something spicy. She fought to keep from closing her eyes and drawing in a deep whiff.
“I generally go by Kat.” Why was she telling him this? “To my friends. Not to, you know. Everyone.”
Dear God, she was losing it.
“Kat. Yeah, that’s better. Fits you.” He moved closer still. “But I like Kit-Kat more.”
Why did that insane nickname sound so damn sexy coming from his lips?
“Look, Pete. Um. Mr. Kauffman.” Wow. She liked how his first name sounded way too much. “You seem like a nice guy.” Oh, Lord. She was going to hell for lying. He seemed like a sex god, not in any way, shape or form a nice guy. “And I’m flattered. Really. But, um, I think you have the wrong idea about me.”
“What idea would that be, Ms. Meyer?”
The twinkle in his eye said he was baiting her, and part of her wanted to go on playing. But common sense took control. “I’m working here.”
He studied her a long moment. “I’ll tell you what. It’s clear I’m distracting you and that you’d prefer I quit hanging around your tomb, right?”
She nodded slowly, not entirely sure where he was headed.
“I’ll make you a deal then.” He smiled again, let go of her hand, and damn if that dimple didn’t wink at her. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
“What?”
“Dinner. With me. Tonight. I pick the place. If you do, I’ll stop bugging you. If you say no, well then…” He shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets. “I’ll just have to keep taking this tour until you change your mind.”
The man was insane. He was willing to suffer through her boring tour and this sweltering heat just to get her attention? That was what he was doing here?
Shannon had been right.
“Well?”
She reached up to touch the chain that ran around her neck and disappeared beneath her shirt as she stared into those mesmerizing eyes. She should say no, but any guy who was willing to go through all that deserved to have a bone thrown his way. And it was only dinner, after all.
It wasn’t like one meal would change her life.
Present day
Cairo, Egypt
Omar Kamil wasn’t happy with the interruption.
He leaned across Rehema’s long, naked body and reached for his cell phone, the one he’d left sitting on the nightstand just in case something urgent came up. He didn’t bother to glance at the number, instead flipped it open and growled, “Matha?”
“We’ve got movement.”
The heavily accented voice speaking English on the other end of the line drew his immediate attention, and he sat up.
Busir.
“Tell me,” he said in English as well.
“She came out of hiding at the auction. You were right.”
It was about damn time.
Omar let out a long breath and leaned back against the ornately carved headboard in the Nile suite at the Cairo Four Seasons. Out the window across the bedroom, palm trees framed a view of soaring high-rises across the river, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. Minutes before he could have cared less about the view. Now it was the most gorgeous picture he’d ever seen.
Six fucking years he’d been waiting for this call.
Rehema slid her hand across his abdomen, smiled a lusty grin and pressed her lips to his belly button. When she eased away as if to give him space for his conversation, he threaded his fingers into her long black hair and pulled her head back to his stomach. She wasn’t getting away now, not when he felt like celebrating. Especially not when she didn’t understand a lick of English.
Knowing what he wanted, she slid lower and took him into her mouth. The breath that slipped from his lips was pure victory.
“Where are you keeping her?” he asked in a relaxed voice.
“We’re not.”
He lurched up. “What?”
Rehema gagged and fell backward against the mattress. A series of coughs racked her body, but Omar barely noticed. He leapt out of the bed and strode naked to the window. “What kind of idiot are you? She finally shows up and you lose her? Of all the goddamned—”
“We had a…situation. The limo she’s driving has a GPS tracking device, though. The service is paranoid about security. We’ve already got someone on it and have narrowed down her location. It’s only a matter of hours before we apprehend her.”
Omar could feel the blood pounding in his brain. His hand wavered as he ran it over his brow, mopped up sweat that had popped out on his forehead. The tightness in his chest made it hard to get