Page 24 of The Sheikh's Desert Princess

But, just as she thought that, she realized that her awareness was starting to fade, and that blackness was beginning to take hold of her. Eva felt a sharp pain sweep through her shoulders. There was a ringing sound in her ears and then everything went dark.

She had no idea how long she had been out, but when finally she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were the three men getting down off their horses, watching her as she lay against the side of the dune.

She sat up quickly and glared at the three men.

Behind them she saw, with palpable relief, that her own horse seemed to have suffered no real injury and was standing upright. But then she noticed that one of the horse's front hooves seemed to be injured because the horse was lifting it gingerly up and down off the sandy floor.

The three men were talking to each other. She didn't understand what they are saying but they seemed pleased that they had caught up with her. Fear gripped her heart and she felt her body chill with anxiety.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

None of the men seemed to understand English. One of them looked down at her and she did not like the expression on his face. Not at all.

Eva stood and faced the men defiantly. The time for running was over and she didn't care any more. She was going to make sure they knew who they were messing with, she told herself.

She moved past the three men and went to her horse. She hunkered down and took the animals leg, touching it softly. The animal reacted, obviously suffering some discomfort.

Eva cursed under her breath. Perfect, she thought sarcastically. Now she was really stuck.

The men were still talking to each other and appeared to be deciding what to do. Eva didn't even want to think about that for the moment.

She turned to the three men. She pointed to the horse and yelled at them. "Do you see what you've done?" she yelled. "Because of you three, my horse is lame."

One of the men just laughed. That did not make Eva feel good. Not at all. All three seem to be enjoying her emotional outburst.

"What are you going to do about it? she demanded. She knew it was a pointless question, a futile demand, but it felt good to at least get it off her chest.

Eva retreated back to her horse as the men started to move towards her. She leaned back against the animal's side, and watched as one of the men advanced in front of the other two with obvious intent on his mind.

Yet another wave of chilling fear rippled through Eva's body and she glared at the man, tensing every muscle, gritting her jaw tightly. The man's gaze was steady and disturbingly hungry, she thought.

Then he was on her, reaching out with filthy looking fingers. She pushed hard against the man and kicked out landing a hard, satisfying blow on his shin. The man staggered and yelled. He stooped down grasping his leg in pain. Behind him, his two friends burst into laughter.

But Eva knew this was no laughing matter. Not for her.

In the next instant she did the only thing she could do. She bolted and ran past the three men, unsure about where she was going.

All she knew was that she had to get away from here. Keep the men away from her. Delay this awful situation as much as she could. At least for a moment. She had to think, had to consider what she could do to protect herself.

She dashed around the base of a high dune, her boots slipping on the sand and she stumbled. She fell down face first, her mouth filling with sand and she coughed.

She twisted around and saw the three men following her, relentlessly, obviously enjoying the final pursuit like some kind of perverse game.

Eva stood up and was about to run again, when she heard a noise from behind her. The pounding of horses hooves and a deep male voice, growling loudly in the Qazhar language.

She recognized that voice instantly.

Riaz!

Eva turned around and saw Riaz pulling his mount to a sudden halt, a cloud of sand billowing around his horse's hooves.

Hope rose in Eva and she gasped, almost disbelieving what she was seeing.

Riaz jumped down off his horse and strode over toward the three men. The men had frozen in their tracks, obviously shocked to find the sheikh here. Not just any sheikh, but one they definitely recognized, one with whose authority they were clearly familiar.

Riaz pulled his hood back, revealing angry features and eyes bright with indignation.

Eva saw the three men looking nervously at one another. Obviously, this hadn't been part of the plan.

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