Desert Sands. Barbara Jeffs

You’re Kalim Ben Rachid you can do whatever you please in Bashram.” An idea suddenly occurred to her. “You can tell them you loaned him the horse.”

      Deep contempt flared in his eyes. “You have it all worked out don’t you?”

      “No.” Her head was pounding. “I just thought of that now.”

      “Why are you concerned about Tom Bennett,” he asked suspiciously. “What is he to you?”

      “My relationship to Tom isn’t important.” Her hands tightened on his arms her nails digging into his flash breaking the skin. “I tried to go through all the proper channels and got exactly nowhere. Then when I read in the newspaper that you were in town I knew I had one last chance to save his life.”

      “Is he your lover?” There was so much malice in his tone, she released his arms and took a hurried step backward. His voice sank to a violent whisper. “Is he?”

      ‘No,” she answered honestly, incensed when she realized he did not believe her. He took a menacing step toward her and cupped her chin in his palm. “You’re hurting me.”

      “I’d like to kill you.” With a savage thrust he flung her head away from him as if the touch of her flesh disgusted him and raked his hands through his hair. “You expect me to help your lover?”

      “I expect you to help Tom,” she answered, aware that Kalim was ignorant of the subtle difference. She had told him honestly that Tom was not her lover, if he chose to believe otherwise then that was just too damn bad.

      His green eyes glittered with a barely controlled rage. “He can rot in jail forever for all of mine.”

      Tear sprang into her eyes. “Please Kalim for me.” She knew she was begging but she would get down on her knees to him if that was what it took to get his help. She would do anything to save her big brother.

      He had only been sixteen years of age when their parents had been killed in a car accident and they had been sent to live with an aging maiden aunt who was incapable of raising two children. So Tom had quit school and found a menial job to look after his eleven year old sister. He had continued his education at night eventually obtaining three university degrees while providing her with a warm stable and loving home during the day.

      Kalim turned on his heel and strode over to the window but his eyes did not see the view.

      He stood there with his back to her for so long Shannon began to wonder if he had washed his hands of the whole affair and was waiting for her to leave and she did not know whether to leave or to stay.

      After five minutes crawled slowly by without so much as a twitch from him she decided she would leave but as she turned toward the bedroom to fetch her clothes he swung around and walked across the room to halt in front of her.

      He stared at her speculatively then asked. “Do you know what the penalty is for horse stealing in Bashram? Especially one of my horses?”

      A violent shudder shook her slim frame and she nodded her head. “The people at foreign affairs told me. That’s why I have to save him. I can’t let him be hanged for something he didn’t do.”

      “What are you prepared to do to secure his freedom?”

      Her heart jumped into her throat. She sensed danger. His stance, his expression even his seemingly innocent question all reminded her of a big cat silently stalking its prey and she was most decidedly the prey.

      “How important is he to you Shannon?” His silky tone screamed danger to her. “Will you do anything to save his life?”

      Her heart began to race in her chest and nervous perspiration broke out on her brow. She knew an affirmative answer was a trap but she gave it anyway.

      “Yes.”

      His voice turned even more menacing and she shivered with fright. “Anything at all?”

      “Damn you Kalim.” He was playing with her like a cat playing with a mouse before it gobbled it up. “Yes anything at all.”

      “Very well.” His eyes blazed with cynical triumph. “Marriage.”

      No her mind screamed. Not even for Tom could she do that. At that moment she fervently wished she could faint. She had expected him to offer her an affair or maybe a subtle form of revenge but never marriage, but wouldn’t marriage to him be the biggest torture of all.

      Maybe if she told him the truth of her relationship to Tom. A shudder shook her frame. No that would give him even more power over her.

      “Marriage.” Shock was running through her veins making her feel ill. “To you?”

      “Of course to me. You don’t think I meant your lover do you?” He spat the word lover out making it sound dirty and sordid.

      What was she going to do? To be married to Kalim. Her greatest wish come true but also her biggest nightmare. Nervous perspiration beaded her upper lip and neck and she began to tremble.

      Her legs turned into spaghetti and she collapsed on to the sofa. The robe fell open exposing her creamy breasts. She did not notice but he did and he sucked in a sharp breath.

      She raised her eyes to his forbidding features. “Please don’t do this.”

      “Yes or no Shannon. One way or the other.” His voice sounded like the last trumpet of doom to her ears.

      She sent up a silent prayer. “I have no choice. Yes.” As soon as she uttered the words her stomach plummeted and she felt as if she had jumped out of an airplane without a parachute.

      Kalim relaxed. He had achieved his purpose. “Let us understand each other. Bennett is not released until after we reach Rentanof. Then he will be escorted over the border and told never to return or he will die. You will not see him or communicate with him in any way from this moment on. You will do what I tell you when I tell you and the first time you displease me I will have you sent to one of the houses in the city. Do we understand each other?”

      Shannon was seething. She was barely restraining her impulse to jump up and scratch his eyes out. Yet she knew she would do nothing.

      He meant every word he had said, she knew that. She had felt his anger and bitterness from the minute she had spoken to him on the footpath outside and now she had given him the weapon to vent his feelings of vengeance on her.

      At the moment he held the upper hand and she would do exactly as she was told but she had no intention of making it easy for him. Let him think that Tom was her lover and maybe his pain would be as great as her heartache.

      Mutinous eyes lifted and settled on his face. “Yes. Damn you yes. But I’ll never forgive you for this and if I get the slightest chance to escape I will take it, and I will make sure that you never find me again.”

      “I would have been disappointed had you reacted any differently.” She almost fainted when he leaned down and kissed her gently on her gaping mouth. “But make no mistake my Shannon. This time you will not be given the chance to escape.”

      Her limbs began to tremble as if she had a bad case of fever and the room whirled around her dizzy head. Nausea rose into her throat and threatened to choke her.

      “I’m going to be sick.”

      She jumped off the sofa and raced into the bathroom her hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

      Kalim watched her back disappear and felt as guilty as hell because he had made her ill. The least he could do was to go in there and help her whether she wanted his help or not.

      His lips twisted into a grimace as he followed her into the bathroom collecting a warm facecloth as he walked past the bathtub.

      Shannon sat back on her heels waiting for the shudders to stop. A large brown hand came over her shoulder and gently wiped her face with the warm cloth. Her startled gaze flew to Kalim who was kneeling beside her with a look of tender concern on his face.

      “What