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It was a distraction technique, and they both knew it. But when he rolled over, and his erection brushed her hip, the shimmer of desire felt like a relief.
Who knew sex was by far the simplest and most straightforward part of any relationship to navigate?
‘Are you trying to tell me something, Zane?’ she asked with a soft laugh, deciding that simple was what they both needed now.
‘No, I’m planning to show you,’ he said. And then he kissed her, teasing butterfly kisses that sent her senses soaring, as he delved into her slick folds and found the swollen nub of her clitoris.
The soft laugh choked into a carnal moan of pleasure as she forgot about everything but the glorious feeling of being possessed by this powerful, complex man.
If this night was all they could have, it seemed foolish not to make the most of it.
* * *
‘The Sheikh has left without me?’ Cat stood in the soft morning light staring dumbly at the horizon, her heart beating an uneven tattoo.
Zane had brought her to climax twice more during the night. He’d taught her how to pleasure him using her hands, her mouth, her tongue... And had done the same for her, driving her to gasp and sob and cry out. But when one of Kasim’s servants had woken her up half an hour ago, the tent had been empty, all traces of Zane gone—except the lingering scent of him that clung to her skin.
For a moment she’d even wondered if she’d dreamt the whole thing, the confidences they’d shared, the overwhelming emotions, the stunning intimacy.
When she’d finally tumbled into sleep she’d felt safe and secure in his arms. And now she felt bereft. She’d even been looking forward to the hour-long ride back to Allani, because it would give her one last chance to be with him, to be held by him.
‘My brother left before dawn.’ Kasim watched her. And she was reminded of Zane’s anger towards him the night before.
Kasim had arranged their night together to expose his brother to ridicule this morning. Was that why Zane had departed without a word? To save her reputation? It seemed the only explanation that made any sense.
She clung to it as she kept her face impassive. Or as impassive as she could while the vicious pain stabbed under her breastbone. She’d been abandoned once before. She could survive this, until she found out the reason why. And she was sure Zane had one.
‘I see,’ she murmured.
‘He asked me to arrange a ride for you to Allani, where a vehicle will be waiting to drive you back to the palace,’ Kasim said.
‘But I don’t know how to ride a horse,’ she said, wondering why Zane hadn’t mentioned she couldn’t ride.
The sound of a loud snort startled her and she whipped around to see a group of men leading a line of camels. As the giant creatures drew closer, snorting and chewing and spitting, the pungent smell of urine and compost hung on the dry desert air.
‘This is not a problem.’ Kasim smiled, the easy grin reminding her of the far too charming man from the night before. ‘Abdullah and his herders will show you how to ride a camel.’ Leaning close to her, he whispered in her ear, ‘But be sure to lean back on take-off and landing, or Zane will have my hide for compromising his woman’s dignity.’
She found herself smiling back, the blockage in her throat making it impossible for her to correct him again.
Even if she could never acknowledge being Zane’s woman, after everything they had shared last night she always would be in some small corner of her heart.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE FOLLOWING WEEKS passed in a haze of hard work on the project, as Cat forced herself to forget about her brief liaison with the Sheikh.
She persuaded herself she’d overreacted about the things Zane had told her during their visit to the Kholadi camp and everything she thought they’d shared.
Because Zane was conspicuous by his absence.
When she’d arrived back from the Kholadi Oasis—after an eventful journey discovering the joys of camel riding—Ravi had greeted her to explain that His Divine Majesty would be unavailable for the next few weeks as he was travelling on a series of diplomatic missions to neighbouring kingdoms.
At that point she’d forced herself to bury her hurt and disappointment deep. Zane had made no promises to her, and she had made none to him in return. They’d simply been exploring their sexual connection. Nothing more or less. She needed to get her thoughts and feelings in perspective. In two months’ time her visit to Narabia would be over and she would return to her life in Cambridge a wiser and more experienced woman. And if her nights were still filled with erotic dreams—that woke her up sweating and aching—that was a cross she would willingly bear for those two nights in Zane’s arms.
And luckily, the work was exhilarating, with Ravi tasked to help and support her in everything she wanted to do. That Zane had lifted any embargo on her acting independently was a victory of sorts, which she tried not to read too much into.
With Kasia’s assistance, she set up a series of group interviews with citizens across the spectrum of Narabian society. Before now, her work had always involved being a bystander, an observer, but with this project she felt so much more invested. And honoured to be even a small part of Zane’s plans to bring Narabia’s fascinating society into the glare of world attention.
Each evening when she returned to the palace she could hardly contain her enthusiasm about the conversations she’d had. And the progress she was making with the study. The only regret she had was that she couldn’t discuss any of it with Zane. She would have loved to get his unique take on the country’s complex culture and traditions.
