Her Desert King by Chantelle Shaw

Author:Chantelle Shaw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mills & Boon Special Release
Published: 2019-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE SULTAN WAS dressed in his robes of state, although he was not carrying a sword or a ceremonial knife in his belt, Lexi noted. The embroidered jacket he wore over his white robe was encrusted with dark red rubies which reminded her of droplets of blood.

She gave herself a mental shake, impatient with her fanciful imagination. But she could not tear her gaze from Kadir as he walked across the palace courtyard to the helipad, and she was conscious of his gaze skimming over her desert boots, khaki combats and vest top. She had tied her hair into a ponytail and the peak of her baseball cap cast a shadow over her face which she hoped disguised the dark circles beneath her eyes, evidence of her sleepless night.

‘You said I didn’t need to wear my pilot’s uniform,’ she reminded him, taking his silence as censure.

‘You should bring a jacket. The temperature in the mountains can drop twenty degrees once the sun sets in the evening.’

Silence stretched between them, tightening Lexi’s nerves. She could still taste him on her lips from when he had kissed her the previous night. ‘Is it safe for you to go to the mountains?’ she burst out. ‘Mabel said that the northern tribes are your enemies and there has already been one attempt made on your life.’

His brows rose ‘Why, Lexi, would you care if someone took a pot shot at me?’ he drawled.

In her mind, she was back in Helmand province in Afghanistan, watching her co-pilot Sam jump out of the helicopter and run to the aid of an injured soldier. The sniper’s bullet seemed to come from nowhere. One second Sam was running, the next he was lying lifeless on the desert sand. Death had been delivered in the blink of an eye. Lexi would always remember Sam’s cheerful grin and zest for life.

She stared at the blood-red rubies spattered over Kadir’s jacket and pictured a faceless figure in a crowd, aiming a gun and pulling the trigger. ‘Of course I’d care, damn you,’ she said thickly.

‘Lexi.’ Kadir swore beneath his breath.

She turned away from him, afraid he would see the raw emotions he evoked in her. ‘Why do you have a different bodyguard?’ She glanced at the man sitting in the front passenger seat of the helicopter. ‘Where are Nasim and Ashar?’

‘Ashar is away visiting his family. Nasim called in sick this morning.’

Lexi frowned. ‘What’s wrong with him? He seemed fine in the gym yesterday.’

Kadir closed his eyes and tried to dismiss the vision of Lexi’s bottom in tight pink shorts moving up and down as she performed push-ups in a competition with his bodyguard. ‘Your concern for Nasim is touching,’ he said curtly. ‘But no doubt you will strike up a friendship with Fariq.’

‘I’m not so sure.’ Lexi couldn’t explain why she had not warmed to the replacement bodyguard, or why her nerves felt on edge. She looked around the empty courtyard. ‘Where are Yusuf and your other

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