Page 34 of Defenders of Jawhara

Kamal spoke up. “Erin is fine. It is the middle of the night in the States. She needs her rest; maybe you should wait until this evening to contact her.”

Something in Kamal’s voice must have given Shira pause, because she immediately turned to the sheikh. “What’s happened to Erin? Why would you tell me she’s fine? Have you spoken to her?”

“There was a small incident at her office with a disgruntled husband of a client. Talib took care of it, and she is home sleeping.”

Shira shook her head. “I told her one of these days something bad was going to happen over there. You can’t hide women and children from angry men and expect them not to react. Why, last year…” She trailed off at the thunderstorms gathering on Kamal’s face.

“Last year…” Kamal prompted her.

“Oh, nothing. I was just rambling.” Directing her attention back to Kale, she asked, “Maybe I’ll just send her a quick email before we head out. She always checks her email when she first gets up.”

Khalil inclined his head. “You will find everything you need, including the password for the network, lying next to your computer. Take your time and return here when you are ready to go.”

Shira smiled at him and just before she exited the room, she turned back. “Do I need to change into my suit before we leave?”

While Kale couldn’t wait to see her in her bathing suit, parading her through the palace in one wasn’t his idea of fun. Only he would see her body revealed. “No. Bring what you need with you, and you can change when we arrive. The palace has a private beach with everything you need.”

Giving him a big grin, she hurried out of the room.

7

SHIRA

The beach was covered in white sand, and the contrast between that and the bright blue water was a visual feast. A gentle breeze was blowing, keeping the oppressive humidity at bay, and Shira breathed deeply of the ocean air, enhanced with a slight saltiness. Kale led her to the large cabana and invited her to join him after she had changed. She had never been on a private beach before, let alone one with such large tents. This one had everything a person would need to enjoy an extended stay. The interior was easily larger than the condo she shared with Erin back home, and with the curtains pulled back, she would have a one-hundred-eighty-degree view of the bluest water she’d ever seen.

Setting her bag down, she pulled out her swimsuit and set it on the lounge chair. She’d been hesitant to purchase it, but her friends from work had talked her into it, and now, in this place, she was glad they did. Kale called to her from outside, asking her what was taking so long, and she bit back a grin at his impatient tone.

Changing quickly before she had second thoughts, she exited the tent and saw the heat flare in Kale’s eyes when he turned to look at her. Her confidence took a huge leap up the scale at his open admiration. She had been hesitant to wear this suit after seeing herself in the changing room mirror. The gold two-piece was cut more daringly than any suit she had ever worn before. The bikini top barely covered the important parts, but the look of approval on Kale’s face was worth her moment of misgiving.

The bottom half of the suit sat so low on her hips, she was glad she had visited the spa the day before her departure for a complete Brazilian wax. The suit left little to the imagination and stopped just a few inches above her pelvic bone in front and rode the base of her spine in the back.

The tanning beds had helped give a healthy glow to her normally pale skin, and she carried with her a strong sunscreen, not wanting to begin her stay in Jawhara with a painful sunburn.

Kale made a circling motion with his hand, and she dutifully complied, turning slowly on her sandaled feet in the sand to give him a complete view of her body. She felt her nipples tighten at his frank appraisal and felt her own desire start to heat up from the low simmer it had been maintaining.

“You, Shira Malone, are a goddess,” he told her, his voice husky.

Kale had donned a pair of board shorts, which rode low on his hips, and he’d removed his shirt. She gazed with longing at the thin line of hair that bisected his pecs and traveled down his stomach, disappearing beneath the waistband of his shorts. His body was magnificent, all hard muscles and smooth skin. She took a step toward him, reaching out to place her hand on his chest and letting her fingers roam over the muscles there.

“You look rather god-like yourself, Khalil Mehmed El-Jawhara. But before I spend any more time in the sun…” She waved her bottle of sunscreen at him. “Would you mind helping me out?”

Kale hissed out a breath at her first touch and stepped back before taking the bottle of sunscreen from her. He looked at the bottle before shaking his head.

Seeing his reaction, Shira reached for her sunscreen. “What?”

“I have other sunscreen that is much better, and it’s waterproof.”

Shira took the bottle back and shook her head. “I’ll just use this one. I’m allergic to most other sunscreens. The PABA in them causes a rash that itches and burns worse than any sunburn. This one comes from my dermatologist’s office and doesn’t make me break out.”

Kale seemed to waver, and she wasn’t sure what was going on. She looked at him curiously, and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. Did he not want to touch her? Was she being too forward? A quick look below his waist revealed a clear indication that he very much liked what he saw. So what was going on? He seemed to shake himself out of whatever thoughts he was wrestling with.

“Why don’t you pick a lounge chair and get settled? I need to speak to the staff for a few minutes, and then I will join you.”

“Will you help me put my sunscreen on?” Shira asked, knowing that she was asking for much more and liking the answering heat that flared brighter in his gaze as he nodded his assent. “Good.”

Kale closed his eyes and seemed to struggle with whatever was going on inside his head. Shira chose that moment to go sit on the nearest chaise and recline. When he opened his eyes to look at her, his Adam’s apple bobbed in a hard swallow and then he said something in Arabic. Two uniformed palace employees presented themselves. He quickly gave what sounded like orders before dismissing them. He then said something to the bodyguards, who nodded and disappeared from view.

“What was that all about?” Shira asked.

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