The Sheikh's Desert Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 8) (10 page)

She saw his eyes narrow in response to her choice of words. He'd been her savior in the mountains, and he'd helped her get what she'd come to Qazhar for. Wasn't she grateful? Of course, she was grateful. But that was as far as it was going to go. Wasn't it? There was no going back to their past. She still hadn't forgotten the pain she'd felt after their breakup.
 

Lucy gazed at Azim. She drew in a slow, deep breath. Then again, how did she even knew what Azim was thinking? Had he gotten over the past? The way he was looking at her, right now, made her doubt that he had.

Lucy tugged at her arm and he released it, lowering his gaze. She saw him swallow, obviously trying to calm himself.
 

Azim took a step away from Lucy and looked at her. "Fine. Make your choice. I'm sure you'll be comfortable whichever one you choose."

Lucy nodded and started to make her way over toward where their packs had been placed on the ground. The men were milling about and it looked as if they'd just about finished their preparations for leaving camp. She wondered where they'd go, whether they'd find shelter for the night, but by the look of them she was sure these men would have no trouble in the desert. It was their life.

Lucy saw Azim go to Hassan and speak to the older man. Lucy remained standing next to her pack, watching the two men. She could tell by the way Hassan was speaking to Azim that the older man held Azim in high regard. Even out here, natural authority and tribal allegiances counted for everything.

After they'd spoken, Hassan walked up to Lucy and bowed. He said something quietly to her, smiled and then made his way to where his men were awaiting him. They'd all mounted their camels. Azim came to Lucy's side and they both watched as Hassan and his men made their way out of the camp.

Then, she and Azim were completely alone, standing side by side in the sudden, awesome desert silence. She wondered what she was going to do, how she was going to get through the coming night. The awkwardness between them felt real, almost physical, she told herself as she picked up her pack.

"Are you sure you want that one?" he asked.

She glanced back and forth between them and then nodded toward her right. "Yeah. I'll take the one nearest the water, I think," she said smiling at him. "The biggest one," she added with a grin. She saw his brows furrow. Was that mild annoyance?

Azim nodded stiffly. "The leader's tent," he observed. He looked at her and smiled. "Good choice," he said, his voice dry.

"I'm glad you approve," she said.

As she started toward the tent, he spoke to her. "They've left some food for us. Once you're settled, let me know, and we can eat something before it gets dark."

She nodded. "Sounds good."

Lucy went to the large tent and pulled open the heavy flap, peering inside. She'd been in tents like this before, but this one surprised her with its sheer size. She stepped inside and put her pack down in the ornately patterned carpet covering the floor.

The inside of the tent was scented with a riotous combination of smells, perfumed and sweet. Two small candles in glass globes cast a gentle light. The space was about twenty feet square and there was a long, plush, red couch in the middle. Soft cushions were strewn around the floor in front of the couch. There was a small, makeshift dark wood table in front of the couch.

Off to one side, separated by a hanging drape, was a sleeping area. Inside the space she saw a narrow bed. It had obviously been quickly tidied, the multi-colored bed covering tucked neatly into the bed's sides.

She planted her hands on her hips. So, this was where she was going to sleep tonight. This was what it had come down to. Separate tents. She suppressed a smile at that thought and wondered what Azim would be doing right now, in the tent next door. She raised a hand to her face. But, there was no-one here to see her grin.

She went to the couch and flopped down on it, grateful to be sitting at last, after the long ride, first through the mountains, and then alongside Azim across the desert. Of course they'd talked during the afternoon's ride. But, Lucy had made sure that there had been no hint of a conversation about how she and Azim had split. The desert was no place for a discussion about breakups. In fact, there wasn't anywhere in the world where she wanted to talk about what had happened two years. There was still too much pain lurking inside her. What about Azim? Did he still feel hurt?

Here in the relative calm of the cool tent, her mind drifted back to her time two years before with Azim. They'd met at a fancy function in Qazhar city to promote the cultural work being done in the region to protect ancient artefacts from theft or damage. It had been Lucy's first visit to Qazhar and she'd been impressed by the sheer opulence and scale of the city. Its modernity contrasted starkly with its long and ancient traditions. All the great and good had been on display at the expensive event, for which the NGO Lucy had been working for had obtained an invite. Her employers carried some clout in the region and had managed to get her an invite.

Lucy hadn't been impressed with the wealth on display. It just wasn't her thing. It had seemed tacky, even tasteless considering the seriousness of what was happening to the treasures of the country's history.

But there had been one person who had impressed her at the event. And that was an understatement.

Azim.

She'd been aware that he'd been watching her all evening, and she'd had to admit to being impressed by the panty-melting gorgeousness of the sheikh. It took only a few casual inquiries for her to find out that he was one of the Al Mahrez family who, along with the Al Kharif family, were
 
the main benefactors of the work being promoted.
 

Azim had really captivated her. At the end of the evening he'd invited her for dinner. He'd claimed it would enable them to discuss her work in more detail. But, Lucy had sensed right from the start that what he really wanted to know more about was her. The feeling had been mutual, she'd had to admit. Up close, Azim had been even more devastating than he'd been from a distance. Lucy had found herself utterly and totally captivated by him.

From then on her life had been turned upside down, as Azim had inexorably drawn her into his life. Those weeks had been the most amazing of her life. He'd wooed Lucy and eventually won her heart, breaking down all her barriers.
 

He'd introduced Lucy to influential people involved in her work. He'd done everything possible to make her feel like the most special woman in the world.

No matter how hard she'd tried to keep things formal between them, no matter what she did to try and keep him at bay, Lucy's heart eventually succumbed to Azim's skilful persuasions and before she knew it she was in his bed. Nights of lovemaking followed which drove her to heights of passionate abandon she'd never known possible. Insane ecstasy had consumed her night after night until she'd reached a point where she wondered if she was the same person who'd arrived in Qazhar weeks before.

She'd felt a closeness to this incredible sheikh, an intimacy she'd never felt with any other man. He was unique, an astonishing man, someone who seemed determined to claim her, make her his own in every possible sense. She'd felt possessed by a kind of madness during those weeks, and she'd been aware that she'd almost abandoned her work, the very reason she'd come to Qazhar in the first place.

Finally he'd introduced to his wonderful family who were beyond sweet, the most delightful people she'd ever met, she'd thought. They had welcomed her into their life and made her feel like she was already a part of their special, unique world.

And that was where the problems had started for Lucy. That was when she'd realized the seriousness of Azim's purpose, what he'd intended to do, if she had given him the chance. She'd felt as if invisible walls had been closing in on her. She'd tried to communicate how she'd felt to Azim, and he'd been compassionate, but apparently undaunted in his determination to make Lucy much more than just a casual acquaintance.

No matter how many times she'd tried to tell him that things were moving too fast, that she felt hemmed in by everything, that she desperately needed time to think, Azim seemed to simply carry on as if everything would work itself out. As if it was destiny that they should be together, as if he was fated to have this beautiful American as his wife.

Lucy leaned back on the sofa and gazed up at the roof of the tent. She sighed as she recalled just how close he'd come to making the ultimate proposal to her. Azim had arranged a "special dinner", as he'd described it. She'd guessed exactly what that would involve. All during the day she'd prepared for the planned evening which he'd scheduled in the most exclusive restaurant in Qazhar city, complete with a view out over the sea.

But, before his limo had arrived she'd made sure she was gone, already at the airport waiting for the flight back to the States. As she'd sat in the departure lounge she'd been sure he would appear, desperation on his features, get down his knee and make the proposal he so obviously, so desperately, wanted to make. The one that would change her world forever. But she couldn't allow that to happen. She'd known that, felt it in her bones, even if she knew that deep down she loved him, knew that he was someone she would never forget.

What a thought!

How could she ever forget those nights, his scorching lovemaking, the ecstasy he'd driven her to?

But, he hadn't raced into the airport; he hadn't ordered the plane to halt on the runway; hadn't stopped all air traffic to prevent her escape. Because that was how it felt. Escape.

Even as she'd sat on the plane as it had risen into the sky and watched the lights of Qazhar city fall away into, she'd known she was probably making the biggest mistake of her life. She'd known she was possibly going to spend the rest of her life regretting her decision.

And it was all of that she was battling with, here in the quietness of this tent, while outside the man who had transformed her life in so many ways, was preparing to continue to tend to her every need. She shouldn't be surprised at that. Lucy already knew just how determined Azim could be. It was a wonder that she'd managed to maintain some distance between them these past twenty-four hours.
 

She wondered how long she could keep up her resistance, hold back his obvious and clear advances. She'd seen the need in his eyes, witnessed the obvious desire he still felt for her. And, if she was absolutely truthful there was a part of her that was glad that he still had those feelings for her.
 

Even though they'd been back together for over a day now, she was amazed that he still hadn't demanded an answer from her. Hadn't forced her to tell him why she had run out on him.

Lucy wasn't even sure she could tell him. The act she'd taken had been born of sheer gut instinct, some unknowable force which had made her panic at the prospect of losing everything she told herself she'd won for herself in the battle of life. Wasn't being tied down everything she'd rebelled against back in her home town. If she'd wanted to settle down, she could have taken up her father's offer of security or ended up in her mother's bakery.
 

Wasn't it that she was running away from? Was it simply that she didn't want anyone tying her down? Not even Azim, the most incredible man she'd ever known. Possibly the most amazing man she would ever know.

"You hungry?" she heard Azim call to her from outside. She noted that he didn't even enter her tent, instead waiting respectfully outside.

Lucy stood and straightened her shirt, running a hand over her face. She didn't want him to notice the emotion she knew was etched on her face.
 

"I'll be right out," she replied.

And then she started to make her way out, determined that he wouldn't see that the memories of the past still had a capacity to move her.

CHAPTER TEN

They finished eating as the sun was starting to settle on the distant horizon. Under any other circumstances, Lucy told herself, this would have been one of the most romantic things she could ever have done. A meal with a gorgeous sheikh in a desert encampment while watching the sunset, seated on a blanket atop a high dune.

But, that wasn't how it felt.

Lucy drew in a slow, quiet breath and felt her nerves quiver. This actually felt like exquisite, painful torture, she told herself.
 

She glanced across at him, gauging him, assessing him as best she could. He looked calm, even pleased, she thought. Azim had been a thorough gentleman throughout the meal. He'd made no reference to their earlier disagreement. In fact, he seemed to take an almost innocent, simple pleasure in her company. How could he have forgotten what she'd put him through? Didn't he harbor even the smallest amount of resentment? Surely he had every right to feel something. Anything.

Lucy realized that his pleasant demeanor must simply be an act, a determined mask he was putting on. Azim was too proud to show any petty feelings to Lucy. During their previous time together she'd seen plenty of examples of his self-control. Whenever he'd been around other people, that was.
 

It had been a whole different thing whenever he'd been alone with Lucy. It had been during those solitary moments when Lucy had witnessed the sheer power that Azim possessed, not only as a lover, but as a man who was capable of making a woman the whole focus of his existence, as if nothing else in the world could possibly matter. That had been the private Azim she had been accustomed to seeing.

Lucy glanced across at Azim as they sat on the mat he'd laid out next to the oasis. No. This Azim was a different man from the one she'd known. Back then, in a situation like this, Lucy would have been left in no doubt about just what Azim felt for her.
 

Was the explanation simply that he no longer cared? Could it be that those occasional comments he'd made to her had just been slips of the tongue? That he wasn't as consumed by her as she'd thought? Had his attitude toward her cooled?