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‘So what now? You’re going to bombard me with your own questions?’
He tugged the coiled rope dangling from the ceiling. Seconds later, two attendants entered. He relayed his request and they exited.
‘Now you’ll drink tea with me, and we’ll see where the conversation takes us. You still drink tea, yes?’
He watched her grapple with wary surprise, her wide eyes blinking before she murmured, ‘Yes. But I thought—’
‘I know what you thought. And you’ll get your wish sooner rather than later.’
‘But you feel like toying with me first?’
He shrugged. ‘I recall you being partial to well-crafted coaxing. We’re barely an hour into this, Lauren. Surely you don’t want to be short-changed this early?’
She sucked in another breath, right before heat flowed up her smooth neck and into her face. He allowed himself another smile. ‘And you still blush on demand. Interesting. I would’ve thought you’d be rid of that weakness by now.’
‘Blushing isn’t a weakness.’
‘But it’s a lie when it comes to you, isn’t it?’ he said with more bite than he’d intended. ‘Because it gives one impression while hiding the truth.’
‘And what is that truth? That I made a mistakeoncewhen we knew one another? Is that the sword you’re intending to hold over my head while you play your games?’
The astringent memory he thought he’d cemented over fractured, letting loose disappointment. ‘The greater sin wasn’t how it started, Lauren. It was how you chose to finish it. And I think you know that.’
His words flayed her open with regret and remorse.
He’d aimed a bullseye at the heart of her guilt. And he’d scored. She wanted to ask him whether he was satisfied but she chose silence because she already knew the answer. He wasn’t nearly done with her. The pound-of-flesh-taking would be the stretched-out affair he’d alluded to. But while minutes ago she was certain he was hinting at her preferences in bed, his last statement was much more pointed.
Whatever retributive foreplay he’d planned would be extensive. And ruthless.
The attendants’ return with their tea was another reason she remained silent. They set out the refreshments and handed her a delicate cup filled with jasmine tea.
Somewhere within the tent, an antique clock gave a faint chime. It would all have been magical had electric tension not continued to snap between them.
Her gaze flicked to the hourglass and surprise darted through her.
While their tea was being served, Tahir had placed the forty-five-minute hourglass in front of him, ready to go.
Heart in her mouth, she watched him flip it.
Then he sat back, as if he had all the time in the world. ‘Drink your tea,’ he drawled, jangling her nerves further.
She took a sip, unable to stop herself from watching his strong throat move as he too drank his beverage.
In the short silence, Lauren noticed that while the camp was substantially less busy, it wasn’t quiet. ‘Does no one sleep in the desert?’
Tahir shrugged. ‘Nomadic life is fluid. Besides, their Sheikh is in residence, accompanied by a mysterious guest. That’s bound to arouse a little more...energy.’
A fizz of amusement rose in her. ‘Is this a new thing, referring to yourself in the third person?’
A glint lit in his eyes but before she could fool herself into imagining she’d amused him, the austerity returned. ‘You haven’t earned the right to ask that.’
And just like that, the mood dialled back to chilly. With hands that had developed a sudden tremor, she set the delicate cup onto its saucer.
He took his time draining his cup, then poured himself another after an eyebrow cocked in her direction prompted a murmured, ‘No, thanks.’
Armed with his second cup, he skewered her with narrowed eyes. ‘The last time we had an honest conversation twelve years ago—’ his lips twitched when she winced at the qualifier, then he continued ‘—you already had an internship at the United Nations in Geneva with an in principle offer of a position as a humanitarian in New York thereafter. Unless you were faking the emotion, you were ecstatic about both. But, according to my report, you’ve been working for your father since graduation. Care to tell me why?’ he asked.
Surprise and something equally disconcerting jerked through her. ‘You had a report done on me?’
