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‘Ride with me today, Livvy,’ he said suddenly. ‘For mercy’s sake—what harm can it do?’
Livvy looked at him, acknowledging the suddenly urgent note in his voice. She wanted to refuse. To tell him that it felt too poignant, too intimate, too...too everything. And yet...yet...
She looked into the gleam of his black eyes. The temptation was strong and her thoughts made it even stronger. What harm could one little ride do, on one of the sheikh’s magnificent horses, as she had been longing to do for weeks? To be alone with the desert king—far away from the watchful eyes of the palace servants. ‘I’ll ride with you later,’ she said. ‘After Burkaan’s final session of the day.’
The state of excitement inside her for the next few hours was disproportionate to the short ride that he’d undoubtedly scheduled. At least, that was what Livvy told herself. But no matter how much she tried to minimise the impact of some time alone with Saladin away from the palace, nothing could get rid of the fizz of excitement in her blood.
Her heart was pounding as she swung herself up into the saddle with Saladin watching her closely, his hand on the reins.
‘Okay?’ he questioned.
She nodded as she felt the first ripple of the animal’s power beneath her. ‘Okay,’ she echoed softly.
The beautiful chestnut mare he’d given her was placid, and, with Saladin mounting a much bigger roan stallion, they trotted out of the stable complex side by side onto the hard desert sands. The rhythmic pounding of the horses’ hooves was both soothing and exhilarating as they began to canter. The sun was low and the sky was an inverted bowl of deepest blue as Livvy breathed in the warm air. She felt...alive. The most alive she’d felt since...
Since Saladin had made love to her.
She turned to look at him, thinking that he resembled a figure from a fantasy tale. No jodhpurs today—instead, his white headdress billowed behind him and his silken robes clung to the hard contours of his body as he rode alongside her.
‘How do you know your way around?’ she questioned. ‘Aren’t you afraid of getting lost?’
He gave a brief smile. ‘I grew up in this land,’ he said. ‘And it is as familiar to me as my own skin.’
‘Really?’ She thought using his skin as a comparison probably wasn’t the best idea, under the circumstances—but she kept her expression neutral. ‘In what way?’
He shrugged as he slowed his horse down. ‘You see nothing but sand, but I see ridges and undulations on the surface where the winds have blown—and I can read the wind by sight and sound as others can read music. I know where there are underground rivers and lakes, where vegetation can thrive and provide shelter. And I always make sure I’m carrying adequate supplies of water and a compass—as well as a cell phone.’ He flicked her another brief smile. ‘Would you like me to take you to an oasis?’
She thought at first that he must be joking, because it sounded so corny. She half remembered some pop song her mother used to love. Something about midnight at an oasis. Livvy gripped the reins a little tighter as she met the gleaming question in his black eyes and suddenly she wondered what the hell was making her hesitate. When else in her life was she ever going to get the opportunity to see an oasis?
‘I’d love to,’ she said.
‘Then, come,’ he urged, and when he saw the look of hesitation on her face he gave a quick smile. ‘Come.’ Pressing his knees into his horse’s flanks, he set off at a gallop and after a moment’s hesitation Livvy started after him.
It came back within seconds—that raw exhilaration and sheer joy. She’d forgotten the speed and sense of power you got when you were riding a horse at full pelt, and any lingering reservations were melted away as she galloped after the sheikh.
Over hard and undulating sands they rode—with nothing but the heavy sound of hooves pounding. They rode until Saladin slowed down the pace so that they could mount a steep incline, and Livvy’s breath died in her throat when she saw what was on the other side. For there was an unexpectedly wide gleam of water surrounded by grasses and a line of lush palm trees that provided acres of shade.
‘Oh, wow,’ she said softly. ‘A real oasis.’
‘Did you think it was a mirage?’ he questioned drily.
The truthful answer would have been yes, because nothing felt quite real as Livvy’s horse followed Saladin’s down to the desert lake, and she jumped down to lead her mount towards the water. She could hear the strange squawking of a bird in one of the palm trees and the glugging splash as the two thirsty animals drank. Saladin gestured for her to tether her horse in the shade next to his, while he drew out a canister of water and offered it to her.
Rarely had any drink ever tasted as delicious as this, and Livvy gulped it down with gratitude and a strange sense of being at peace with herself. She was standing beneath the shade of a palm tree and Saladin was taking the container from her suddenly boneless fingers and drinking from it himself. And she w
ondered how sharing water with a man could seem so ridiculously intimate. Because they had shared so much more than this? She watched the swallowing movement of his neck and suddenly her mouth felt dry again—even though she’d just drunk about half a litre.
He didn’t say a word as he put the empty container back and then took her by the hand, leading her towards the cool canopy provided by the palm trees—and she didn’t ask him where he was taking her or what he was about to do when he got there, because she knew.
It was obvious from the sudden tension in the fingers that were firmly laced around her own. The way in which her heart had suddenly started to race in response. He came to a halt when their faces were shadowed by the cool fronds above their heads, and her face was grave as he removed the wide-brimmed hat from her head and placed it on the ground.
‘Saladin,’ she said breathlessly as he framed her face in the palms of his hands.
His voice was quiet, but insistent. ‘I’m going to kiss you.’
‘But you said—’
‘I said that we couldn’t have sex in the palace, but we aren’t in the palace now. Are we?’
