The Thief and the Desert Flower by Bonnie Dee

Author:Bonnie Dee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2009-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

She’d asked for it, but now Chala’s heart was racing as they neared the Shinje encampment. Kyo no longer seemed foreign to her, but these people were all strangers who would resent their leader being involved with an outsider. They would recognize the danger of having a captive among them who might bring the wrath of Fordin Brachas and the Calwas nation down on their heads. They would want Kyo to get rid of her and urge him to take her to Rajira before there was trouble. That had been the point of her demand to meet Kyo’s people.

In the days she’d been alone, she’d had plenty of time to ponder how she could rescue herself from the desert in case her fiancé never did. Stealing a horse and riding had only gotten her lost. And she’d become pretty certain Kyo didn’t mean to ransom her. Her only hope was that his clan would pressure him into returning her. But she’d become less and less certain she wanted to go.

Especially after last night.

She and Kyo had made love many times, in many different ways. Just as she thought she’d learned all there was to know about his body and her own, he’d show her new delights, new ways to touch and stroke that brought her to even greater heights. Chala hadn’t imagined there’d be this much to learn about making love or that her emotions would become so deeply involved. The idea of returning to her planned life and finally meeting her intended groom didn’t have much appeal anymore, and she could no longer pretend she’d been “forced” into sex with her captor. Not when she’d reached for him greedily over and over.

But even if she were to stay with Kyo, to live this harsh desert life and be his woman, she would eventually have to meet his tribe. The pair of them couldn’t live in the isolated bubble of the cave forever. She’d go mad without other people around.

Today’s meeting might well decide her fate one way or the other—return to civilization or become a member of a primitive culture. As they crossed the final stretch of desert toward the tents on the fringe of the camp, she drew a deep breath and pressed back against Kyo’s hard body, reassuring herself of his presence. Good Karachi, she was going to meet his mother!

Skinny children and blade-thin dogs ran toward them before they reached the camp. They raced alongside the horse, shouting or barking, while the adults began to gather in the clearing among the cluster of tents.

Whatever fabric the tents were made from was as tawny as the sand, blending into the land around them. The people’s clothes were also shades of the desert: beige, taupe, sepia and tan. Chala imagined the camouflage served them well, but noticed most of the women had colorful additions to their tunics and leggings. Fringe, embroidered stitching, beads and hawk feathers gave their clothes individual character. But the people’s dark eyes were uniformly hostile as everyone stared at her.

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