she would never see Rafi again. So that was why he’d taken her on a tour of the Oasis this morning. He’d known her time was up. Her heart shriveled at the realization.
“If you will be so kind as to pack, I will ask the staff to take your personal belongings to the helicopter waiting outside the gate. You have time to eat your lunch. It is waiting on the table. Do you have any questions for me? Otherwise I’ll return in thirty minutes.”
She was so shocked by the turn of events she couldn’t think straight. “Wh-what about my passport?” her voice faltered.
“It will be given to you at the airport. Is there anything else?”
“No,” she whispered in absolute agony. For once her pain was too deep for tears. “I’ll be ready.” She despised the tremor in her voice that revealed her emotions.
“Very good, mademoiselle.”
The second Nazir left, she ran to her bedroom and packed, realizing it was all over. She would fly away, but her heart would remain here. She wondered what Rafi would say if she told him she didn’t want to leave yet.
She wished there were some way she could delay her departure, if only for another day. He’d become the most important thing in her life. Lauren wasn’t ready to be ripped away from him, but fate had decreed it.
When she carried her suitcases into the sitting room, she saw her lunch tray, but couldn’t possibly eat and sank down on a chair to wait.
“Lauren?” Rafi entered the room without knocking.
She looked at him, then glanced away quickly. “Nazir told me the king has arranged for me to leave. I’m glad you came so I could say goodbye to you and thank you for everything.”
He came closer. “You look ill.”
“I’m sorry if you’ve caught me reacting to the news.”
“You don’t wish to leave yet?”
“I’m sure that sounds ludicrous to you.”
“Not at all,” he said in a benign voice. “You Americans have a saying. ‘Better to take the hell you’re sure of.’ It’s only natural to cling to what is real to you here rather than return to an uncertain future without your grandmother.”
“Who made you so wise?” She smiled gently at him.
“Perhaps not that wise since I’m not satisfied you’re telling me everything. I insist you unburden yourself.” He hunkered down and grasped her hands. She loved it when he touched her. Lauren never wanted him to stop.
“Why do you think there’s anything more?”
“Because the little nerve in your throat never stops throbbing.”
She immediately pulled one of her hands away to cover the spot.
“You see?” he asked silkily. “One can try to hide, but the body will always give something away.”
“You think I’m hiding something?”
He turned her hand over and made circles against her palm with his thumb. The sensation was so erotic, he had to have heard her moan. “I know you are,” he whispered.
She couldn’t take any more. “There is one thing, but it’s an entirely selfish wish on my part. I wouldn’t want the king to think I was ungrateful for everything he’s made possible. I’ll always be in his debt, and yours, even though you deny much of the part you played in my being well enough to g-go home,” her voice broke.
She didn’t have a sense of home anymore and Rafi knew it. Maybe she really was ill and would need to see a psychiatrist when she finally returned to Switzerland. “Nazir will be here soon. I think I have everything.” She tried to remove her hand and get up, but his rock-hard body blocked any movement.
“Look at me,” he said in a husky tone that sounded more like a command.
Lauren did his bidding and found herself wanting to fall into him.
His gaze fell on her lips. She had the sensation of being kissed, yet he’d done nothing! “What’s the one thing you want?”
The one thing she wanted was to stay here with him, but she knew that was impossible. Still, if she could have a few more days. He couldn’t help but hear the dangerous knock of her heart against her ribs.
“Mustafa mentioned a place called the Garden of the Moon. He said I would especially appreciate it.” She’d already lied about their caravan driver once, but the risk of revealing the real reason she wanted to see it was too great.
“Maybe it’s foolish of me, but after coming all this way, when I’ll never be here again, it seems such a shame not to see it before I leave, but Princess Farah said it’s not allowed.”
His hands tightened almost painfully on her fingers before letting them go, but she welcomed the pain. It made her feel closer to him. “It’s forbidden to tourists, but I’ll make an exception for you this one time.” His words came out sounding like a vow. He rose to his full, intimidating height and looked down at her with glittering black eyes.
She was thankful to be sitting because after hearing that she’d been given a reprieve, her body caved. “But the arrangements to return to El-Joktor—”
“They can be changed. A few more days will make no difference in the scheme of things. Nazir will take care of everything.”
She finally stood up on legs of rubber, staring into his eyes. “You really mean it?”
He cocked his dark head. His male beauty shook her to the core. “You should have said something earlier. It’s a small thing you ask.”
“No, it’s not.” She breathed heavily. “Everything you do for me causes an inconvenience to someone, but I appreciate this more than you can imagine.”
“I believe you.” There was no hint of mockery just then. “Now you have to do a favor for me.”
“Anything.”
She heard his sharp intake of breath, not realizing she might have sounded as if she were being provocative on purpose. “In order to get the full benefit of the garden, you have to see it after the moon comes up. Therefore, I want you to rest and I hope, get some sleep. I’ll come for you tonight at seven-thirty. Eat a filling dinner.”
“I will.”
“Have you ever ridden a horse?”
“Many times.”
Something flickered in the dark recesses of his eyes. “Wear boots and bring your cloak to keep you warm. Today it was hot in the desert, but tonight the temperature will drop.”
She smoothed an errant curl off her forehead. “Don’t you have to stay at the palace on duty?”
A strange gleam entered his eyes. He studied her for a moment. “Several of my staff are always available.”
“But what if it’s an emergency and you’re needed?”
“I always keep my phone with me. If necessary, Nazir would send a helicopter for us.”
He started walking toward the door. She followed him. “Then I’m relieved.”
“Remember to get plenty of rest.”
After his tall, powerful body disappeared out the doors, she walked through the suite to the garden unable to contain her joy. Rafi—Tonight they’d be alone together. She leaned over to smell the fragrance of the huge, rare yellow and white hibiscus. Just one night with him. If it was all he was willing to give her, then she’d take it and be grateful.
She folded her arms and clutched them to her waist. This man had a power over her so complete she knew she would die if she couldn’t be with him tonight. Anyone hearing that thought expressed would tell her she needed some serious