Daniel flipped off the lantern and was silent for a long moment. “I…do like it.” His big hand gently began to stroke her hair. “Old friend.”
“Good.” She was vaguely conscious of his tucking the silver sheet over both of them. “Now, go to sleep and we’ll worry about Hassan tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.” There was a thread of amusement beneath the meekness in his voice.
It didn’t disturb the contentment she was experiencing. How lovely to be needed, she thought drowsily. For the past few years she had been the one in constant need. Everyone around her had treated her as if she were a piece of fine china that had been shattered, and though repaired, must always be given special care. But with Daniel she could give as well as take. How wonderful to know that no matter how dominant and aggressive he appeared, there would be moments when Daniel needed her.
Zilah drifted off to sleep almost immediately but Daniel didn’t even make the attempt. With the rifle within reach he felt fairly secure, but there was no way he would expose Zilah to additional risk. He would sit here until dawn and guard her while she slept. A slight smile touched his lips and he brushed a kiss on her temple. He would be careful to guard her very well.
Nothing special. Those were the words she had used to describe an experience that had rocked him to his foundations. She had tried so hard to be understanding and sophisticated: he had been torn between tenderness and indignation as she’d told him so gravely she knew that the sexual experience they’d shared meant little to him. Perhaps it hadn’t been more than physical gratification in the past, but that was before Zilah. Before he had looked into clear, grave eyes that asked and answered at the same time. Before he had seen a summer smile that he knew would now hold all the seasons of loving for him.
Hell, he couldn’t expect her to feel the same way. He had known that she was actually backing away from him when she’d been murmuring all that bull about how she didn’t want him to feel harried. Who could blame her when he had just taken her with less ceremony and finesse than he usually spent on the most casual of bedmates? He had lost control and he’d been damned lucky she hadn’t rejected him entirely. She needed breathing room, and if he wanted her to come to him willingly and joyfully, then he had to give it to her. Damn, it was going to be hard after having her tonight. He had been within a breath of making love to her again when she had bundled up their belongings and crawled out of the cave. What a crazy thing to do. Crazy and sweet and caring.
He leaned his head back against the stone wall of the cliff and breathed in the sweet warm air that was scented pungently with wild grass and tamarisk. His arm tightened unconsciously about Zilah. He felt very lucky tonight. Luckier than ever before in his life. For the first time in years he was feeling an eager anticipation about what lay ahead, especially that moment when his friend was ready to acknowledge that he was also her lover.
4
It was still dark when Zilah opened her eyes. Daniel’s arms were no longer around her, and she saw the dark blur of his large bulk looming over her.
“Is it time to get up?” she asked, yawning. “It’s still pitch dark.”
“Not for long. By the time we pack up and wash the sleep away it will be light enough to travel.” Daniel was swiftly pulling on his sleeveless undershirt. “It will take over two hours to reach Sheikh El Kabbar’s compound and I want to get there before the sun is high. Once we leave the hills we’ll be in desert country again.” He tossed the penlight onto her lap. “Why don’t you go down to the creek while I repack the backpack?”
She stretched lazily. “I’ll do that.” She got to her feet, flinching as she felt the stiffness of her cramped muscles. “It may take a while to get my legs working. I’d better start right away.” She turned on the flashlight, catching Daniel in its pool of light. As usual, his sheer size was a shock. His red hair was tousled and the low-necked sleeveless undershirt revealed a wisp of the auburn hair on his chest. Despite the explosive vitality that exuded from him, his face showed fatigue, especially in the deep lines at the corners of his eyes. “Didn’t you sleep at all?”
He shook his head. “You’re a very nice armful,” he said lightly. “I decided I was enjoying myself too much to waste time sleeping.” He inclined his head in a mocking bow. “I hope you’ll forgive me for not obeying your orders, oh, lallah.”
“Much you care.” She tried to smother a smile as she turned and started down the hill toward the tamarisk grove. She glanced back over her shoulder. “You’re definitely not a team player, Daniel.”
“Clancy would never have sent a team player on a mission like this,” he drawled, his eyes twinkling. “And if he hadn’t sent me, think of all we would have missed.”
She chuckled. “Bombs exploding, being shot at, pursuit by terrorists. I have to admit it hasn’t been dull. Life may seem a bit tame when this is over.”
“Then I’ll have to think of something to liven things up a bit.” He leered at her. “I have a few ideas in mind that might suffice. You forgot about the Roman candles.”
She smiled softly. “No, I didn’t. I have to admit your fireworks are pretty unforgettable, Daniel.”
There was still a smile lingering on her lips when she reached the creek and knelt down on the flat rocks that bordered it. She seemed to have been smiling a great deal since Daniel had appeared in her life. How many years had it been since she’d known joie de vivre rising within her? She had thought that welling spring had been stilled forever by the experience that had changed everything for her. Contentment had seemed prize enough.
She used the handkerchief to wash her face and throat, thinking wistfully of thick terry-cloth towels and toothbrushes and hot showers…
She screamed in agony.
The pain was so blinding, so overwhelming, that for an instant she didn’t know where it was coming from. It was everywhere. It was wracking her entire body. She found herself sobbing helplessly.
“Zilah, for God’s sake, what’s happened?” Daniel was kneeling beside her. He grabbed the lantern and swung it in a wide arc around the grove, the M-1 ready in his other hand.
“I don’t know.” The tears were running down her face. “Pain!”
“Where?”
She tried to pierce the haze that was enveloping her and identify its source. “My ankle, the right one, I think.” She clutched at his shoulders, her nails biting into his flesh. “Oh, I don’t know! It hurts, Daniel.”
“I know. I know. Shhh. I know.” He was shifting the lantern, playing the light down her leg to her feet.
“Oh, God!”
“What is it?” His voice was so shocked that she fought the dizziness to look over his shoulder. Ugliness. She had never seen anything so ugly as the creature crawling up her jean-clad calf.
Then Daniel was using the barrel of the M-1 to brush the creature away. He ground it into the stones with the butt of the gun. He stood up, slung the rifle on his shoulder, and picked her up. He climbed swiftly up the hill toward the cave.
“It was a scorpion, wasn’t it?” she whispered, closing her eyes. “He stung me.”