Page 38 of Kismet

Pleased with her success to this point, she hastily slipped the rest of the bridle over first one ear and then another. With the bridle secure on the stallion, she freed the animal from the lead line. The sound of a soft cry startled her, and she jerked her head around to meet the wide-eyed gaze of the boy she’d seen earlier.

Aware that her window of a head start had just narrowed, she led the stallion toward a nearby bucket. Kicking it over, she positioned the horse so she could use the pail as a step stool to mount the animal. The minute she was astride him, his entire demeanor changed. No longer docile and compliant, he tossed his head and reared up on his hind legs.

She buried her fingers and the reins in the stallion’s wiry mane and clung to it in a death grip. At the same time, she clenched her thighs tightly against the horse’s sides, determined not to let him prevent her from reaching Marrakech. She was through letting others control her and her destiny.

The moment the men dispersed to attend to their duties, Shaheen found himself searching the area for a glimpse of Allegra. When she’d appeared in the central gathering space of the encampment a short time ago, his gut had clenched with a mixture of emotions that ranged from anger to a stark hunger. He needed his anger to help him keep his distance from her, particularly when the woman had the power to twist him into knots.

Last night, when she’d tried to convince him that her response to his touch was nothing more than practiced skill, he’d been furious that she thought him a fool. Her mockery had hit too close to home. It had brought back vivid images of that night in Frances’s town house in Mayfair.

His mistress had played a twisted game by fucking his brother at the same time she was sharing his own bed. Frances hadn’t been just greedy, she’d been clever and deceitful as well. Neither he nor James had realized it until it was too late.

Frances’s behavior toward the end had made him suspicious that the courtesan was seeing another man. The night of James’s death, he’d called on her unexpectedly, but she’d been alone and denied involvement with anyone else. Like a fool, he’d believed her and allowed his lust to blind him to her treachery.

When James had discovered them in bed a few hours later, his brother’s reaction to the sight of them had been one of uncanny silence. But the acrimony in his brother’s gaze had sliced through him with the ugliness of a dull blade. The icy expression in James’s eyes that night had hurtled him back to the pain of his childhood. A pain that his brother had made bearable by being his protector, champion, and consoler even into adulthood. But Frances had taken his brother from him.

He closed his eyes against the memory until the sound of someone clearing their throat made him turn his head and focus his gaze on Jamal’s wry expression.

“I see you prevented the anasi from escaping last night,” the Amazigh said with a chuckle. “I’m beginning to think that old witch Halah has the eye after all.”

“What the devil is that supposed to mean?” he growled.

With a shake of his head, the Bedouin’s grin widened. “Nothing at all, particularly if one ignores the anasi’s fiery-colored hair and temperament.”

“If that’s your cryptic way of saying I’ve staked my claim on Allegra, you’re wrong.”

“Then you will have some explaining to do when Mahmoud arrives. It is the first time since the day Yasmia died that you have not had Hakim close at your side.”

Shaheen scowled at his friend. “The boy is almost a man, and it’s time for him to take on more responsibility. I didn’t send him to Khalid’s camp at Sidi Rahal alone. Should I have taken him with us to find Nassar?”

“No. It would have been a mistake to take him with us.”

“I’m glad you agree,” he snapped. “As it is, if Nassar is plotting something, we’re ill prepared. Add to the night watch, and I want anything out of the ordinary—”

The sudden shouts echoing from the northern edge of the encampment took them by surprise, causing them both to jerk around. Not hesitating, Shaheen raced toward the sound. As he sprinted past other members of the tribe hurrying to answer the calls, he kept looking for Allegra’s familiar figure among those he passed. Something in his gut clenched when he didn’t see her anywhere.

Another cry went up again, and this time he was able to make out the words Ahmar Jinn. He grimaced. Some young fool was trying to ride Red Devil again. Rounding the corner of a tent, he slid to a halt, his skin growing cold as he saw Allegra astride the massive roan stallion.

The muscles of the animal’s neck knotted with tension as he tossed his head angrily. Nostrils flaring, the horse rose up on its hind legs. Shaheen didn’t know how, but somehow Allegra managed to remain on the animal’s back. In a low, ominous voice, he ordered the gathering throng of spectators to be quiet.

With an angry cry, Ahmar Jinn arched his back and kicked his hind legs outward. The vicious whip-like movement sent his heart crashing violently into his chest as he saw Allegra slip slightly on the animal’s back. Sweet Jesus, she wasn’t using a saddle. She righted herself and reined the animal’s head to one side until his nose almost touched her leg. The stallion squealed his protest as the move made it difficult for him to buck.

“Don’t come any closer. You’ll only agitate him that much more.” Even though she never looked at him, Allegra’s voice echoed harshly across the short distance between them.

“Get off the horse now, Allegra,” he commanded in a low voice. Despite his anger and fear, Shaheen marveled at the skillful way she was handling the fractious animal. “The animal’s dangerous. He’s already injured two of my best riders.”

She ignored his quiet order and leaned forward to talk softly to the horse. It was impossible to hear her words, but there was something about the set of her jaw that said she wasn’t about to obey him. Ahmar Jinn danced restlessly in a tight circle, his powerful legs pounding the earth in angry repetition.

“Damn it, Allegra. Get off that animal now before you get yourself killed,” he rasped.

Maintaining the grip on her reins, she ignored him to lean forward and murmur something in a soothing voice to the horse. With a gentle tug of the reins, she turned the animal around so he was facing the plains that stretched out in the direction of Marrakech.

“Merde,” he exclaimed as he realized what she was planning.

Shaheen didn’t wait to see her urge the stallion forward as he whirled around and raced around the perimeter of the camp to where the other horses were. As fast as he could, Shaheen bridled Tarek then launched himself up onto the animal’s bare back. As he wheeled the Arabian away from the camp, he saw Jamal bridling his own horse as well.

With a sharp command, he urged Tarek into a flat-out gallop. Allegra had already put an incredible distance between them, and he could only hope he could catch her before something terrible happened to her. And when he caught up with her, he was going to flay her hide for daring to disobey him in front of his people, not to mention putting herself in harm’s way.

He’d been riding at a hard gallop for almost half an hour before it became apparent he was gaining on her. She’d clearly not slowed her mount any, and he knew her desire to escape had made her push Ahmar Jinn too hard. The stallion was fast, but Tarek was exercised daily and better able to handle long distances at the pace Allegra was trying to maintain. The fact that she was still on the stallion amazed him. With her knowledge of horseflesh he’d automatically assumed she knew how to ride, but he’d never considered the possibility that she might excel at it. Allegra was the only rider, aside from him and Malik’s father, who’d managed to stay seated on Ahmar Jinn for any length of time. But she was the first to ride the stallion for this long.