now—when he found himself wondering if he had made the wrong decision. If he had opted to live in Azad then he would never have met Sam and his life would be far less complicated now.
Khalid drove the thought from his mind as he dismounted. Having Sam here could only affect him if he allowed it to do so. Reaching up, he offered her his hand, determined that he wasn’t going to let her know how ambivalent he felt. Sam had agreed to come on this mission for one reason and one reason alone: to help the desert women. If she could handle the situation then so could he.
‘Take my hand,’ he instructed, then sucked in his breath when she did as he’d asked. Her hand felt so small compared to his that he was struck by an unexpected rush of tenderness. He wanted to hold on to her hand, to hold on to her, he realised in dismay. And it was the last thought he should have been harbouring.
He quickly released her as she slid safely down to the ground. There were bound to be glitches, he told himself as he tethered Omar to a rock. Moments when his mind and his body were in conflict, but he would deal with them. He simply had to remember that being with Sam wasn’t an option any more now than it had been six years ago. He had no intention of going down the same route his parents had taken, certainly didn’t intend to put any children he might have through the kind of heartache he had suffered. If he kept that at the forefront of his mind, it shouldn’t be a problem.
‘Come. There’s a path along here. It’s not too steep and you shouldn’t have any difficulty climbing it.’ He gave her a cool smile, the sort of smile he utilised on a daily basis. Nobody looking at him would suspect that he felt far from cool inside. ‘The view from the top is worth it, believe me.’
‘I hope so.’
There was an edge to her voice that made him wonder if she had guessed he had mixed feelings about bringing her here. However, as it was too late to reconsider his invitation, he would have to make the best of it. He led the way, slowing his pace so she could keep up. They reached the top and stopped. Below them lay the desert, red-gold along the horizon where the sun’s rays touched it, dark and mysterious closer to where they were standing. It was a sight he had seen many times before and it never failed to move him. However, it seemed to affect him even more that day, with Sam standing there beside him.
Khalid took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic that was twisting his guts as he watched the sun sail majestically over the horizon. A new day had begun and he, a man who was used to controlling his own destiny, had no idea what it would bring.
‘It’s amazing—’
Sam broke off, unable to put into words how the sight affected her. Wrapping her arms around herself, she shivered though not from cold. Although the temperature was still low, this shiver stemmed from the mixture of emotions she was experiencing. Sadness at what had happened in the past was mingled with joy at what she was experiencing right now; anger at the way Khalid had treated her was tempered by an unexpected acceptance. It was little wonder that she found it impossible to describe the scene so she didn’t try. Anyway, it was doubtful if Khalid would be interested in her views.
She glanced at him, feeling pain tug at her heart. His heritage had never been more apparent than it was out here in the desert. It wasn’t just the clothes he was wearing but his attitude. He looked every inch the desert prince, so completely at home in this bleak yet beautiful landscape that it simply highlighted the differences between them. Khalid’s world wasn’t her world. It never could be her world either. How could she, a Westerner with her background, become a desert princess?
‘So, was I right?’
He turned to her and Sam struggled to clear her mind of everything except the need to convince him that she was over him. She had honestly thought she was, had truly believed that she had put her feelings for Khalid behind her years ago, but she was no longer sure when her heart was aching at the thought that they were such poles apart.
‘Right?’
‘About it being worth the climb.’ He swept a hand towards the desert. ‘The view from up here is magnificent, isn’t it?’
‘It is,’ she replied coolly. ‘I certainly can’t fault it.’
‘Did you want to?’
There was an edge to his voice that brought a rush of heat to her face. Had she been hoping to find fault with the view, to nitpick and discover flaws because it would have made it easier to find fault with him too? She sensed it was true and she hated the fact that she had been reduced to behaving in such a fashion.
‘I’m sorry, Sam. Maybe bringing you here wasn’t such a good idea after all.’
There was no doubt that the apology was sincere. Sam turned to look at him, seeing the sadness in his eyes. It struck her then that if she was finding it difficult to deal with this situation then it was equally hard for him. The thought shocked her so much that she didn’t pause to consider the wisdom of what she was saying.
‘Why did you bring me here, Khalid? Was it just so I could enjoy the view?’
‘Of course. What other reasons could I have had?’
He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly under the loose folds of the burnoose. Beneath it he was wearing more normal clothing, although they still weren’t the clothes Sam was used to seeing him wear. Usually, Khalid wore immaculately tailored suits, not a loose-fitting white shirt, open at the neck so that she could see the satin gleam of his skin through the gap. White cotton trousers tucked into tan leather boots completed his outfit and made him look very different from the man she had known six years ago. Maybe that was why their relationship had foundered? Because he hadn’t been the person she had thought he was. It hadn’t had anything to do with her background after all.
The thought was far too tantalising. Sam knew that she needed to rid herself of it as quickly as possible. It would be foolish to imagine that Khalid’s rejection hadn’t had anything to do with her past when she knew for a fact that it had.
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