Page 13 of At the Sheikh's Command
Darrius slept deeplywith Leonora snuggled in his arms. It wasn’t until the first fingers of dawn probed the darkness that he awoke, feeling more rested than he could ever remember. He didn’t want to wake her so he continued to lie with his arm around her, watching as the darkness swiftly gave way to light. And, with the day, he knew he had to face up to reality—confront what had happened and try to figure out what he was going to do about it. As the sun climbed the horizon and its rays poured into the room, he traced on her back the flickering shadows of leaves from the trees outside his window. He watched as her breathing changed, and she opened her eyes and looked around with surprise.
“I thought I’d dreamed I was in your arms!” she said with a smile.
He pushed aside a lock of her hair. “It’s no dream,” he said, sliding his hand along the curves of her body before coming to rest on her hip. “I’ll prove it.”
Laughing, she slipped from his arms and pulled on her robe.
He frowned. This wasn’t what he’d intended at all. “What are you doing?”
“Returning to my room for a shower and to start my day. It’s going to be a busy one.”
“And what exactly are your plans?” he asked, his voice automatically slipping back into his usual commanding tone.
She looked around in surprise and then frowned. She tied her robe firmly before turning to him.
“I have work to do,” she said. “Like I said, I want to find the diamond.”
“Does it really mean so much to you?”
He got up out of bed and went to her.
She nodded. “Personally, and professionally.”
It was his turn to frown. “It’s a precious stone. That’s all.”
“No, you’re wrong. It’s much,muchmore than that. It’s my future. My independence.”
“Your independence?” He was confused. “What is that to do with us? Why do you imagine you need either the diamond or your independence?”
“Because I do, Darrius, I do. Last night doesn’t change a thing.”
He gripped her hands and tugged her to him. She bounced against his chest.
“Of course it does. We will marry and that will be your future. That will put an end to your independence.”
She tilted her head angrily to one side. “I’m not one of your Bedouin women you can order about, Darrius! I’m a modern woman with a life of my own.”
“Not anymore. That changed the moment you entered my room last night. It wasn’t independence you wanted last night. You wanted me.” Reassured by the memory, he stepped away from her and pulled on his own robe. “No, we will marry. I’ll inform my Grand Vizier immediately so he can arrange it.”
“Darrius! I’mnotmarrying you! How can I? For one thing, your people would never accept me and, for another, I have a life in England—a career.”
“Then why did you come?”
She nibbled her lip as if uncertain how to respond.
“Nora,” he said in a warning tone. “Tell me honestly. Why did you come?”
She still hesitated and then drew in a deep breath, as if mustering up her courage. “To get over you,” she suddenly blurted out. “To move on. There’s a man, an ex-fiancé, who wants to marry me. He—”
“What?” Darrius exploded, preventing Leonora from further speech. “What?” he repeated, trying, without success, to control the red mist which had descended in his brain at the thought ofhisLeonora with another man. “There will be no other man but me!”
As soon as he saw the shock of surprise, swiftly followed by defiance, in her eyes, he regretted his explosion.
“Nora!” he called out.
But she opened the door and, with one hand firmly on the handle, she turned to him, her own anger now matching his.
“What? You expect me to commit to you knowing I cannot ever marry you? Is that what you expect? You expect me to be some kind of sexual slave, kept tucked away at night for your pleasure?” She shook her head. “That’s not me, Darrius. I am not that woman.”
