And she was right to be afraid.
By the time she arrived at the Citadel she would, with a little outside assistance, have decided that marriage to the Sultan was not for her. ‘Why don’t you change your clothes?’ She would doubtless select something feminine and unsuitable, and the more unsuitable the dress the more uncomfortable the journey.
And, the more uncomfortable the journey, the faster she would decide to rethink her matrimonial intentions.
Convinced that the success of his mission was already assured, Karim gave a faint smile. ‘Welcome to Zangrar, Your Highness,’ he drawled softly. ‘Welcome to the desert.’
CHAPTER FOUR
WITHOUT a word, Alexa picked up the one small bag that she’d carried on board with her, stood up and moved to the back of the plane.
They were going to travel through the desert and it was going to take four days? No. That couldn’t be right. It was just too dangerous. At any other time she would have been wildly excited at the prospect of exploring the desert, but not right now! Not when so much was at stake.
She didn’t know which made her feel more uneasy: the thought of being out in the open where William could intercept them at any time, or the thought of being with Karim.
The memory of waking with her head on his shoulder made her want to curl up and hide with embarrassment.
What was happening to her?
First she’d kissed him—or had he kissed her?—and then she’d slept snuggled against him as if they were lovers, not strangers. It didn’t make sense. At night she only ever dosed fitfully. She never slept. In fact, she’d long since decided that her body had actually forgotten how to sleep properly. In the last sixteen years she hadn’t once slept for a ten-hour stretch. And yet suddenly she’d done exactly that, and, not only had she slept a deep, dreamless sleep, she’d done it nestled against Karim.
It was as if in her sleepy state she’d been somehow aware of his strength and had gravitated towards it.
But that couldn’t be the case because she didn’t rely on others, did she? Not consciously or subconsciously. No matter how desperate she was, she didn’t see Karim as her rescuer. She did things on her own, the way she always had.
She didn’t want him here.
Like others before him, he didn’t believe that she was in danger, which meant that the danger was suddenly increased, because he would be distracting her when she should be alert.
And he was extremely distracting.
Warmth curled inside her as she acknowledged the other reason that she was reluctant to travel with him. It wasn’t just that she didn’t trust him, was it? It was more than that. She didn’t want Karim with her because he made her feel like a woman for the first time in her life. He confused her, with his macho decisiveness and raw sexuality. There was something about the way he looked at her that she found profoundly disturbing. He’d made her feel things she didn’t want to feel at a time when the only thing on her mind should have been reaching Zangrar safely.
Alexa groaned aloud with frustration.
She didn’t want this now.
Not when she was on her way to her wedding. This was not the time to discover that there was actually an intensely passionate side to her nature that had never previously been exposed.
Telling herself that her feelings for the arrogant bodyguard weren’t relevant, she dressed swiftly. This wasn’t about her; her feelings didn’t matter and they never had.
All that mattered was reaching the Citadel safely and marrying the Sultan.
She was relying on the Sultan’s wealth and influence to help restore Rovina to prosperity.
But if the Sultan refused to help her …
He wouldn’t, she told herself firmly as she stuffed her old clothes back into the case. Ruthless he might be, but he was also said to be scrupulously fair. Their fathers had been friends. Surely the Sultan would want to honour the bonds of that friendship?
And as for Karim—well, he was just going to have to learn to follow orders.
Having calmed herself, she walked back to the front of the plane, wearing sand-coloured combat trousers tucked into sturdy desert-boots, and felt a flicker of satisfaction as she saw the surprise in Karim’s eyes.
‘What’s the matter?’ She put the case down by her seat. ‘You were expecting high heels and a tiara? Don’t believe everything you’ve heard about me, Karim. I knew we had to make at least a short journey through the desert. I’ve dressed accordingly. What I didn’t realise was that it was a four-day journey. I need some time to adjust our travel plans.’
‘I have already made the necessary arrangements.’ His authoritative tone made her pause.
‘I make the plans.’
‘Not when you are travelling with me, Your Highness. I am your bodyguard. You do as I say at all times. You go where I go and you sleep where I sleep.’
He made it sound impossibly intimate, and suddenly a dangerous heat exploded inside her. ‘No way. I’d rather travel on my own.’
‘A fool crosses the desert of Zangrar without a guide.’
‘A bigger fool trusts another with her life.’
He lifted an eyebrow. ‘You doubt my ability to protect you? There is no need. You’ll be quite safe.’
Safe.
It was a word that hadn’t been part of her vocabulary for sixteen years. The whole concept of ‘safe’ was a distant fantasy for her. ‘How can I be safe when you don’t even believe I’m in danger? How can you protect me from a threat you refuse to even acknowledge?’
‘The desert is in my blood. If anyone is following us then I will know.’
Alexa stared at him helplessly. She wanted to refuse, but she had to face facts—there was no way she could handle a four-day journey through the desert without expert help. She hadn’t planned for that. ‘You know the desert well?’
Her reluctantly voiced question drew a faint smile. ‘You could drop me blindfold in the middle of it and I would be able to find my way back to the Citadel.’
Arrogant.
That was the other word she’d apply to him. Powerful and arrogant.
Alexa looked away from his firm, sensual mouth, trying to think clearly. Relying on anyone else for anything was completely alien to her, but what choice did she have?
She hadn’t anticipated a journey of four days.
If she was navigating a complex route, she would never be able to protect herself.
‘All right. You do the navigation.’ She spoke the words reluctantly, comforting herself with the knowledge that she was still responsible for herself. He was merely providing the transport. ‘We travel together.’
But she wasn’t going to go where he went, and she certainly wasn’t going to sleep where he slept.
Two hours later she was beginning to feel relieved that she hadn’t attempted the journey alone. The desert was vast, and although the road was clear enough, it was also exposed. There was no way she would have been able to drive and keep watch. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to.
‘Can we drive any faster?’
‘Not if you wish to reach the Sultan alive with all your limbs still attached to your body.’ Karim drove with relaxed ease, sunglasses shielding his eyes from the vicious glare of the sun. ‘If your uncle is that desperate to prevent this wedding, then