Page 31 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
He was silent for a few moments. “Anything you care to share?”
Did she? Did she really want to let this man any further into her head than he was already?
“Just… thinking about the research I should have been doing today.” It was a lie. When he heaved a sigh, she wondered whether he knew it was a lie. One glance from those dark brown eyes confirmed it. She looked away.
“I guess I derailed your plans,” he said.
“Yes, well, I should have been more focused.”
She noticed his grip on the steering wheel tighten momentarily, as if he was trying to restrain himself. But from the look he shot her next, fiercer, more demanding, she guessed he’d failed.
“Janey! There’s more to life than work!”
Any sense of relaxation left her instantly. “Not my life,” she said firmly. She sat taller in her seat and looking directly ahead to the cluster of buildings which were lit up against the inky blackness of the desert.
“And that, Janey,” he said, as he drove through a stand of palm trees towards some buildings, “is why I’ve brought you here.”
She jerked her head to look at him. “I thought you brought me here to eat dinner.”
“That, and to break down that damned barrier you’ve created around you.” He parked in front of a low-lying pavilion which was lit by floodlights, making it appear to float above the desert. People immediately surrounded the Range Rover, but he ignored them. “I’ve got to do it, because I know if I don’t, I’ll regret it my entire life.”
He held her gaze, ignoring the curious expressions of the people standing around the vehicle.
“You don’t know what you’re trying to do,” she said quietly.
“I do.”
“And if you do manage to break down the barrier? What then? What if you don’t like what you see?”
“I’ll seeyou. Therealyou. And that’s all I want to see.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“I understand more than you think.”
He took a deep breath, opened the car door and stepped out, and began talking to the people who greeted him. She lingered for a few seconds, trying to compose herself, thinking over what he’d said. Did he know more about her background than she’d told him? She watched as he walked around to her side of the Range Rover, and suddenly realized he probably did. After all, she’d given him the name of her family. It wouldn’t take much to look into their background. Her father’s behavior had hardly been discreet.
He opened the door, and he offered her his hand. She reached out and accepted it. He clasped it tight with a look of satisfaction and helped her to her feet.
“Don’t fight it, Janey. Trust your instincts, because, whatever you might think, I know they’re good.”
“Because they wantyou?”
He smiled. “Exactly. Now, let me introduce you to everyone.”
For the first time, she looked around properly and realized that there was some kind of celebration going on.
He met her questioning gaze. “It’s a wedding. The groom is my second cousin. He was married yesterday in the city and today is the day for everyone to celebrate in the desert.”
“I hope they won’t mind an extra, uninvited person attending.”
“Everyone is welcome on this day of celebration. Even you,” he said, in a teasing tone. “Besides, you are with me.”
She turned to him with a grin. “Silly me. What was I thinking? I’m with the great Sheikh Amare who they are flattered to have attend their wedding.”
“Exactly.” He threw her a wry grin. “You’re beginning to understand how exulted I really am.”
“And how modest,” she said, trailing her fingers along his wrist beneath his cuffs.
