‘I can’t swim,’ Layla admitted. ‘Is the oasis deep?’
Nadia led her along a narrow path. ‘Not if you enter the pool by the rocks on the far side.’
The rocks on the far side.
Layla committed that to memory because she didn’t want to get it wrong.
Nothing about her first glimpse of the camp had prepared her for the beauty of the oasis. Shaded by date palms, the still pool of water looked temptingly cool after the long, dusty ride.
This part of the pool was secluded, the view from the other tents obscured by palms and citrus trees. Just one tent stood close by and Nadia gestured with her head. ‘That is His Highness’s tent. I will leave clothes there and put food in the tent. If you need anything, just call, but the pool is safe in the daytime. I’ll go and fetch towels.’
Layla didn’t ask what happened at night. She was too busy wondering who had given up their tent for the Sheikh.
It was obvious it had prime position, set apart from the others and opening onto what effectively became a private pool.
But not that private.
Layla glanced around her, aware that anyone could walk past at any time.
Having only ever undressed behind a locked door, she decided to keep her dress on. It was ruined anyway, so she might as well get one last use out of it.
Removing the belt, she walked to the rocks at the far side of the pool, as Nadia had instructed, and slid into the water.
Stretching out her legs, she felt for the bottom with her feet—but there was no bottom.
Too late, she realised how deep it was and clung tightly to the slippery rock with her fingers, trying to pull herself out again. Just as the thought flashed into her head that Nadia had deliberately sent her to deep water she sank under the surface, dragged down by the weight of the saturated dress.
Trying not to panic, Layla attempted to haul herself up, but her fingers slipped and she sank under the surface, choking.
Water flooded through her mouth and her ears and she kicked hard, but the dress wrapped itself around her ankles, pulling her down.
Just when she’d thought there was no way she was ever going to get out of this alive she felt a disturbance in the water next to her and strong hands hauled her upwards, towards the light. Layla broke the surface of the water, gasping and coughing.
‘Are you trying to drown yourself?’ His black hair plastered to his head, Raz lifted her onto the rocks and then launched himself out of the water next to her, water streaming from the gleaming, pumped muscles of his bare chest. ‘What were you thinking, swimming in a dress?’
Layla couldn’t answer. She was too busy coughing and trying not to be sick.
Cursing softly under his breath, he smoothed her soaked hair away from her face. ‘You are all right now. You are safe. It was lucky I decided to come back and check on you.’
‘I went under—’
‘Because you chose to swim in your dress,’ he breathed, and she shook her head.
‘I never intended to swim. I can’t swim. I was just going to dip myself in the water.’
‘Fully clothed?’
It sounded ridiculous, spelled out like that, and her face turned fiery hot. ‘I thought someone might walk along and see me. The dress was ruined anyway so I thought I’d just keep it on and paddle.’
‘In the deepest end of the pool?’
‘I thought it was the shallow end.’ Layla glanced up at him, puzzled, and saw his eyes darken dangerously.
‘Why would you think that? Who told you it was the shallow end?’
She wasn’t going to tell him that when there was already friction. ‘It was my fault,’ Layla muttered ‘I should have checked for myself.’
Without speaking, he unfastened the back of her dress. ‘Take this off. Go to the other end of the pool where the water is only waist deep. You will be safe and undisturbed, I promise.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘There is a conversation I need to have and it would seem that it can’t wait.’ His voice vibrating with anger, he vaulted to his feet and strode back towards the tent.
Moments later Layla heard his voice and winced, because it was obvious to her that however much Nadia had loathed her before this, she was going to loathe her a thousand times more by the time Raz had finished ripping strips from her in that icy voice of his. She thought she heard muffled sobs and closed her eyes, because the whole situation was turning into a complex mess and without the facts she had no idea how she was supposed to handle it.
Taking refuge in the practical, she peeled off the soaked dress and forced herself back into the water again—more because she didn’t want to let fear beat her than because she wanted to wash. This time she was relieved to feel the bottom under her feet. As he had promised, the water only reached her waist and she washed herself quickly, still shocked by how close she’d come to drowning in this beautiful place.
The sun sent sparkles of light dancing over the still surface of the pool. Somewhere nearby she heard children playing, their laughter cutting through the stillness of the baking hot air, and the sound surprised her because she hadn’t expected to hear children.
She couldn’t think of the time she’d last heard children laugh like that. It reminded her of when Yasmin had been very young and Layla had been constantly putting her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles in case the sound drew unwanted attention. But here no one was trying to muffle the sound and the children played happily, unrestricted.
Thinking of her sister brought a lump to her throat.
Where was she now?
If only she were at least alive, Layla would never complain about anything ever again.
Listening to the children, she was tempted to go and watch them, but then decided she’d encountered enough hostility for one day. Instead she wrapped herself in the towels that had been left for her and walked the short distance to the tent, hoping that Nadia wouldn’t be there.
Stepping inside, she stopped in surprise.
She’d expected something basic, but this tent was not only fully furnished but luxurious, decorated in rich reds and deep purples. There was a seating area piled with soft cushions and a low bed covered in silk sheets, with a thick cover for cold desert nights.
It was idyllic.
It was—Layla swallowed hard—it was romantic.
Someone had laid food on a low table near to the door, but Layla wasn’t hungry. She couldn’t even think about food after everything that had happened. Did Nadia really hate her so much she would want her dead? And what had Raz said to her that had caused her such distress?
Feeling sick from nerves and oasis water, she pulled on the clothes and sank onto the cushions.
Despite worry about Nadia, and anxiety for her sister, her mind was dominated by thoughts of the night ahead.
She would have spent the day reading, but her books had been left behind at the first camp so she had nothing but her imagination to occupy her time, and by the time Raz finally appeared she was so worked up she jumped out of her skin.
‘You startled me.’
His gaze rested on the untouched food and a faint frown touched his forehead. ‘You haven’t touched the food. Are you unwell after the incident earlier?’
‘No. I just wasn’t