Diamond in the Desert(10)

Correct, she thought.

'If I lived in Skavanga, I'd come here to recharge my batteries.'

Which was exactly what she did. She sometimes came to the cabin just  for a change of pace. It helped her to relax and get back in the race.

And it was high time she stopped finding points of contact between  them, Britt warned herself, or she'd be convincing herself that fate was  giving her a sign. There was no sign. There was no Emir and Britt. It  seemed they got on outside sex and business, but that was it.

'What are you thinking?' he said.

She was resting her chin on her knees when she realised Emir was staring at her.

'Why don't you take your underwear off?' he suggested. 'You can't be comfortable in those soggy scraps.'

'They'll soon dry out,' she said, keeping her head down.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him shrug, but his expression  called her a coward. And he was right. She was usually naked before she  reached the door of the sauna-and she'd had sex with this man. Plus, she  was hardly a vestal virgin in the first place. But somehow with Emir  she felt exposed in all sorts of ways, and her underwear was one small,  tiny, infinitesimal piece of armour-and she was hanging onto it. 'I'm  going outside,' she announced.

'Excellent. I'm ready for my ice rub, Ms Skavanga.'

'Okay, tough guy, bring a towel. And don't blame me if this is too hard  core for you.' Her grand flounce off was ruined by the sight of Emir's  grin.

She had used to swim through the snow when she was a little girl-or  pretend to-and so she plunged straight in. It wasn't something you  stopped to think about. The shock was indescribable. But there was  pleasure too as all her nerve endings shrieked at once. The soft bed of  snow was cold but not life threatening. It was invigorating, and wiped  her mind clean of any concerns she had-

But where was Emir?

She suddenly realised he wasn't with her. Springing up, she looked  around. Nothing-just silence and snow. She called his name. Still  nothing.

Had he gone back to the hut?

She ran to the window and peered in. It was empty.

The lake-

Dread made her unsteady on her feet as she stumbled towards the water,  but then she gusted with relief...and fury as his head appeared above  the surface. 'You're mad,' she yelled. 'You never go swimming in the  lake on your own. What if something had happened to you?'

'You stole my line,' he said, springing out. 'I'm flattered you'd care.'

'Of course I'd care,' she yelled, leaning forward hands on hips. 'What  the hell would I tell your people if I lost you in a frozen lake? Don't  you dare laugh at me,' she warned when Emir pressed his lips together.  'Don't you-'

'What?' he said sharply. Catching hold of her arms, he dragged her  close, but she saw from his eyes that he was only teasing her. 'Didn't I  tell you I wanted more?' he growled.

His brows rose, his mouth curved. She could have stamped on his  foot-much good it would do her in bare feet. They stared at each other  for a long moment, until finally she wrestled herself free. 'You're  impossible! You're irresponsible and you're a pig-headed pain in the  neck.'

'Anything else?'

'You deserve to freeze to death!'

'Harsh,' he commented.

Wrapping both towels around her, she stormed off.

'You're a liability!' she flashed over her shoulder, unable to stare at  the gleaming lake water streaming off his naked body a moment longer.

'Come back here. You haven't fulfilled your part of the bargain.'

She stopped at the door to the sauna. Emir's voice was pitched low and  sent shivers down her spine. This was another of those 'what am I doing  here?' moments...

And as soon as she turned she knew. There was nowhere else on earth she'd rather be. 'My part of the bargain?' she queried.                       
       
           



       

'Ice,' he said, holding her gaze in a way that shot arousal through her.

'I can't believe you haven't had enough yet.'

'I haven't had nearly enough.'

Those black eyes-that stare-that wicked, sexy mouth-

'You asked for this,' she said, scooping up a couple of handfuls.

She was right about ice melting on Emir. Even now, fresh from the lake,  he was red hot, and as the ice scraped across his smooth, bronzed skin  it disappeared beneath the warmth of her hands, leaving her with no  alternative but to explore the heat of his body.

'That's enough,' she said, stepping back the instant her breathing  became ragged. She had been wrong to think she could do this-that she  could play with this man-toy with him-amuse herself at his expense. Emir  was more than a match for her, and the strength she'd felt beneath her  hands had only confirmed her thoughts that his body was hard, while hers  was all too soft and yielding.

She didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling again as she  went back to the sauna hut. Her hands were trembling as she let herself  in, and hot guilt rushed through her as she curled up on the bench with  her knees tucked under her chin and her arms wrapped tightly round them.  By the time Emir walked in, she had put safety back at the top of her  agenda. 'Let me know if you plan any more solo trips in the lake. Forget  the sheikh-I don't even have a contact number for your next of kin.'

'Your concern overwhelms me,' Emir said dryly as he poured another ladle of water onto the hot stones.

'Where are you going now?' she said as he turned for the door.

'To choose which birch switch I would like to use,' he said as if she should have known. 'Would you care to join me?'

Talk about a conversation stopper.





CHAPTER SIX

SHE WAS TWISTED into a ferment of lust. Her heart was beating like a  drum as she watched Emir selecting a birch twig switch. She loved that  his process of elimination was so exacting. She loved that he examined  each bunch before trying them out on his muscular calves. Each arc  through the air...each short, sharp slap against his skin...made her  breath catch. Her head was reeling with all sorts of erotic impressions,  though she couldn't help wondering if he ever felt the cold. She had  grabbed a robe and fur boots before exiting the hut and was well wrapped  up.

He started thrashing his shoulders. This was like an advanced lesson in  how to watch, feel and suffer-from the most intense frustration she had  ever known.

'What do you think?' His dark eyes were full of humour.

'I think I'll leave you to it,' she said, shaking her head as if to indulge the tourist in him.

'Why so prudish, suddenly?' Emir challenged as she turned to go.

Yes. Why was she so strait-laced with Emir when thrashing the body with  birch twigs was a normal part of the traditional sauna routine in  Skavanga?

'Don't you want to try it?' Emir called after her with amusement in his voice.

She stopped, realising that however high she raised the bar he jumped over it and raised it yet more for her.

Where would this end?

'I can do it any time,' she said casually. He didn't need to know she  was shivering with arousal rather than cold as she headed for the door.  She swung it open and the enticing warmth with the mellow scent of hot  wood washed over her.

'It's not like you to run away from a challenge, Britt.'

She hadn't closed the door yet. 'You don't know anything about me.'

'Are we going to debate this while our body temperatures drop like a stone?'

His maybe. 'You could always join me in the sauna...' she suggested.

'Or you could join me with the birch twigs.' As Emir laughed she made her decision.

'In your dreams. And you might want to put some clothes on,' she added, heading for the sauna hut.

Slamming the door behind her, she leaned back against it, exhaling  shakily. Damn the man! Did nothing faze him? She had dreamed of meeting  her match, but now she'd met him she wasn't so sure it was such a good  idea. They were too similar-too stubborn-too set on duty-too  competitive-too everything.

It was too exhausting!

Flopping down on the bench, she closed her eyes, but that didn't help  to blank out the fact that a connection of some sort, that wasn't sex,  was growing between them. Crashing into the hut in a blast of energy and  frigid air, Emir exclaimed, 'Make room for me,' before she could  progress this thought.

'Close the door!'

'Wuss,' he murmured in a way that made her picture his sexy mouth curved in that half-smile.                       
       
           



       

'I don't like the cold,' she muttered, hugging her knees and burying her face so she didn't have to look at him.

'You could have fooled me! But I guess you'd love the desert,' he said.

She went very still and then forced herself to reach for the ladle so she didn't seem too impressed by this last comment.

'You can't still be cold?' Emir commented as she ladled water onto the hot stones. 'That's enough!'

The small hut was full of steam. She had been ladling the water on  autopilot, trying not to think about the possibility of travelling to  the desert with Emir, and in doing so was threatening to steam them  alive. 'Sorry.' She lifted her shoulders in a careless shrug. 'I got  carried away.'