Her desert knight(16)

"I don't want to tell you what to do, but I don't like this sneaking  around. It doesn't sit well with me. We have nothing to be ashamed of."

"You just admitted there was no reason to tell him that we had sex."  She noticed how he called it having sex, not making love. "So it's not  like you wouldn't be hiding something anyway. It will be easier for me  if he never knows about us."

"I've spoiled your appetite for this delicious food." He looked  ruefully at the fork now sitting idle on her plate. "I'm sorry. I'll  drop the subject. If you want me to be your secret lover I'll try to go  along with it."

She managed a smile. "I bet this isn't your first secret affair."

"I cannot tell a lie. I'm no stranger to subterfuge. I think I'm  getting too old for it, though. I'd rather have everything aboveboard."

"Sometimes that's just not possible. Besides, you're thirty-one. That's not old."

"I'm a mature man and you're a mature women and we should be able to enjoy each other's company openly."

"In America, maybe, but not in Oman." Things would be so different if  they were in New Jersey, or California. On the other hand, if they were,  Quasar would probably be spending the afternoon with a glamorous  starlet or a sexy businesswoman, and would never have noticed her. She  didn't exactly have men pursuing her everywhere. Her cousin said it was  because she gave off energy that said, Stay away! Her ex had been  persistent enough to break through her reserve. Then he'd been  persistent enough to steamroll right over her and empty her life of  anything but him. She didn't know how to have a normal relationship. Her  affair with Quasar was anything but normal but maybe it could be if the  circumstances were different.

If they weren't in Oman.

If Quasar were an ordinary man.

If she were an optimistic, confident woman who still believed in love and happily-ever-afters.

But none of those things were true so she had to make the best of where  they were right now. She picked up her fork and tried for an  encouraging smile. "I appreciate you wanting to meet my father. It  really is sweet of you. It just isn't a good idea."                       
       
           



       

"I'll bow to your superior wisdom on the topic. You've lived in Oman a  lot longer than I have." He didn't look mad, or even put out. Probably  it didn't matter much to him either way and he'd just made the  suggestion to please her. Which was sweet.

She forked some salad into her mouth and let the sweetness of orange  and mango spread over her tongue. She needed to live in the moment. To  be happy while the opportunity presented itself.

Which shouldn't be hard given the circumstances. Diffuse sunlight  poured through the lattice screens on the arched windows, pooling in  luxurious patterns on the marble floor. Quasar's slate-blue eyes  sparkled with the passion and excitement that she'd put there. In bed  he'd been making love to her with a look of rapture on his face. Who  wouldn't be happy in her place?

It wasn't as if she were falling in love with him. Now that would be  stupid. She wasn't stupid. They'd enjoy each other's company, then  they'd go their separate ways. There was no danger of getting in over  her head. In the meantime she just needed to keep her head, and protect  her heart.

"I can see you're not hungry, beautiful." Quasar put down his plate and  knelt at her feet. He kissed her fingertips, then her lips, and desire  flared through her, banishing her doubts and worries. "Shall we go back  to the bedroom?"

She placed her plate on an inlaid wood table. Feeling was so much  easier than thinking. Right now all she wanted to do was press her naked  body against Quasar's and lose herself in his touch. "Absolutely."





      Six

"I'm telling you, leave well enough alone. Her father hates our whole  family." Elan reined in his horse, who was blowing hard. They'd  trailered two horses, borrowed from a close friend, and headed out to  the mountains to let off some steam. They were up on a high slope with a  view of Salalah partially visible through the trees.

Quasar leaned back in his saddle on his gray mare, who was puffing and  blowing from the effort of the ascent up the mountain. "But I can reason  with him, make a deal that will win him over. I'm famous for  negotiating my way out of tough situations."

"Or into them. Are you going to marry her?" His brother's intense gaze slammed right into him.

"I just met her."

"See? You're just experimenting. Playing around. Seeing what will  happen. And I think we both know, based on your history of  relationships, what will happen."

Quasar frowned. "You think I'll grow bored with her."

"I don't know her. How could I predict that?" Elan leaned forward to flick a fly off the neck of his sturdy chestnut gelding.

"I want to bring her over so you can all meet her."

"That will tell her that you're serious."

"I am serious!"

"Not by Omani standards. Serious means marriage. Don't lead her on until you know where you're going."

Squinting into the late afternoon sun, they guided their sweating  horses down a winding trail on a wooded slope. "How do I know where I'm  going if I don't at least get started in the right direction. Did you  know right away that you would marry Sara?"

Elan laughed. "Hell, no! I was determined to have nothing to do with her. She was my employee, for crying out loud."

Elan had not only had an affair with his secretary, but he'd also  accidentally got her pregnant. "But you ended up in the right place,  married to the woman you love."

"Yeah." Elan took a gulp from his canteen. "I learned to stop being the  boss and trying to run the show, and let Sara be my partner. So if Dani  doesn't want you to meet her father, then don't."

"I see your point."

"You can't charm your way into every situation. Or out of it. Old man  Hassan hates our family with a passion that could last for generations.  If you can manage not to fall in love with his daughter you'd probably  be doing both of you a favor." Elan's familiar piercing stare caught him  off guard again. "You're not in love with her already, are you?"

"Me?" Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? Wanting to be with her? Wanting to tell everyone about her? Was that love?

Probably not. Nevertheless, it was likely some possessive male thing that would still get him into trouble.

"Because if you're in love with her then it's a different story."

Their horses were happy to reach level ground. Elan launched into a  spirited description of the newest Arab mare on his ranch back in  Nevada. "Women aren't like mares, little brother." Elan pulled up his  horse and stared at him again. "They don't like being told what to do.  They need to make up their own minds."                       
       
           



       

"I suppose you're right." Of course he didn't love Dani. He barely knew  her. They had great chemistry, no doubt. Unbelievable sex, hell yes.  Interesting conversation, for sure. Enjoyable companionship, yes indeed.  But love? He didn't even know what that was.

"Then don't approach her father. If you do, he'll think you're serious.  And if you don't love her, you're not serious. Shall we gallop on this  flat land?"

"Sure." His mind whirred with confusion as he urged his horse faster,  until the gray mane was flying in his face. Why were matters of the  heart so much more complicated than corporate affairs? Since coming to  Oman he'd already come up with three viable new business plans, each of  which excited him equally. On the other hand, there was only one woman  on his mind.

"Race you there!" Elan called back, pointing to a lone frankincense tree in the desert.

Whipped on by his own competitive instincts, Quasar charged forward  until they were neck and neck, their powerful horses speeding across the  desert, hooves tapping out a quiet drumbeat on the sandy soil. Pursuing  Dani was all wrong. He didn't want to hurt her again after what she'd  suffered in her marriage.

When his horse passed Elan's, Quasar let out a yell into the desert  air. A whoop of triumph that also contained a howl of frustration at the  situation he found himself in with Dani. The sex they shared was  insane. He could talk to her about anything. He craved her company when  he wasn't with her. And everyone, including her, thought he should stay  away from her.

So why did he want to ignore them all and take matters into his own hands?

* * *

"Good news, my darling." Dani's father arrived home that evening in an  uncharacteristically festive mood. She didn't remember ever hearing him  call her darling before. It struck a note of alarm in her heart.