CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Where is the plane?" Paige asked as the limo drew to a halt on Razim's private runway just outside the palace walls. She gazed out through the tinted windows. There was a helicopter parked where the jet should have been.
"There's been a change of plan," he said.
She turned and faced him. She saw him lean back into the corner of the seat. "What do you mean?"
"I have a proposal to make," he said.
Immediately, she felt tension, and wondered what he was going to suggest. A memory flashed into her mind. The last time she'd been in that helicopter. On their wedding day.
"What kind of proposal?"
He shifted nervously, and she could see he was struggling to find the words. "Remember when we went to my encampment in the desert?"
"How could I forget?" she replied.
"I was thinking we could go there," he said flatly.
"What!" she exclaimed. "No, Razim," she added emphatically.
His brows furrowed. "Why not?"
She scoffed and stared incredulously at him. "We just got divorced, Razim."
His eyes narrowed and he smiled. "But we're still friends, aren't we?"
"Of course," she said sharply. "But that doesn't mean I can just act like I did when we were married. Things have changed."
"I know they have," he said.
Paige shook her head. "I just don't think that would be appropriate. Not after what we've just done."
Razim leaned a little closer. When he spoke his voice was low and gentle. That was the way he usually spoke to her when he wanted to try to win her round to one of his crazy ideas, she told herself. And this was most certainly a crazy idea. More than that, actually. It was dangerous. For her and for him.
She drew in a deep breath and resolved to resist him.
"I don't think so, Razim," she said.
"I would take it as a gesture of friendship and respect if you would consider it," he said, continuing as if he hadn't even heard what she'd said. "We've been through so much together. It would be a shame to end it all on a sour note."
His voice was deep, almost like a growl. It reverberated inside the confines of the limo.
Paige peered at Razim. "We haven't ended this on a sour note, Razim. I think we've both acted responsibly. Don't you?"
He shrugged. "But, I'm talking about our friendship. I assume we will still keep in touch."
"I'll be a long way away, Razim. And you admitted, you don't like coming to the US that much. You're hardly ever there."
He waved a hand. "There you go, then. Even more reason for us to spend this last day together. You must admit, the oasis does have some wonderful memories for us."
That was true, she told herself. More than wonderful, in fact. Blissful. Perfect. And that was the reason why she told herself she shouldn't even contemplate going there with him.
"I just don't think it's a good idea," she insisted.
He moved closer and reached out, laying a hand gently on her arm. Instantly, familiar sensation flowed through her body. A delicious electric pleasure swept up her arm and across her body. She recalled what had happened out in the garden. The way he had made her feel. That was the temptation against which she battling.
Razim could still affect her. Even with a touch. And the way he was looking at her, with his dark gaze, so intense, searching for her compliance, wasn't making things any easier.
"Come with me, Paige," he growled. "Just for one last day." His eyes darkened, temptingly and intensely. "For one last night."
Her heartbeat began to race and her mind emptied, all rational thought leaving in an instant. All that was left was an overwhelming sense of temptation. This was a man with whom she had been through so much. She had spent the last two hours preparing to leave. But, during all that time, she had continually asked herself if she had made a terrible mistake.
Regret and uncertainty, both of which had tormented her these past few months, had resurfaced, painfully. The hurt she'd felt had been almost impossible to endure. She'd never known such doubts.
Up there, in her room, packing her bags, she had asked herself, over and over, if she had thrown something precious away. And all she had been able to say to herself in reply was that she probably had. And that she might wake up one day, sometime in the future, and realize that she should have made a different choice. A wiser decision than the one she had just made.
So now he was offering her a chance to find out, once and for all, if she had been foolish. Razim was the kind of man who would constantly challenge a woman. He was used to appointing himself as a leader in their relationship. And, every time he did that, her first instinct was to push back on him. To refuse him an easy victory.
So, why did this feel so different? Why did she feel that, if she defied him, she might pay a huge price. Not now. But, sometime in the future.
Paige looked at Razim, carefully examining him for any sign that he might have another agenda. That he might be doing this out of some other motive he might be hiding from her. But, as was so often the case with Razim, it was impossible to read his inscrutable expression.
Paige sighed and gazed at Razim. "Just until tomorrow?"
His expression didn't change. He didn't show any signs of pleasure at the suggestion she might be willing to change her mind. "One night. And then, if you want, I'll bring you back here, and you can fly out to the US without me."
She pushed away the emotion that comment provoked. She didn't even want to think about how it would feel to face her new life alone, without anyone by her side.
Without Razim.
Paige swallowed and then sighed. "Okay. I'll go there with you."
This time, on hearing her words, the corner of his mouth creased with a smile. "Good," was all he said.
He sat opened the door and stepped out onto the tarmac. The driver stood to one side, and she heard Razim give him some instructions in the Qazhar language. Then she stepped out. Razim held her hand as she emerged from the limo.
Paige glanced at the helicopter. "You still fly thing thing yourself, right?" she asked.
"Of course," he replied. "It is one of my many passions," he explained.
She told him she wanted one of her small bags put into the helicopter. She didn't want everything to be completely primitive once she'd reached the oasis encampment. The driver followed the instruction as she and Razim climbed into the helicopter.
Within minutes they were in the air and heading out, northwards, across the desert. Paige had no fear of flying in the helicopter. She gazed at the palace as if disappeared into the distance.
Razim's concentration was fixed on the flying of the machine, and she didn't want to distract him by talking over the communication headset.
Razim flew the helicopter low over the desert dunes. Paige gazed off into the distance, taking in the glorious sight of the golden desert landscape. The color was so luminous and bright, she had to narrow her eyes.
The sense of rapid movement over the dunes was hypnotic. She gazed down at the passing peaks of the dunes, watching as, one by one, they slid by beneath them. Occasionally, they flew over lines of camels. Tribesmen, dressed in traditional robes waved up at the helicopter as it passed.
All the while, Razim's concentration was intense as he guided the helicopter ever northward.
The desert was awe-inspiring. It possessed a stark and glorious beauty. For a moment, Paige regretted not spending more time out here, with Razim. She told herself that, if she had done that, she might have gotten to know him better. That she may have understood him more clearly. Then, some of the mistakes they'd both made might have been avoided.
But, it was too late for that now. Wasn't it?
Gazing out across the shimmering expanse, she realized that this was the place from which his ancestors had emerged. This environment was written into his DNA. Everything about him had been shaped by this place.
Finally she saw something she recognized. Squinting her eyes she made out a cluster of trees around a pool of water. Nearby, there was one large tent, fashioned out of red fabric. From up here, it looked like what it was. A sanctuary in the middle of a forbidding wilderness.
This was the place to which she had agreed to come with him. Seeing it like this, in the middle of nowhere, far from any civilization, she realized just how isolated she would be with him. In agreeing to this, she was placing all her trust in Razim.
She asked herself if she had been foolish in choosing to do this and concluded that the worst she could say about it was that it had been a rash decision. But her reasoning back at the palace still seemed true. If there was anywhere she could find closure and rid herself of any final regrets, it would be out here.
Razim guided the helicopter down onto a flat area of sand a short distance from the encampment. A huge plume of sand enveloped the helicopter until the blades finally stopped turning and it was safe to exit.
Razim leaped down and ran around to her side of the helicopter. He tugged the door open and extended a hand. She stepped out, her flat shoes sinking into the soft sand. She pulled her hand away and planted both hands on her hips, surveying the scene around.
Memories flickered to life as she gazed at the encampment. The red tent was huge and there was a smaller side tent near it which she hadn't seen from the air. That remembered that was where supplies were stored, she told herself. She recalled Razim explaining to her that tribesmen were appointed to maintain the encampment in the sheikh's absence. That way it could be kept clean and prepared for any visit by its illustrious owner.
Paige grabbed her bag from inside the helicopter and followed Razim toward the encampment.
"How does it feel to be back?" he asked. "I know you loved this place when we were here."
"Yeah. Why didn't we come back after the honeymoon?" she asked.
He shrugged. "That's a good question," he replied. "I guess there was just too much going on."
"I remember," she said wearily.
Paige sighed contentedly as she walked into the encampment. It felt like returning to a special place full of welcome.
Up close the tent was even larger than she'd remembered. To the front of the red tent was the actual oasis. The blue pool of water was about thirty meters long and half that wide. She recalled it was deep enough for swimming.
It was encircled by a dense cluster of palm trees. Branches hung low over the water casting shade. She recalled bathing in that pool when she'd last been here. The water had been cool and refreshing. She'd never forgotten the curious pleasure of floating in the water and gazing up through the branches at the bright blue expanse of sky.
She followed Razim to the tent entrance. He tugged it aside, and held it open for her to enter. She stepped inside and, once again, memories flooded back into her mind. The interior was spotlessly clean and the air was cool, filled with a scent, most likely incense, that immediately made her recall time she'd spent here with Razim. Intimate moments, that would always be associated with that sweet, delicate aroma.
The interior was about one hundred meters square. The thick, ornately decorated carpet felt soft under her feet. In the middle of the room were two low sofas facing each other, and a small table set between them.
Off to the left was the sleeping area. Just looking at it made Paige's heart beat faster. The entrance flap had been tied to the tent wall and she could see inside the sleeping space, which was perhaps less than half the size of the tent's main area. She also saw the large bed there, big enough for two. She felt her face color, and was glad that, in the subdued light of the interior, Razim probably wouldn't have noticed.
"I'll just drop my bag in there," she said tilting her head in the direction of the sleeping area.
"Okay," he replied. He shifted awkwardly on his heels. "I'm going to check the supplies area outside. Join me when you're ready."
"Will do," she said, smiling at him nervously.
Razim left the tent and she headed into the sleeping area. As well as the bed, there were two low tables on either side of it. Also there was a large, rectangular, wooden chest. She remembered it from her last visit. In there she could keep her things.
She lifted the lid, looked inside and gasped. Lying inside the chest were some of her things. She recognized a plain white gown which she had worn the night she had been here. Her wedding-night gown, she told herself. She lifted it up and draped it loose in front of her, remembering the softness of the fabric. She held it to her face and recognized the scent of the dress. Instant recollections came flooding back to her.
Paige wondered how the gown could still be out here and then she remembered that, when they had returned to the palace, she had decided to leave the gown and some other pieces of clothing. She'd done that because she'd assumed, wrongly it turned out, that she and Razim would return. But they had never come back. And so, the gown she had worn on her first night of marriage had remained here, awaiting her return.
Paige sighed as she placed the gown back into the chest. She sat down on the end of the bed and, for the first time since she'd arrived at the encampment, felt uneasy. Maybe this had been a mistake, she told herself. There were just too many memories attached to this place. This was the last place she should have come to seeking to put her past with Razim behind her.
Paige sighed. But, now there was nothing she could do except make the best of it.
And hope that temptation wouldn't come back to haunt her.