page15 (2/2)

Rashad had to dig deep into his reserves to maintain silence in the face of such unbridled provocation His trollop? He set his perfect white teeth together and flexed long, shapely brown fingers Once the jet landed, his staff reappeared to disembark and Rashad was approached by his current senior aide, Butrus A professor of law and an excellent administrator, the older nation he should place on Tilda’s visa to enter Bakhar

Rashad’s anger, all thedenied utterance, was still intense Wrathfully impatient of the bureaucracy of petty detail that the royal family had always been exee and with an unashamed resolution that none would dare to question ‘She is my woman She does not require a visa’

Butrus froze, then went straight into retreat and bowed very low An electric silence enveloped the still An alh cheekbones, Rashad realised that for the first time in his life he had shown his stormy eht have shocked but it had not been a mistake He closed a fierce hand over Tilda’s pale, delicate fingers He could not possibly keep her a secret froh he had not planned to make such a dramatic announcement, at least, he reasoned, nobody was now in any doubt about her non-negotiable status in his life

‘You’re hurting my hand,’ Tilda stretched up on tiptoe to snap

Rashad immediately loosened his possessive hold, but he did not let her go She was his now, he thought with satisfaction She was in Bakhar with hier and thumb and retained her hand in his Taken aback by that response to her waspish co sulfed in that unexpected warmth, she felt dizzy and breathless

Across the cabin, Butrus watched that visual exchange of s his attention from the display All of a sudden he finally understood why the Palace of the Lions was being prepared for occupation and he was appalled by hisHow could he have been so foolish as to credit that the Crown Prince n ly traditional path to reat joy to his fae by declaration Was it not truly typical of their heroic and fiercely independent prince that he should choose a bride and bring her home without any of the usual fuss? As soon as his eot on the phone to break the happy tidings to King Hazar’s closest advisor, Jasiround whatsoever in the royal household He was little disappointed by the discovery that the happy tidings were not quite the surprise he had envisaged

Tilda was quite unprepared for the roasting heat of Bakharher supre to him ‘Is it always this hot?’

Even this faintest hint of criticism of the Bakhari climate made Rashad square his broad shoulders ‘It is a beautiful day There are no gloorey skies here in early summer’

An air-conditioned lie new airport terminal The vehicle carried theain beside a large white-and-gold helicopter Boarding, she sat down on a fitted creaape at the space and co her

The panoramic view soon stole her attention The helicopter followed a craggy line ofthe desert interior Her first gli towards the horizon enthralled her Far below she saw a careat emptiness and, once or twice, encampments of black tents Children chased the shadow of the helicopter and waved frantically, and still the desert stretched like a vast, endless golden ocean ahead of them

‘How much farther?’ she was finally moved to ask

‘Another ten ive theer than necessary Although he usually found a fresh sight of the country he loved an energising experience, he had barely reaze froer to possess her was stabbing at him like a knife

He had watched while she knelt laughing on the seat and waved back at the Bedouin children with youthful enthusias quality of joy had once had enorrown fro man The emotion Tilda showed so freely had been a powerful source of attraction Exasperation made him suppress those memories The present, he told himself bleakly, was more relevant Yes, she was very desirable But had he not bought her into his bed? Where was the appeal in that? Or in her lies?

Picking up on the dry note in his rich dark drawl, Tilda went pink She smoothed down her dress and sat down in a more circumspect fashion ‘Will I be able to shout at you e arrive wherever we’re going?’

‘No I tell you what I want and you strive to deliver,’ Rashad reminded her with immense cool