He studied her as if he could see into her soul. “Then why do you look, shall we say … fragmented when you talk about her?”
Maybe he’d been a psychologist before going into security work. She drew in an extra breath. “That’s exactly how I feel, no doubt due to her unexpected death and my close brush with it.”
“No doubt,” Rafi muttered, but he didn’t sound convinced. On maddening cue he said, “But I’m glad to see you have an appetite. Even if you’re in mourning, it’s an excellent sign that you’re returning to normal.”
Since meeting Rafi, Lauren no longer knew what normal was. She sensed he was getting ready to say goodnight, but she didn’t want the evening to end. While she was contemplating a way to detain him, he said, “Much as I would like to stare into your jewel eyes for the rest of the night, it’s growing colder out here. Let’s go in and enjoy a game of cards. Otherwise I’ll have to explain to Dr. Tamam why his patient has suffered a relapse at my hands.”
She could still feel those hands on her shoulders. Whenever he made a personal comment, she felt the blood surge to her cheeks. This time when they walked back inside, their bodies brushed. She felt like a firecracker ready to go off.
“I’ll warn you now I only know how to play canasta.”
One dark brow lifted. “They play that at the casino in Montreux?”
She hunched her shoulders and smiled. “I doubt it, but I can’t say for sure. I only went inside it once with grandmother when I was a girl. She told me to take a good look at all the people and remember how desperate some of them looked. Then she never allowed me to enter it again. She said that gambling was one of the easiest ways to destroy people.”
“And so you never went near?” he asked with a wicked smile. “Not even once as a small gesture of defiance?”
Lauren shook her head. “No. She was so wonderful, I didn’t want to disappoint her.”
“Disappointing people,” he murmured after a noticeable silence. “The most painful of punishments.” He sounded far away just then.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I happen to agree with you.” Again she had the impression his thoughts were on something that brought him grief.
“Let’s play over here.” He gestured to the low-lying table in one corner of the sitting room. She sank down rather ungracefully into the cushions surrounding it. Rafi joined her with the ease and male agility of one who did this on a regular basis, extending his long powerful legs. Lauren tucked hers beneath her. The action brought her arm against his shoulder. Neither of them moved away.
He shot her a glance that seemed to be narrowed on her mouth. “Teach me how to play canasta.”
Her body thrilled to the knowledge that he’d come with a pack of cards in order to spend more time with her. He pulled them from his trouser pocket and put them on the table. “They’ve already been shuffled.”
“Good. I hate having to wait.”
He laughed out loud, warming her clear through.
“Deal both of us fifteen cards,” she instructed.
Her host took his time, smiling at her mysteriously as he did it.
Trying to ignore his dominating male aura she explained the rules of the game as clearly and concisely as she could.
He rubbed his thumb against his bottom lip in contemplation before moving the cards around in his hand. “Who taught you how to play?”
“Richard, my grandmother’s husband.”
They got started and she answered more questions as they went along. It didn’t surprise her he had a razorsharp brain plus a photographic memory. Once he’d caught on, they played until after midnight. The final count made her the overall winner by just a handful of points.
“I want a rematch,” he growled the words, “but your eyelids are drooping so I’ll say goodnight and we’ll do this again tomorrow night.”
She didn’t know if she could live till then.
He left the cards on the table and got up in a lithe move. She clasped the hand he extended to her. “Oh—” she cried softly because the movement propelled her against him. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms with growing urgency. “I’ve been waiting to do this all night. One little taste for a consolation prize, I think.” The next thing she knew he kissed the nerve throbbing wildly at the base of her throat. Swarms of sensation filled her body, leaving her weak and trembling.
When she could lift her head, she saw fire blazing in the depths of those black eyes. “I’ll come by for you at seven. If you’re up to it, there’s something I’d like to show you. We’ll eat breakfast after that.” Before she knew it, he’d slipped out of the suite.
Lauren glanced at her watch.
It was morning already.
Maybe she was in a dream. If she was, she never wanted to wake up. Don’t let me wake up. Please don’t!
Lauren prepared for bed quickly and set her watch alarm for six-thirty. She fell asleep at some point, but came awake a half hour before her alarm went off because she was so eager to see Rafi again.
After a shower and a hair wash, she dressed in tan pants and a white blouse, her uniform for the desert. At ten to seven, she heard a rap on the door before he entered the suite. He was early too, dressed like her. His piercing eyes traveled over her, causing every nerve ending to tingle.
“I like a woman who’s punctual.”
“That works both ways,” she said, too breathlessly, as they walked along the passageway. She almost had to run to keep up with his long strides.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m anxious to show you the mews at the back of the palace where the royal falcons roost. I keep mine there. Johara loves a morning hunt. I’ve a feeling you’ll enjoy watching her.”
“You do falconry?”
“When I was young it was one of my favorite pastimes with my friends. These days I rarely have time for it.” They went down a staircase and along another hall that eventually led to a shedlike room where she saw three falcons perched.
She watched as he moved over to one of the brownish birds, probably a foot and a half long from head to tail. The moment Rafi started speaking in Arabic, the bird cocked her head toward him.
He reached for a special glove on a nearby table. As soon as he put it on and held out his arm, she hopped on to it. Lauren would have given anything to have a camera to capture this splendid man interacting with a bird of prey equally noble.
She moved closer to them. “So you’re one of Rafi’s pets. You’re magnificent.” Just like your master. “Now I understand.” The falcon tipped her head and regarded Lauren with a beady eye.
A slow smile broke the corners of Rafi’s mouth. “Come with us, Lauren.”
They walked outside into a world set aglow by an early-morning sun. After the cold of the night, the heat was already building. A Jeep was parked nearby. He let his falcon fly. She rose high in the sky with shocking speed.
“Her wing span is huge!”
“Three feet to be exact. We’ll follow her.” His excitement was contagious. Lauren got in the Jeep with him and they headed out on a road that led toward the open desert.
“Johara will