Page 8 of At the Sheikh's Bidding
She focused on breathing deep of the fragrant night air, willing its relative coolness to calm her pounding heart. It didn’t. She took another final deep breath and jumped up. She’d have to return to the wedding reception. She had no choice. Besides, surely Amare would have left by now, or be otherwise engaged. He didn’t strike her as a man who waited about to be entertained.
She stepped out of the garden and into the corridor which would take her to the reception but, as soon as she opened it, she knew she’d made a mistake. Amare was waiting for her, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
CHAPTER4
“What are you doing here?” she asked, clutching at her throat as the breath seemed to clog, making it difficult to breathe.
He pushed himself off the wall. “Waiting for you. You had to emerge some time or other, and I thought you looked like you needed a little space before I escorted you back to your room.”
“You were waiting for me…” The thought that he’d been in control all along, simply giving her a little free time before she had no choice but to return to him, was infuriating.
“Yes,” he said in a calm voice. “You looked a little… upset, should I say?”
“Upset? You think I’m upset?” Upset was too lame a word to describe how she felt. The opposite ofsetwasn’t how she felt in the least. She felt furious that he should be one step ahead of her and threaten to wreck her plans. Yet again.
“Yes. Upset,” he said calmly. “And I was curious to know why. And I also knew you’d never find your way to your room by yourself. So I thought I’d accomplish two things at once and wait for you here. You had to return this way soon or later.” He pointed to the path ahead. “Shall we?”
She looked to where he pointed and then to the other corridors which led off this one and knew she’d be lost in minutes. She hadn’t a clue where she was in this maze of a palace and had to face the fact that she had no other option than to accept his offer. She wasn’t even sure where the wedding reception was anymore. Because what she’d taken to be the reception proved to be a group of taxi drivers sitting around smoking. There was no sight, nor sound, of anyone else. She just hoped Amare would take her straight to her room and then leave without talking.
She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re welcome,” he responded facetiously.
She knew she was being rude, but also suspected that any softening on her part would be misinterpreted by him and taken to be a signal that his advances were welcome. Which they most definitely were not.
She looked directly ahead as they walked side by side. She focused on inhaling deep cooling breaths in a vain attempt to lower the temperature of her blood, which soared whenever his casual gaze fell on her. She was tall, but he was half a head taller than her, and she felt incredibly feminine in his company. She didn’twantto feel feminine, or sexual, but she felt both, which made her even more annoyed.
They reached a set of doors and he stepped in front of her, ostensibly to open the door, but paused there for a few more moments than was necessary, waiting for her to look up. She opened her bag instead and pretended to rummage in it for the keys.
“Lost something?” he asked, his hand continuing to rest, unmoving, on the door handle.
My mind, she wanted to say. She summoned up her courage to meet his gaze and forced a polite smile on her lips. His own lips quirked with amusement, as if he understood the willpower it was taking for her to resist him.
She frowned. “No, everything is fine.” At least, she hoped it would be. She couldn’t seem to find the key.
He raised an amused eyebrow. “Then why do you look so terrified? There’s no need, you know, I don’t bite. Well, not unless invited,” he added, as he leaned toward, his tone confidential and seductive.
She jumped away, indignant. “Don’t flatter yourself that I’m terrified. I’m not in the least! Far from it!”
He didn’t look perturbed. “Then why are you avoiding looking me in the eye?”
Because you threaten everything I value!Again, the words remained unspoken. All she could do was shake her head.
He sighed and cocked his head to one side. “Janey,” he said softly, “we’re going to be working together over this coming week so it might help if you could actually look at me from time to time.”
“I just did,” she said.
“No,” he said. “You just didn’t. You weren’t looking at me. You shot me a glare which you couldn’t sustain, so you had to look away again.”
He was right. Sheshouldbe able to look him in the eye without feeling like her hold on reality was disintegrating. Of course she should. What the hell had happened to the strong, confident woman she believed herself to be? She forced herself to look at him. And once she’d done that, she couldn’t have moved away, even if all hell had let loose. His gaze held hers, locked in its force field.
He nodded. “Good. So, why don’t you tell me why you are so upset?”
She gritted her teeth. She’d tell him the bare minimum. Just to be polite. Just to ensure she could continue her work. She tried to smile as a show of strength, but she could feel it falter under the heat of his gaze.
“I…” She swallowed. “You took me by surprise, that’s all.” She indicated the closed door. “Shall we continue?”
He gave her an easy smile, but she wasn’t fooled. There was nothing easy about Amare. “Sure,” he said, opening the door for her to walk through. She was reassured to see that the corridor looked vaguely familiar. She still wasn’t exactly sure where she was, but she knew she’d walked this way before.
