Page 38 of The Sheikh's Willing Captive

"I'll just drop my bag in there," she said tilting her head in the direction of the sleeping area.

"Okay," he replied. He shifted awkwardly on his heels. "I'm going to check the supplies area outside. Join me when you're ready."

"Will do," she said, smiling at him nervously.

Razim left the tent and she headed into the sleeping area. As well as the bed, there were two low tables on either side of it. Also there was a large, rectangular, wooden chest. She remembered it from her last visit. In there she could keep her things.

She lifted the lid, looked inside and gasped. Lying inside the chest were some of her things. She recognized a plain white gown which she had worn the night she had been here. Her wedding-night gown, she told herself. She lifted it up and draped it loose in front of her, remembering the softness of the fabric. She held it to her face and recognized the scent of the dress. Instant recollections came flooding back to her.

Paige wondered how the gown could still be out here and then she remembered that, when they had returned to the palace, she had decided to leave the gown and some other pieces of clothing. She'd done that because she'd assumed, wrongly it turned out, that she and Razim would return. But they had never come back. And so, the gown she had worn on her first night of marriage had remained here, awaiting her return.

Paige sighed as she placed the gown back into the chest. She sat down on the end of the bed and, for the first time since she'd arrived at the encampment, felt uneasy. Maybe this had been a mistake, she told herself. There were just too many memories attached to this place. This was the last place she should have come to seeking to put her past with Razim behind her.

Paige sighed. But, now there was nothing she could do except make the best of it.

And hope that temptation wouldn't come back to haunt her.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Razim busied himself with the storage area which was attached to the side of the main tent. He was glad for the chance to think more clearly. He'd seen the way Paige had reacted to being back here, in the encampment. He tried to convince himself that she was glad to be back, but, even as he said that to himself, he knew it probably wasn't true.

Back at the palace, when Ahmed had explained the situation to him, everything had seemed so simple. Razim had thought his plan was perfect. And, as he'd waited for Paige to emerge from her room in the palace, he'd told himself that he'd reveal to her the real reason why he wanted to bring her to this place. To the place where their marriage had been properly consummated as man and wife.

Surely she'd want to know there was a chance to undo the mistake they'd just made. Because he was sure she felt the same as he did. He'd seen a hint of it in her reactions.And he was sure she'd had second thoughts from the moment she'd finished uttering those words.

Razim sighed heavily as he checked through the stores of bottled water and the self-powered freezer compartment that contained some basic food.

He cursed himself for his weakness as he thought about how he'd sat in the limo, right next to Paige, on the way out to the helicopter. And as the limo had drawn up to the helicopter, he'd told himself that he would reveal to Paige what Ahmed had told him.

But, when the moment had come, he hadn't been able to do it. He'd worried she would demand to be taken to the airport and put on the first flight back to the US. Anything except run the risk of renewing her marriage to Razim.

So, he had remained silent about his motive, telling himself he would reveal the truth to her once she was here with him.

Now that she was here, and he still hadn't told her, there was a twisting knot of pain in his belly. He knew he should have explained the reason why he'd brought her to this place. It was a matter of honor, if nothing else. And it was the least she deserved, especially after what she'd been through with him. Deceiving Paige, in any way, did not make him feel good. It wasn't right, and he knew it. He resolved to make amends in any way he could.

Razim assessed the food supplies and concluded that there would be enough for him to rustle up a decent, if basic, meal for them both.

And then, after that, he would tell her the truth.

There was a low, rectangular wooden tabletop propped up on the inside of the storage space. It was used for makeshift meals out at the front of the tent. He lifted the table, feeling the heaviness of the wood.

He went back to the open space in front of the tent, placed the table down on the sand, dusted off his fingers, and waited for Paige to emerge.

Impatience tugged at him. He felt a familiar nervous tension in his body. He thought about that he was doing. Was he simply trying to recreate something from the past, their honeymoon, in a desperate bid to forge a future for himself and Paige? Was this his last, desperate move?

He gazed around the camp. This place held such significance for Razim. Coming back to the scene of their first night as man and wife brought back a multitude of memories. All of them good.

Razim recalled how he had claimed Paige right here, where he stood. They'd lain on a rug, beneath the stars, alongside a blazing fire.

How good it had felt to make love with her. And how much joy he had felt when he had seen the way she had reacted to him. He wondered if he could reclaim even a small part of that connection. That shared ecstasy. Because, he knew that if he could, his bond with this beautiful woman would be unbreakable. If she came back into his life, permanently and irrevocably, then he knew he would do whatever was in his power to make her happy. To bring peace, contentment and love into her life.

But, in order to achieve that, he knew he had to overcome a monumental obstacle. A barrier that, right now, seemed insurmountable.

He would have to take possession of Paige with exactly the same ferocity of need and passion as before. And, in doing so, he would have to sweep away every doubt she held onto. He would have to make her certain that staying with him was what she wanted. What she really needed. And that was probably going to be the hardest thing he had ever tried to do.

There was a sound from the tent and he turned. Paige emerged, looking gorgeous. Her hair was slightly tousled and she squinted to adjust her eyes to the bright sun.

Razim went to her and smiled. "Everything to your satisfaction?" he asked in a light tone of voice.

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