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The horse moved forward, making its way carefully down the slope of the high desert dune.
Gemma settled back against Ahmed's firm body. She'd been aware of that firmness against her back for the whole of the journey across the desert. She could tell how strong he was, as well as how obvious was her effect on him by the firmness she'd felt lower down.
For her own part, she'd done her best to disguise the effect of his touch on her. During the ride, she'd come to enjoy the feel of his hand around her middle, the way he clung to her, holding her safe on the horse. She'd told him she had no experience on horses, and he'd reacted by making sure she'd felt secure during the entire, dream-like ride across the desert.
And it had been like something out of a dream, she told herself. She'd never experienced anything quite like this. Maybe he'd been right, after all, Perhaps something useful would come out of this crazy, impulsive decision to go with the sheikh to his isolated desert encampment.
She wondered what her followers would think of this, once she'd written about it. Maybe it would go some way to rewriting the story of the last twenty-four hours.
Perhaps Ahmed had been more right than he could have imagined when he'd suggested Gemma might get something out of this.
And him? What did he want out of this?
Of course, he claimed he was acting out of a sense of honor. But, she had seen the way he'd looked at her; she'd felt the way he'd held onto her; she'd noticed the effect of her proximity on his body.
Gemma was under no illusions about Sheikh Ahmed. She knew there was a part of him that already wanted her.
But, hadn't he seen those social media posts? The ones about her being a virgin?
What had he thought of them? Had he even believed them, or had he thought they were just the usual online garbage that people wrote about anyone who was in the public eye?
Did he believe she was a virgin? Was that the prize he sought by bringing her out here?
Maybe that thought was unkind, she told herself. Because so far, he hadn't done nothing that would give her concern.
So far.
She pushed that thought out of her mind as they approached the encampment. Up close, it looked even more exotic, even more like something out of an ancient tale of the desert.
The tents were larger than they'd looked from the high ridge. They were constructed of a heavy woven material and fixed firmly into the fact sand area. They looked like they would withstand even the hardest pounding of a desert storm.
Over to her right, Gemma saw the wide pool of water and the couple of dozen palm trees that surrounded it. The water looked inviting and she was sure it would be cool at this time of the night.
But, she had no intention of taking a bath at this time. Not with Ahmed watching her. In any case, she'd only brought a couple of changes of light clothing that she'd hurriedly grabbed before leaving.
The horse drew to a halt in front of one of the tents. Ahmed dismounted and stood alongside the horse, looking up at Gemma. "Want some help?" he offered.
She shook her head. "Nope. I'm fine," she replied.
When she lifted her legs and tried to slide down off the horse, she found that her muscles had stiffened during the ride.
She groaned and Ahmed held up a couple of helpful hands, but once again she shook her head emphatically. "No," she said, her voice tight with the discomfort she was feeling. "I'm fine."
He smiled at her and took a few steps back, watching as she landed with a thud on the flat sand.
Gemma brushed off the sand from her outfit and gazed around the encampment. "This is really something," she observed trying to move on quickly from her unceremonious dismounting.
"Welcome," he said extending a hand in the direction of the tents and the pool.
"This is your own private bachelor pad, then?" she probed.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"This is where you bring all your friends. Of both sexes, I presume," she said.
Even as she uttered the words, she knew she hadn't meant them to sound quite like that. He deserved better than that. But she saw the way he frowned and she felt a tinge of regret at the effect of her words.
He shook his head. "I told you. This is reserved for myself." His gaze narrowed and when he spoke his voice was steady and firm.
