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But this world here, now, timeless and primeval, was the world she was giving herself to—and she was giving herself to the man here with her, to this time together. She would not think of the world beyond, would not remember it. Not now.
Elation seared through her—a kind of reckless joy as she seized this moment, this time out of time that had come to her unasked-for, unsought, but which she had taken all the same, bestowed upon her like a gift of all gifts.
The gift of this time with Nikos, the man who, out of all men that existed, had taken her to a place she had not believed could ever be for her.
But it is—it is! It’s real for me—passion and desire. It’s real and now I have it—here, with Nikos, in this timeless place.
That was all she cared about, all she would let herself care about, feel and believe. This time now, with Nikos, alone in the desert.
She could see the camels again now, lying down in the shade of high rocks, resting, as their four-by-four descended to the level dirt track again, taking her and Nikos to where a canopy had been set up over carpets laid on the sand.
There they were offered moistened, cooling cloths to wipe their dusty hands and hot faces, before tucking into an array of spiced and fragranced dishes whose delicious aroma quickened her appetite.
And not just for food.
Her eyes slid to the man she was with and she felt that rush of amazement and wonder that came every time she looked at him, feasted on him. He caught her open gaze and smiled—a warm, intimate smile that brought colour flushing to her cheeks. He said nothing, though, only let his long lashes sweep down as he urged her to try yet another dish.
Around them servants stood, pouring cool drinks from tall silver jugs, removing empty dishes, replacing them with yet more food that seemed to be arriving in a procession from the open-air cooking station some way down-wind of where they lounged.
Eventually, sated and replete, Diana felt her eyelids start to drift down.
‘I’m falling asleep,’ she heard herself say as the heat and drowsiness of midday took their soporific toll.
‘Then sleep,’ said Nikos.
He made a gesture for the servants to clear the last of the bowls and glasses, which they instantly did, then reached across to Diana, drawing her down on the cushions beside him, letting her head loll on his lap. Idly he stroked her hair, plaited into a confining ponytail, but feathering in soft tendrils around her face. Her beautiful, fine-boned face, flushed now with the sun, her hair bleached even paler.
He felt desire stir in him, but held it at bay. It would wait until they were private again.
A slow smile slid across his features and there was reminiscence in his eyes. Their eventual consummation had been everything he’d wanted. Everything he’d intended. Leisurely he replayed in his head that first night—melting her under the stars, seeing the revelation in her starlit eyes as realisation had swept over her, as she’d felt the full intensity of the sensations he’d drawn from her, using all his skills and experience, knowing just what would most sate the desire burning in her like a flame. A desire he had kindled, against her own long-held assumption that men were of no sexual interest to her.
His smile deepened, took on a sensual twist. Well, he had made an end of that! From now on she would burn for him—burn for however long it took before his desire for her began to wane and the day came when he woke and knew their time together was done with.
Until that time came she was his...
He felt his own lids grow heavy in the somnolent heat. To lie like this, with Diana supine in his lap, her arm across his limbs, warm and close and intimate, was so very good.
Would he ever not want her?
The question hung like an eagle over the desert sand, motionless and unanswered, as his eyelids closed and he, too, succumbed to sleep.
* * *
‘I hate to say this...’ Nikos’s voice sounded regretful ‘...but our idyll here is over.’
Diana looked across at him as they sat taking their breakfast in the beautiful inner courtyard, the trickling fountain cooling the air beside them, verdant greenery all around them in the private, enclosed space.
Nikos set down his phone. ‘That was the Minister for Development’s office. There’s another meeting this afternoon with the minister and several other bigwigs. I’ll need to be there.’
Diana blinked. The world beyond the desert had seemed so very far away, and yet here it was intruding, downloaded from the ether, summoning them back to reality. She tried to count the days since they’d arrived here from the coast, and failed. One day had segued into the next—indolent, lazy, luxurious, self-absorbed and self-indulgent. A time of passion and desire—a time of bliss.
A fantasy of Arabian Nights made real...
And now it was to be ended.
A kind of numb dismay filled her—a sense of dissociation, loss.
Nikos was already getting to his feet. ‘I need my laptop,’ he said. ‘There are some things I must check. Finish your breakfast, though. There is no immediate rush. They’re sending a helicopter to take us back to the city.’
