Читать книгу Royal Affairs: Desert Princes & Defiant Virgins: The Sheikh's Virgin Princess / The Sheikh and the Virgin Secretary / Desert Prince, Defiant Virgin - Ким Лоренс, Sarah Morgan - Страница 14

THEY arrived at the oasis as dusk was falling.

Alexa watched as Karim avoided the busy tourist hub and drove the vehicle to an elaborately tented area slightly set apart. ‘They call this the Royal Suite. It has been set aside for our use. It’s more private than the other accommodation.’

‘I wish we didn’t have to stop.’

‘Even I cannot drive for days without rest,’ he said dryly. ‘You need to relax and leave the worrying to me.’

‘But you’re not worrying.’

‘A worry is merely a problem which hasn’t been solved.’ He undid her seat belt, and there was a sardonic gleam in his eyes. ‘If I see a problem, I solve it.’

Her heart banged against her chest. ‘What if you don’t see the problem before it hits you?’

‘Then the reaction must be all the quicker.’ Leaning her head back against the seat of the car, she closed her eyes. Despite the sleep she’d managed to snatch, she felt mentally and physically exhausted, the strain of the past few weeks building to a crescendo. ‘I’m so tired.’

‘Hopefully you will sleep better tonight.’

‘Yes.’ Alexa turned to look at him. ‘Thank you. I know I said I didn’t want a bodyguard, but I never would have managed this journey without you. I can see that now.’ She sensed his immediate withdrawal.

‘You are my responsibility.’

In other words he was just doing the job he was being paid to do, and he didn’t want her to forget that. Unreasonably disappointed by his reaction, she climbed down from the vehicle and followed him into the tent.

‘Well, I envy your stamina. I don’t think I have the energy to eat. I’ll just go straight to bed, and—’ She broke off with a gasp of shock as she walked into the tent and saw the bed. ‘Oh my goodness! It’s like something out of an Arabian fantasy.’

‘Indeed.’ Karim opened a bottle of water and handed her a drink. ‘The tourists like it. It is the honeymoon suite, I believe.’

Alexa stared at the huge bed draped in jewel-coloured silk and velvet cushions, and felt the colour heat her cheeks. Arabian antiques and elaborate rugs gave the tent a warm, intimate feel. It was clearly a place for lovers. ‘Won’t we be conspicuous staying here?’

‘No one will be looking for you in the honeymoon suite. You’re not married yet.’

The yet hung between them, and she gazed at him for a moment, noting the sudden tension in his broad shoulders.

It was ridiculous, she thought frantically, to be so sexually aware of a man when she was about to marry another. She had to stop thinking about Karim in that way. Just because he’d been kind, didn’t mean that he was thinking …

‘We should eat.’ His voice sounded unnaturally harsh, and the fact that he turned away from her made her wonder if he’d somehow sensed the way she was feeling.

Was he shocked? Embarrassed? Probably, because she certainly was.

‘I’m not really hungry.’

‘Sit down, Alexa.’ He sounded tired, and he rubbed the tips of his bronzed fingers over his forehead as if to relieve the tension. ‘You must eat. We have almost two days of travel ahead of us, and you ate virtually nothing today.’

‘All right. Just something small.’

She wasn’t aware that he’d communicated with anyone, and yet moments later several staff entered the tent, bearing a selection of dishes which they placed on the rug. Once they were alone again, Alexa knelt down. ‘So this place is actually a hotel?’

‘Zangrar is proving a surprisingly popular tourist destination.’ Karim picked up a dish and transferred several delicacies to her plate. ‘These desert encampments appeal to the romantic nature of tourists. They have a chance to swim, go dune driving, ride a camel and spend a night in the desert under the stars.’

‘Tourism was the Sultan’s idea?’

‘He has driven much of the commercial development, yes. It is important to look forward to the time when our natural resources run out.’

‘It’s wonderful that he cares so much about the future of Zangrar.’ Alexa stared at the food on her plate without touching it. ‘My father was the same. He was passionate about Rovina—’ She stopped suddenly, horrified with herself. Why was she talking about her father?

‘His death must have been a great loss to the country.’

‘I miss him every day.’ Her hand shook, and Karim reached out and gently removed the plate that she was holding.

‘Much of the security of childhood comes from parental love. You were deprived of that.’ His astute observation surprised her.

‘Yes, it was hard.’

‘At least you had your uncle to care for you.’

Alexa felt herself hovering on the brink of unfamiliar territory. This was the point where she should tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him the truth. But trusting anyone was so alien that she just couldn’t persuade her mouth to form the words. She just couldn’t take that final plunge. So she stayed silent, and was just about to change the subject altogether when she heard the sound of a vehicle outside.

She turned her head swiftly towards the doorway of the tent. ‘Did you hear something?’

‘A car. Probably late arrivals.’

But her sense of danger was so finely tuned that she just knew, and she stood up so quickly that she tipped several of the dishes onto the floor. ‘They’ve found us.’

Karim’s eyes narrowed, but he rose to his feet. ‘They will simply be tourists. Wait here. I will investigate.’

‘No!’ Forcing herself to think clearly, she grabbed his arm. ‘Don’t do that. Is there another exit? We need to get out of here before they find us.’

‘Calm down.’ Clearly believing that her reaction was wildly exaggerated, he gently removed his arm from her grip and strolled out of the tent.

Alexa didn’t waste a moment in contemplation.

Her hands and knees shaking, she stuffed her hair under a hat and grabbed her knife. Hoping that the Sultan would agree to pay for the damage, she cut a hole in the back of the opulent tent and slipped out into the night.

She wasn’t waiting to see who the visitors were. She already knew.

And she ran. As quickly as she could in unfamiliar terrain she ran, past a swimming pool, between the sloping palm-trees and out towards the desert. She didn’t know where she was going, but she hoped she’d be able to find somewhere to hide. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry and she stumbled twice as she ran in the darkness.

There were shouts from beyond the tents and then an explosion of gunfire behind her, and Alexa froze. She’d left Karim to handle them alone.

She looked over her shoulder, torn by indecision. He hadn’t believed her and that wasn’t all his fault. She hadn’t told him everything, had she? And now, because of her, he was in danger.

Cursing herself for not forcing him to leave with her, she turned back towards the tents, but then she heard the roar of a car engine and headlights came towards her.

Her heart pounded and a feeling of helpless despair swamped her.

They’d found her. And out here, trapped in unfamiliar terrain, she could do little to defend herself.

It was all over.

Unable to run, she stood staring at those headlights—stood waiting to die.

‘Alexa! Move!’ Karim’s harsh tone penetrated her haze of fear, but she was shaking so much she couldn’t do anything. He opened the door, jumped down from the vehicle and swung her bodily into his arms. ‘Now is not the time to stand still.’ Behaving as if she weighed nothing, he virtually threw her into the passenger seat, and was back behind the wheel and stamping hard on the accelerator before she’d even had time to catch her breath.

‘Do your seat belt up,’ he bit out sharply. ‘In the dark I can’t be sure I’ll avoid the holes in the ground.’

Her hands shaking, she did as she instructed and then gasped as she saw the stain spreading on his sleeve. ‘You’re hurt.’

‘It’s just a scratch.’

‘It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have let you come with me—’

‘Are they behind us?’

Alexa glanced over her shoulder and saw lights. ‘Yes. They’re following.’

‘Then we go where they won’t be able to follow.’ His tone grim, Karim spun the wheel and took the vehicle off-road.

Realising his intention, she clutched at her seat and looked at him in disbelief. ‘You’re planning to go dune driving in the dark?’

‘It will make it harder for them to follow. There is an old Bedouin camel-trail not far from here. If we can make it to there, then we will be safe.’ He took the vehicle up the side of the dune in much the same way as he had done that morning, only this time there was no laughter, and she was horribly aware of the stain darkening the fabric of his shirt.

‘I need to stop the bleeding. Does this car have a first-aid kit?’

‘Under the seat. Leave it. They’re still behind us.’ As they reached the top of the dune, he glanced in the mirror and gave a faint smile of triumph. ‘But not any more. They didn’t tackle it at the right angle and they have rolled to the bottom. Let’s move.’

‘Your arm—’

‘Hold on.’ He took the vehicle down the other side, driving with more care than he had during daylight hours. ‘Tell me who they are. Who are those people?’

‘I don’t know. Someone working for my uncle. It’s always someone different. To be on the safe side, I just suspect everyone.’

Karim muttered something in his own language, and then switched back to English. ‘Are you telling me that he employs different people to kill you?’

‘I did tell you that my life was under threat, but you didn’t believe me.’

‘Reasons might have helped.’

‘Never mind that now. Oh, God, there’s blood everywhere.’ She dug around under the seat, found the first-aid kit and flipped it open. ‘You’re going to have to stop so that I can look at your arm, Karim.’

He ignored her. ‘Talk to me, Alexa! Why would your uncle want you dead?’

‘It’s complicated, and you need to concentrate on driving.’

Rummaging through the first-aid kit, she pulled out a bandage. ‘Is the bullet in the wound?’

‘No. I’ve already told you, it’s just a scratch. Answer my question. What are we dealing with here?’

‘Cain and Abel,’ she muttered, and he glanced at her sharply.

‘Jealousy between brothers? That is what this is about?’

Alexa ripped the packaging from the bandage. ‘His brother—my father—is dead. I’m the last remaining obstacle between him and the throne of Rovina.’

‘He already rules Rovina.’

‘As Regent. He wants to rule in his own right. He’s always wanted that. If I reach my twenty-fifth birthday, then I take over as ruler. He isn’t going to let that happen.’ She steadied herself as the vehicle plunged and bounced on the uneven ground. ‘You need to stop so that I can see what I’m doing.’

‘We’re not stopping until I decide that it’s safe.’

‘Then I’ll just have to bandage it over your clothes. I’m sorry you were hurt because of me.’

He glanced towards her, his eyes gleaming dark and dangerous in the dim light of the car. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you said that you were in danger. When it is safe, we will stop and you will start talking. And this time I’ll be listening hard.’

Her hands shook as she bandaged his arm. ‘We won’t be safe until we reach the Citadel.’

‘We will. The desert is a very unforgiving place for those without knowledge. This is an old Bedouin route. If we drive along here, we will reach the caves and we can rest there.’ Karim reached out a hand, punched a number into a satellite phone and then proceeded to speak rapidly in a language that she didn’t understand. When he finally broke the connection, she looked at him expectantly.

‘What was that about?’

‘I have asked for a security team to pick up those men and question them.’ His expression was grim as he gripped the wheel with his hand and drove hard and fast through the desert. ‘There may be others.’

The caves formed a dark, forbidding labyrinth at the base of the huge sandstone-cliffs. Alexa leaned forward, peering through the darkness. ‘We’re going in there?’

‘Yes.’ Karim parked the vehicle out of sight of the road and winced as he reached for a torch and some blankets. ‘No one will look for us here.’

Alexa felt her stomach lurch at the thought of all that dark, confined space, but said nothing. She knew that they needed to get out of sight, and she was worried about Karim’s arm. ‘Let’s go, then.’

She followed him into the entrance of the caves. ‘Shall we just stop here?’ Her voice echoed and he flashed the torch towards the back of the cave where the rocks narrowed.

‘Through there is a smaller chamber. We’ll spend the night there. It will be warmer.’

And darker and more closed in. Alexa stood for a moment, finding it impossible to make her feet move. Then she remembered that they were in this situation because of her, and forced herself to follow him through the narrow gap, reminding herself that she wasn’t locked in.

There was a way out.

Karim checked that the ground was dry and then dropped the blankets. ‘Sit down.’

‘ You sit down. I need to look at your arm.’ She undid the emergency dressing she’d applied and waited while he pulled off his shirt. Blood oozed from the wound, and she cursed softly and pressed down hard, staunching the flow. ‘It’s bleeding a lot. I’ll clean it and dress it, but I suspect that it could have done with some stitches.’

‘So blood is yet another thing that doesn’t frighten you?’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Can you shine the torch on this so that I can see what I’m doing?’ Removing what she needed from the first-aid kit, Alexa swabbed the wound and took a closer look. ‘You’re right. The bullet just grazed the skin. I’ll clean it, but you probably need some antibiotics.’

‘And how can a princess, who supposedly isn’t interested in anything more than fast cars and high heels, be so adept at first aid?’ He watched as she carefully applied a sterile dressing to his arm and bound it firmly.

‘I’ve spent a lot of time working at the local hospital. William hasn’t invested any money in healthcare since he became Regent. The hospitals are struggling—no money, no staff. Morale is rock bottom. I help out when I can.’

‘You work in the hospital?’

‘As a volunteer.’ Alexa closed the first-aid kit. ‘I’m not trained, or anything. I would have loved to have been a doctor, but there was never any chance of that.’

He studied her for a moment, his expression forbidding. ‘Sit down, Alexandra. It’s time we talked about your uncle.’

Alexa sat down on the rug and tried not to think about the darkness. They weren’t closed in, she reminded herself. ‘I’m really sorry I got you into all this. I knew it was a mistake to take you with me.’

‘I didn’t give you a choice in the matter.’ He sat down next to her. ‘But clearly, I should have listened to you more carefully. I’m listening now, Alexa. Start talking.’ The silence of the cave closed around them like a protective cocoon.

‘I wouldn’t know where to start.’

‘Start with why you’re marrying the Sultan.’ He shone the torch towards her so that he could see her face. ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with the money or the status, does it?’

‘I’m marrying the Sultan because it’s my best chance of staying alive. You keep telling me that he’s going to lock me behind the walls of the Citadel, and that’s what I’m hoping for,’ Alexa said softly. ‘I want to reach my twenty-fifth birthday. I want to rule Rovina. Since my uncle took over, I’ve watched the country slowly crumble. He has diverted money away from the things that matter, like healthcare and education, and instead spends it on things that benefit only him. Like refurbishing the palace, and adding another priceless stallion to his stud farm. My uncle has stripped Rovina bare over the sixteen years since my father died.’

‘So you’re marrying the Sultan to escape?’

‘In the short term, yes. In the longer term …’ She hesitated and then gave a shrug. ‘The Sultan is a powerful man, and I know he’s turned Zangrar around in the past few years. If anyone can help me solve Rovina’s problems, then it’s him. His father and my father were friends. I just hope that’s enough to persuade him to help.’

‘Your uncle intends to prevent you from becoming Queen? This is the reason you believe he has tried to have you killed?’

It felt completely alien to confide in someone, and she sat for a moment, trying to find the words.

‘I know it, Karim.’ It was easier to talk in the semi-darkness. ‘It started off as a campaign to discredit me with the public. He thought that if he made me look bad enough then no one would want me as ruler. My wild image was orchestrated by him. Starting with those awful photographs of me topless.’

‘The photographs were fake?’

‘No.’ Alexa curled her legs under her. ‘They were real. It was the first and last time in my life that I allowed myself to trust another person. Let’s just say that he was an actor, and he was good at his job. I was so lonely, and to have someone pay me attention …’ She gave a short laugh. ‘Not that that is an excuse for being stupid and gullible, I know.’

‘You were manipulated?’

‘My uncle paid him to be caught in a compromising situation with me. They both did very well out of it. The actor’s career took off, and the photographs were published again and again all over the world as an example of how I’d gone off the rails. Anyway, although the public was shocked, they still supported me. Perhaps they were tolerant because I’d lost my whole family. I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t like William. By then they could see that he had no commitment towards Rovina as a country. He just used his position to enhance his own lifestyle. Either way, he obviously decided he had to work a little harder. And that was when I suddenly became so accident prone.’

‘Your car accidents—’

‘On both occasions, someone tampered with the brakes.’

The breath hissed through his teeth. ‘You are sure?’

‘Yes. I was just angry that I let it happen twice. After that, I stopped driving, or I borrowed cars at short notice.’

‘You didn’t try to escape? Drive over the border?’

‘I was watched all the time. I was lucky if I managed to get beyond the palace walls. When I was little he locked me in.’

Karim muttered something under his breath. ‘And that is why you hate locked doors?’

‘Yes. Silly, really. It’s just a psychological thing. I like to know that I can get out if I want to. He only did it when I was little. As I grew older I was a little harder to contain. He wanted me dead, but if he couldn’t have that then he wanted me where he could see me. It became a game of cat and mouse. I’d disguise myself and find different ways of slipping out.’

‘He always caught you?’

‘He has supporters. Greedy people, like him, who are interested in themselves and not Rovina.’

‘The speedboat accident?’

‘Not an accident.’

With a driven sigh, Karim ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘The time you were removed unconscious from a nightclub?’

‘I was drugged. I wasn’t even in the nightclub at the time. They staged the photographs, but by then most people just assumed I’d gone off the rails because of my parents’ death. “The rebel princess” they called me.’ She laughed. ‘I sort of grew into the role. I had to, in order to stay alive.’

‘You had no one to protect you?’

‘You have to remember that most people just thought what you thought—that I was a bit of a wild child. No one really understood what my uncle was capable of.’ Alexa felt a lump in her throat. ‘Every time I allowed myself to trust someone, it proved to be a mistake, so I stopped trusting. It was safer for everyone if I just lived my life alone.’

‘Why did you not tell me any of this before now?’ He sounded angry and she couldn’t blame him for that.

He’d just been shot because of her.

‘I did try telling you my uncle was following us.’

‘But you didn’t give me details, did you?’ Karim stretched out a hand and lifted her chin so that she was forced to look at him. ‘You omitted all the facts that would have given your story credibility.’

‘I wanted to tell you,’ Alexa murmured, ‘and several times I almost did. But you have to understand that in my situation not talking is the only thing that keeps you alive. For the past sixteen years, I haven’t been able to trust anyone. I disciplined myself to stay silent, and I can’t suddenly change that.’

Karim let his hand drop, clearly struggling to absorb the enormity of what she was telling him. ‘If William is willing to go to those lengths to keep the throne for himself, then there must have been times when you’ve wondered whether he could have played a part in your father’s death.’

She stared into the semi-darkness. ‘He had my parents killed.’ Somehow the eerie silence of the cave made her statement all the more dramatic.

Then she heard him draw breath. ‘I can see how it would be easy for you to believe that, given the way he has treated you, but—’

‘I was there.’ She turned her head to look at him and in the dim torchlight his arrogant profile looked hard and forbidding. ‘I saw it happen.’

‘You witnessed the explosion that killed your parents?’

‘It was meant to kill me, too. We’d been staying at our country house for the weekend. Just as we were about to leave I remembered that I’d forgotten my doll.’ Her heart-rate trebled, and suddenly her palms felt sweaty and her mouth was dry. This wasn’t something she talked about. She never talked about it. ‘I went back to the house and the car exploded.’

Another long silence followed her shaky declaration, and suddenly Alexa found herself just longing for him to comfort her, as he had during her nightmare, but he sat still as if her words had somehow rendered him immobile.

Finally he spoke. ‘You are sure your uncle was involved?’

‘Well, I had no way of proving it, of course—but, yes, I’m sure. I saw him immediately after the explosion.’ She gave a shiver. ‘I’ll never forget the look on his face, Karim. He wasn’t sad or even shocked. The only time he looked shocked was when they found me and brought me to him. And even though I was so young I just knew that he’d intended for me to die, too.’

‘You were eight years old.’

‘He wanted my whole family dead. He hated my father. Hated him for everything he had. And I was terrified,’ Alexa confessed. ‘To begin with I tried to talk to people, but they just thought I was hysterical. I’d witnessed my parents’ death, after all. Then someone I confided in just disappeared. Although I was young, I realized that talking to anyone was dangerous.’

‘I can’t believe he intended to harm you. You were a child.’

‘But a dangerous child.’ Alexa’s chin lifted. ‘My father’s child. Rovina is in my blood, and my uncle knew it.’

‘You were impossibly young to find yourself so alone.’ Karim shook his head in disbelief. ‘I’m surprised it didn’t break you.’

Alexa was silent for a moment, remembering how terrified and lonely she’d been. ‘There were days when I was desperate for someone to just hold me and tell me that everything was going to be all right.’

There was a long silence, and the light flickered as Karim put the torch down on the rug. Then he reached out and lifted her, pulling her onto his lap and curving his arms around her. ‘I am holding you, habibati,’ he breathed softly, stroking her hair away from her face and guiding her head onto his shoulder with his hand. ‘And everything is going to be all right, I promise you that. Your uncle will not come near you again. You have my word on it.’

‘I—what if the Sultan doesn’t believe me?’

Karim was silent for a moment. ‘He will believe you, I can assure you of that.’

He seemed so convinced that Alexa felt herself slowly relax, and it felt so good to be held that for a moment she just lay there, enjoying the rare indulgence of letting someone else take control. ‘It feels funny talking about it. I keep waiting for you to stand up and confess that you’re not who you say you are. That you’re actually working for my uncle.’

His arms tightened. ‘I can understand that you have been extremely traumatized by your experience, but I promise you that you can trust me.’

Alexa closed her eyes and snuggled closer and his warm, masculine scent made her stomach quiver. ‘Have you any idea how it feels to have someone on your side after a lifetime of being alone?’ For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt safe. ‘How is your arm?’

‘Barely hurting.’

She smiled in the darkness. ‘You’re lying.’

‘Tell me about your dream, Alexa.’

Her smile faded. ‘I don’t want to talk about that.’

‘Try.’ He smoothed a hand gently over her hair, and shifted slightly so that he held her even closer. ‘For me, habibati.’

‘After they were killed, I suppose I was in shock. I just wanted to wind the clock back. I wished I’d made my parents go back for the doll while I stayed in the car. I wished something had happened to stop us leaving at that exact moment.’ Alexa paused, hollowed out by sadness. ‘That’s the dream I have. Time and time again I race towards the car to warn them, but I’m too late. I’m always too late.’

‘I cannot believe I didn’t discover any of this when I was in Rovina.’

‘You weren’t looking.’

‘Why was no one able to protect you?’

‘My uncle is very, very clever and he had many supporters. And, don’t forget, he didn’t exactly present me in a good light. By the time he’d finished, most people were wondering how a princess who couldn’t even drive her car straight could possibly run a country. I knew I had to get away if I was ever going to survive. I pinned all my hopes on this marriage to the Sultan. It was my only escape route.’

‘And you’re taking it.’

‘Do you blame me?’ She lifted her head and saw Karim’s eyes glitter in the torchlight.

‘No,’ he said harshly. ‘After everything you’ve told me, I do not blame you.’

‘You saved my life tonight.’ Unable to help herself, she reached out a hand and touched his face, feeling the roughness of his jaw beneath her fingers. ‘I just panicked and ran.’

‘You have no reason to thank me.’ Suddenly he seemed tense. ‘It is my job to protect you. And I will protect you, Alexa. You can be sure of that.’

His job. Alexa felt despair and disappointment mingle, and let her hand drop. What had she expected? Comfort wasn’t part of his job description. ‘I don’t know what the Sultan told you when he gave you this mission, but I don’t suppose the brief included getting yourself shot. It was hard for me to trust you, but I’m glad I did. You’re the first person I’ve met who hasn’t betrayed that trust. Thank you.’

‘You are safe, and that is what matters.’

She knew she ought to move. He’d taken her in his arms to give her comfort, nothing more. But she couldn’t bring herself to move away from his warmth and strength. In a minute, she promised herself, her eyes sliding nervously around the shadows of the cave. ‘Do you think they’ll find us?’

‘No. You should get some sleep.’

‘I don’t want to sleep.’

‘Because of the nightmares? I suspect you only have the dream when you are wound up and tense.’

Sensing that he was about to tip her off his lap, she reached up and wound her arms round his neck. ‘Can we stay like this? Just for a minute?’

His muscles were rock hard and rigid beneath her quivering body. ‘Alexa—’

‘Please, Karim?’ She whispered the words against the smooth, warm skin of his neck and felt his throat move.

‘Alexa, we can’t—’

‘I just want you to hug me, that’s all. Do you know how long it is since anyone hugged me? I was eight years old, and I barely remember it.’

He didn’t answer for a moment, and then shifted his body and lay down, taking her with him. ‘I will hold you and you will sleep.’

He made it sound like an order, and she gave a contented smile because only Karim would think of ordering a person to sleep.

But at least he was still holding her.

‘Do you always try and control everything that goes on around you?’

‘Always.’

She felt his muscles flex as he reached for a blanket and covered them both. ‘Sleep, Alexa.’

The darkness suddenly seemed intimate and welcoming, and she wondered why she’d ever been afraid of the caves.

But the moment his arms came round her, and she felt his hard, athletic body brushing intimately against hers, she knew that there was no hope of sleep.

Why did she feel like this?

It was just because she’d confided in him, she told herself, because he’d saved her and listened and offered sympathy. These feelings inside her were there simply because, for the first time in her lonely life, she’d dared to share her problems with another person.

It was just gratitude.

But the slow, dangerous curl of warmth low in her pelvis didn’t feel anything like gratitude, and she shifted slightly to ease the electric buzz in her body.

‘Stop moving.’ Karim sounded equally tense, and she was just about to pull away from him when he gave a low groan, rolled her on her back and brought his mouth down hard on hers, his kiss hungry and urgent. His hand slid into her hair and cupped the back of her head, holding her firmly while his mouth seduced hers with shocking expertise, demanding a response from her.

And she gave freely. It didn’t enter her head to push him away, because why would she want to stop something that felt so completely right?

He kissed in exactly the way she remembered, and her response was as wild and uncontrolled as it had been before. Excitement exploded through her, and she dug her fingers into his hard, strong shoulders, holding on as he drove her wild. She felt helpless and out of control, and when she felt his hand slide over her taut nipple she cried out against his mouth and arched in urgent invitation.

He knew exactly where to touch her—how to touch her—to derive the maximum response from her, and Alexa shifted against the blanket in an attempt to relieve the maddening ache between her legs. And he must have known what he was doing to her, because his hand moved lower still, and she felt the gentle brush of his fingers touching her intimately. And that almost agonizing intimacy jerked her out of her stupor.

She couldn’t do this, could she?

No matter how right it felt, it was still wrong.

Karim couldn’t be part of her future.

‘No.’ Never had it felt so hard to say that word, and her fingers closed over the hard muscle of his arm as if she knew that she was never going to have the will-power to do this by words alone. ‘No. We have to stop. We have to stop now.’ Before she was unable to stop. And she was already so close to that point.

He broke the kiss briefly, but only to look deep into her eyes, and the intensity of that look and the warmth of his breath was as seductive as the touch of his mouth. ‘You want to stop?’

No. No, she didn’t. But she had to. ‘I don’t want this.’

‘That’s a lie.’ Dismissing her rejection with his usual confidence, his mouth claimed hers again and she felt herself descending into a thick, sensual fog that threatened to consume her.

‘No, Karim.’ Denying her own sensuality, she dragged her mouth away from his and this time she turned her head. ‘You have to stop! It’s not right. I’m marrying the Sultan. We shouldn’t be doing this.’

‘You want me.’ His arrogant statement left no room for denial, and she didn’t even bother trying.

‘Yes. But that doesn’t change anything.’ Faced with the most impossible decision, she shifted away from him slightly, wishing that she knew how to calm the reaction of her body. ‘I—This should never have happened. I can’t be with you, Karim. I’m not the sort of woman who can sleep with one man and then marry another. It wouldn’t be right.’

She was still a virgin and that, at least, she could give to the Sultan.

He was silent for a moment, his powerful body tense over hers, his breathing harsh and laboured as he struggled to exercise control. Then he rolled away from her and she caught a glimpse of his face. The expression in his eyes was fierce and his jaw was tense. And then he flicked off the torch and they were plunged into darkness.

Now what?

Alexa started miserably into the inky blackness, not knowing what to do or say. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but knew that she had no right to do that, but it was suddenly vitally important that he knew just how much he meant to her.

‘You’re the first person in sixteen years I’ve been able to trust,’ she said softly, the darkness giving her the courage to say things she never would have been able to say in daylight. ‘I didn’t dare trust anyone else or let them close, because they always had a reason for being with me and that reason was always something to my disadvantage. It’s been so different with you. You insisted on protecting me even though I didn’t want your protection. Even though we’ve only spent a short time together, I feel I really know you. You’re the first friend I’ve ever had. And, if things were different, you would have been my first lover.’

‘Enough, Alexa.’ His voice was raw, or perhaps the darkness simply exaggerated the emotions. ‘Get some rest now.’

The disappointment lay inside her like a heavy weight that couldn’t be shifted.

She sat still for a moment, trying to reason with herself. What had she expected—a declaration of love? No, not that. But something that indicated that her feelings hadn’t been entirely one

sided, because she knew that they hadn’t been. He cared for her; she knew he did. And yet he hadn’t once expressed those feelings.

But was that so surprising?

She was about to become the Sultan’s wife.

Perhaps he believed that the only way he was going to be able to watch her marry another man was if he denied those feelings.

But she wished, even if it was just for this one night, that he’d told her how he felt. It would have made everything easier, somehow, even though it wouldn’t have changed a thing.

She was on her way to marry the Sultan.

But for the first time ever, that marriage felt less like a sanctuary and more like a sacrifice.

Battling with unfulfilled sexual desire, and a serious attack of conscience for the first time in his life, Karim lay still until the sound of her breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep.

Her words troubled him more than he would have thought possible.

What was it she had said—that he was the first person that hadn’t betrayed her trust?

And yet that wasn’t true, was it?

His role as her bodyguard had been secondary to the main purpose of his mission: to persuade her not to marry the Sultan.

But now that he had the facts he could see that Alexa’s character had been grossly misrepresented. And, knowing the truth about her, he had no doubt that she would make the Sultan a perfectly good wife. She was clearly loyal, resourceful and resilient. And she was remarkably well-adjusted, considering the considerable hardship she’d suffered since the death of her family.

Ironically enough, perhaps the only blot on her copybook was her reaction to him