One Desert Night

CHAPTER EIGHT


AS HE kicked open the door of Gina's bedroom, to carry her across to the emperor-sized bed with its purple silk counterpane, Zahir realised he had an entourage. His sister, two servants—not including Jamal—and finally Dr Saffar, the personal physician he had commanded Jamal to fetch straight away, followed him.

Laying his precious cargo carefully down on the bed, he personally removed her shoes, then sat on the edge of the counterpane beside her, the tension inside him building excruciatingly every moment her eyes stayed closed. Taking her hand in his, he could not hide his shock at how cold it was. Moving to the other side of the bed, his physician lightly slapped Gina's pale cheeks.

Realising they were being watched, Zahir irritably waved his audience away. 'Go. Leave us!'

'May I stay?' His sister had tears in her eyes.

'Of course.' He didn't apologise for his clipped-sounding tone. His whole being was focused on one thing and one thing only...Gina.

As he turned back the doctor was cradling her head and moving a bottle of smelling salts back and forth beneath her nose. Her eyelids quivered then opened thankfully wide to reveal dazzling blue irises.

'What happened?'

'You fainted, my dear.'

The physician's avuncular tone surprised Zahir. The only person he had addressed quite as kindly before was his sister Farida.

'It can happen sometimes after a bad shock.'

'I've never fainted before.'

"There is a first time for everything, and it is nothing to worry about.'

The man smiled again, and Zahir was almost jealous that he was the one to comfort and reassure Gina. But then her worried glance collided with his, and this time he made sure it was his smile she was the recipient of.

Cupping her cold hand, he lightly stroked it. 'You frightened me,' he said simply.

Pursing her lips, she didn't attempt to speak, but he sensed her hand curl deliberately into his palm and his heart leapt.

'Now, I am afraid that you will have to leave us for a while, Your Highness... I need to properly examine Dr Collins.' The physician was opening his medical bag. Peering over the rims of his spectacles, he looked straight at Farida across Zahir's shoulder. 'You may stay and assist me, Your Highness.'

Outside in the silent corridor, Zahir crossed his arms over his chest and paced, grim-faced. A wind was getting up outside. Through the apertures in the narrow windows, it disturbed the glass and brass lanterns hanging from the ceiling and made them tinkle like windchimes.

After what seemed like an interminable period, Farida opened the door. Her smooth forehead was disturbed by a somewhat sad frown. 'Dr Saffar says you may come back in now.'

'Is she hurt?' he demanded.

His sister's frown deepened. 'She has some bad bruising either side of her neck and on her collarbone, but the doctor has given me some salve I may apply to help soothe the soreness. I don't think she registered she was hurt at the time...it was more the psychological shock that affected her. But, Zahir...'

'What is it?'

'I think whoever did this may have mistaken Gina for me. We were both sitting with our backs to the refreshment stall—we are of similar size, and she was wearing one of my dresses and a hijab. We were with Hafiz, who had the palace insignia on his tunic, and I am known in Kabuyadir and she is not. What reason would the rebels have for taking her?'

'None that I can immediately think of.' He fisted his hands and swore. Rubbing at his temples, he stared at the woman in front of him. 'It sounds to me like this was a totally opportunistic act—not one that was orchestrated. Else why did the assailant act alone in the middle of a crowded marketplace? No... He must have seen Hafiz with the two of you, noted the palace insignia on his tunic and aimed to ingratiate himself with his leader by trying to kidnap you to get at me. The idea of someone abducting you sends a shudder through my soul, but I am equally furious that they hurt Gina—who is, after all, an innocent bystander.' The wheels of Zahir's mind were rapidly spinning with thoughts of what to do next.

'She will make a good recovery I am sure, brother. She is strong, and today I have seen for myself she's a fighter.'

Even though he privately concurred with his sister's summation, it didn't prevent his insides from twisting agonisingly at the thought of that uncouth rebel half strangling her. As sure as Allah's will reigned supreme he and his leader would pay and pay dearly. And so would anybody associated with them. This time Zahir would neither be in the mood nor the market for reasoning in any shape or form...

'Your Highness, the captain of the security forces is downstairs, waiting for an audience with you.' As he walked hurriedly towards them, from the other end of the lofty corridor, Jamal's usually calm demeanour was a little flustered.

'Tell him I will be with him shortly.' Giving his servant the barest glance as he snapped out the instruction, he gestured to his sister to precede him back into Gina's room. 'First I must ascertain for myself how Dr Collins fares.'



Zahir had said little to Gina when he'd returned to see her after her examination. How could he when they'd had an audience of his sister and Dr Saffar? But his eyes—those deep, dark, silken orbs—had spoken volumes as they'd studied her. In turn she had felt as if she was developing an incurable fever—a fever that no medicine could cure because the only cure for her malady was him.

He'd indicated that he was going crazy, not being able to be alone with her, and she echoed the feeling with every fibre of her being. Even more so now, after she'd been grabbed by that madman in the marketplace! Now she wanted to grab onto Zahir—to have him exhibit his passion in the most uninhibited feral way—so that she could convince herself she'd survived that attack—still lived, still breathed—and that someone cared, truly cared, that she had.

In a deeply luxurious armchair in a corner of the room Farida sat silently, absorbed in some intricate-looking embroidery. At any other time the simple, peaceful movements of needle and thread going in and out of the gold and white silk runner she was sewing would have lulled Gina into relaxing.

Sensing her glance from where she lay, resting on the bed, the other girl lifted her pretty mouth in a smile. 'Are you okay? Do you need anything?'

Gina shook her head, with the barest of smiles back. It was such a loaded question. What else could she do when what she needed most of all was Zahir? 'I feel ridiculously pampered and spoiled, lying in bed like this, so—no...there's nothing I need right now, Farida...thank you.'

'You must be the most undemanding patient in the world, Gina. After what you suffered this afternoon you could ask for anything and Zahir and I would try to get if for you.'

'Talking of your brother—His Highness—will he join us for dinner tonight?'

'I'm afraid not, Gina. He has some important business to attend to. He left in a bit of a hurry with the captain of the security forces and told me he didn't know when he would be back. In the meantime he left strict instructions that you were not to lift as much as a finger. Dr Saffar suggested you should have a tray brought up to your room rather than endure a more formal dinner, and I agree with him. We all want to make sure you are fully recovered from your ordeal before even the slightest demands are made of you.'

Swallowing down her crushing disappointment that she wouldn't see Zahir for the entire evening, Gina drew her knees up beneath the counterpane, then wrapped her arms round them. 'And what about Dr Rivers? Did anybody tell him what happened?'

'Yes, he was told. He was very shocked. He told Jamal to tell you that he would see you when you felt more recovered.'

She grimaced at that. It was typical of Jake not to disturb himself with hearing the details of what had happened to her, and also not to want to see her in case she was distressed. He wasn't the kind of man who could cope with any kind of display of female emotion. But in a way Gina was relieved. Spending time with her colleague when she was fit and well was taxing enough, never mind when she wasn't...



In the light of the single brass lamp beside the bed Gina drifted off to sleep after another meal she had barely touched. In the far distance the strains of some haunting melody played on an oud reached her ears. Eventually it lulled her to sleep. But the dreams that visited her were not the kind of dreams that ensured her rest was peaceful.

When the memory of a cruel strong arm round her neck replayed itself with frightening clarity, she bolted upright in shock. As her gaze adjusted to the dim lighting she saw that Farida was no longer ensconced in the armchair. Someone else had taken her place. It was Zahir...

Her heart thudding, she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes to focus better on the dark, haunting face that was almost in complete shadow.

'I could not stay away, rohi. Did you think I could?'

He got up from the chair and came to the bedside. To Gina's captivated senses his shoulders seemed extra wide tonight, and he was tall—so tall. His hypnotic dark eyes and disturbingly handsome features had never been so powerfully affecting and beguiling. With his unbound ebony hair and the black robes that covered his strong masculine form he resembled nothing less that a mythical prince—a prince who had perhaps reigned here at the same time as the necklace that held the Heart of Courage was created.

'I'm glad you came,' she whispered.

The tips of his fingers softly grazed her cheek. 'I want to take you somewhere. Are you up to making a small trip?'

'A trip where?'

'Not far.' Gentle humour briefly stretched the corners of his mouth.

Needing no second bidding, Gina swung her legs over the side of the bed. Some time between her eating her meal and falling asleep Farida had helped her into one of her long white cotton nightgowns. The material clung to her bare body underneath, then fell away down to the floor as Zahir helped her to her feet.

'You will need your slippers,' he instructed, smiling. He held her hand as she reached down for the soft sequinned shoes beside the bed and slipped them on.

They walked beneath the shadowed light of a crescent moon through the gardens. The powerfully drugging scents of jasmine and orange blossom infiltrated Gina's blood as they moved silently beneath grand mosaic arches towards a destination that was unfamiliar to her.

Ahead of her, in an enclosed private garden, an open fire glowed fiercely, hissing sparks like the forge from a smithy. Just behind it an imposing Bedouin tent rose up. Above them the inky night sky was peppered with a million, zillion stars...too many to count.

She glanced sidelong at Zahir. His hand still firmly held onto hers. 'Who sleeps here?'

There was a glimpse of strong white teeth amid the dark shadow of his face. 'I do.'

At his instigation, Gina preceded him inside the tent. She gasped at the wondrous atmosphere that greeted her invitingly—an atmosphere created by the hand-woven walls and ceiling, the medley of satin and silk pillows liberally scattered, and the colourful, intricately patterned handstitched rugs that covered the floor. Apart from the glow of the open fire, a single Moroccan lamp with a flicking candle burning inside was the only illumination. The shadows it threw onto the material walls mesmerised and danced like ghosts.

Moving across the soft rug-covered floor, she turned to rest her back against one of the sumptuous pillows. 'It's so beautiful...' Her voice was respectfully hushed, as though she had sneaked inside a church in the middle of the night. 'Magical.'

Saying nothing, Zahir reach for the topmost corner of the tent flap and closed the opening that had been there previously. Then he took off his long leather boots and, briefly opening the tent flap again, put them outside. Crawling over to her on all fours, he carefully, silently removed Gina's slippers and laid them aside. Then, bending his dark head, he reverently kissed her feet.

That simple, astonishing act released the flood of emotion she'd been desperately trying to hold back for days, and when he raised his gaze to hers she could hardly find her voice to speak. Instead, she simply held out her arms for him to fill them. His kiss when it came was satin and fire, summer heat and electrical storm. it was pure undiluted heaven.

When his lips left hers, to bury themselves against her throat and then the shoulder his hand had left bare by tugging down the sleeve of her nightgown, her body was so restless for his possession that she had to bite her lip to quell a desperate plea for him to simply just take her. But Zahir's burning eyes told Gina that he knew what she needed, what she ached for in the deepest core of her being, and he knelt in front of her, lifted her gown above her head and let it fall softly against the rug.

Lightly shaking his head, he sat down on his heels to survey her nakedness with something that looked like wonder. 'You are ravishing. I am all but stunned to silence at seeing you like this. One thing I know for sure...your beauty is beyond compare,' he uttered, low-voiced.

The tips of Gina's breasts prickled hotly, as though glanced by a burning brand. They seemed to grow hotter and harder still beneath his uninhibited hungry examination. When he put his mouth first on one and then the other to suckle Gina dragged her hands through the glossy strands of his hair greedily, to keep him there, moaning softly as the edges of his teeth nipped her. By the time he hauled her against him, she sensed his desire was at breaking point.

'Undress me,' he ordered huskily.

Almost crying with need, Gina started to carry out his order. But when he was bare-chested her busy hands grew still for a moment. Her gaze had fallen on the wound at his side, covered with a clean white dressing.

Cupping her face between hands that were warm and callused, suggesting that he wasn't familiar with hard physical graft, Zahir dismissively shook his head. 'Do not be concerned that you might hurt me. I have waited too long for this moment to let anything stop me now. You are in my blood like a fever, rohi. I am like a starving man at a banquet, seeing you like this. Now I will wait no more.'

The sheer beauty of his sculpted masculine physique made Gina gasp. Bare, his shoulders, torso, abdomen, hips and long well-shaped legs were pure hard muscle and bone, shielded by supple bronzed flesh, and on his chest swirled dark soft hair. Here and there were healed nicks and cuts that confirmed her opinion that he was a man who revelled in the physical challenges of life—whether it be riding his stallion through the hills and plains, as Farida had told her he liked to do, climbing high into the mountains to fearlessly confront a band of rebels, or practising sword-fighting with his guards.

But any further thoughts were stemmed as he laid her down amongst the satin pillows, passionately stroked his warm tongue into her mouth and kissed her. The deeply stirring caress had the effect of an incendiary device imploding inside her. As she reeled from the impact, molten heat like lava flowed through her bloodstream. She couldn't bear to have her body apart from his for another second.

Moving her hand from the firm flanks between his ribs and hips down to the proud, silky manhood that nudged against her belly, Gina hungrily clasped him. Zahir couldn't suppress a groan, and his answering smile was lascivious and knowing.

Paying her back in kind, he boldly prised apart her thighs, to plunge his fingers inside her moist silky heat. Her breath was all but punched out of her lungs for a moment, and dizzyingly she voraciously welcomed the bruising urgency of their mouths, teeth and tongues as his deeply rhythmic exploration took her higher and higher, winding her so tight that she almost couldn't bear it.

When her violent release came she collapsed, shuddering beneath him, emotion swamping her like an unstoppable tide. Hot, helpless tears streamed down her face, and Zahir gathered her into his arms. As he held her his lips rained kisses on her mouth, cheeks and unbound hair, until the tearful spasms slowly died away. 'It is all right. There is nothing to fear any more, my angel. I am here with you, and I will hold you and keep you safe all night.'

Hiccoughing, Gina laid her head against the warm silky hair on his chest and sighed. Through the weave of the fabric tent walls the dance of bright flame from the fire outside gradually dimmed. Inside, here in Zahir's strong arms, she realised she'd never felt safer. An intense feeling of calm suddenly came over her. The spectre of the man who had sought to abduct her faded away. He wouldn't haunt her dreams any more—not tonight at least.

Her hands drifted idly down over Zahir's flat taut abdomen, then lower still. If she'd thought that her desire had been spent in that wildly emotional release just now, she realised how wrong she'd been. It had merely been simmering, and just the touch of her lover's warm hard flesh would stir it into flame again.

Clasping her head, Zahir stared down soulfully into her eyes. Silently she transmitted her emphatic answer to the question she saw there. Reaching into a hidden pocket of his discarded robe, he sheathed himself with the protection he retrieved, then, returning to Gina's waiting arms, swept her down onto the pillows again.

Joyfully, her spirits soaring, she welcomed him inside her. His thrusts were strong, deeply possessive, and they took her body, mind and spirit into another realm. His demanding masculine possession made her ache even more to have him with her always. She almost cried again when she was reminded he couldn't be...

As soon as he entered her scalding satin heat, Zahir remembered vividly the first time he had taken this woman—remembered how their passionate joining had spun his whole world into another orbit and how it had left him reeling for days, months, years afterwards. That world was spinning into another sphere now. It was as though they had never been apart.

With her golden hair spread out on the silken scarlet pillow beneath her, her lovely face and extraordinarily crystal blue eyes dazzling him more that the finest gemstones to be found anywhere, he jealously vowed he would never let her go again.

His heart was full and hot as he thrust deeper and harder. The emotions that flooded him were overwhelming, and so was the pleasure. There was not one other woman he had ever experienced this kind of incredible connection with...only Gina.

Her long slender legs anchored themselves round his middle, and he held back the almost overpowering temptation to just let go, to simply allow the force of his great need to overflow. As his lips fastened onto a softly rounded breast and suckled hard on the rigid nipple he knew she was close to coming again, so he waited...

Her soft moans of pleasure turned to near cries as he took her over the edge, and they filled the tent. Then and only then did Zahir let go and spill his seed...

'Gina...'

The sensuously husky whisper in her ear, followed by a warm kiss nuzzled at the side of her neck, woke her from the deliciously restful sleep she'd been having. It was joy unparalleled to wake up and find Zahir's arresting handsome face smiling down at her. The last time they'd been together intimately like this seemed like eons ago.'

'Good morning.'

There wasn't a place on her body that didn't throb from the delights and ecstatic release of their unrestrained lovemaking, but for some reason she couldn't fathom she suddenly felt self-conscious about finding herself naked in his arms.

'Are you blushing?' he teased, gently brushing her hair back from her face.

'No... What made you think that?'

The heat that seared her cheeks made a liar of her, but Zahir was staring at her throat as if hypnotised. The breaking dawn seeping through the stunning elaborate weave of the tent clearly illuminated his shock.

'That bastard really hurt you,' he breathed.

Unable to deny it, Gina sensed her heart bump a little beneath her ribs. 'Let's not talk about that right now.'

'At least he is behind bars now, with his no good brother. No more for them the comfort and hospitality of family and friends. Instead they will have to get used to the very different kind of hospitality of a high-security prison—because they will both be there for a long time!'

'I don't understand, Zahir. Who is this man's brother?' She sat up, dragging the soft wool rug that had covered them up to her chest.

His expression was formidably fierce for a second. 'He is the leader of the rebels who shot me. His brother sought to avenge his incarceration by abducting my sister when he saw her in the marketplace. Yesterday evening, in front of the captain of my security forces, he confessed everything. Because you were wearing similar clothes to Farida and had your back to him he mistook you for her. You cannot know how much I regret what happened, Gina. But the fact is my sister made a bad judgement in visiting the marketplace without adequate protection. I was speechless when I found out she'd gone there with just a servant. Especially when I had already been wounded by a crazed gunman's bullet.'

'Farida's intentions were completely good. She's slowly emerging from the pain of losing her husband and wanting to live again—to do the normal, everyday things she used to do before she lost him. Don't you think that's encouraging? She told me everything felt futile before. I thought the visit was a good idea, too, and nobody could have possibly predicted what happened.'

Concerned that if he blamed his sister for the shocking incident that had occurred it might set her recovery back even more, Gina reached out to soothingly touch Zahir's hard-muscled bicep.

'Don't be angry with her. I know how much you love her.'

'It is because I love her that I fear daily for her wellbeing and safety.' He glanced away for a moment, a muscle throbbing in his temple. 'If I were to lose her I would not—I don't think I could bear the pain.'

'I understand.' Keeping her hand on his arm, Gina yearned to reassure him. 'None of us ever want to contemplate losing the people we love. But, as hard as it is to bear, we all of us have to face loss in our lives. We can't live our lives constantly fearing it, because that's no way to live for anyone. By living in fear we only make ourselves suffer more, and we forget the tremendous privilege that life is. Don't torture yourself with thoughts of something bad happening to your sister. Just believe in the good things.'

Zahir shook his head as though amazed. 'And where did you acquire this great wisdom, I would like to know?' Heaving a sigh, he looked thoughtful. 'I extracted a promise from the rebel leader last night that there would be no more violence in retaliation for his imprisonment,' he confided. 'Some of my guards will go into the hills to make sure that promise is kept. They will see that his men go home to their wives and families. I told him things would go better for him if he lets it be known that he wants this, too, and he agreed. But be assured I will be taking no more chances. The fact of the matter is that being ruler of a kingdom means that you sometimes have to make difficult decisions in the name of the greater good. In light of recent disturbing events both you and my sister will have a regular guard. No more will I trust that I can reason with men who see violence as the only way to keep their families fed and clothed. Now, as much as I desire to stay here with you for the rest of the day, my tempting, beautiful Gina, I have my work to do, and you must return to your room and rest. I will give orders for breakfast to be brought up to you.'

'But I don't want to stay in my room and rest, Zahir. I want to get on with the inventory.'

'And what if you feel unwell or faint again?' he challenged, a flare of irritation in his glance.

'I won't feel unwell.'

'So you are a seer now? You can foretell the future, perhaps?'

That made Gina smile. 'Of course I can't. But I do know my own constitution, and I'm more resilient that I look.'

'Resilient and determined, I'd say...and clearly extremely stubborn!'

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. 'I'd rather be occupied doing something that interests me than having time on my hands to frighten myself with thoughts of what happened yesterday.'

'Hmm...' Zahir tipped his head to the side. 'Maybe, in that case, it would be better if you occupied yourself with the inventory. All right, then, I will not stop you from carrying on with it if you want to do it—but only on the proviso that you are sensible and do not overtax yourself.'

Giving her a hard warm kiss on the mouth that could have turned lingeringly seductive if he'd willed it, he ruffled her hair with a rueful grin, then got out of their makeshift bed to dress.