Royal Affairs: Desert Princes & Defiant Virgins: The Sheikh's Virgin Princess / The Sheikh and the Virgin Secretary / Desert Prince, Defiant Virgin

He was confident that by the time they arrived at the Citadel she would have made the decision he wanted her to make.

But, as he urged her inside the simple tent, she turned towards him, her expression suddenly anxious. ‘I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. I think we should just rest for a short time and then carry on with our journey.’

‘You are not in charge, Alexa.’ He watched as frustration flickered across her beautiful face.

‘I could drive while you sleep.’

‘That would be beyond foolish. We will both sleep here.’

‘And if my uncle is already on our tail?’

Then he could add his persuasion to Karim’s. ‘I will protect you.’ Given that the only threat to her well-being was going to come from him, he wasn’t remotely concerned.

‘How can you protect me when you don’t believe there’s a threat? Admit it, you think I’m some sort of hysterical drama queen.’

Karim saw no reason to lie. ‘Some women are naturally more nervous than others.’

Alexa hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her trousers. ‘Do I strike you as the nervous type? Some women have more reason to be nervous than others, Karim. You might want to remember that before you stray too far from your gun.’

‘I am prepared to believe that your uncle does not want this marriage to happen, but I am sure he has your best interests at heart. You are the next Queen of Rovina. Clearly he does not think that this is a good time for you to leave the country, but that doesn’t mean that he would go to the lengths that you suggest. That would be self-defeating.’

She was silent for a moment, and he sensed that she was on the verge of telling him something important. Then she looked away. ‘Fine. If you don’t think we should travel at night, then we won’t.’

Her sudden compliance filled him with suspicion. ‘You are unusually co-operative, Your Highness. If you’re thinking of making a dash through the desert on your own, then I ought to warn you that we are sharing a tent tonight. You won’t be going anywhere without my knowledge and approval.’

‘Sharing a tent? Why would you want to share my tent?’

Karim felt his jaw tense. He didn’t want to share her tent, but nor was he so foolish as to let her out of his sight. ‘Your safety is my responsibility. My brief is to go wherever you go.’

It was her turn to look suspicious. ‘And yet you don’t believe that my uncle is a threat.’

No, but it was imperative that he stayed close to her if he was going to ensure that her experience of the desert was not a favourable one. ‘I believe that you are concerned,’ he said smoothly. ‘And hopefully my presence should reassure you.’

‘Oh.’ Her tone suggested that she’d hoped for a different answer. ‘Well, that’s better than nothing, I suppose. If you insist on sticking to me like glue, then please follow me to the pool. Are you going to swim?’

Karim gritted his teeth. It was hard to say which of the two of them was more tense. ‘I will not be swimming.’ The thought of being semi-naked in the water with this woman sent his body temperature soaring to dangerous levels.

‘I thought your brief was to go wherever I go.’

For a moment their eyes held, and awareness pulsed between them like a living force. With ruthless determination, Karim reined in the primitive reaction of his body, struggling to ignore the white-hot flash of lust that engulfed him. ‘I will keep watch while you bathe.’

‘Fine.’

Angry with himself, Karim paced towards the open flap of the tent and then turned slightly, responding to the tension inside him. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was watch while she swam naked. ‘You are sure you want to swim? Perhaps you would rather just rest before dinner—sleep again?’

‘I just had a sleep. I’m going to bathe. I’m ready when you are.’ She flipped open her case and pulled out a small towel. ‘I don’t have a costume or anything. I’ll bathe in my underwear.’

Karim felt beads of sweat sting his brow. He did not want to think about her in her underwear.

He didn’t want to think of her at all.

Alexa slid under the water, regretting her decision to swim. The pool had seemed to offer an obvious, practical antidote to the heat and dust of the journey. But what she hadn’t considered was the impact of being semi-naked with Karim standing so close. She was so hyper-aware of him that, far from feeling cool, she felt feverish and hot.

Not that he was likely to notice. He wasn’t even looking at her.

Instead he stood with his back to her, his eyes apparently fixed on some far point on the horizon. The late-evening sun shone onto the blade of his knife and it winked and flashed, a deadly reminder that this journey was not a pleasure trip.

But her fear was slightly less acute than usual, and she knew who was responsible for the change in her anxiety levels.

Karim.

Maybe he didn’t believe that she was truly in danger, but he was still standing there, wasn’t he? He was standing there because of her, and for the first time in her life she had a glimpse of what it might be like to not be totally alone.

Alexa studied the width of his shoulders and the power of his body, and wondered for a moment what he would say if she told him the truth about her life.

And then she turned and swam in the opposite direction, horrified that the thought had even entered her head.

That wasn’t going to happen.

Confiding in anyone was a mistake, as she’d learned at a pitifully early age when she’d still believed that life was fair and people were good.

And now, finally, hope had returned and the only way to give it a chance to blossom into a whole new life was to keep her thoughts to herself and not talk. Those skills had been essential to her very survival, and she wasn’t about to change that now. It appalled her to think she’d even considered it. Yes, he was watching over her, but only because that was his job. To read sentiment or emotion into his actions would be unforgivably naïve. And she wasn’t naïve, was she? Just horribly lonely—but she’d been that way for so long she didn’t understand why she would suddenly be reaching out to anyone.

Alexa pulled herself from the water, and then froze as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. ‘Karim—’

‘Yes?’ The word hissed from his lips, but he didn’t turn.

Wondering what possible reason he had to be in such a foul temper, she kept her eyes fixed on the dust at her feet. ‘I think this might be one of those occasions when I need saving. If you’re not going to turn around, then I need to borrow your knife. We have a visitor.’

Karim turned swiftly, his hand already closing over the hilt of the dagger. Then he spotted the snake coiled in the shadows of a large boulder and breathed out heavily. ‘It’s all right. It isn’t dangerous.’

‘Really? How can you tell?’

‘The pattern behind its head.’

Alexa dropped to her knees to take a closer look at the snake, fascinated now that she knew there was no danger. ‘I’ve never seen a real one before. The camouflage is amazing. It’s exactly the same colour as the sand. I almost didn’t spot it.’ She ran a finger over the snake’s dry scales and it quickly slithered under the rock, as appalled by the contact as she was intrigued. Rising to her feet, she noticed the incredulity in Karim’s eyes. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘It was a snake.’

‘Yes.’

‘It was a large snake.’

Wondering what was responsible for his stunned expression, Alexa shrugged. ‘A large snake that wasn’t dangerous, according to you.’

‘You touched it.’

‘Yes—it felt dry. Amazing. Not slimy at all.’