She watched as he joined the other men and sat down, completely ignoring her and she wondered what she had done to deserve such treatment. Perhaps this was the way they generally treated westerners, she surmised, and shrugged. She noticed some of the looks she was receiving from the group of men, especially the younger ones and she turned her back, tucking her veil up over her face for the first time that day. She had seen them passing food between them. Was she supposed to join them? she wondered and balked at the idea of walking in amongst them and sitting down and besides, her appetite was non-existent.
She decided she had better stay where she was and sat down carefully on the hot sand, arranging her robes to shield her from the sun. In all her life she didn't think she had ever felt as unwelcome as she did with these people. Still, it was better than being beaten and definitely better than being dead. Her thoughts immediately went to her little brother and she felt tears well in her eyes. What if he had already been killed? What if they had lied? They weren't exactly the most trustworthy of men. Images swirled around in her head of what might have become of him and she barely felt the tears overflow and fall slowly down her face to soak into the veil. If only she had never left England, if only she could just be safe at home!
Ardeth was sitting next to Rachid and Khalid, brooding. "What is the matter with you? Has the tiny woman cast some spell over you?" Rachid asked, nudging his friend.
"Perhaps she is a witch?" Khalid added, shooting Ardeth a knowing look.
"There is nothing wrong with me and she is not a witch. She is confused and upset, that is all!" Ardeth barked at them and they both raised their eyebrows at his tone.
"Well, if she is as confused and upset as you say, why are you leaving her all alone over there?" Khalid asked, nodding toward the solitary figure sitting hunched under her robes.
Ardeth's eyes flickered over to where she was sitting. "She could have joined us," he said, his voice quieter.
"Could she? I doubt very much you issued her with an invitation to do so, did you?" Khalid replied, giving him a hard look. "Do not worry yourself Ardeth. I will take her some food and see that she is alright." He went to stand up and hid his smile when Ardeth's hand shot out to stop him.
"No. I will go," he said and stood up slowly, selecting bits of bread and fruit, adding some meat before turning to leave.
"Just be sure that food is all you give her," Khalid said softly, his expression giving away his amusement.
"Shut up!" Ardeth hissed, walking briskly away from his friends.
"What is going on?" Rachid asked Khalid when their leader was out of earshot.
"I think he finds her very attractive," the older man said, smiling. "I also think that he finds it altogether too much for him, having her on his horse."
"Ah, I understand. So our great leader actually has feelings then?"
"It seems so. This journey could turn out to be very interesting," Khalid said as they watched Ardeth approach the girl.
Charlotte was so wrapped up in her misery that she didn't notice Ardeth stop next to her and crouch down to look at her face. She jumped when his hand took her chin and tilted her face up for his perusal.
"Why do you cry?" he asked her, his face mirroring his discomfort at the sight of her tears. He had never been able to handle women's emotions very easily and tears tended to turn him into jelly.
She sniffed and swiped the tears from under her eyes. "I'm just worried that Billy might already be dead," she whispered and let loose with another flood of tears.
Ardeth's eyes widened and he gulped, wondering what he should do. His first instinct was to turn tail and run, but he quashed those feelings and sat down next to her, drawing her into his arms. He was so strong normally, never the coward, but this small sobbing female had the ability to make him scared. He wrapped her up in a warm embrace and rocked her gently as she continued to cry, shushing her softly. This wasn't so hard, he decided. She seemed to be relaxing and quietening down at last and he had to admit that the feel of her pressed against him was rather nice.
He pulled back slightly when she finally stopped making the sniffing noises and tilted her face up to his, taking in her red rimmed eyes and the soft green veil that was hiding her from his view. His hand crept up and tugged the veil down so he could look at her properly, and she blinked up at him, embarrassed at her total lack of control.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, lowering her eyes again.
"What for? Because you are worried about your brother? Your tears only prove how much you love him. They are nothing to be ashamed of," he said, absently stroking the soft skin of her cheek. "Why did you not join us?"
"I didn't think...well, you didn't say that I could. I didn't want to impose..." she stammered.
He looked guilty for a second, but covered it quickly and held the food out for her. "Here, you must eat," he said, watching carefully as she took the proffered food and began to nibble half-heartedly on it. "You must eat properly, my lady, or you will have no strength to help your brother."
His words had the opposite effect from the one he desired. She stopped eating with her hand half way to her mouth and stared at him. "Did you just say 'my lady'?"
He found his composure coming back slowly after having to deal with her crying, and he smiled across at her, amused that she seemed so stunned. "Yes, that is exactly what I said. Is there a problem?"
"No...no. Just...well, no-one's ever referred to me as a lady before," she shrugged and flushed at his intent stare.
"You have beautiful skin, did you know? It shows each emotion so clearly, marking you with their colours." His fingers came up and caressed her face again and she stared into his mesmerising eyes as they softened. "Why have you never been called a lady? You are one, are you not?"
"I suppose so..." she tailed off when his hand cupped her face fully, the warmth from his big palm seeping into her skin.
"Do you not like it?" he asked softly, getting the odd sensation of drowning in the large luminous pools that were her eyes.
"Like what?" she whispered, noticing that he was leaning closer to her, his gaze fixed on her mouth.
"Being called 'my lady'?" His voice was barely audible as he closed the last few inches between them and brushed her lips gently with his own, becoming bolder when she didn't draw away. Her eyes drifted closed as the pressure increased and his other arm came up to encircle her shoulders, pulling her against him. Senses that had previously seemed closed to her suddenly blossomed under the press of his lips and she gasped when his tongue slowly swept over her bottom lip, asking for and gaining entry into the warm inner sanctum of her mouth. She could feel his beard tickling her skin where it touched and his hands, slightly rough, rubbing across the skin of her face, cherishing her as though she were a fragile flower. Even her sense of smell seemed heightened. His scent flooded over her, infusing her with his spicy fragrance, the hot smell of the desert combining with his own unique essence.
Ardeth was having similar feelings. She had a sweet aroma and an even sweeter taste and he found himself unwilling to pull away from her, aware that he was nearly crushing her slight form in his ardour. She didn't appear to mind, however, tentatively returning his kiss, feeling how careful he was where her lip was split.
The sudden unwelcome thought that they were in full view of his men flickered through his mind and he gave a groan as he forced himself to pull away from her, unable to stop himself from bestowing a last few small kisses to her moist lips. He knew he would catch hell from Khalid, knew the man would be watching his every move with enthusiastic interest, eager to have this juicy morsel of gossip to taunt him with. He also knew that he should not have touched this young woman in the way he just had. He was nothing if not polite and respectful to females unless they forced him to act otherwise, especially untouched ones; more especially he should have restrained himself from one who was related to O'Connell.
He looked down into the dazed eyes of the woman he held and tried desperately to feel guilty. But the spark of desire he could see shining back at him just made him want to hold her closer and kiss her again. He shook off the feelings and put her away from him gently, standing up and turning his gaze to the horizon, the sand dunes, the intense blue sky - anywhere but at her.
Charlotte tried to steady her breathing as he pulled away from her and stood up. She had been kissed before - but only once and she had been sixteen years old. The boy had been the same age and had no more idea than she did of what to do aside from press lips to lips. It had been a lacklustre experience. Not this kiss, however. She felt as though her bones had melted into the ground and knew that at some point she was going to have to try and stuff them back inside her skin if she ever wanted to walk again. Her legs felt decidedly jelly-like. She had no idea what she should say or how she should act now. It wasn't everyday that a handsome, tattooed and robed, stranger kissed the breath out of her and then stood up and ignored her as though she had committed a crime. She frowned. Perhaps she had. Perhaps being touched by someone from her race was illegal somehow in his world. She turned her head and looked behind her, seeing that the circle of men in the distance hurriedly averted their eyes, all except for two of them, who continued studying her with keen interest.
She felt hot colour flood into her face as embarrassment hit her full force and she shakily raised her veil and covered herself, feeling somehow safer behind the concealing material. Ardeth was still standing near her, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes looking fierce as they squinted in the glare of the sun.
He cleared his throat and looked down at her, taking in the fact that she had raised her veil and lowered her eyes, as if she had done something wrong. He opened his mouth to speak, to reassure her, and then decided against it. This was a complication he had no time for, even if he felt an undeniable need for such a pleasant inconvenience. No, he would take her back to O'Connell, where she obviously belonged, and leave her there. One kiss was not a commitment, after all. He wondered vaguely if O'Connell would see it that way and decided it would perhaps be better not to mention the small indiscretion. Now all he had to do was forget how her mouth had felt under his, how she was quite obviously completely untutored in the art of love, how her lips had responded to his in an almost stunned manner. He had to stop the word 'pure' from running through his head and giving him thoughts that were anything but.
He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath before turning and walking briskly back to his men, his eyes shooting a warning look at Khalid as a smile spread across the man's face. The fierce glare would have stopped any other man from saying a word, but not Khalid. He had known Ardeth since he was a baby and they were firm friends. Nothing he said could actually harm that friendship, a fact he used to his advantage.
