The Return of the Sheikh. KRISTI GOLD

one. That thought alone had him reconsidering the merits of wisdom.

      Zain cleared his throat as he approached her, yet she didn’t seem to notice his presence. Not until he said, “It’s a remarkable view, isn’t it?”

      She sent him a backward glance and a slight scowl. “Why do you keep sneaking up on me?”

      He moved beside her, leaving a comfortable distance between them. “My apologies. I did not intend to startle you. I only wanted to make certain you have everything you need from me.”

      She faced him, leaned a hip against the wall and rolled her eyes. “Are we back to that again?”

      “My intentions are completely innocent.” Only a half-truth. He’d gladly give her anything she needed in a carnal sense.

      She took a sip from the cup clutched in her hands. “Sorry, but I’m having trouble buying the innocent act after your recent admission.”

      That came as no surprise to Zain, and he probably deserved her suspicions. “I will do my best to earn your trust.” He nodded toward the cup. “I gather that’s Elena’s special tea.”

      “Yes, it is, and it’s very good.”

      “Do you have any idea what might be in it?”

      She lifted that bare shoulder in a shrug and took a sip. “I suspect it’s chamomile and some other kind of herb. I can taste mint.”

      He turned toward her and rested one elbow on the stone barrier. “Take care with how much you drink. It could be more than tea.”

      “Too late. This is my third cup, and do you mean alcohol?”

      “Precisely.”

      “Is that allowed?” she asked.

      “Elena is free to do as she pleases, as is everyone else in the country, within reason. We’ve always had a spiritually, economically and culturally diverse population, due in part to people entering the borders seeking—”

      “Asylum?”

      “And peace.”

      She turned back to the view and surveyed the scene. “Then Bajul is the Switzerland of the Middle East?”

      “In a manner of speaking. I might not have agreed with all my father’s philosophies, but I’ve always admired his determination to remain neutral in a volatile region. Unfortunately, the threat to end our peaceful coexistence still exists, as it always has. As it is everywhere else in the world.”

      She took another drink and set the cup aside. “The landscape is incredible. I hadn’t expected Bajul to be so green or elevated.”

      “You expected desert.”

      “Honestly, yes, I did.”

      Another example of inaccurate perception. “If you go north, you’ll find the desert. Go south and you’ll find the sea.”

      She sighed. “I love the sea. I love water, period.”

      He took the opportunity to move a little closer, his arm pressed against hers as he pointed toward the horizon. “Do you see that mountain rising between two smaller peaks?”

      She shaded her eyes against the setting sun. “The skinny one that looks almost phallic?”

      That made him smile. “It is known as Mabrứuk, our capital city’s namesake. Legend has it that Al-’Uzzá, a mythological goddess, placed it there to enhance fertility. Reportedly her efforts have been successful, from crops to livestock to humans.”

      “Interesting,” she said. “Do people have to go to the mountain to procreate, or does it have a long radius?” She followed the comment with a soft, sensual laugh. “No pun intended.”

      Discussing procreation with her so close only made Zain’s fantasies spring to life, among other things. “I suppose it’s possible, but that’s not the point I was trying to make.”

      She turned and leaned a hip against the wall. “What point were you trying to make, Your Highness?”