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Sure, she’d gone on a few dates, had even had a brief relationship with one or two men who’d sparked her interest for more than a few weeks. But inevitably, things had turned lukewarm and then fizzled out entirely.
Now she wished she hadn’t called time on dating when she’d turned thirty. Maybe if she’d taken care of her sexual needs, she wouldn’t be feeling this wound up by a simple, impersonal touch from Tahir.
But had it been impersonal?
Wasn’t the fever rampaging through her that much hotter because she suspected he’d been affected by touching her too?
So what?
The Tahir she remembered had been a full-blooded male with a healthy interest in the opposite sex. An interest returned a hundred-fold. One minute in his presence had confirmed he’d grown into his masculinity, a powerful sexual being who only needed to lift a finger to have women crawling all over him.
She was nothing special to him. Especially after inadvertently embroiling him in scandal.
Renewed guilt doused the fever in her blood. She was contemplating how best to recommence her reason for being here when the young attendant returned.
‘His Majesty would like you to join him,’ he said.
‘I...where is he?’
‘Nearby,’ he replied.
‘Wait,’ she said when he turned away. ‘Is there a phone I can use? I need to make a call.’
He shook his head. ‘There is no mobile service in the desert.’
Lauren pursed her lip against pressing further. Surely if Tahir was speaking to his brother, then he had a means of communication?
Suspecting the servant’s response was a tailored one, she refrained from pressing. ‘Okay. Thank you.’
It was still dark outside, but the camp was slowly rousing, the sounds of pots and pans and strong coffee filling the air.
A quick calculation summed up that she’d, surprisingly, been in Tahir’s tent for over six hours. It’d felt like minutes!
They walked past the tents and up a small hill. While she couldn’t immediately see it clearly, Lauren could just about make out the outline of the mountain she’d seen from the helicopter looming in the distance.
And like the mountain, at first, she didn’t see Tahir but her senses screamed that he was close. Halfway up the hill, she saw him, a towering figure framed against the dark sky. A shiver coursed through her, even as she berated herself for being melodramatic.
When she reached him, he didn’t turn to greet her. What she saw of his face was fierce, deeply contemplative. Intuition hinted that it had nothing to do with the words he’d thrown at her before leaving the tent.
This was about something else.
‘Is everything okay?’ she ventured after a full minute had passed in silence.
His lips tightened. ‘There’s a situation brewing in Riyaal,’ he said. ‘It may be nothing or it could develop into something if Javid and my trade minister aren’t successful in handling it.’
Javid was his younger brother, she recalled. The irreverent playboy Prince, known as much for his ability to charm women out of their underwear as for his exceptional skill in diplomacy. Lauren had wondered how that didn’t create a huge conflict of interest every time she’d skimmed his hedonistic exploits in social media. ‘Was that what the call was about?’
Tawny eyes swung to her, his eyes narrowing. ‘Why, Lauren, you sound as if you care.’
The barb hit its mark, making her wince deep inside, but she was damned if she would give him the satisfaction. ‘You sent for me. I’m here. You can pretend that I do care, see where that gets you.’
A gleam burned in his eyes. Under different circumstances, she would’ve termed it admiration, perhaps even respect. But it was gone an instant later, the austere expression back in place.
Turning away, he presented her with his profile once more, his gaze on the horizon. ‘Perhaps, but for the next few moments, I wish to pass the time another way.’
She cursed herself for the way her pulse leapt. ‘How?’ she asked, thankful her voice wasn’t as foolishly excitable. ‘What’s happening?’
He didn’t answer, merely nudged his chiselled chin at the view.
