Page 11 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
His grin widened. “Ifyoudon’t mind, that’s fine with me.”
“Idomind!”
He shrugged. “Okay, I’ll wait outside. But don’t be long. We have a full day ahead of us.”
But instead of waiting in the corridor outside her room, he stepped out onto the terrace and made himself comfortable on one of the sunloungers.
She grunted in frustration, firmly closed the French windows with a satisfying clunk, and swept closed the curtains. She’d release him from the terrace when she was ready, she thought with satisfaction, imagining his annoyance at being confined there. She went into the dressing room, through which the bathroom lay and firmly locked the door behind her. But, even with two doors between them, she still felt his effect on her. She grunted with frustration. The man was going to drive her crazy. If she wasn’t reacting to him physically, she was feeling by turns frustrated and charmed by him. Trouble was, it looked like he’d made it his personal mission to be with her every minute of every day,andevery night if he could.
She quickly showered and dressed in linen trousers and shirt and was back outside with her damp hair twisted into a messy bun. She opened the doors and stepped outside onto the terrace. He gave a low whistle.
“Beautiful,” he said, standing up to admire her.
Instinctively, she stepped away. That’s what you did when you felt you were being hunted. She bit her lip and opened the door to her room. “I thought you were in a hurry.”
“Habibti,” he said in a seductive voice as he drew level with her. “I’m never in too much of a hurry to admire beauty when I see it.” Again she couldn’t check her reaction and she knew her flushed cheeks and bright eyes betrayed her. He shot her a very self-satisfied male smile. “This way,” he said, extending his arm with a flourish.
They fell into step and walked across the courtyard toward the garages. She looked around in surprise and her step faltered. She’d imagined they were going to breakfast in the palace somewhere. She frowned as she registered the faint sound of a helicopter starting up.
“I thought we were having a breakfast meeting?”
“We are.”
She narrowed her eyes, not liking how relaxed he appeared. Like someone for whom everything was going to plan. “Where exactly?”
“I know a little place which I think you’ll like.”
“I likehere. I’ve comehereto work.Herewill be fine.”
He leaned toward her, his eyes filling her vision, sweeping her away to a place she’d really didn’t want to go. “‘Fine’ isn’t enough for you, Dr. Montgomerie. For you, onlysuperbwill do.” He moved away and shrugged. “Besides, it’s all arranged.” With a smile, he continued walking, not waiting to see what she’d do.
“What’s arranged?” she called out, but he didn’t answer, simply continued walking. She had no choice but to run to catch up with him. “What’s arranged?” she repeated as she drew level with him.
They rounded a corner of the building and the sound of the helicopter filled the air, its noise no longer muffled by palace buildings. He stopped and looked from the helicopter to her.
“Breakfast, on the coast. It won’t take long. I thought it might bring back a few memories,” he said, with a smile.
She had to shout to be heard above the noise of the blades whirring in the quiet of the palace courtyard. “I don’t want to bring back memories! I want to get to work!”
His usual cool, composed, good-humored expression slipped for a moment and what she saw took her breath away. There was a fierce longing which made her realize how determined he was and, for the first time, she wasn’t so sure she’d get out of Sifra unscathed.
“You are inmycountry now, Janey, and I suggest you remember that. If I wish, you’ll be told to leave and you will never return here. If you want to work, then I suggest you indulge me, because there will benoother way.”
With that, he greeted the pilot and extended his hand to her. He’d had the last word, and it left her with no other option than to accept his help and jump onboard. Because she had too much riding on this trip to leave now.
As soon as they were seated, the helicopter rose and swept around in a semi-circle, heading away from the city. Janey kept her eyes on the scene unfolding below them—the desert, the mountains and, far in the distance, a solid line of blue. And it was to this that they were headed. While Amare spoke to the captain, Janey stared out at the desert, lost in the timeless, rippling beauty of it. But all the time, completely aware of Amare’s proximity to her. He was like a beautiful trap, which she had to steer clear of. One foot in that trap and it would trigger and hold her forever.Trapher forever. She couldn’t risk it.
Janie was accustomed to the wild coastlines of Australia, but what she saw before her was on a different scale entirely. The sands were whiter, the sea was bluer, if that was possible, and the land all around was practically deserted. But, as they circled around their landing place, she realized it wasn’t entirely deserted. It turned out that this was a pleasure resort for those who could afford the price tag, which ensured exclusivity.
As soon as they stepped outside the helicopter, they were greeted by a small group of officials, who were obviously excited to have Amare visit. They were taken to a low-lying building which was invisible from the air because of the gardens which grew on its roof.
“This is amazing,” she said, looking all around, trying to figure out where nature began and civilization ended. The divide was invisible. “How long has this been here?”
“We opened a few years ago,” said Amari. He turned around and pointed in the other direction. “The border isn’t far away. This is a joint project between Sifra and the country which borders ours.”
“Is that the country Rosana is from?”
He glanced at her sharply. “Rosana? Sheikha Rosana bint Sumayya Al Khal? You know her?”
