One Desert Night - By Maggie Cox Page 0,14

if they both desired it?

'Drink your coffee and take some refreshment, both of you. We will have plenty of time for our first discussion on the matter of the jewel tomorrow, after breakfast.'

When he turned his glance towards Gina again, Zahir's expression was hard to read. A wall had definitely descended, she intuited—a wall that had clearly been erected to prevent her from seeing too much.

'However, I am afraid I will not be able to join you for dinner tonight. There is a personal matter that takes me away from the palace for a while. I will direct Jamal to show you to the dining room when it's time, and also show you where to go for breakfast in the morning.'

She soaked in the deep Arabian bath, and scented herself with the exotic oils supplied. A long, lazy bath was a pleasure Gina didn't allow herself very often. Where had she learned the idea that she must earn the right to personal pleasure? That work must come first? Thinking of her parents, she didn't need to search hard for an answer. But blaming them wasn't to be considered—not when the way she wanted to live was in her own hands now.

Sighing, she realised that she'd lingered in the warm scented water a little too long. The water had started to chill and goosebumps dotted her slim upper arms. She stepped out onto the marble-tiled surround to dry herself with a luxurious bathtowel that could have gone round her slim frame twice. Dinner earlier had been impossible. All she'd been able to do was watch Jake tuck into the feast that had been prepared for them with gusto. How could she eat when her stomach kept on roiling and lurching whenever she thought of Zahir?

He'd left them in the salon alone to enjoy their coffee, departing from the room without so much as a backward glance. At dinner, sensing Jamal's hawk-eyed gaze on her at every turn as she sat at the beechwood dining table inlaid with exquisite mother-of-pearl, Gina had wrestled with double misery at the idea her lack of appetite would cause offence to the household in any way. She'd been utterly relieved to finally escape to her room.

Wrapping herself in the generous white bathrobe she'd found hanging behind the door, she moved back into the bedroom, freeing her hair from its tidy French pleat to let it tumble in buttery blonde waves down to her shoulders as she went.

The knock on the door made her gasp. It was after midnight, and she could only surmise that it was perhaps a maidservant, wanting to find out what time she would be down for breakfast.

Drawing the edges of the voluminous robe together more securely, and tightening the belt, she drew back the door—only to be confronted by the tall, imposing figure of Zahir. In the corridor behind him all the lamps were turned down low, and the soft lighting created an even stronger warrior-like cast to his handsome features—particularly his eyes. They seemed to burn with the intensity of smoked flame as he stared down at her.

'My apologies for calling on you so late… As I told you earlier, something took me away from the palace awhile and I have only just returned.'

Clutching the sides of her robe tightly to her chest, Gina hardly knew what to think, never mind say. It didn't help that she was trembling from head to foot.

'May I step inside for a moment?'

Silently, she held the door wide, then closed it behind him. Glancing around the beautifully appointed room, Zahir sniffed the air and smiled. The gesture reminded her of the first time they had met in the Husseins' garden. The kindness she'd seen in his eyes then had prevented her from being afraid of him. But right now it wasn't kindness she saw reflected. There was an edge about him tonight that made her wary.

'You have been taking a bath?'

'I had no idea that you were Sheikh Kazeem Khan. It was such a shock to learn that it was you.' Her voice had a distinct quiver in it. 'I know it was three years ago, but I take it you haven't forgotten me?'

'Of course I haven't forgotten!' His glance was pained, his deep, resonant voice clearly irritated. 'Did you think I could ever forget that night? But to discover that the antiquites expert I hired in London is you is not exactly a delight to me… No, it is not. How could it be