Page 59 of The Sheikh's Desert Princess

Eva avoided looking at him. She didn't want him to see the expression on her face. Not right now. Not until she'd had a chance to think this over.

Eva wrapped her arms around herself and walked a few paces. There were still no men around. Riaz had obviously given clear instructions that the camp remain empty for much of the afternoon.

Had he planned all of this? Had she merely fallen for some kind of elaborate seduction?

She heard Riaz come up alongside her. She was sure he was being affected by her silence, by her reluctance to respond to him. She thought about the contrast between that and how she'd felt a short time ago.

Unease twisted in her middle, and she knew these feelings weren't going to go away. Not until she'd said something to Riaz. Not until she'd found out just what were his intentions.

Eva turned to him. "What are we going to do?" she asked bluntly.

His brows furrowed. He hesitated before responding, clearly taken aback by the abruptness of her question.

"About what?" he asked.

It was Eva's turn to frown. "You know what I mean, Riaz." She glanced toward the tent. "I'm talking about back there."

Riaz nodded. He reached out and took her elbow turning her to face him. "What do you want me to say?"

Eva squinted at him. "I don't want you to say anything you don't mean," she stated firmly.

Riaz's eyes narrowed, understanding creeping into his gaze. "I think I made my feelings quite clear, in there," he head gesturing toward the tent.

"Feelings?" she snapped. "Who's talking about feelings?"

Riaz peered at Eva. "Isn't that what all this is about? How I feel about you?"

Eva snorted. "You don't know anything about me, Riaz," she blurted out. She knew that wasn't quite true, even as she said the words. Of course, he'd stripped away some of her defenses. He'd seen a side of her no man had ever witnessed.

"I admit I don't know all the details about your life," Riazreplied. "But I know one thing." He gazed into her eyes. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met. In every possible way."

Eva felt her mouth open, and for a few moments she didn't know how to respond to those words. Did he really mean that?

Surely he was teasing her again. She searched his eyes for some hint of insincerity, that he wasn't telling her the truth. But she only saw the opposite.

Complete sincerity.

She turned away, but he moved so that he was still facing her. "I do not say that lightly, Eva. I know this must seem completely inexplicable to you." He ran a hand through his dark hair and frowned. "I've been struggling to come to terms with how you affect me ever since we met."

"But, this can't be, Riaz," she declared. "You know that what you're saying doesn't make sense. We've only known each other a brief time."

Riaz drew in a deep breath and nodded. "I know. The only way I can explain this is by thinking of it as some kind of fate. A kind of destiny we share."

Eva stared at him. "Destiny? How can that be?"

"How else can you explain the attraction we feel for one another? How else can you explain what happened back there?"

Words came to Eva, words she was sure would shock him, perhaps offend him. But she held them back.

Of course what had happened between them could be explained as mere lust, mere infatuation. Something that would pass as quickly as it had appeared.

But even as she thought that, she knew it wasn't true. She knew there was something else between them, something that had brought them together. Something which was binding them close.

Could he be right?

Destiny?

Fate?

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