'Do you mean take them swimming?'
'It's the best way to clean away all the dust and grit,' he said. 'What are you doing?'
Beth jumped as Khal turned from checking his horse's legs to stare at her. She had just been peering down the front of her shirt to see if her underwear would pass muster. Pulling her hand out, she laughed self-consciously. Khal had been half-naked for some time now. 'It's all right for a man,' she said. 'But how can I strip off?' The moment she spoke, Beth wished she hadn't. The look Khal gave her cracked the dust on his cheek. He was right. Wasn't it a bit late for false modesty?
'Please yourself,' he said, easing his powerful shoulders in a shrug. 'But I'm going swimming.'
And Beth had to admit the oasis did look tempting. She took a step back as Khal reached out. 'Your face looks sore,' he said, lowering his hand without touching her. 'The water will clean the dust away. It's what you need.'
Beth didn't answer. She only had to watch Khal's muscles flex as he checked his stallion over to know what she needed, and it was more than a wash.
Having removed the last of the horses' tack, Khal clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and they followed him to the lip of the lagoon. 'I can't manage both of them,' he said. 'You'll have to come and help me … '
Beth watched transfixed as he unfastened his breeches and took them off. His black finest-cotton pants followed …
'You must have sand everywhere,' he said, turning to face her.
No wonder he had no inhibitions, Beth thought. Even in the shadowy moonlight Khal's body was magnificent, a supreme work of nature, only exceeded by his supreme lack of self-consciousness as he sprang effortlessly onto his stallion's back. 'What are you waiting for?' he said, turning to look at her over his shoulder.
For the fire to die down inside her, maybe? Though hopefully the cool water should accomplish that! Beth thought, waiting until the stallion had swum out a way. She had no idea why, when they had a child together, she should feel so self-conscious about the prospect of skinny-dipping with Khal. It was as if they were only now getting to know each other. She took her clothes off as quickly as she could, and, using the slope of the bank to her advantage, climbed up easily onto her pony's back. Squeezing her knees, she urged it into the water.
This was like something out of a film, Beth thought, as the warm breeze caressed her and the moon shone down on them. She rocked gently with surge of the pony's paddling motion, heading out towards Khal. He was right; after a grit bath this was just what she needed … he was just what she needed. And, judging by the angle of their horses' pricked ears, they thought so too.
She looked like a moon goddess coming towards him. The light was a strange mix of silver and some phosphorescent trickery conjured up by the light and the lingering heat. It gave her an aura that shimmered on her naked skin as her horse stepped out, and their mounts snickered companionably as she smiled at him.
He had been standing waiting for her, with the stallion fetlock-deep just off the shore beneath the shelter of some trees, wondering if he had ever felt so relaxed. When she reached him their mounts turned lazily towards a patch of grass that had survived the blistering heat of day beneath its canopy of leaves. Sound was contained by the mountains, and the swish of water as their horses moved through it seemed amplified, as did the hoot and scrabble of creatures of the night they couldn't see. The fantasy that they were alone in the world expanded and held firm for him. Beth's modesty was protected by her long blonde hair, which had curled damply around her nipples, allowing him no more than a tantalising glimpse of her breasts. She made no attempt to hide them, and as usual her chin was tipped at a confident angle. Anything she did she did wholeheartedly, and the way she had recovered after the storm had only increased his admiration for her.
'We can safely leave them to crop the grass,' he said, dismounting from his horse. He came to help Beth down, and then the spell broke when she looked at him, because they both knew what would happen if she came into his arms.
'Why don't we swim?' she said, pulling back.
It hurt him more to see her innocent enthusiasm change to apprehension. The depth of her hurt and uncertainty about her future in Q'Adar was reflected in her face. In all honesty there was nothing he could say to reassure her-but he had saved her once, and now he wanted to save her again, and if that meant spending time with her … 'Do you mean you want to go back in and swim without the horses?'
'That's exactly what I mean,' she said, staring past him. 'I've dreamed of swimming in the moonlight all my life, and I never thought I'd get the chance.'
'Then tonight you will.' Desire blazed inside him as he reached up for her. He could think of nothing but making her smile and relax again. He kept a safe distance between them as he lifted her down. 'Before we swim I'm going to stoke the fire, so it will blaze all night and dry your clothes.'
'I'll help you collect firewood,' she offered.
'Brushwood, dried grass, twigs, anything you can find … ' The desert wasn't generous with her scraps.
When that was done, she stood with her hand on her hips, watching him. 'You make a mean fire, Sheikh … '
Enjoying the fact that she was relaxed now, he turned and gave her a mock bow. Then he saw her cheeks were blazing. They had been riding and walking in shadows, with the darkness concealing their nakedness, but like Eve she was aware of it now, and like Eve she wanted to run and hide and cover herself. He didn't want that for Beth. He didn't want her to feel ashamed, ever. It was important to him that she retained both her innocence and her pride. Reaching out, he took her hand to give her confidence, and just linking hands with her filled him with an emotion he'd never known before. They both knew this couldn't go anywhere, but while they had these few hours together why shouldn't they steal what pleasure they could?
Swimming with Khal in the moonlight was amazing. He was a much stronger swimmer than she was, but each time he overtook her he lay floating on his back, waiting for her to catch up as she thrashed energetically in the freestyle she'd learned at school.
'That was absolutely brilliant!' Beth exclaimed, finding her feet in the shallow water. But as the stones shifted she lost her balance and, lurching forward, grabbed on to Khal. He steadied her before letting go. 'It must be boring for you having to swim with me.'
'Why?' he said, lips curving into his delicious smile.
Beth changed tack rapidly. 'I've never seen a moon so bright, have you?'
'Or so many stars … ' Raking his hands through his hair to move it from his face, Khal leaned back into the water, floating, and Beth thought she had never seen him so relaxed. She was relaxed too, lost in the moment, thinking about the real man: the man in front of her now, the man who had previously been concealed beneath a cloak of power. When he stood she absorbed the stillness between them. She was aching for him to kiss her, and so she did the right thing and quickly moved away.
'Now, what are we going to do?' she said, adopting a perky voice. What indeed? How to retire with her self-respect intact when she was naked? 'You'd better get out first, and I won't look,' she suggested.
'Or we could stay here a little longer,' Khal argued.
'And get cold?' Beth countered.
Khal's smile was so rare and so wicked, it made Beth doubt her self-control. 'All right, I suppose I could warm you with my wit.' The ironic expression on his face suggested not. 'Or you should just turn your back and let me get out?'
'I prefer the first option.'
'You do?'
'You offered to warm me,' Khal reminded her, slicking water off his arms.
'I did?'
'Well?' he prompted. 'I'm still waiting.'
The moment of decision had come; she couldn't keep on ducking and diving all night, and the moment she lifted her arms towards him she was lost. The hunger inside them both had been suppressed for far too long, and as Khal dragged her to him her inhibitions fell away. 'Hold me close,' she begged him; it was she who needed warming.