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Star could have sworn she heard him say,But he did, under his breath, but by the time she looked up at him he was furiously studying a mark on the table.
‘How do you feel today?’
‘Stillnot pregnant.’
He smiled, and her heart eased a little.
‘I... I spoke to my sisters last night.’ She hated the way that his body tensed, but she was thankful that he waited to hear what she had to say. ‘I told them only that I might be able to get the necklace.’
‘What did they say?’
‘They are very happy.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie. They had been happy, or at least relieved. Star had intended to wait until she had the necklace in her possession, but she’d felt awkward keeping the news of it a secret. So she had told Summer that she knew where it was and hoped to have it soon. Star would have sworn she’d felt her sister’s sigh against her skin as if it had whooshed through the phone speaker. Summer had mentioned something about making the meeting with the buyer easier and had then asked some bland questions about Burami, clearly forgetting that Star was now in the desert. It was a bit unlike her. Or had been unlike her three months ago...but ever since she’d returned from her mid-term holiday there had been something almost distracted about her, even though she’d denied it every time Skye or Star had asked her about it.
‘And actually, Skye is engaged,’ Star announced, thinking of the later conversation with her older sister.
‘Congratulations. What’s he like?’
‘I havenoidea. I’ve never met him,’ she replied as Khalif blinked in surprise. ‘But she’s happy, I can tell.’ And Skye really had been, happier than Star had ever heard her. It had been strange to hear Skye shine with the romance of her thrilling Costa Rican adventure.
It wasn’t that Star wasn’t happy for her, it was just that... She rubbed at her sternum, hoping to ease the tightness there. Was she jealous? Star looked at Khalif. Here she was, in the desert with a gorgeous sheikh, literally on a treasure hunt, and while it could look like the perfect romance for all the world, beneath it all, she was only here because shemightbe pregnant.
But as the days had worn on, and as Star grew closer and closer to the man she’d first met and merged that with the complexities of the man before her, as she felt her heart slowly spread and stretch, she began to suspect that she wasn’t pregnant and could no longer ignore her fear that she didn’t mean to him what he had come to mean to her.
‘That’s good, right?’ Khalif asked, looking at her as if he were worried about her.
The tea nearly jerked over the rim and she had to place the delicate cup down before she lost even more of it. She knew that he was not speaking about her thoughts of him, but his words had still cut through her.
‘That she’s happy?’ he clarified.
‘Yes. Yes, of course,’ Star replied, forcing a little pastry into her mouth before she could make things worse.
‘Eat up,’ he pressed. ‘We have places to be.’
‘Do we?’ This really was a confusing morning. ‘Where are we going? Don’t we have to be back in Burami tomorrow?’
‘Yes. But, in the meantime, you’re being kidnapped by a handsome prince.’
Her heart soared, loving the way he’d just teased her. ‘Oh, really? Where is he?’ she asked, looking around the room.
‘Funny,’ he groused. ‘Meet me by the stables. And dress comfortably.’
He probably should have asked her whether she knew how to ridebeforehe’d made his plans, but the excitement and determination that had shone in her eyes was worth it. Mavia was so completely under Star’s spell that he’d almost had to stop the mare from lowering to the ground for Star to mount.
If he wasn’t careful, he would not have any subjects left in the country because they’d have all sworn allegiance to her.
Star had dressed as he’d asked. A long-sleeved white top and cream linen trousers were protected by a pale gold pashmina that compared unfavourably to the rich red ropes of hair that curled down her back.
But it was her smile that truly shone.
By the time he had Star on Mavia in front of him, his pulse was ready to burst. His horse didn’t even complain once at the unusual extra weight, instead flicking a gaze at him from her bent head as if to demand what he was waiting for.
In truth, he was waiting to regain control of his body. He’d not counted on the way that having Star in between his legs and against his chest, or the way his arms felt wrapped around her would affect him.
She hadn’t asked him a single question, he thought as he flicked Mavia’s reins. She launched from the stables as if as desperate to show Star the magical wonders of the desert as he. Star’s trust in him was complete. As complete as it had been the night they had spent together. It made him feel like...a king.
As Mavia galloped beneath them he relished the feeling of having Star so close, and he loosened his hold on the reins, his horse knowing their destination, having made this journey more than a thousand times, even if not in the last three years.
He cast his gaze outwards and breathed deep. He felt alive here. The stretches of endless desert a mirage, a trick she played on the weary traveller, to test their mettle, to see their true worth. There were no lies in the desert. She may not have been cruel or loving, but she was most definitely capricious.
