Page 30 of At the Sheikh's Command
“It’s not only you.” She stopped dead and took a deep breath. “Look, can we change the subject? There are other things which upset me.”
“Besides me,” he said with a spark of humor.
“Yes.” She grinned. “Besides you. You are not the center of my world,” she added.
He gave her a quick sideways glance. “Not yet,” he murmured, before putting his foot to the floor and sending the fast car shooting along the highway to the distant mirage of rippling light on the horizon. “But I intend to be.”
CHAPTER14
Leonora knew they had to pass the oasis on the way to the mountain palace, but hoped they wouldn’t stop, because they’d been there before. Once. And it had been a night she’d never forgotten. The place held too many memories for them both—memories which had become painful to remember after all that had happened. She really didn’t want to re-visit it. But it seemed Darrius had other ideas.
He signaled to turn off the highway and drove toward the shimmering oasis—a welcome shot of green in the stony expanse. Her heart sank.
“Don’t we need to get to the mountains before nightfall?”
“There’s no hurry,” he said. “I thought we’d stop here for a break.”
“I’d rather press on,” she said tightly, not wanting to set foot in the place which held so many memories.
He raised an eyebrow. “And I’d rather not.”
She knew what he was doing. Forcing her to remember. What he didn’t realize was that she hadn’t forgotten one moment of her time with him, especially here, at the oasis where they’d first made love.
“But there’s nothing here,” she said. “Only water and trees…”
“And the Roman ruins,” he added. “I’m surprised you don’t remember.”
She was pretty sure he knew she remembered every detail of that night so long ago. The night when they’d both known their lives would never be the same. But she refused to admit it.
He slowed down and parked under one of the sheltering palm trees on the edge of the small oasis. The wadi which fed the oasis waters had barely a trickle in it. There had been no rain for some time.
“What are we doing here?” she asked him as the engine died.
His eyes roved over hers. “Remembering,” he said simply.
“What if I don’t wish to remember?”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “Are the memories from here so bad?”
She shook her head. She couldn’t deny what had happened to them there, no more than he could.
“Then there’s nothing to fear, is there?”
Without waiting for her to reply, he got out of the car, and she had no choice but to follow. But he was wrong. Even beautiful memories were something to fear when they reminded you of what you’d had, but lost.
The sound of the car doors banging shut soon dissolved into the wide expanse of nothingness with which they were surrounded. The last time Leonora had been so far from civilization had been here, in this very spot, eight years earlier. But she felt as if she were a different woman now. A woman who’d been hardened by pain, toughened from walking away from a love which she’d known had no future. They were two people from two different worlds with two different destinies. That much had been clear at the time and was still clear. She had no future with him and she couldn’t figure out why he believed they had.
“You go on,” Darrius said. “I need to make some calls. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
She heaved a relieved sigh, welcoming some time alone. With every passing minute she spent with Darrius, her defenses weakened a little more. She needed time to bolster her reserves.
She walked quickly toward the grove of trees, eager for their shade. The green of the palms was striking after the uncompromising yellow ochre of the desert. It had been a long drive and the shadows of the trees were lengthening across the desert, stretching out their dark fingers to provide relief from the scorching sun to anyone who ventured there. She stepped into the trees’ shade and immediately entered a different world. Dappled sunlight played on the leaves above her and the air was moist, hinting at the water nearby, although she couldn’t see it yet. Eventually, she emerged from the trees and found herself at the water’s edge. It was exactly as she remembered. Streams of golden sunlight shone over it, unbroken.
On the far side, the cluster of ruined buildings where they’d found shelter that night were still there. For a moment, the air shimmered over it, distorting it, taking her back to that time so long ago. From out of nowhere, she was blasted with the emotions she’d felt when she’d been there last. She felt them viscerally, with an intensity which made her grab a branch for support. Suddenly masses of butterflies rose and flew into the surrounding air, as out of place as the water was, here in this wild, dramatic land.
She swore under her breath. This was going to be her undoing. She knew it, and Darrius knew it. Her only chance was to explore the place first, without him beside her watching her every move, her every expression, waiting for her to break. She refused to give him the satisfaction.
Darrius was out of sight, but she could hear his voice. He might have left his guards behind, but he obviously remained in touch with his people. She’d only have one chance.
