrow and always.”
“It cannot be.”
“It has to be. I will show you that this world is yours, as well as mine.”
All she could do was shake her head. He might believe it, but she could not.
Chapter 7
The return trip was made in silence. It was like a wall had slammed between them. Zavian drove, his eyes fixed on the road in front, his mind miles away. Gabrielle felt his distance all the more acutely after such intimacy.
It was only when they stopped upon entering the palace compound and he switched the engine off, that they both turned to see the helicopter readying itself for takeoff.
She looked back at him. “You’re going somewhere?” She shook her head, bewildered. “What’s happened?”
“Naseer wishes to discuss something of urgency, but after that I’ll be leaving. I won’t be gone long.”
“But—” She stopped herself. He was king and could come and go as he wished. He’d had a night of sex with her and now couldn’t wait to leave her, even after what he’d said about wanting her for always.
“But nothing. I will explain later after I return.” As he glanced out at the waiting helicopter, the palms moving madly under the breeze from the blades, his face was grim.
“Right.” She stepped out the car and into the fierce sun, the heat magnified as it bounced off the buildings. “Right,” she muttered, this time to herself, as she watched Naseer exchange a few brief, urgent words with Zavian, before Naseer shot her a dark look and returned inside.
King Zavian bin Ameen Al Rasheed—for that was what he’d instantly become from the moment he’d left their bedroom—stepped inside the helicopter, and it took off into the brilliant blue sky. What the hell was going on?
“So,”said Sheikh Amir al-Rahman, King of Janub Havilah, his hands clasped in front of him, his face grim. “Our countries have twice had to be on alert to repel the invaders from Jazira. The second time there was a fatality. Luckily it was theirs, but unless we get this pact with Tawazun signed and sealed, we can look forward to more of the same. And this time, our people may not escape so lightly.”
King Roshan of Sharq Havilah entered the room, took a swig of his coffee, and slid into his seat. “Apologies,” he said. “I was delayed.”