The Sheikh Who Married Her: One Desert Night / Strangers in the Desert / Desert Doctor, Secret Sheikh

‘Well, goodbye for now, dear. We’ll speak again soon.’

‘Bye.’

Drawn to his balcony by the great glowing ball of orange fire that was the sun going down, Zahir experienced the familiar quickening in his blood that was always a given when he witnessed the phenomenon. It made him feel that he was part of much, much more than the mere sights and sounds that daily met his eyes. The realisation humbled him, and he silently gave thanks.

Then the incandescent moment passed and the ache in his side brought him back to more earthly matters—back to the frustration he felt at the thought of being confined by his discomfort for even the shortest time.

Right now he longed for the freedom and vast open spaces of the desert … longed to be pounding along the sand on his beautiful Arabian stallion with the warm wind in his hair and the sun on his back … to forget he was ruler of Kabuyadir for a while. Into his daydream came another tempting facet. On the stallion’s back in front of him—his arms keeping her safe—was a woman: the woman who for the past three years had nightly haunted his dreams, the woman who by an incredible quirk of fate was now staying in his palace.

He hadn’t written off the idea of making Gina his mistress, despite the fact that he’d said he wouldn’t allow his desire to transgress her sense of safety or honour. Tomorrow he would continue his campaign to persuade her—to help her see that it was a natural solution to the inflammatory attraction that gathered force whenever they were together. If she were to become his mistress he wouldn’t have to risk his heart as he had done before, he told himself. In a way he could hold her at arm’s length except for when they were in bed together. Fear of her letting him down again would always ensure he would not wholly trust her.

Even so, his tension lessened a little at the idea she wasn’t far away, and that soon—very soon—they would share a night together. Zahir released a long slow breath.

‘Jamal!’

‘Yes, Your Highness.’ The loyal servant appeared almost instantly from one of the connecting rooms where he waited on Zahir’s instructions—even all through the night.

‘I’m going downstairs to the hamam. After my bath I will have my usual massage, then I’ll need the physician to attend me to rebandage my wounds. Arrange it for me, will you?’

‘Straight away, Your Highness.’

Rising shortly after dawn broke, when a full sun had burned away the night and heralded a new day, Gina washed and dressed, then made her way straight to the library. She’d promised to meet Farida after breakfast to make a start on the inventory of palace artefacts, but for now her time was her own.

Browsing the stacked shelves with an intuitive as well as professional nose, she retrieved four heavy volumes of history of the area and carried them to the long varnished table beneath a row of narrow windows. The air echoed with the spine-tingling sound of the Muezzin, calling the faithful to prayer, and Gina shut her eyes for a moment to absorb the ancient chant more fully. Then she opened the first great book in the pile she’d laid on the table.

Moroccan-style brass lamps on the walls were still glowing softly from the night before, and even though the sun was already blazing, the extra light definitely helped illuminate the hushed cathedral dimness of the area. There were several interesting references to Zahir’s dynastic family, and what she read kept Gina enthralled for at least a couple of hours. Finally realising the time, she quickly returned the books to the correct shelves and all but fled back down the maze of lofty gilded corridors to the terrace, where she’d breakfast with Jake.

‘Morning, Gina … I heard you were hobnobbing with the Sheikh’s widowed sister yesterday. What’s she like? Is she as striking in appearance as her imposing brother, or did she get the short straw in the looks department?’

‘For goodness’ sake, Jake, where are your manners? What if Jamal heard you?’ Gina looked daggers at her tactless colleague, then anxiously swept her gaze round the terrace to see if Zahir’s faithful man was nearby. Thankfully, he wasn’t. Only the two girls who served the food stood silently by the sandstone wall, waiting to be of assistance.

Already helping himself to the colourful generous repast that was arranged on the table, Jake returned an unrepentant glance. ‘It’s only natural that I should be curious. I gather the general consensus in these parts is that she’ll never marry again. Something to do with that prophecy that so fascinates you—she was head over heels in love with her husband and won’t give her heart to anyone else. Not in this lifetime anyway.’

At this reminder of the prophecy, Gina’s own heart seemed to turn over in her chest. It wasn’t hard for her to understand Farida’s vow, should it be true. If she couldn’t be with Zahir then she, too, would probably live out the rest of her days alone.

‘Seems a terrible waste, though, doesn’t it?’

‘What does?’

‘I think this place is hypnotising you! You’ve increasingly got that faraway look in your eyes. It’s going to be hard when you return to good old Blighty, isn’t it? Back home to the real world.’

Falling silent, Gina helped herself to some bread and a few olives. Soon she would have to tell Jake about the extra job Zahir had asked her to do—but not yet. She wanted the chance to complete her presentation on the Heart of Courage first. When Jake’s work was also completed, and he was thinking about travelling home, then she would tell him. The man was so ambitious that for all she knew he might be funny with her because she’d been asked to undertake the inventory and he hadn’t. It definitely wasn’t above him to be jealous and petty about her perceived good fortune.

‘It is another world here, isn’t it?’ She forced herself to be sociable and friendly.

‘By the way, there’s the most bizarre rumour going round that the Sheikh was shot by some rebels the other day when he went to try and make peace with them. He wasn’t killed, obviously, just wounded. This place is like some kind of paradise lost, but I still get the feeling that anything could go off at any time, don’t you? I didn’t see him at all yesterday. Do you think the rumours are true?’

Schooling her expression to stay calm, Gina swallowed some food, then delicately touched her napkin to her lips. ‘I don’t think we should speculate about it. If it is true then I only hope the poor man is resting and recuperating as he needs to, so that he can heal.’

‘I don’t like to think we won’t be able to finish our presentations if he really is laid up with a gunshot wound. We’ve both worked hard these past two months. I don’t want it all to be for nothing.’

Finally Gina lost patience. Pushing to her feet, she glared at the man, who was dressed in another inappropriately garish shirt this morning. ‘Don’t you ever think about anybody but yourself? The palace has paid for you to travel first class, and we’ve been waited on hand and foot, as well as receiving a generous advance for our research on the Heart of Courage. I’d hardly call that “nothing”, would you?’

Throwing her napkin on top of her plate, she marched away, leaving the two sweet girls who had been assigned to serve them staring at her as if she was a species from another planet.

In his study on one of the upper floors, the sound of girlish laughter reached his ears. Frowning in puzzlement, Zahir moved across to the sandstone and mosaic embrasure and glanced out. There were two women seated at the marble inlaid table in the intimate courtyard below, where a silk canopy protected them from the fierce midday sun. One wore the traditional black garb of a widow, and the other a long coral silk dress with a loose white overshirt and an incongruous straw hat that made him smile.

Seeing them together, clearly enjoying each other’s company, was a revelation. Rarely had a sight and sound given him more pleasure. Without knowing he’d intended it, he found himself outside, approaching the table where they sat. When the women started to rise from their seats he gestured for them to stay where they were.

‘I was beginning to fear I would never see you smile or hear you laugh again, my sister.’

‘It is all Gina’s doing. See how good she is for me? Not only is she clever and kind, but she has a wicked sense of humour, too.’

‘Is that so?’ Immediately Zahir’s interested glance moved from his sister to the fair-skinned woman seated by her side. Her lovely blue eyes had been brimming with humour just a few moments ago, but now, beneath his scrutiny, her expression turned serious. He didn’t know why, but it grieved him.

‘Good afternoon, Your Highness,’ she murmured.

‘You are looking very well, Dr Collins.’ He smiled. ‘Like a rose plucked from an English country garden and planted out here in the desert.’

‘Such a rose probably wouldn’t survive in this heat.’

‘If it was tended and looked after by an expert gardener, I have no doubt it would blossom.’

Helplessly, he fell into a trance, his skin prickling hotly with languorous need. He ignored the fact that his sister was staring at him speculatively. Then Gina reached out to gather up some papers that were strewn across the table, and Zahir snapped out of the hypnotised spell that had overcome him.

‘I will let you get back to your conversation. I apologise for disturbing you both,’ he muttered, then turned abruptly and strode away.

As his dark robes flew out behind him, his booted footsteps ringing out across the paved courtyard, Farida frowned. ‘My brother does not seem at all like his usual self this morning. It could be that he has suffered a sleepless night because of his wounds. You know he was wounded in a skirmish with some rebels the other day?’

‘Yes … I heard what happened. It was a shock.’ Lowering her lashes, Gina tried to scan some of the notes she had made with regard to the inventory that was underway, but all she saw on the screen of her mind was the disturbing heat in Zahir’s riveting dark eyes. It made her press her thighs together beneath her dress, because suddenly she ached to the very core of her being for his ardent lovemaking.

Inevitably, she remembered the night she had surrendered her virginity. The erotic electricity their bodies had generated had been so powerful, so magnetising, that when he had penetrated her she hadn’t experienced the slightest pain or discomfort. Their bonding had been so perfect, so natural, that she had no doubt it had been written in the stars.

Realising that Farida was waiting for her opinion, Gina strove for a reassuring smile. ‘Your brother … His Highness … is clearly a very strong, fit man, and I’ve no doubt that he’ll make a full and speedy recovery.’

The other woman shrugged. ‘That is what I tell myself, too. But no matter how strong he is, he is not infallible. No one is. This house has known too much death of late. It needs new blood to revitalise it and give us hope. Perhaps it is a good thing that Zahir intends to marry soon. Even if I cannot agree with his bride of choice.’

Feeling as if her breath had been seared inside her lungs, Gina stared in shock. ‘The Sheikh is getting married?’

Farida sighed and nodded. ‘His intended is an Emir’s daughter. She is plump and plain, and I’m sorry to say not very clever. Thank Allah he is not looking for scintillating company, because he won’t enjoy such a thing with her. No … He has only seen the girl once or twice, but her family rule a great kingdom, too. It is a marriage of convenience my brother has planned, and I see nothing but pain and unhappiness ahead for him should he go through with it.’

It was hard for Gina to speak because of the dryness in her throat. ‘But what about the Heart of Courage’s prophecy that all your family will marry for love, not dynastic advantage?’

‘You know about the jewel?’

She’d forgotten she wasn’t supposed to mention it to Farida. Her heart raced as she quickly sought to explain. ‘Knowing I was going to undertake an inventory of the palace artefacts, I did some research before I came and discovered the existence of the jewel. It’s got quite a history.’

Leaning forward, Farida grabbed Gina’s hand. ‘I totally believe in the prophecy! One cannot and should not argue with fate. As soon as I set eyes on Azhar I knew it was meant that we should meet and fall in love. In fact I loved him from the very first moment, and I will not stop loving him for the rest of my life—even though he is gone from me. My heart keeps him alive. Do you understand?’