‘This is good,’ Raffa commented with approval as he wolfed down the last of the griddled halloumi cheese Casey had arranged in slices, alternated with fresh mango. She’d put a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts on top of the salad she had prepared. ‘Where did you learn to cook like this?’
This definitely wasn’t the moment to admit she had downloaded the recipe from a supermarket site. She had to keep her fantasy alive beneath the stars. ‘I must have a natural talent.’
Raffa stopped chewing for a moment to stare at her. ‘Either that or you used a recipe.’
They both laughed, and then he said, ‘And as the next course is down to me I’ll have to look to my laurels, I can see …’
So the unreconstructed alpha male could prepare food as well as look hotter than hell in a desert robe? Life just wasn’t fair sometimes, Casey thought ruefully as Raffa sprang up.
‘Figs,’ he said, dangling them in front of her. ‘Ripe, succulent, fresh from the tree.’
He made figs sound like the most erotic fruit on earth. She gulped as he selected a fat purple fruit just for her, and was so flustered by the time he touched it to her lips she managed to knock the coffee over.
‘Kab al gahwa khay!’ Raffa exclaimed.
‘What did you say?’
‘It’s a good omen,’ he explained. ‘Knocking coffee over is considered to be lucky in A’Qaban. So what I said to you was, bad luck often brings good luck in its wake.’
‘Oh …’
Fat chance.
But the fig was delicious, and as she sucked the ripe pulp from the skin she tried not to notice how very thoroughly Raffa was doing the same.
‘That was a good meal,’ he said, having rinsed his hands in a bowl of water. Drying them on a soft towel, he held her gaze. ‘I might keep you on as a chef if you’re a good girl.’
‘And if I’m bad you’ll keep me twice as long?’ She only meant it as a joke, but Raffa’s eyes warned her not to play with fire.
He was just too much of a distraction in his black robes sitting next to her, but their night-time picnic beneath the stars had taken her back to being a child at camp, which she had enjoyed, and that safety blanket allowed her to relax. Leaning back on her hands, she gazed at the sky and it took her a moment to realise that Raffa had got up and was walking away.
‘Where are you going?’ She regretted the note of concern in her voice, because it made Raffa smile in a way that just wasn’t safe.
‘Would you rather I stayed?’ he murmured
‘No. No, of course not—I realise you must have lots to do.’
‘Good. Then I’ll leave you in the capable hands of these ladies.’
Casey turned to see a group of women hovering on the fringes of the trees. They were carrying earthenware jars, fluffy towels, and steaming jugs of fragranced water. ‘What do they want?’ Her voice was full of anxiety, to which Raffa responded with a careless gesture. ‘Oh, to prepare you for the Sheikh, I expect.’
‘What?’ Casey whirled around to stare at the women, and by the time she turned back again Raffa had disappeared.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SHE could deal with most things, but this was way out of her comfort zone. She sprang to her feet as the women approached. ‘No—no, thank you,’ she said, fending them off with dramatic gestures. Every part of her that had been trembling with desire while Raffa was about had instantly shrivelled to a dried-up walnut. ‘There must be some mistake,’ she insisted when they kept on coming.
‘No mistake,’ one of the younger women explained in a cheerful voice with barely the trace of an accent. ‘His Majesty thought you would enjoy a spa treatment after your long day. Please don’t be alarmed, Ms Michaels. We anticipate many tourists will be coming to the desert to experience the special treatments passed down from generation to generation in A’Qaban. His Majesty told us that you will be responsible for encouraging this new industry, which is the reason he would like you to sample the various balms we have prepared.’
Ah.
‘I see.’ And she did see—unfortunately. Every time she thought her confidence was going to be rewarded by her fantasies becoming reality, Raffa turned things back to business. ‘You speak perfect English.’
‘I learned at the beauty college, where I trained …’
‘Of course.’ Casey blushed. ‘Forgive me.’
‘There is nothing to forgive,’ the young girl said frankly with a friendly smile. ‘I can well understand your surprise, finding beauticians waiting to trial their treatments on you in the middle of the desert. So, will you take the treatment, Ms Michaels?’
‘I’d love to.’ With her business head firmly in place, Casey told herself there was nothing to compare with first-hand experience.
There was a bath beneath the stars on a wooden platform, which the women filled with the warm, fragranced water before scattering its steaming surface with petals. They even arranged the greenery to make sure she would be completely private.
‘That’s the benefit of the oasis,’ the young therapist explained. ‘There’s no shortage of screening here, and every product we use is fresh.’
‘And wonderful,’ Casey agreed, stepping into the water whilst the other woman held a towel to preserve her modesty. ‘Oh, this is magic,’ she murmured, sinking low and inhaling deeply, closing her eyes as she breathed in the delightful aroma of the water. ‘What did you say it was? Only I’m tingling all over.’
‘The rich scent of black coffee.’
‘Raffa!’ Water bounced over the side of the bath as Casey shot out of it. Realising he only had a towel wrapped around his waist and she was completely naked, she splashed down again, sinking as low as she could go.
‘Combined with the earthy notes of native grass, temple incense and tree bark to lend a little warmth and woodiness,’ he continued. ‘Oh, and a touch of desert magic …’
‘Where has everyone gone?’ Casey demanded anxiously, looking around.
‘That desert magic I mentioned.’
‘Raffa—stop teasing me.’ She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘You’ve frightened the women away.’
‘They bowed and left when I arrived.’
As they would to their king, she realised, trying to get her head around everything that was happening. Raffa’s expression, however, was anything but regal. ‘Arrogant—’
‘Brute?’ he suggested, his lips tugging with amusement as he moved closer to the platform on which her bath was resting. ‘Well, what do you think of it?’ he said, gesturing around. ‘Do you think the intrepid explorers you hope to attract to A’Qaban will approve
