One More Night with Her Desert Prince... Page 4
* * *
It was shortly before dawn by the time Sam left Isra’s house. Jess had already left but she had stayed behind to make sure that there were no unforeseen complications. Thankfully, the baby seemed none the worse for his traumatic arrival and had taken his first feed. Isra seemed much happier as well and was being looked after by her mother and various female relatives. There was no reason for Sam to stay any longer so she smilingly accepted the family’s thanks then made her way through the grounds, following the path that Khalid had taken the night before.
Everywhere looked very different now, the first pearly grey fingers of light lending a dreamlike quality to the scene. The palace’s towers seemed to float in mid-air, shimmering above the hazy outline of the palm trees. When a horseman suddenly came into view, he seemed as insubstantial as everything else. It was only when he drew closer that Sam recognised Khalid beneath the flowing folds of the burnoose and realised it wasn’t her imagination playing tricks after all.
‘Have you only just finished?’ he asked in surprise, tossing back the hood of his cloak as he reined the horse to a halt.
‘Yes.’ Sam stroked the horse’s velvety muzzle, keeping her gaze on the animal rather than allowing it to linger on Khalid. Her heart gave a little jolt as the horse shifted impatiently, bringing Khalid squarely into her line of sight. He looked so different dressed in the flowing robes, a world removed from the urbane and sophisticated man she knew, that it was an effort to respond naturally. ‘I wanted to stay until I was sure Isra and the baby were all right.’
Khalid frowned. ‘I appreciate that but you must be exhausted.’
‘I’m fine. I’m used to late nights...and early mornings,’ she added wryly. ‘Babies seem to prefer to keep unsocial hours.’
He laughed, patting the horse’s neck when it began to paw the ground. ‘It makes me glad that I opted for surgery. At least there is usually some structure to my working day.’
‘It doesn’t bother me,’ Sam told him truthfully. ‘I’ve developed the knack of snatching an hour’s sleep whenever I can.’
‘That must help, but you were already tired after the journey. Are you going to try and get some sleep now?’
‘I doubt I’ll manage it. I’m far too keyed up,’ she admitted, then wished she hadn’t said anything when she saw his eyes narrow. She hurried on, not wanting him to read too much into the comment. ‘It’s being here in a strange place, I expect.’
‘Probably,’ he agreed, but she heard the scepticism in his voice and went hot all over.
Did Khalid think that he was the reason why she felt so on edge? she wondered anxiously. And was he right? Was it less the unfamiliarity of her surroundings that had left her feeling so unsettled and more the fact that she was with him? She sensed it was true and it was hard not to show how disturbing she found the idea. She didn’t want to feel anything for him but it appeared she had no choice.
‘If you aren’t going straight to bed, why don’t you come with me?’
‘Pardon?’ Sam looked up in surprise and he shrugged.
‘If you can’t sleep then come and watch the sun rise over the desert. It’s a sight worth seeing, believe me.’
‘Oh, but I couldn’t possibly...’
‘Why not?’ He stared arrogantly down at her and she could see the challenge in his eyes. ‘What’s to stop you, Sam? Unless you’re afraid, of course?’
‘Afraid? Of you?’ Sam shook her head, refusing to admit that he was right. She was afraid—afraid of being with him, afraid of getting too close to him; afraid of becoming attracted to him all over again.
‘In that case, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t come, is there?’ He bent down and offered her his hand. ‘Come.’
Sam took a deep breath as she placed her hand in his. She knew she was making a mistake but how could she refuse? Did she really want him to know that he still had a hold over her? Of course not.
Placing her foot in the stirrup as he instructed, she let him help her onto the horse. He settled her in front of him, putting his arm around her waist when the horse began to prance. ‘Shh, Omar. There is nothing to fear.’
Drawing her back against him, he wrapped a fold of the burnoose around her, shaking his head when she opened her mouth to protest. ‘It’s still very cold. You’ll be glad of the extra layer once we’re out in the desert.’
Sam bit her lip as he turned the horse around. If she made a fuss then it would appear that she was overreacting and that was the last thing she wanted, for Khalid to suspect that his nearness troubled her. She forced herself to relax as they rode towards the gates. The guard saw them approaching and opened them, then they were outside, the lush green vegetation closing in around them. Khalid kept the horse to a walk as they made their way along the path and then all of a sudden they came to the perimeter of the oasis and before them lay the desert, shimmering like pewter in the pre-dawn light.
‘All right?’ Khalid asked, his voice rumbling softly in her ear.
Sam nodded mutely. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t seem to find her voice even. Between the raw beauty of the desert landscape and Khalid’s nearness, she was awash with sensations and could barely deal with them. When he urged the horse into a canter, she clung to the pommel of the saddle. The wind rushed past, ruffling her hair and bringing with it the strangely elusive scent of the desert, yet all she could smell was Khalid’s skin, a scent she would have recognised anywhere.
Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the moment, uncaring if she was making a mistake. Maybe it was madness but being with him was what she wanted.
Desperately.
CHAPTER FOUR
KHALID SLOWED THE horse to a walk as they neared an outcrop of rock rising out of the desert floor. He always came to this place whenever he wanted to watch the sun rise. His parents had brought him here as soon as he had been old enough to sit astride a horse and he valued the connection it gave him to his childhood. Life had been so perfect before his parents had divorced.
Sadness filled him as he reined Omar to a halt. He’d been thirteen when his mother had left Azad and although now he understood her reasons for leaving, it had affected him deeply. She had returned to England afterwards while his father had remained in Azad, so Khalid had travelled between both countries, spending time with each of them. His older brother, Shahzad, the son of his father’s first wife who had died in childbirth, had tried to make it easier for him, but the constant to-ing and fro-ing had been unsettling. In the end, Khalid had realised that he had to make a choice and had chosen to live in England.
He had won a place at Cambridge to study medicine and had thrown all his energy into making a success of his studies. Whilst he didn’t regret the path he had chosen, there were times—like now—when he found himself wondering if he had made the wrong decision. If he had opted to live in Azad then he would never have met Sam and his life would be far less complicated now.
Khalid drove the thought from his mind as he dismounted. Having Sam here could only affect him if he allowed it to do so. Reaching up, he offered her his hand, determined that he wasn’t going to let her know how ambivalent he felt. Sam had agreed to come on this mission for one reason and one reason alone: to help the desert women. If she could handle the situation then so could he.
‘Take my hand,’ he instructed, then sucked in his breath when she did as he’d asked. Her hand felt so small compared to his that he was struck by an unexpected rush of tenderness. He wanted to hold on to her hand, to hold on to her, he realised in dismay. And it was the last thought he should have been harbouring.
He quickly released her as she slid safely down to the ground. There were bound to be glitches, he told himself as he tethered Omar to a rock. Moments when his mind and his body were in conflict, but he would deal with them. He simply had to remember that being with Sam wasn’t an op
tion any more now than it had been six years ago. He had no intention of going down the same route his parents had taken, certainly didn’t intend to put any children he might have through the kind of heartache he had suffered. If he kept that at the forefront of his mind, it shouldn’t be a problem.
‘Come. There’s a path along here. It’s not too steep and you shouldn’t have any difficulty climbing it.’ He gave her a cool smile, the sort of smile he utilised on a daily basis. Nobody looking at him would suspect that he felt far from cool inside. ‘The view from the top is worth it, believe me.’
‘I hope so.’
There was an edge to her voice that made him wonder if she had guessed he had mixed feelings about bringing her here. However, as it was too late to reconsider his invitation, he would have to make the best of it. He led the way, slowing his pace so she could keep up. They reached the top and stopped. Below them lay the desert, red-gold along the horizon where the sun’s rays touched it, dark and mysterious closer to where they were standing. It was a sight he had seen many times before and it never failed to move him. However, it seemed to affect him even more that day, with Sam standing there beside him.
Khalid took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic that was twisting his guts as he watched the sun sail majestically over the horizon. A new day had begun and he, a man who was used to controlling his own destiny, had no idea what it would bring.
* * *
‘It’s amazing—’
Sam broke off, unable to put into words how the sight affected her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered though not from cold. Although the temperature was still low, this shiver stemmed from the mixture of emotions she was experiencing. Sadness at what had happened in the past was mingled with joy at what she was experiencing right now; anger at the way Khalid had treated her was tempered by an unexpected acceptance. It was little wonder that she found it impossible to describe the scene so she didn’t try. Anyway, it was doubtful if Khalid would be interested in her views.
She glanced at him, feeling pain tug at her heart. His heritage had never been more apparent than it was out here in the desert. It wasn’t just the clothes he was wearing but his attitude. He looked every inch the desert prince, so completely at home in this bleak yet beautiful landscape that it simply highlighted the differences between them. Khalid’s world wasn’t her world. It never could be her world either. How could she, a Westerner with her background, become a desert princess?
‘So, was I right?’
He turned to her and Sam struggled to clear her mind of everything except the need to convince him that she was over him. She had honestly thought she was, had truly believed that she had put her feelings for Khalid behind her years ago, but she was no longer sure when her heart was aching at the thought that they were such poles apart.
‘Right?’
‘About it being worth the climb.’ He swept a hand towards the desert. ‘The view from up here is magnificent, isn’t it?’
‘It is,’ she replied coolly. ‘I certainly can’t fault it.’
‘Did you want to?’
There was an edge to his voice that brought a rush of heat to her face. Had she been hoping to find fault with the view, to nitpick and discover flaws because it would have made it easier to find fault with him too? She sensed it was true and she hated the fact that she had been reduced to behaving in such a fashion.
‘I’m sorry, Sam. Maybe bringing you here wasn’t such a good idea after all.’
There was no doubt that the apology was sincere. Sam turned to look at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes. It struck her then that if she was finding it difficult to deal with this situation then it was equally hard for him. The thought shocked her so much that she didn’t pause to consider the wisdom of what she was saying.
‘Why did you bring me here, Khalid? Was it just so I could enjoy the view?’
‘Of course. What other reasons could I have had?’
He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly under the loose folds of the burnoose. Beneath it he was wearing more normal clothing, although they still weren’t the clothes Sam was used to seeing him wear. Usually, Khalid wore immaculately tailored suits, not a loose-fitting white shirt, open at the neck so that she could see the satin gleam of his skin through the gap. White cotton trousers tucked into tan leather boots completed his outfit and made him look very different from the man she had known six years ago. Maybe that was why their relationship had foundered? Because he hadn’t been the person she had thought he was. It hadn’t had anything to do with her background after all.
The thought was far too tantalising. Sam knew that she needed to rid herself of it as quickly as possible. It would be foolish to imagine that Khalid’s rejection hadn’t had anything to do with her past when she knew for a fact that it had.
It had been exactly the same last year when she had become engaged to Adam Palmer. Everything had been fine at first; Adam’s parents had seemed genuinely delighted about her joining their family. However, all that had changed when they had discovered that her brother was in prison. Although Sam had tried to make them understand that Michael’s behaviour had nothing to do with her, the pointed remarks about the detrimental effect it could have on Adam’s career if people found out that his future brother-in-law was in prison had been impossible to ignore.
In the end Sam had done the only thing she could have done and ended their engagement, given back the ring and wished Adam well. At the time she had believed it was the right thing to do, that it wasn’t fair to expect Adam to continually have to defend her. But had that been the only reason? she wondered suddenly. Or had part of her known that she hadn’t really loved Adam, that she had agreed to marry him simply because he had seemed like suitable husband material; that her feelings for Adam could never compare to how she had felt about Khalid?
‘Come. We should get back.’
Khalid touched her arm, his fingers barely making contact with her flesh, and yet to Sam it felt as though every fingertip had left an imprint on her skin. Her eyes rose to his before she could stop them and she saw to the very second when he realised what was happening.
‘Sam.’ His voice was low, filled with an awareness that made her heart race. Khalid might give the impression of being indifferent to her but he couldn’t quite match his actions to his words, it seemed.
He took a slow step towards her and Sam found herself holding her breath. All around them the world was silent, waiting to see what would happen. Sam knew that she wanted him to kiss her, wanted to feel his mouth on hers, wanted to taste him and absorb his very essence, but was it wise? Did she really want to risk subjecting herself to that kind of heartache again? When his hand rose to touch her again, she stepped back.
‘No!’ She gave a harsh little laugh. ‘Let’s not allow the desert’s magic to get to us, Khalid. There’s no point creating problems, is there?’
Khalid didn’t say a word, certainly didn’t try to stop her as she turned and made her way down the path to where Omar was waiting patiently for them. Sam took a deep breath as she stroked the horse’s neck. She was right and Khalid knew she was too. They needed to stick to the plans they had made for the future, a future that didn’t entail them having another relationship. It shouldn’t be that difficult. She simply had to remember that Khalid was only really interested in her skills as a doctor these days, not in her as a woman. Oh, maybe he had been tempted just now but it hadn’t meant anything, not really. It had been merely the instinctive response of a red-blooded male finding himself in close proximity to a woman he’d once had an affair with.
They rode back to the palace in silence. Sam had nothing to say and it appeared that Khalid felt the same way. He stopped outside the female guest quarters and dismounted then turned to help her down, but this time she ignored his outstretched hand as she slid to the ground.
�
�Thank you for taking me with you. The view was stupendous,’ she said politely, her heart aching. She was who she was and Khalid was who he was; they couldn’t change that even if they wanted to. It was only in fairy tales that a girl like her was swept off her feet by a handsome prince and lived happily ever after.
‘I’m glad you enjoyed it.’ He paused and Sam found that she was holding her breath as she waited for him to continue, even though she knew it was silly.
‘I used to imagine taking you there to watch the sun rise,’ he said, his deep voice grating. ‘It was a dream of mine and it was good to have it come true at last.’
He touched her cheek, just the barest whisper of his fingertips across her skin, before he swung himself back into the saddle. Sam bit her lip as she watched him ride away, watched well after he had disappeared from view. Tears ran down her cheeks but she didn’t even notice them. All she could see was the regret in Khalid’s eyes as he had made that confession. Maybe they did intend to keep their distance but now she understood that it wasn’t going to be any easier for him than it was for her.
* * *
They reached the encampment shortly before noon. Khalid told the driver to park beneath the awning that had been constructed to shelter the vehicles from the sun. He climbed out of the powerful four-by-four and waited while the other vehicles drew up alongside.
It had been a last-minute decision to travel in three cars rather than the two he had planned on using. However, he had felt the need to be on his own as they made their way to the first of their desert camps. Being with Sam that morning had unsettled him even more and he’d needed time to get himself under control. However, as he watched her climb out of the second car, he realised that he still felt as raw and as emotional as he had done when they had watched the sun rise together. Having Sam there, in the place that was dearest to his heart, had touched something deep inside him, as his subsequent actions had proved.