Once preparations had been made to continue the excavation, Vanessa realized it was time to go home, at least temporarily. Professor Van Rees had gone back already, ending his sabbatical early and resuming his work. Now that Amanirenas had been found, it was as though life had returned to him in a rush.

Vanessa would follow him, at least long enough to update her parents on what had happened, formally tell the university about her research and discoveries, and publish her thesis, which now had a very dramatic conclusion. It would be a while, but she knew she wanted to return to Ksatta-Galan as quickly as possible, and not just to continue work on the tomb.

The night before her flight out, a sleek town car picked her up from the professor’s apartment, where she’d been staying. She wore a gown the Sheikh had bought for her, a shimmering dark blue sheath that fell all the way to the floor in velvety waves.

She was driven to a fine restaurant in a skyscraper in the center of the city, where the maître d’ showed her to a glass elevator which rose above the glittering night-time city all the way to the rooftop. The restaurant was lush with potted plants and overlooked the glorious skyline, and Ramin was waiting by a table. He smiled as soon as he saw her.

“You look amazing,” he said warmly, and drew her into a kiss that left her lips tingling and her heart fluttering.

The food was incredible, the wine superb, but nothing was better than the conversation, in Vanessa’s opinion. They lingered over their meal, discussing discoveries they’d made so far, future research prospects—anything but what would happen tomorrow.

Eventually, over dessert, Ramin gave in.

“So,” he said. “Your plane leaves tomorrow.”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “A little after noon. We could have breakfast together if you like.”

“I’d rather have dinner with you again,” he admitted, taking her hand across the table.

She smiled, knowing how he felt. She didn’t want to leave him, after all they’d gone through.

“I don’t have a choice,” she said. “I need to finish my work at Columbia. And my parents saw me on the news before I had a chance to tell them what happened, so they’re losing their minds…”

“I know you have to go,” Ramin said softly, thumb running over the back of her hand. “But can you blame me for wishing you didn’t?”

“I won’t be gone more than a few months,” she promised. “Do you think I’d let them excavate Amanirenas’s entire tomb without me?”

He laughed, reassured, and she squeezed his hand.

“Once I’ve graduated,” she said. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, student loans be damned.”

“You know,” he said, “if you’re looking for potential jobs after you graduate, the University of Ksatta-Galan has an opening for a professor of archeology. I can almost guarantee you’d get it.”

Vanessa chuckled at his teasing tone.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said.

“In all honesty,” he said quietly. “I want you to come back, Vanessa. Not just for the dig. For me. The things we talked about down in the tomb… With everything that happened, I don’t know if you’ve really thought about it. About you and me.”

She had to admit, everything had happened so fast that there hadn’t been much time to just think about what she was feeling. But some things were obvious.

She knew she trusted him with her life. She knew she loved talking to him. She knew he would never ask her to choose him over her work because he loved her work as much as she did. He was someone she could travel with, learn with, really share the most important parts of her life with. She already knew all that. So what, really, was there to think about?

“I’m not just coming back for the dig,” she said, smiling at him. “I want to be with you, Ramin.”

He leaned across the table and kissed her, knocking over the salt shaker and nearly her drink, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

They took the car back to his apartment, barely able to let go of one another. After everything they’d been through, there was nothing Vanessa wanted more. Ramin pressed her to the wall of the elevator as they rode it up to his penthouse, his kisses fast and hungry, his hands on her hips, pulling her close against him.

They were shedding clothing by the time they crossed the threshold of his apartment, leaving a trail of jackets and shoes across the rich, stylish home. The bedroom was huge, the bed set beneath a wide window with stunning views of the city that Vanessa hardly noticed, her attention wholly focused on the man holding her.

Ramin’s kisses fell burning across her throat and down her chest as he laid her on the bed, his fingers hot as they slid across her skin. He whispered words of devotion as she showered his face in soft, delicate kisses and lifted his shirt away. The moonlight through the window highlighted the planes of his muscular chest, and she planted kisses everywhere the light touched him, as though she was jealous it had reached him first.

He explored her body delicately, like he was uncovering something ancient and infinitely precious, his every touch ghosting over her skin as though afraid she would crumble or vanish into mist if he were too rough. Vanessa trembled at this teasing treatment, desperate for more and frustrated by his restraint, gently holding her back when she tried to urge him forward.

Until, finally, she made herself say the words, begging him for more. All at once, he was ruthless, plundering her like a tomb full of riches, his fingers leaving marks on her thighs and his kisses leaving red blossoms across her throat. She cried her approval to the ceiling and he responded with unabashed enthusiasm. The moonlight through the window cast the bed in silver as they gave in to what they’d both wanted since the moment they’d met.