The Sheikh's Forbidden Bride (Qazhar Sheikhs series Book 1) (15 page)

"That's just how I feel," he said.
 

Chloe smiled again and reached up a hand, stroking the side of Zayed's chin. "I can see that."

Zayed felt the back of her fingers playing along his rough stubble. He saw Chloe's gaze follow the movement of her fingers, as if she were fascinated by the roughness she felt on his skin.

"You need a shave," she teased.

Zayed squinted at her. "And I thought you liked the rough look."

Chloe's eyes peered deep into Zayed's. "I do," she admitted. "But, if we're heading back to the palace, I don't want everyone thinking we got lost in the desert, and you turned into some kind of animal."

Zayed tightened his hold on Chloe, and he saw her eyes widen. "I thought you liked the animal in me," he growled.
 

He leaned in once again and claimed her lips, savoring the softness of her kiss. Zayed felt the firmness of his desire rise. He heard Chloe moan quietly, her hips pressing hard against his middle. Zayed drew Chloe's precious frame hard against him. The sound of his own breathing had become surprisingly loud, the pace insistent and urgent.

Chloe's tongue teased and probed Zayed's willing mouth, and he felt the desire rush through his veins. Chloe wrapped her arms around Zayed's back. He felt her grip tighten around him. He wanted Chloe so badly, needed her with an intensity that overwhelmed his mind and his being.
 

Zayed felt the soft breeze drifting in from the desert. To be in this place, with this precious woman in his arms, beneath the smoldering sun, was like a dream come true.

Then suddenly he sensed a change in Chloe. She drew in a sharp breath and stiffened. Her lips started to drift away from his tender attention. Her hands slid away from his back. One of her hands came up and settled firmly on his chest. It felt like a barrier had just been rebuilt. Zayed's heart stopped for a second.

When their lips parted, he saw that her cheeks were flushed, heard the pace of her breathing begin to slow.

Chloe cleared her throat and nodded. Something seemed to have suddenly shifted inside Chloe, and Zayed felt a tug of concern.

"What's wrong, Chloe?" he asked, trying to contain the urgency that burned inside him.

Chloe said nothing in reply, merely shaking her head. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and pulled some stray locks behind her ear. Her lips tightened into a thin line and her gaze shifted so that he could no longer read the expression in her eyes.

Chloe took a step back and turned away from Zayed, releasing herself from his grasp. For a moment, he felt as if she had wrenched herself from him with an unwelcome violence.

Chloe sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, her shoulders suddenly tight and raised.

When Zayed tried to move closer to Chloe, she took one small step away from him, and that was all that was needed to stop Zayed in his tracks.

"When are we starting back?" Chloe said in a flat, quiet voice.

Zayed sighed and nodded. "As soon as you wish," he replied.

He was starting to understand it all now. Chloe regretted what had happened between them last night. Like a fool he had believed that everything had changed; that somehow the mere act of making passionate love to Chloe would change everything for the better.

Well, it had changed things. But, not for the better. The way Chloe was behaving, it looked like she couldn't wait to put as much distance as possible between herself and Zayed. He felt a surge of panic, the same panic he'd experienced in the cave when he'd thought she'd ran from him.

Zayed took a step forward, intent on saying something, anything that would draw the truth out of Chloe, convince her of his feelings, the strength of them.

However, Chloe did not even react to his movement. She fixed her gaze even more intently on the far horizon.

For a long while, they stood silently together. Zayed's mind became a blank, empty of all thought. All he could feel was a blind panic at the thought that Chloe was forcing him away.

Eventually, he knew he had to say something. "Have I done something wrong, Chloe?" he asked.

"No, you haven't Zayed. On the contrary, we did what was inevitable. You might say it was destined to happen."

Zayed took Chloe's arm and turned her to face him. He was shocked when he saw the blank expression on her face. She had closed herself off from him completely. Had he misjudged her so badly?

"If it is destiny, then aren't we destined to be together?" he asked.

Chloe frowned slightly, and he could see that his question had touched something in her. She seemed about to respond. But then, almost as quickly, he saw her lips tighten, and she turned away from him, shaking her head with a vehemence that astonished him.

"I think we should leave, soon," she said, her back to him.

Anything he could have said simply stopped in his throat. Zayed nodded and sighed, feeling the reluctant acceptance force itself upon him.

Right now, he couldn't figure Chloe out; couldn't understand what had driven her to reject him like this, especially after what had happened hours before. Being so close to her, feeling her a part of him, connected, at last, had made him believe that he achieved what he had set out to do.

Win Chloe back.

Now, as he turned away from her, all he could think of was how the pain of failure burned at his soul.

*****

Hours later they paused atop a final dune and looked down at the encampment. From her own horse, Chloe glanced across at Zayed. They had ridden back to the camp seated upon their individual mounts. The contrast between the ride back and her time sharing Zayed's mount could not have been more stark.

Chloe sighed as she looked at Zayed. He looked so regal upon his own mount. Chloe felt a jolt of feeling in her middle, seeing the darkness written across Zayed's features as he gazed down at the camp.

"Here, at last," Chloe said.

Zayed merely nodded. He had said virtually nothing to Chloe during the entire journey back from the cave. And, if truth be told, she had been grateful for that silence.

Chloe had needed time to reflect on how she was feeling; how the events of the previous night affected her.

The memories of Zayed's love-making made her tingle inside. The sensations he had brought out in her had been almost overwhelming. She had seen something in Zayed, which she had tried to deny. It was something that had troubled her ever since he had left her all those years ago. His obvious passion for Chloe seemed to be like an unstoppable force, driving onwards, determined to overcome any resistance she could summon.

Chloe had stood outside the cave entrance, gazing across the dunes, stunned by what had happened a few hours previously. She had tried to understand why there was a burning ache of anxiety in her middle. Then she suddenly understood what was causing it.

Zayed.

Inside him there was a terrifying purpose to possess.

And the person he wanted to possess was Chloe.
 

Chloe had always known that Zayed wanted her. She had never had any doubt of that. But, what she had seen last night had bordered on madness, an insane need that made Chloe feel almost frightened.

However, she knew there was nothing to be truly frightened of when it came to Zayed. He was a strong man, a man of will and purpose, simply determined to have and claim what he believed was his.

How could she possibly hold back the flood of Zayed's passion?

When she had awakened this morning and seen the happiness on Zayed's sleeping face, Chloe had felt contentment, even something more than that.

A thought had come to her as she sat by Zayed's side in the cave, with the early morning light spilling down from the roof.

Could it be that she had fallen in love with Zayed?

That one thought had sent Chloe racing out into the sunshine, desperate for something to distract her from such a dangerous thought. She had felt panic. Sheer panic at the thought that she had given her heart back to Zayed.

What was she frightened of, anyway? Was she fearful of his love, his tenderness, his desperate desire to ensure her happiness?

No.

The truth was, Chloe was frightened of herself.

Chloe was terrified that she couldn't give herself wholly and completely to Zayed. She had seen the strength of his desire for her. Zayed had gone to great lengths to convince Chloe just how much she meant to him.

And she believed him.

The past forty-eight hours had gone a long way to convince Chloe that Zayed would break down whatever barriers stood between him and Chloe.

Chloe had no doubt he was sincere.

The problem was, Chloe looked at the future for her and Zayed and saw one thing that terrified her.

Commitment.

That one word sent shivers up her spine. The pain she had felt after Zayed had left the first time had made Chloe determined that no-one would get close to her, no-one would be allowed to interfere with Chloe determining her own destiny.

So, when Zayed had used that word, the sound of it had been enough to force Chloe to once again lock her heart away.

Chloe started to follow Zayed's horse down the gentle slope of the dune. Down in the encampment, she could see that their arrival had been noticed. She saw Raz standing by the side of the car that had brought them to the oasis. Chloe's mind suddenly filled with the image of Zayed stepping out of the oasis pool the previous morning, the sight of his nakedness, the impression of his primal strength quickening her heart to a frantic pace.

Chloe sucked in a warm breath, trying desperately to calm herself.
 

As she guided her horse into the encampment, she thought of the journey back to the palace, and what awaited her once she arrived there. She had gotten what she had come for. Andrew would be impressed with her work, as he always was. She had found a special place, and with the proper permissions, it would be the backdrop for a truly memorable scene in the upcoming movie.

But, as they finally arrived in the camp, Chloe told herself she would never be able to watch that film after it was produced. Because, the cave had been the place where, in spite of finally realizing that she loved Zayed, she had made the decision, once and for all, that they could never be together.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"How was your visit to the caves?" Aliyah asked Chloe.

"Oh...It was fascinating," Chloe replied, aware that her cheeks felt suddenly very warm. The slight smile on Zayed's sister's face confirmed that the truth had revealed itself on Chloe's face, in spite of her best efforts to control herself.

The two women were on the terrace of the palace, the same place where, what seemed like such a long time ago, Chloe had met Zayed's entire family.
 

From beneath the protection of the overhanging branches of the trees, the early morning sun was cool. The luxuriant foliage and flowers of the garden were a blessed, colorful relief after the dry harshness of the desert. There was a welcome calm that made Chloe glad she was back in the safety of the palace.

Chloe ate some figs and yogurt, trying to ignore the expectant look on Aliyah's pretty, even features. Zayed's sister was a true beauty in every sense of the word. She seemed to have an inner warmth that just filled every space she inhabited.

Chloe thought about the previous days journey by car back from the camp. Nothing had been said about what had happened at the caves. Raz had been the soul of discretion and hadn't asked any awkward questions from the back seat of the car.
 

Zayed had been silent for most of the drive. Chloe was sure that Raz had noticed the coldness between Zayed and Chloe, but Zayed's brother seemed to understand his brother well enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

Arriving back at the palace, Chloe had retreated to her room and flopped down on the soft bed. It had felt like such a contrast to the hard floor she had slept on the previous night, and she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Making her way to the terrace for breakfast, she had seen no sign of Zayed.

Now, Chloe was enjoying a welcome quiet moment with Aliyah, even though she was also secretly dreading the possible appearance of Zayed and his father, King Kamal. Chloe hadn't forgotten the frostiness of Zayed's father toward her.

"The caves were amazing," Chloe said to Aliyah. "I took lots of photographs. Andrew is going to be so astounded when he sees them."

Aliyah nodded and smiled. "I'm glad you got something useful out of your visit," Aliyah said.

Chloe glanced at Aliyah to see if there was any hint of a double meaning in the lovely woman's features. But, as usual, any hidden thoughts were held firmly behind the elegant mask of Aliyah's astonishing beauty.

"How long are you planning to stay in the palace?" Aliyah asked.

"I think I'll be leaving today," Chloe said.

Aliyah's brows rose. "So soon?"

Chloe nodded and scooped some figs into her mouth, eager for a moment of respite from thinking about leaving Zayed.

"I've got so much work to do. And, I'm sure Andrew will be dying to know what I've found out.

"And what have you found out, Chloe?"

"What do you mean?"

Aliyah shifted awkwardly. "In your professional capacity, I'm sure the visit has been very productive."

"It has, Aliyah. Your family has been most kind in allowing me to visit, and give me access to places I wouldn't have seen during my time here. It's been an amazing experience."

Aliyah nodded and her brows furrowed. There was a hint of a familiar determination on that face. Chloe had seen that same look on Zayed's face. Maybe it was a family trait; the drive to have their own way in everything. Chloe guessed not many people refused any member of this wonderful family.

Aliyah placed her fork down slowly and looked straight into Chloe's eyes. "At the risk of seeming too forthright and personal, am I right in guessing that there is more to your experience here than you are telling me about?"

Chloe's hand froze as she reached for her cup of coffee. She smiled defensively and tried to match Aliyah's penetrating gaze. "What are referring to, Aliyah?"