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But at the same time, he had sensed something else within her, a quality which he found difficult to define at first.
Something unique. And out here, tonight, that impression had been confirmed.
A magnetic, compelling attraction toward her which had driven him out here, Ahmed reflected. It had taken possession of him.
Gemma was simply irresistible.
She'd completely overturned his every expectation of a woman. She wasn't just physically perfect, so much so that he felt his body harden every time he looked at her, every time he touched her.
No. It was more than that.
This woman had overturned his every expectation of what a woman could be.
And she'd done it in an instant. In the space of one encounter in a garden, beneath the moonlit Qazhar sky.
He felt himself harden once again, and forced his mind into a complete blank, pushing the horse onward, concentrating on the journey ahead.
They rode on into the night, the cool air caressing their bodies. He clung to her as he tightened his grip on the reins and picked up speed.
Now he was eager to get to the camp.
Where they would be alone.
He wondered about the next couple of days. Would she tolerate being with him in such close proximity?
Once she realized that there was no way back except by horse, her opinion may change. Perhaps, even when she found out more about him, that opinion might definitely change.
She might make demands to be returned to the village and the safety of her car.
But, he was determined to do everything to avoid that. He had every confidence in his ability to impress her, even to seduce her, if that became an irresistible impulse on his part.
Perhaps she would give herself to him. Perhaps she would submit, after all. Anticipation of that triggered sensation in him.
Yes. Perhaps this beautiful American would deliver herself to his bed, willingly and with the same burning need for him that he felt for her.
The prospect of that produced a sweeping surge of anticipation in him.
He had already sensed in Gemma the beginnings, the vague stirrings, of an attraction. He had seen it in the way she looked at him from time to time, and the way she responded to his touch.
Only time would tell. In the meantime, he drew her close to him, inhaled the scent of perfume, felt the warmth of her sweet body and drove the horse on quickly into the night.
CHAPTER NINE
They arrived at the camp sooner than she'd expected. Ahmed had driven the horse up what had seemed to have been a miles-long incline in the landscape, until they'd reached a high ridge. Then he'd halted the horse at the top of the highest dune. It had been as if he'd wanted to give her the best possible view of the scene below.
Gemma gasped as she gazed down into the valley below. "That's it?" she exclaimed breathlessly.
"My desert retreat," he announced in an even voice. "And now, yours also. At least for as long as you'd like it to be," he added.
Gemma gazed down at the two dark red, very large tents that were set out alongside a cluster of palm trees and a wide pool water that, even from this distance, glistened enticingly in the moonlight.
It looked like something out of a dream, she told herself. If someone had had to describe what the sheikh's perfect desert encampment would look like, this would be it. It was like a perfect fantasy location.
"And it just stays here all year long?" she asked.
He nodded. "It's been here for many years. Of course, it requires some looking after. But that is done by others."
She didn't ask who those others were, but she guessed with Ahmed's obvious wealth there might be no shortage of people happy to do the job of maintaining this perfect little oasis of solitude.
