CHAPTER SEVEN
Gemma couldn't believe what she was looking at.
Sheikh Ahmed was here? In Qabiyah?
She peered at him incredulously through the windscreen of the car. He was gazing right at her, apparently pleased that she was now awake. Had he been calling her name?
In the dim light, he looked incredible, sitting atop the horse. Instead of the suit he'd been wearing at the reception, now his body was draped in a traditional white robe, the garb of the desert sheikh. His head was uncovered and his shoulder length dark hair glistened in the moonlight.
He held the reins of the horse in white-knuckled hands. The horse bucked nervously beneath him but, with a firm tug of the reins, he took control of the animal. Perhaps it sensed his excitement at finding her, because, judging by the expression on his face, Gemma was sure Ahmed was pleased to see her.
He pointed to the side of the car and moved his horse around to near the door. She opened the door and stepped out onto the flat, sandy ground.
"Ahmed! What are you doing here?" she asked gazing up at him.
Ahmed threw the reins around the horse's neck and leaped down, landing with a thud on the ground in front of her.
"I was about to ask you the same question, Miss Ellon," he replied.
She gasped and frowned at him. "How did you find me?"
He smiled. "Have you forgotten I was the one who told you about this place?"
She snorted. "Did you follow me?"
He gave her an incredulous look. "It wasn't that difficult to guess where you'd come."
"Does Rashid know I'm here? In fact, who does know where I am?"
He moved toward her. His features softened and he looked at her reassuringly. "You don't need to worry. I'm the only one who knows where you are."
She wasn't sure whether that was necessarily a good thing or not. But, right now, she didn't have much choice in the matter. She figured she'd have to trust what he'd told her.
"Did you see the photos?" she asked tentatively.
His brows furrowed. "I did. Rashid showed me this morning."
"Rashid? What does he think?"
Ahmed shrugged. "I'm not sure what he thinks, apart from accusing me of trying to steal you away from him."
"What! He actually believes that?"
Ahmed nodded. "That's what he said. And the photos do give that impression, I suppose." He pursed his lips thoughtfully and peered at her. "When you look at them from one perspective."
She squinted at him. In the soft light, it was hard to tell whether he was being serious now. Truth be told, he didn't look too displeased at the idea that she and him were some kind of an item, she reflected.
She supposed he was right. The photos had portrayed her and Ahmed as the best of friends. Instant attraction, was how one comment had put it. Someone had gone even further.
Instalove?
Had that been more accurate than she would have liked to admit?
"So, what is Rashid doing to find me?" she asked.
"I'm not sure. I didn't think to tell him about my suspicions that you were here. Apart from which, I didn't know for sure."
"So, you didn't mention this place?" she probed.
Ahmed shook his head.
"Why not?" she asked sharply. "Wouldn't it have made sense to tell him I might be here?"
"Why would I have done that?" Ahmed replied. "Then I wouldn't have gotten what I really want."
He took a step closer and his gaze became focused on her eyes. It was a penetrating gaze, the same one she'd seen last night, over and over. She was sure it worked on other women, but she was determined it wouldn't work on her.
She peered at him and folded her arms. She frowned at him, silently urging him to continue.
"What I really wanted was to make sure you were safe," he murmured.
His voice was thick with sincerity. His words almost made her take a step back, but she held her ground.
She peered into his eyes, searching for even a hint of insincerity, that this was another kind of game he was playing with her. But, all she could see was truth and genuine intent.
"Really?" was all she could say. She felt the color drain from her face and she was glad of the semi-darkness, that it would hide the effect of his words on her.
Ahmed glanced down, his gaze running the length of her body. "That outfit suits you," he observed.
She was suddenly and very keenly aware of the plain white robe, and how it had changed her appearance from last night. "It makes you look like a genuine Qazhar woman," he added.
His gaze drifted up to her hair, now slightly dishevelled after sleeping in the car. "Although your hair and eyes are quite American looking," he said with a grin.
She peered at him. "Are you trying to give me a compliment? Because, if that's your idea of a compliment, then you've got some learning to do, I can tell you," she retorted.
He smiled. "I can see the journey hasn't taken the edge off your sense of humor," he said.
Gemma looked past his shoulder and at the horse. "Why the horse?"
He glanced back at his mount. "Because where we're going, there aren't any roads for cars," he said turning back and squinting disapprovingly at her vehicle.
"Where we're going?" she repeated.
He nodded. "It's just desert all the way," he explained.
"What makes you think I'm going anywhere with you?" she snapped.
"You're not staying here," he announced imperiously, as if there wasn't going to be any argument.
"Who says?"
He moved toward her. Now there was barely a few inches separating them. She was tempted to reach out and push him away and get back into her car, but restrained the impulse, curious to hear his answer.
"You can't stay here, Gemma," he told her in a soft, but firm voice.
Her eyes met his. "This place is safe enough, isn't it? You said so yourself," she murmured.
"Of course it's safe," he agreed. "That isn't what I'm worried about."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that everyone here knows who you are," he replied.
Her eyes widened. "How can that be? They don't know anything about me."
He smiled softly. "They know one thing. That you are a friend of mine."
She gasped. "Have you been spreading rumors since you got here?"
He shook his head. "When I was asking if anyone had seen a young foreign woman, I couldn't help adding that you were a very dear friend of mine. Someone important to my family."
Gemma was about interrupt him, but he insisted on continuing, telling her with a narrowing of his eyes that he wouldn't be stopped. "And, since I'm a member of the most ancient family who, a very long time ago, used to own this small town, I suppose they were eager to tell me where to find you. And here I am."
The self-satisfaction in his voice was just mildly irritating, she told herself. There was a long pause and Gemma didn't know whether to be flattered or indignant.
What did he mean, this town had once belonged to his family? He hadn't told her that back in the city.
"Are you some kind of tribal leader, here? Is that what you're telling me?"
Ahmed grinned. "Let's just say that I still have quite a bit of influence in these parts. My family is still held in high regard." He furrowed his brows. "And it is for that reason that I cannot allow you to remain sleeping in a car."
"Are you saying, if I sleep in my car, then your honor will be somehow affected?"
He shrugged. "I guess you could put it that way."
"So, this isn't about me at all, then, is it? It's about your honor."
Ahmed shook his head. "I merely want to extend some hospitality to you. And I can guarantee you as much anonymity and privacy as you will get here. In fact, probably more."
She peered at him. He was inviting her to his encampment.
That was what he was doing. He actually wanted her to believe he was merely trying to be polite and courteous. But, really what he wanted was for her to go with him.
"We have traditions to honor out here," he added. "And one of them is that valued guests are afforded the best hospitality available." He glanced toward the town. "Qabiyah is nice, but it does not offer the best hospitality."
Ahmed turned back to her and this time his gaze was dark. "And you deserve the best," he growled.
She felt the breath ease out of her as he said those words. They'd been uttered with such sincerity, as well as with hint of something more. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. But, she'd heard that same tone in his voice last night.
She swallowed and turned away from him, thinking for a few moments. Could she dare go with him?
He was an almost complete stranger, but there had been something about the way they had made a connection since their meeting in the garden. They talked to one another as if they'd known each other for longer than twenty-four hours.
And she'd seen plenty of evidence of the decency of his character in the way he'd treated her last night. There had been a respect in the way he'd behaved toward her.
But, then, Rashid's words drifted into her mind. He had said that Ahmed had a reputation with women. That he had a dangerous side to him.
Perhaps Ahmed had merely been putting on a good show for her. Had she been fooled? But, could she trust Rashid's description, especially when it was so clearly at odds with what she'd witnessed herself.
And, lastly, Ahmed had come all the way out here. He must have been driven by some impulse to have done that. Maybe he did want the best for her. Perhaps he did want to make sure she was safe.
If she went to his encampment, she might find out something about him that she could use to retrieve the situation into which last night's misunderstanding had thrown her.
Gemma glanced at Ahmed and saw that he was patiently awaiting her response.
She walked toward him, and saw the way he watched her, his glance flickering down her entire body as she moved.
He looked like he was trying desperately to contain his approval, the stirrings of his hunger for her. She felt something warm inside her as she saw the way he was looking at her.
She wasn't a complete fool. She'd seen the way men looked at her before. Especially in recent times when her fame had made her such a focus of attention. She knew men found her attractive, and that was fine.
But, she wondered if she could really trust this man, this near stranger. She'd done crazier things in her life than accept an invitation like the one he'd just made to her.
Maybe there would be something interesting in spending a day or two with this mysterious, attractive sheikh. It wasn't every day that a girl had a chance to do something like this, she told herself.
For a moment she paused, hardly believing what she was about to do. But there had been times in her life when she'd had to take a step into the unknown, and this looked like another one of those.
She took in a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay," she announced. "I'll go with you."
His eyes widened. He looked pleased.
"On one condition," she added abruptly.
His eyes narrowed and she was sure she saw a hint of concern there. "What is that?"
She cocked her head to one side. "You say you'll give me the privacy I need."
He nodded. "Of course."
"Then, if I stay in your encampment for a day or two, you'll agree to leave me to myself for however long I want."
He smiled, and seemed to suppress a laugh. "You make it sound like I'm making you my prisoner."
She didn't find that comment one bit funny, and she gave him a stern look to make sure he knew it.
"You know that's not what I meant."
He touched a hand to his chest, a natural gesture of deference she'd seen many people make since she'd arrived in Qazhar. "You will be my honored guest, Gemma. You have my word."
Was he being sincere? Gemma asked herself one last time if he could be trusted. She gazed into his eyes, searching, as before, for any sign of him lying. But, just like before, she couldn't find anything which would give him away, or suggest that he had any other desire than to be courteous and generous to her.
Maybe he was just trying to be the genuine article, she thought. A sheikh who was a man of honor. A man of integrity.
Back home, that would have seemed like a novelty, something scarcely to be believed. But somehow, out here, in this vast wilderness, so far from everything that she was used to, his promise seemed genuine, something she could trust.
"Is that enough?" she snapped.
The second she'd said that, she realized she'd misjudged the moment. His gaze was suddenly stern. "My word is sacred to me," he declared. "I have not been known to break a single promise I have made."
She shrugged. "I wouldn't know anything about that," she said. "After all, we've only just met."
"Perhaps the next day or two can convince you of my sincerity. After all, I have caused you enough embarrassment already. I feel it is my duty to correct that oversight on my part."
She waved a dismissive hand. "It wasn't really your fault. Probably I should have known better than to get into your limo. But you kinda left me with no choice."
He frowned. "A choice I truly regret," he said.
He did sound sincere, she told herself.
"Okay. So what say we get going," she said.
He smiled and turned to his horse, which had settled slightly, and was now standing calmly awaiting its master. Ahmed gestured with a hand toward the horse. "Your transport awaits," he said and grinned.
Gemma lifted a brow at him. It was going to be a very interesting nighttime journey across the desert.