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The thought that his interest might be more than just professional made her feel a mixture of nervousness and something else she wasn't sure she was willing to admit.
Anticipation.
She took a sip of coffee and wondered what it would be like to be kissed by those full lips; to be held by those powerful arms; to be swept up in him and be the whole center of his attentions. He had a powerful body. A strong body that held so much promise.
Gemma sighed and pushed thoughts of sheikh Ahmed firmly out of her mind.
Right now, all that mattered was the growing sense of unease at the prospect of what the coming day would had for her.
There would be an awkward meeting with Rashid, that was for sure. And then there might have to be some kind of explanation given to the media. Questions would be asked of her and of Rashid, and she wasn't sure exactly how he would respond.
But, it was the inevitable scrutiny that would be focused on her that made Gemma feel more uneasy than anything else she could think of right now.
She knew one thing. The last twenty-four hours had been intense. Almost too much.
Gemma sighed, exhaustion clinging to her. She'd been feeling tired for a long time, now. Since well before this whole endeavor had been agreed upon.
In the garden, with sheikh Ahmed, she had come close to admitting that weariness. And she had suspected he'd noticed some of it in her demeanor. She was sure he was perceptive enough to have noticed just how tired she was. And that weariness had nothing to do with jet lag.
When he'd mentioned how he could escape to the desert whenever things became too much for him, her ears had immediately perked up. She wasn't sure he had noticed, but the mention of his retreat in the north, his encampment near that little, isolated town, had tempted her with its promise of anonymity.
What had been the name of the town?
Qabiyah.
That was it.
She took her phone and opened up the map application and started to type the name into the search bar. The application completed the name for her and the little pin symbol showed her exactly where the town was located.
She squinted thoughtfully at the name. It was indeed quite a distance to the north of the city, but not too far that it was completely off the beaten track.
She clicked on the town's name and was immediately shown images, probably taken by visitors in the past.
Ahmed had been right. It was a tiny little village, with one main thoroughfare and simple dwellings that stretched outwards on the flat plain of a narrow valley.
It looked incredibly basic. Isolated and completely cut off. She guessed there would be little or no modern amenities there. She saw no indication of modern conveniences. In fact, the place looked like something out of another century.
She sighed and a thought drifted into her mind.
Just what she needed.
She guessed a place like that would give a person all the anonymity they needed and plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to regain a sense of what was the right thing to do.
But much more than that. It was somewhere she would not be recognized. There would be no cameras; no connection to the outside world.
Hadn't Ahmed told her that it was a place guaranteed to bring peace into a persons life. Just by being there.
Would it hurt to go there for a day or two? Even as she asked herself that question, she already knew the answer.
Of course, it wouldn't. No-one would even know she had gone there. And, in any case, it would only be for a few days at most.
And then she could return and perhaps things would have settled down. And, then she would have a clearer idea of what she should do.
It all made sense.
Her mind made up, she started to get ready.
CHAPTER FIVE
