Free To Tempt a Sheikh by Olivia Gates Page A

now.”
    Tears suddenly eddied in a swirl of silver in her eyes, had his blood churning in his heart before two arrowed down her cheeks.
    Then she choked out, “Oh, shut up! ”
    He hooted with laughter. “And you take me to task about being cheerful? I’d be mute if you had your way, wouldn’t I?”
    She shot him a baleful glance, even as her lips twitched, too. “You’ve said enough, don’t you think?”
    â€œActually, I was getting to the interesting part.”
    â€œWhat interesting part? How after a few millennia they’ll dig our bones from this desert and put them in an exhibit and have scientists hypothesizing that we were actually Adam and Eve?”
    He dug his fingers into his seat so he wouldn’t yank her to him and claim those lips under his. “How…anthropologically imaginative of you. But I have no intention of becoming a fossil just yet. To this end, we’ll have to get out of this hunk of twisted metal and have us a desert trek.”
    She said nothing. Then she shifted, came closer and patted her lap. “You should lie down again. It’s clear you did hit your head and everything you’ve said and done so far has originated from a swollen brain.”
    His eyes laughed into her in-doctor-mode ones. “You mean you don’t think I have one by default?”
    â€œSure, as is no doubt expected of your princeliness. But when you start suggesting we take a two-hundred-mile stroll in ‘the most hostile nowhere on the planet,’ it’s time for medical intervention.”
    â€œActually, it’s only a fifty-mile stroll. That’s the distance to the oasis I was taking us to when we had this little diversion.”
    He winced inwardly at the hope that swept her ultra-expressive features, rearranging them into the image of relief, then reprimand. “Why didn’t you say so? That’s not too far.”
    â€œThat’s two marathons’ worth. In the desert. With temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit at midday and 20 at night. And that’s if we’re talking a linear path to our destination, which we’re not. Not with the seas of dry quicksand in the way.”
    She raised her chin defiantly at him. “If you’re trying to scare me, save it. I didn’t come to Zohayd from an air-conditioned exam room in a five-star hospital, but from an understaffed and hectic emergency room in a teaching hospital and a couple of aid stints in Africa. I’ve been steeped in discomfort all my working years and I’ve rubbed shoulders with danger and despair quite a few times, by choice.”
    He had to pause to admire her for a moment before hesaid, “I’m only trying to prepare you. I’ll see that we get through this, in the most efficient way possible, but I need you to be aware of the facts. So far, we’ve gone through the easy part. Now we face the desert.”
    He could see her defiance and determination wavering, uncertainty and fear skirting their protective shell, scraping against it for chinks, for a way in.
    But the good thing about challenge was that it kept one focused. Maybe he should escalate it, keep all her faculties locked on it, and on him.
    He crooked his lips, knowing by now that would stoke her ready flames. “Anyway, great to know I won’t have a swooning damsel on my hands.”
    â€œAs long as I don’t have a swooning dude on mine!”
    There she was. Ricocheting right back at him. And he laughed again, shook his head at his helpless reaction.
    They were in a demolished multimillion-dollar helicopter in what might as well be another planet for all the area’s desolation. He was going to brave the desert’s mercilessness in his weakened condition to ensure her safety. She seemed to wish him and his whole family erased from the face of the earth.
    And yet, he had never enjoyed anything as much, never looked forward to anything