zipper of her robe and it slipped to the ground.
A nearly full moon lit them and Adele could feel his eyes on her as she took off her underwear.
‘It’s cold,’ Adele said.
‘Then get into the warm water.’
The water came up to her shoulders and she stood and watched Zahir undress.
First he removed the scabbard that held his sword and dropped it to the ground, and then he disrobed and removed the leather straps from his feet. And then as he stood and she saw that magnificent body fully naked he strode with purpose to the waterside. She wondered if perhaps she ought to tell him.
No.
She lay on her back in the water and gave him full view of her body, and as he stared down she parted her legs and she felt her stomach tighten as he stared.
It was too late to be shy, she decided, and she would never regret this magical night in the desert.
He joined her in the water and Adele stood. They faced each other for a moment and then he reached over and she slid through the water to the demand of his hands.
The air was cold above the water but their kiss was warm and deep and his beard was rough and sexy.
His hands were over her skin, feeling her breasts, cupping them, and then teasing her nipples. Then down to her waist and then to her buttocks. All this as her arms wrapped around his neck. His mouth was so beautiful and she explored it. The steam had made their faces damp and their mouths slid easily.
She could feel him nudging at her stomach and one hand moved from his neck just to hold him again.
He lifted her so that her legs wrapped around his waist and she could feel the nudge of him at her centre and held him there. It made her kiss him harder as his hand slid to her sex and he felt her warm and slick.
And then they stopped kissing and she stared deep into his eyes, and they were back to their first meeting.
Somehow they had known even then that they were meant to be.
Their kiss was deep and her body pliant. Her arms were loose enough around his neck that he could guide her.
He positioned himself, one hand at the base of her spine and the other around himself so he could take her fast and deep, and she now stared into his eyes.
No kissing.
Just watching and waiting for him.
Yet he did not slide inside her easily, as he had planned to.
Adele made throaty noise at the bliss of intimate pain.
And Zahir realised that this was her first time as he seared into her, and though she moaned in pain she ground down in acceptance.
She was tight and the pleasure for him was intense. He felt her mouth bite his shoulder and he held her hips and thrust in hard. He knew from her moans that she gladly suffered an erotic mix of pain and bliss.
He was not gentle, he was rough, delivering the pleasure that made her thighs shake and her calves ache as they gripped him.
Her cold mouth came up to his and her tense lips were on his as he took her ever more deeply.
He angled himself and she stiffened at the new sensations he aroused and then she moaned because he stroked her inside so exquisitely.
They were surrounded by stars; they were there when she looked up and they were reflected on the water as she rested her head on his shoulder as he took her faster. They were bathing in the sky, that was how it felt; they were two stars locked now in eternal orbit.
Adele felt the swell and the hot rush of him deep inside and he moved her as she pulsed around him.
They were sweating in the cold air and heat below and she took every drop he delivered and then he stilled her with his hands and they kissed until she again rested her head on his shoulder.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ he asked, still inside her.
‘You might have said no.’
Zahir shook his head. ‘Never.’
‘I HEAR ABOUT you going out on dates?’
They were back in the tent, lying on the opulent bed and still wet from the hot water. She could see the bruise her teeth had made on his shoulder and she felt sore but sated.
‘Yes, I’ve had many first dates.’ Adele smiled.
He didn’t ask about her being on the Pill and she remembered telling him that she was when she’d been hit.
She knew she had missed taking a couple of them. When she had stayed overnight at the hospital and possibly the day after that she hadn’t taken it.
There was no point saying anything yet, though.
There wasn’t exactly a glut of pharmacies in Mamlakat Almas.
She would deal with that later.
Adele had everything she wanted in this moment and many more times throughout the night.
She came to his hand and he came to her mouth.
They spent the night making love rather than waste a moment sleeping. Together they made up for lost time.
But all too soon morning started to creep in.
Zahir pulled back a drape and he dressed in his robe and left the tent as Adele lay there, watching the stars disappear and the day invading in a glorious riot of yellows and pinks.
‘We’ll leave soon,’ he said when he returned from wherever he had been.
She didn’t want to leave.
She had never felt more at peace than here in the desert.
‘Are you looking forward to going home tomorrow?’ Zahir asked.
‘I’m...’ Adele couldn’t answer. She wanted to see that her mother was okay but she wasn’t looking forward to it as such. And she wanted to sort out where she lived. She loved her career but just couldn’t quite envisage Zahir not being there.
No, she couldn’t answer honestly because the truth was that she wanted to be here, sharing his bed.
He saved her from lying with a kiss but she could hear the maids setting up for breakfast in the lounge and she pulled back.
‘Where did you go?’ Adele asked.
‘To visit my brother’s grave. I always do when I am here. I finally spoke with my mother about all that happened.’
‘That’s good.’
‘I
