Master of the Desert(8)

       
           



       

'I see your point,' he agreed dryly, but just when she'd been sure they were making real progress he sprang up and walked away.

He had to put distance between them. It had been a long time since he  had wanted a woman so badly. In fact, he couldn't remember wanting  anyone as much as this girl. It was the ambience, he reasoned, pausing  at the water's edge. There was nothing like a desert night to stir the  senses.

He shook his head with amusement when she called, 'Wait for me!'

Nothing fazed her. And he wanted to wait for her, which prompted the  question: when was the last time he had waited for anyone? 'I'm going  for a swim, Tuesday-you stay here.' He dipped into the traditional  Sinnebalese salutation before wheeling away. But the image of her  nibbling dates with her small white teeth was still with him.

She was still feasting on the dates when she caught up with him. There  was no artifice about her. She was hungry; they were on a beach, and she  was eating to fill her stomach and not to impress him with finicky  ways. She had a healthy appetite. He refused to dwell on that thought  any longer than was necessary.

'Sorry,' she gulped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. 'You really shouldn't swim so soon after eating, Saif.'

She was giving him advice now? 'Is that so? And what do you think you  are doing now?' She was staring at the sky and waving her arms around,  doing some sort of dance he found both innocent and seductive.

'I'm invoking the moon.'

'Of course you are,' he agreed wryly. 'And why are you doing that?'

'Don't laugh at me, Saif. For all you know, I'm a handmaiden of the moon.'

'And I'm a camel. Man jadda wajad wa man zara'a hasad.'

'Oh, that's lovely!' she exclaimed. 'What does it mean?'

His gaze slipped to her lips as she repeated the words after him in  Sinnebalese. 'He who perseveres finds,' he translated. 'And he who sows  harvests-'

'Perfect,' she interrupted dreamily. 'It could have been written for me.'

'Then you'd better remember it, and I'll test you tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow?' Her face lit up and then became carefully expressionless again.

'We won't be sailing any time soon,' he confirmed, glancing at the sky.

'Great!' she exclaimed. 'Lots more time to dance.'

That wasn't exactly what he had in mind. 'You're crazy.'

As was the surge of desire he felt. She might be younger than him, but  she warmed him with her joie de vivre, and it was hard not to smile at  her antics. She drew him to her as no one ever had before, and he wasn't  fighting it. Instead of wanting solitary time alone in the sea, he  wanted Tuesday. 'Have you ever caught a fish?' he said, guessing that  was a challenge she would find hard to refuse.

'I'd go hungry if I had to.'

The closest she had ever come to catching a fish was lifting one out of the freezer, Antonia realised.

'Would you like me to show you how to catch one?' Saif suggested.

She was so surprised by his offer she made the mistake of holding his  gaze, only to feel her hormones riot in response. 'I'd like that.' The  chance to do anything with Saif was an exciting prospect. And if she had  to catch a fish …

She had not expected Saif to stand so close behind her in the rock pool,  or to place his hand over hers when she plied the line. The fish were  plentiful in the shallows, but all she could think about was Saif's  warmth infusing her, and it was no time at all before there was a fish  on the line and a world of erotic thoughts in her head.

This time Saif wielded the knife while she found fresh wood to make the  fire blaze. They both took a hand in the cooking, and when Saif glanced  at her and smiled it felt like all her Christmases had come at once. She  could get things right if she believed in herself enough, Antonia  concluded. A life of pampering didn't mean she lacked fibre-she just  hadn't been tested before. Perhaps they were both finding out about  themselves, she mused as Saif's glance warmed her. They weren't exactly  friends, but they were certainly easier around each other, and there was  something else that sprang between them, like electricity-something  that made her heart thunder. 'What?' she said, angling her chin when he  stared at her.                       
       
           



       

'I was just wondering about you.'

Wondering what? She blushed. If he was wondering if she was good in bed,  he was in for the wrong kind of surprise. She was an amateur, a tease-a  virgin, pretty much. It was better they direct their conversations  towards harmless things, like business. 'The appointment I told you  about?' she said brightly to distract him. 'That's not the only reason  I'm travelling to Sinnebar.'

Saif's gaze sharpened.

'I'm here to find out about my mother,' she admitted, careful not to let  her feelings show. 'She died when I was a baby and I learned recently  that she spent some time in Sinnebar. How about you?' she prompted.

'Me?' He shrugged. 'This is just a break from work for me.'

'That's great. I can't think of anywhere better to relax.'

'I think it's time to swim,' he said, as if he was as keen as she was  not to delve too deep. 'Unless you've seen enough water for today?'

'No, I like swimming.' Did she sound too keen? She was already on her  feet. 'It must be way past half an hour since we ate,' she agreed,  turning serious.

'Way past,' Saif agreed dryly, striding ahead of her into the foam.

CHAPTER FIVE

THEY swam like dolphins, and in spite of everything that had happened  that day Antonia wondered if a day had ever ended so well. Saif was a  much stronger swimmer than she was, and when a giant wave crashed over  her head he was there in moments, drawing her to him where she felt  safe. She was intensely aware of the brush of his hard, warm body  against her own.

She felt safe and yet at the same time in the worst danger of her life,  if only because no one had ever made her feel so aware of her physical  self before. Saif made her want to swim better and to tease him all she  could. She wanted to show off and flirt with him-with danger. Some small  inexperienced part of her hoped he wouldn't notice her attempt to  attract him, but the rest of her most definitely hoped that he would.

She would wait a long time for another night like this. They were miles  away from anywhere on a desert island, with no one to see them as they  stepped out of their normal lives and did whatever they wanted to do;  they could be whoever they wanted to be …

And she wanted to be attractive to Saif.

She plunged into the waves at his side and began powering out to sea,  leaving him with no alternative but to go after her. Seizing hold of  her, he trod water, demanding, 'What do you think you're doing?'

Her answer was to playfully spray a mouthful of salt water in his face.  Astonishment barely covered it. He gave her a look. She dodged out of  his grip and started swimming away. 'Last time I was too gentle with  you!' he exclaimed, catching up with her again.

Her answer this time was to splash him as she called out, 'If you don't like it, catch me and punish me.'

And, like a sleek young otter she slipped out of his grasp and swam away again.

'Okay, I'm sorry!' She shrieked with excitement when he caught hold of  her. She was playing with him as if they were lovers. But this was the  Gulf, and he was a king, while she was … wonderful. She felt so warm and  supple beneath his hands, and it was impossible not to notice that they  fit together perfectly when he struck out for shore.

'You're not a bit sorry,' he accused, rejoicing in her defiance.

'Okay, not that sorry,' she agreed, her lips curving in a mischievous smile as she turned her head to look at him.

'Do you always live so dangerously, Tuesday?' he demanded as he matched  his stroke to hers. This was shifting rapidly from surreal to erotic, he  realised as he waited for her reply.

'Never as dangerously as this,' she admitted.

He could believe it.

'Anything rather than live a dull life,' she declared, putting her head  down and diving into the waves as she used the power of the sea to drive  her into shore.

There was nothing dull about her. She had more verve than his entire  court put together. In a few short hours she had pointed out what was  missing in his council of elders-personality, youth and vigour were just  a few of the qualities he could name. And however passionate he was  about taking Sinnebar forward he couldn't steer each new initiative  himself. It would be good to have someone like her on board, he thought  fleetingly, before dismissing the idea as ridiculous. But she was young  and vital, and though she made mistakes in many ways Tuesday was a  kindred spirit. How could he blame her for getting things wrong, when  the only people who never made a mistake were those who never tried  anything new?