Raffa laughed—a flash of strong white teeth to relieve the tension she was almost as good at building as a fire. ‘I had forgotten your firestone,’ he admitted.
She watched him all the way down as far as she could. Raffa moved with the agility of a mountain lion—the same lion that was the symbol of dauntless courage, bravery and valour. When he was out of sight she cupped her hands to nurture the tiny flame she’d managed to kindle from the available tinder. She was usually better than this at setting a fire, but while her mind was on the job in hand her heart was still with Raffa.
This was a complete and utter indulgence. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had taken a break like this in his favourite part of the desert. Years ago, when he’d been on breaks from the army, he had come here all the time, and it refreshed him and made sense of things…
Made sense of things except for Casey, he amended; the desert had failed him where she was concerned. He stared back up the cliff face, to where a plume of smoke signified success. He smiled. She was never short of a surprise, and he enjoyed her company, but life was never that simple. The only thing he could be sure of was that she’d got the job. The details might be a little hazy right now, but Casey wouldn’t be leaving A’Qaban any time soon.
He returned with rugs, food and drink and other supplies, to find Casey on her hands and knees, blowing determinedly at the one branch that had refused to light. ‘Are you sure you don’t need any help there?’ He came to hunker down beside her, resisting the temptation to touch her.
‘Well, now you come to mention it.’ She turned to look at him. ‘I could use some help with my hand.’
‘Your hand?’
‘Yes. It seems to be shaking…’
They came together like a force of nature. It was impossible to know who moved first. Her nipples rose, her breath quickened, and she was instantly and completely aroused as Raffa claimed her mouth with a fierce and possessive hunger.
The tension between them could never have held. The instant Raffa’s hand covered Casey’s she gladly threw away every semblance of self-control. But there was more. Pleasure hit so fast she gave a wail of astonishment as she tumbled headlong into a violent climax. Raffa held her safe in his arms as she moaned, ‘Oh, no. Oh, no…’ But the pleasure waves just kept on coming. He kissed her brow, her eyelids and her mouth, until finally she quietened into an embarrassed silence and pulled away from him.
Burying her head in her hands, she wished herself a million miles away.
‘Casey?’ Raffa murmured gently. Cupping her face in his hands, he stared into her eyes. ‘This isn’t right for you.’
‘Who decides that?’ she demanded in a small voice. ‘You?’
He remained silent. This was his fault. He had allowed things to move too fast. He had wanted to share this special place with Casey, but he had underestimated her feelings for him. He shouldn’t have allowed his desire for her to show; she was too young, too innocent. ‘I should never have brought you here—’
‘Yes, you should,’ she argued passionately. ‘I should know the country I’m supposed to be selling to the world.’
‘Casey, Casey…’ Taking hold of her wrists, he drew her hands away from her face with the utmost care. ‘I think we both know this has gone far beyond an interview for a job, and however much I might want to, I can never give you all the things you deserve.’
‘I don’t want anything from you,’ she protested.
She never would want anything from him in the material sense, he knew that; but there were other things Casey deserved. ‘You’d want my time, wouldn’t you?’
The look in her eyes stabbed into his heart. ‘Well, I can’t give you time,’ he said cruelly, to save her before she got into this any deeper. ‘A’Qaban takes up all my time and you deserve better than that. If I make love to you things will change.’
‘Why must they change?’
Only innocence could prompt that question, but as he reached for her she turned away. ‘Casey, I’m already married—to duty and to my country.’
‘Who mentioned marriage?’ she flared, turning back to him.
He remained silent. He might not have known Casey for more than a few days, but he knew her well enough to understand something of her hopes and dreams. An affair was not what she wanted, and it would break her eventually. ‘Forgive me?’ he whispered.
‘Forgive you?’ She frowned in bewilderment.
‘Please…’ Taking her hands in his, he raised them to his lips. All his life he had been the hunter, but now his only thought was to protect Casey from further hurt.
‘One last kiss?’ she suggested hopefully.
He looked at the smile on her face. It might have worked if her eyes hadn’t been full of tears. ‘Come here…’ He put a sheltering arm around her. She was so warm and so vulnerable, and he could only imagine how humiliating she must be finding this.
He dipped his head with the intention of kissing her once more, chastely on the cheek. However painful that would be for both of them, he meant it to be a goodbye to that side of things.
And he thought he knew her?
She ripped his howlis from his head with surprising force, and, twining her fingers in his hair, she dragged him close.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded in surprise.
‘I think you know,’ she said steadily.
He could pull away at any time, but he wanted to make her see sense first. ‘Casey, don’t be silly—’ But he would never hurt her and she held on.
One of his hands found its way to the hollow at the base of her spine, where she felt so fragile. A sullen wind chose that moment to whip their faces, and as concern overrode caution he drew her beneath his robe so she could share his warmth.
In that moment he was lost. The erotic world he had been resisting claimed him. The feel of Casey’s body against his, the thunder of her heart and the whisper of her breath—he was kissing her, and not at all chastely.
As he kissed her, he reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together. It was a promise from him to keep her safe. It was a promise she understood, and when she looked at him with trust in her eyes their positions were reversed, and he was hers to do with as she liked.
They kissed and caressed in front of the dwindling fire in a way he hadn’t done since adolescence, until— ‘Have I made you cry?’ He frowned, tasting her tears.
‘I blame you,’ she said, laughing and crying softly at the same time.
‘Explain,’ he insisted. His lips were tugging with amusement as he brought her round to face him.
‘Don’t laugh at me, Raffa.’ She touched his lips and he was instantly serious. ‘No one has ever made me confront my fears before.’
‘And you’re
