The Sheikh’s Tempted Prisoner by Holly Rayner Page 0,28

now she had possibly gotten herself mixed up with a criminal who was hiding from the law.

In the heat, she found her stamina waning, her panicked sprint becoming a jog and eventually slowing to a walk. The palace had long vanished from view, and she felt safe enough to decrease her pace as she wandered through a lonely desert with no destination in sight.

Atnan had been a beacon of kindness and hospitality. He had made love to her with a gentleness she had never known. How could she pair that man with the one who had been charged with harassing another woman? Her mind couldn’t puzzle it out, and as the sun continued to beat against her skin, the sand burning her bare feet with every step, she realized she was quite terribly lost.

Lily had completely fallen for Atnan. She loved him. But was that love based on a lie?

Chapter Twelve

Sweat streaked down the back of Lily’s neck as she trudged across the seemingly endless desert. The pads of her feet were burning. Her vision was beginning to blur. Several times she admonished herself for bolting without any thought or preparation. As time passed, it seemed as though her rash and stupid decision really would be the end of her.

She looked up from the shifting sand, her eyes widening as she wiped sweat from her lashes. Was that a building up ahead?

Picking up her pace, Lily hoped against hope that she wasn’t hallucinating as she sped toward the structure, which was soon joined by several others in what appeared to be a small desert hamlet.

When her feet touched the main road, a wave of relief washed over Lily. She was so overheated and her mind was so muddled that all she could think about was a way to get to water. She noticed a sign indicating a dinky café and stepped inside, the tile floor deliciously cool on her feet.

She plopped down at a table before anyone could notice her state of undress, hiding her bare toes beneath a long cotton tablecloth. A waiter appeared, gazing at her with wide eyes as he asked, in the local dialect, what she would like to order. Having had a few lessons with Atnan over the course of the week, Lily picked up the menu and recognized the words for iced tea.

She ordered a pitcher in a shaky accent, and thankfully the waiter seemed to understand. Staring out into space, she waited, feeling completely miserable, until he returned with a glass and a large glass pitcher filled with the ice-cold brew. She nodded to him in gratitude as she poured a cup. She did her best not to gulp it down too loudly, her mind uncluttering as she came back to earth.

Before she could finish the pitcher, the waiter returned and asked if she wanted anything else. Lily shook her head, thanking him before he nodded and slipped the bill on her table and walked away. She stared morosely at the bill, realizing that she had no money, no cell phone, and no way to pay for what she had just ordered.

Why was her life such a mess?

“Perhaps you left your wallet in the car?”

Lily looked up to find a handsome gentleman sitting one table over and sipping his own iced tea. His eyes had a familiar glint in them, though she couldn’t quite figure out why. Chances were, she was delusional and seeing Atnan everywhere she looked.

Sitting back in her chair, she ran a hand over her eyes as she tried to think of a response.

“I…” she began, but she couldn’t find the words to finish.

The man nodded. His dark hair was perfectly coiffed, his button-down shirt covered by a sleek, dark vest.

“Please, say no more,” he said, waving to the waiter.

The boy returned, and the man handed him a wad of cash, gesturing toward Lily’s table. The waiter nodded with enthusiasm, bowed to Lily, removed her check from the table, and then dropped off another full pitcher.

Lily looked at the man across from her. She was too tired to smile, and she imagined she had to look like a strawberry after so much time in the sun without sunblock. What must he think of her?

“Thank you,” she finally breathed, and he waved a dismissive hand.

“Think nothing of it. It is my pleasure to help a lady in distress.”

“I am not in distress,” she protested, though even she had to admit she had no real argument there.

The man lifted a skeptical eyebrow,