Desert Sheikhs Collection: Part 2. Susan Mallery

Jasmine’s head. The two men had bracketed her between them as soon as they’d exited. She felt like a shrimp between two very large carnivorous beasts, but one of the beasts was hers and the other appeared friendly.

      “If I am in that cavern you call a tent, people will not come to me as willingly as they do if I am in something approximating their own homes.” Without breaking his stride, Tariq reached over and tugged Jasmine’s headgear around her face, protecting her from the sun. “With you it is different. They have known you their whole lives.”

      With a sigh, Arin abandoned trying to get Tariq to change his mind. “This—” he waved to a small dun-colored tent “—is to be your home for the next three or four days.”

      Despite the dull exterior, the interior was beautifully appointed. Colors created bright splendor through the room, in cushions scattered about and gauzy silk hangings decorating the walls. Delighted, Jasmine peeked around the partition dividing the space and discovered a sumptuous sleeping area.

      “Thank you. It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed, bestowing a dazzling smile upon Arin. He looked taken aback.

      Tariq scowled. “You will go now,” he ordered. “I wish to talk to my wife about the smiles she gives away so easily.”

      Arin laughed good-naturedly and left, but not before he threw Jasmine a wink. She ran to her husband and tugged his head down for a kiss. He picked her up off her feet to facilitate the soft, urgent caress.

      “That is permissible, Mina.” He set her down on her feet. “You are welcome to kiss me at any time.”

      “Gee, thanks.” She stepped back to escape him but he was too quick. Tariq held her against him, his hands splayed over her bottom. When she wiggled, he took mercy on her and slid his hands to her waist. “Why did you forbid me to smile at your friend?”

      “Because women like him too much. It is very provoking.” His complaint was without heat.

      “I think he’s nice.” Her husband’s playful mood was a rare treat, one she fully intended to enjoy.

      He lifted her up until they were eye to eye. “Really?”

      “Mmm.” She wrapped her arms and legs around him. “But I think you’re the nicest of all.”

      Tariq’s grin was pure male. Her reward for her honesty was a kiss that was so hot, she felt singed.

      They ate dinner with Arin and other members of the camp in Arin’s huge tent. Jasmine liked being able to watch her sheik among his people. He was magnificent. Charisma flowed from him like a physical substance, bright and clear and utterly seductive. People listened when he spoke, and answered his questions without hesitation, basking in his attention.

      “Your accommodations are suitable?” Arin asked.

      She had to force herself to look away from her husband, aware that the moment she did so, Tariq glanced at her. His obvious awareness of her, even in the midst of a busy dinner, warmed her to her toes.

      “They’re lovely. Thank you.” She smiled. “I’ve been forbidden to smile at you because women like you too much.”

      Arin stroked his neat beard. “It is a curse I must bear. It makes finding a wife difficult.”

      Jasmine thought she’d misunderstood. “Difficult?”

      “Yes.” He looked mournful. “How can a man pick one lovely fruit when every day he is confronted with an orchard?”

      She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her laugh at his outrageousness. No wonder he and Tariq were friends. Right then, her husband tugged at her hand. Though he was talking to someone else, it was an unmistakable sign that he wanted her attention on him. She knew that he wasn’t really worried about Arin’s affect on women, so his possessiveness puzzled her.

      “He is like a child, unwilling to share you,” Arin whispered, leaning over. “He is correct in this.”

      She ignored the last part of that statement and concentrated on the first. It was true. Tariq was unwilling to share her—sometimes. He liked having her interact with his people and make friends such as Mumtaz, so he was no controlling oppressor. However, he seemed to want to keep her close.

      What she didn’t know was whether he wanted her near because he needed her, or because he didn’t trust her out of his sight. She swallowed her hurt at the possibility that it was the latter, and smiled brightly at the woman sitting across from him. Taking that as a sign of encouragement, the woman drew Jasmine into conversation.

      “Today, I intend to view several Zulheil Rose mines.” Tariq finished his breakfast the next morning and stretched. The power and beauty of his impressive musculature made Jasmine catch her breath. “It will require hard riding, so unfortunately you cannot accompany me.”

      She scowled in disappointment. “Maybe next time. After we get back home, you have to teach me to ride those beasts.”

      He smiled at her mock shudder. “I’ll do that, Mina. While you are here, you may wish to…I do not know the word, but it would be good if you would walk among the people.”

      “Oh, you want me to mingle?”

      “Yes. Especially with the women. Out here in the desert, a lot of them tend to be shyer than their city counterparts.”

      “So you want me to talk to them and make sure they’re doing okay?”

      He nodded. “You are a woman and you are friendly, especially as you continue to smile at everyone.” His tone was disgruntled but his expression approving. “Most of the Zeina citizens will try to come to meet us. It is the way we strengthen the bonds that tie our land together. The men tend to wait for me, but the women will feel easier with you.”

      Jasmine bit her lip in sudden indecision. She felt more than saw Tariq’s relaxed body tense.

      “You do not wish to do this?”

      “Oh, I do. It’s just that…do you think I can? I’m just an ordinary woman. Will your people talk to me?” All her life, she’d never been good enough. Sometimes the past threatened to overcome her hard-won self-esteem.

      “Ah, Mina.” Tariq tugged her into his lap and held her close. “You are my wife and they have already accepted you.”

      “How do you know?”

      “I know. You will trust your husband and do as he bids.”

      His autocratic command made her want to grin. If he trusted her with this, then he had to have some faith in her. Perhaps it was even the beginning of a deeper kind of trust. The flame of hope inside her, which had been threatening to go out ever since he’d revealed the assassination attempt, started to flicker with fiery life.

      “Aye, aye, Captain.” She adopted a meek expression that made him laugh and kiss her.

      He rode out ten minutes later into the crisp desert morning. After waving him off, Jasmine took a deep breath and began to walk toward the heart of the camp. Within moments, she was surrounded by Zeina’s women, surrounded and welcomed.

      It was only as dusk began to descend in purple strokes across the desert that she returned to their quarters. After washing the grit and dust of the day from her body, she dressed in an ankle-length skirt and fitted top in a beautiful shade of gold and lay down on one of the low couches to wait for her husband. Lulled by the soft chatter outside, she closed her eyes, intending only a moment’s rest.

      Once again, Tariq found Mina asleep. This time he needed to wake her, to satisfy not carnal hunger, but something far more dangerous. “Wake up, my Jasmine.” His voice was rough.

      “Tariq.” With a wide smile she opened her eyes and her arms and tempted him into her embrace. “When did you return?”

      “Perhaps forty minutes ago. Now you must awaken so we can eat.” Nevertheless, he leaned toward her