Read Online One Hot Desert Night by Kristi Gold - Free Book Online Page B

Rayad concentrated on navigating the steep descent away from the palace. Yet when Sunny’s sigh drew his gaze, he saw her hide a yawn behind her hand. “You clearly are tired.”
    “Well, since the crack of dawn is still sealed,” she began, “and I didn’t get into bed until after midnight, I’m still a bit sleepy. But I’ll wake up as soon as we get where we’re going, wherever that is.”
    He felt the need to prepare her for the first step of their journey. “The place I am taking you will involve climbing, if you are willing.”
    “How much climbing?”
    He sent her a glance to find her frowning. “Minimal, and I will assist you.”
    “As long as it’s not Mount Everest, I can handle it.”
    He had no doubt she could.
    When he noted the sky had begun to turn a lighter blue, he picked up speed, taking care to stay close to the side of the cliff as they ascended to their destination before they reached the village.
    “Is it necessary to go this fast?” Sunny asked, a hint of concern in her tone.
    “Only for a few more minutes.”
    And after those minutes passed, he pulled over at the road’s bend and put the vehicle in Park. “We have arrived.”
    Rayad left the Mercedes and rounded the hood, only to find Sunny had exited without his aid. He knew better than to debate his duty as a gentleman. She was fiercely independent, one of the many aspects that had earned his admiration, though it warred with his protective nature.
    As Sunny stretched her arms above her head, her shirt rode up above the waist of her beige cargo shorts, exposing bare skin that earned his immediate notice. “What now?”
    He considered several answers to the query, yet what he desired to do, and what he should do, were in direct contrast with each other. “We will climb the precipice to your right.”
    She turned to survey the rock surface before presenting him with a less-than-pleased look. “It’s definitely steep.”
    “Only from here. Once we begin our ascent, you will see it is not so difficult.”
    “If you say so,” she said as she made a sweeping gesture toward the side of the mountain. “You go first, and I’ll be right behind you.”
    Not at all what he had planned, yet he would refrain from arguing with her for the time being. “I will be happy to help you if the need arises.”
    “I appreciate your concern, but I have hiked quite a bit in my lifetime.”
    “Then perhaps it is time to test your skill.”
    She presented a smile that brightened her emerald eyes. “I’m always up for a challenge.”
    He happened to be up for several challenges, though one he did not particularly favor—resisting her feminine wiles. Yet he must resist so to prove he still retained some honor in light of his oftentimes dishonorable—though necessary—profession.
    As the sky began to turn a pale blue, Rayad realized they would have to hurry to enjoy the advent of dawn. “Perhaps it would be best if you go first,” he told her as he walked to the base of the rock wall. “I will remain close behind you.”
    She moved beside him and scowled. “To check out my butt, no doubt.”
    He had not considered anything but her safety, yet since she had mentioned it... “I wish to remain behind you in the event you stumble.”
    “And if I do, that means I’ll fall back on you, and we could both plummet to our deaths.”
    “The peak is not as high as you might believe. If we fell, we might—”
    “End up in a full body cast?”
    “Suffer a few scrapes and bruises and possibly a broken bone.”
    “Or neck.” She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “But if you’re willing to break my fall and be my cushion, who am I to argue?”
    She smiled at him over one shoulder before she began to ascend the rock, carefully choosing her footholds, as if she had done this before. Perhaps she had, and that came as no true surprise to Rayad.
    She fascinated him. She made him feel emotions he had long since learned to bury. She made him feel as if he