Iris Johansen: A Summer Smile

“I’d never know it. You’re a very cool lady when the chips are down.” His expression softened. “Try not to worry too much. I’m not saying this is going to be easy, but I have no intention of letting Hassan get hold of you again. I don’t like to lose. I make a habit of avoiding it at all costs.”

“I hope this isn’t the exception that proves the rule,” she said, trying to smile.

“It won’t be.” His eyes narrowed intently on her face. “I have a very special reason for wanting to win this time. Trust me.”

“Until hell freezes over?”

“It worked out pretty well the last time, didn’t it?” He glanced away. “We’d better put on more speed. There’s no place out here in the open to dig in if we don’t have as much time as I’ve been calculating.”

“All right.” She increased her pace to match his. She did trust him, she realized with a little ripple of shock. She trusted not only his proficiency in his very dangerous profession but the man himself. She was usually on edge when she was around strange men, particularly dynamic, virile men. Yet, oddly, this wasn’t the case with Daniel Seifert. In spite of the bewildering physical responses he was inspiring within her, she felt as if there were a bond between them that had been woven by years, not mere minutes.

Well, she had no time now to analyze that unusual rapport. Perhaps it was merely due to the crisis situation they shared. She shook her head. She was getting as bad as all those psychiatrists about dissecting her own reactions and responses. She had to concentrate on keeping up with Daniel’s constantly lengthening stride. She cast an anxious glance over her shoulder. No sign of Hassan. However, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t appear on the horizon at any minute. Her pace automatically quickened at the thought, and her gaze fixed determinedly on the hills just ahead.

“Here they come,” Daniel murmured. He shaded his eyes with his hand to watch the approaching jeep kick up clouds of sand on the desert floor far below the summit of the hill on which they were standing. “They’re really gunning it. They must have found our abandoned jeep and think they have us.”

“And do they?” Zilah asked with a worried frown. “They’re so close. They’ll be here within ten minutes, won’t they?”

“Just about.” He turned and took her elbow. She felt that same mysterious tingling surge through her and had to restrain herself from jerking her arm away. What on earth was happening to her? This touch wasn’t even like the other time. It was almost totally impersonal. “But we won’t be here. We’re not following the road. We’re heading through the trees and over that next hill. Then we’ll circle and rejoin the road at the border.”

“You seem to know this area very well.”

“Philip and I have done some hunting in these hills.”

“Philip?”

“Philip El Kabbar. He’s an old friend of mine.” He shot her a glance. “You’ve never heard of him?”

She shook her head. “I’ve spent the last seven years on a ranch in Texas. Should I be familiar with the name?”

“He’s probably the most powerful sheikh in Sedikhan other than Ben Raschid.” He was propelling her down from the summit on which they had been standing, hurrying from the path into the dense shrubbery that lined it. “That long? That must have been a trifle inconvenient for Bradford.”

“Inconvenient?” she asked, puzzled. “It was David’s parents’ ranch, but I tried not to be a burden to them. Once I learned to ride I could help around the ranch.”

“You’ve been stashed at David Bradford’s disposal since you were fourteen?” Daniel’s tone was caustic. “My Lord, you started young.”

“I don’t know what you mea…” Her eyes widened. “You think David is my lover?”

He held a branch until she had passed and then let it snap back behind them. “It’s none of my affair.” Then he shot her a glance that shocked her with its ferocity. “The hell it’s not. It is my business. I’ve been trying to convince myself since I saw a damned photograph of you that you’re just like any other woman. No more and no less. But I’ve never lied to myself and I don’t intend to start now. You are my concern.” His face was flint hard. “I walked down the aisle of that plane on which you were held just a few hours ago and I knew you were going to belong to me. Get used to the idea. I don’t know what the hell has happened to me, but I do know that.” He shoved another branch roughly aside and pushed her ahead of him. “You can tell David Bradford he’ll just have to be satisfied with his wife. You’re no longer available.”

“He couldn’t be more satisfied with Billie,” she said dazedly. “And I’m not going to belong to you. We’re complete strangers. This is insane. We’ve just met. There are four half-crazy terrorists snapping at our heels and you’re propositioning me?”

“Propositioning, hell! I’m telling you.” He was pushing her steadily forward, the harshness of his voice at strange variance with the exquisite care he was exhibiting in protecting her from the branches and roughness of the bushes and trees surrounding them. “Do you think I don’t know how I sound? I’m fully aware I’m not being rational, that I’m reacting like some kind of thick-headed neanderthal. I can’t help myself, dammit.” He glared at her accusingly. “And I don’t like not being in control. It annoys the hell out of me.”

“You’re acting as if it’s my fault you’re having this temporary aberration,” she said incredulously. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“I know that, too.” He scowled moodily. “My problem is that I’m not at all sure it is temporary.”

She laughed shakily. “It has to be.”

“Does it?” His lips twisted. “We’ll just have to see. It’s too soon to tell. Temporary or not, you’re still mine. And I’ll tell Bradford so if you’re shy about it.” His grin was a savage slash in the blaze of his bearded face. “I’d enjoy telling him.”

“I don’t belong to anyone. Not to you, and certainly not to David.” She was trembling, she realized with amazement. For the first time in her adult life a man had effortlessly pierced the wall she had built around her emotions. He had scarcely touched her in the past hours except with his words. Yet she was acutely aware of his very presence. Her heart was pounding, her mouth was dry, and she felt as if she had a fever. His fingers on her arm were as impersonal as his words were possessive, but her flesh was so sensitive that she could feel the drumming of his heart through the pads of his fingertips. How could she feel like this when she had to force herself to bear even the most casual touch of any other man? She tried to jerk her arm away, but her resistance was instantly quelled by a tightening of those fingers. “Let me go.”

“No, you need me.” He didn’t even look at her as he increased his pace. “You need me now and you’re going to need me even more later. But not in the same way, I assure you. I’ll fill every damn need you have. Bradford is out of your life.”

She moistened her lips. “David will never be out of my life. You don’t understand. David is my friend. I’m not his mistress.” She shook her head. “The idea is almost laughable. He’s completely in love with his wife, Billie.”

“I notice you’re not mentioning your own feelings in the matter.” Daniel’s lips twisted. “You’re obviously just as mad about him as he is about his wife. All he’d have to do is snap his fingers and you’d jump into his bed.”

Her gaze was steady and perfectly candid. “I’d give the last drop of blood in my veins if David Bradford wanted or needed it.” She shrugged. “As for my body, there’s no question he could have it. It wouldn’t matter at all.”