Free Jewel in His Crown by Lynne Graham Page A

had one hand resting just below the swell of a plump breast. He raised a knee to keep her out of contact with the seat of his arousal and tried to think of something, anything capable of cooling down the sexual fire in his blood.

CHAPTER FIVE
    W HEN Ruby wakened she was immediately conscious of the heat and the crumpled state of her clothing. What she wanted more than anything at that moment was access to a long, refreshing shower and opening her eyes on the interior of the roughly made and claustrophobic tent was not a heartening experience. She checked her watch and was taken aback to realise how long she had slept for it was already almost one in the afternoon.
    Raja was nowhere to be seen and she sat up in a rush, pushing off the quilt and registering the presence of her suitcase in one corner. Mentally she leafed through what she recalled packing for what she had assumed would be short-term requirements while the majority of her wardrobe was shipped out in advance of her arrival. Just as Hermione had been shipped out, she recalled, her eyes suddenly stinging, for she missed her dog and knew her quirky little pet would be sadly missing her. She scrambled up and looked in vain for her shoes before peering out of the tent in search of Raja. It was not that she needed him, it was just she wanted to know where he was, she told herself staunchly.
    That angle forgotten, however, Ruby remained standing stock still to stare out of the tent with a dropped jaw at the view of an alien world that shook her to the core. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but sand and the occasional small bush on a wide flat plain overarched by a bright blue sky and baked by a sun so bright and hot she couldn’t look directly at it.
    â€˜Coffee? You slept soundly,’ Raja commented from the side of the small fire he had lit below the ample tent canopy.
    â€˜Like the proverbial log.’ One glance in his direction and Ruby’s teeth grated together in exasperation. As if it weren’t hot as hell already he had to build a fire to sit beside! And there he sat, infuriatingly immaculate in the same long off-white robe he had donned the day before and seemingly as comfortable living in the desert as he might have been in a five-star hotel. Only the reality that he was unshaven marked his departure from his usual standards of perfect grooming.
    â€˜Where did you get more water to make coffee?’ Ruby was struggling not to care that her hair was probably standing on end and mascara had to be smeared all round her eyes.
    â€˜This is an oasis. I established that last night. An underground stream feeds a pool below the cliff and our water supply is secure.’ He gestured to the other side of the tent. ‘Do you want a drink?’
    Ruby flipped round to belatedly note the towering cliff of rock on the far side of the tent. A large grove of flourishing date palms and other vegetation made it clear that a water source had to exist somewhere near by. ‘I’d sooner not take the risk. After what happenedon the plane, I’m only drinking water that comes out of a bottle,’ she told him thinly.
    The prince compressed his sensual mouth on the laugh he almost let escape. She looked very small, young and unsure of herself, standing there with tousled hair and bare feet, clearly unsettled by her surroundings but struggling not to reveal the fact. She hated to betray weakness and it was a trait he implicitly understood. Dishevelled though she was, however, her hair still glinted like polished silk and her flawless skin had the subdued glow of a pearl. Her beauty was not dependent on cosmetics or the flattering cut and gloss of designer clothing, he recognised, very much impressed by how good she looked without those trimmings. ‘There is no bottled water to be had here.’
    â€˜Yes, I know that…I’m not stupid!’ Ruby snapped back at him in furious self-defence. ‘I just don’t do the