“Forget you mentioned it?” Sabrina said, staring at him incredulously. “You’ve just accused me of putting Alex’s life in danger and now you want me to forget it?”
“It would be a hell of a lot more comfortable for me if you would,” he said gloomily. “Alex is going to tear a strip off me for even bringing it up.”
“Clancy, will you stop this waffling and tell me what you meant?” Sabrina was practically seething with frustration. “Why is Alex’s life in danger?”
“I didn’t say his life was actually in danger,” he said defensively, “just that he was stupid to take the chance.” Then, as she drew a long, exasperated breath he continued reluctantly, “Alex has given orders that for the next four days you’re to be totally alone on Londale’s Folly. He doesn’t want any of his security force even to set foot on the island. He had me send the housekeeper and handyman to the mainland for your stay there.” He scowled in disgust. “Did you ever hear anything so crazy in your life?”
Sabrina could feel the tension flow out of her like the air from a pricked balloon. My God, what a tempest in a teapot. He’d frightened her half to death. “Is that all?” she asked, with a profound sigh of relief. “Clancy Donahue, if you ever do that to me again, it’s you whose life will be in danger!”
“Is that all?” Donahue echoed grimly. “I assure you that it’s quite enough! Would it interest you to know that there have been three attempts on Alex’s life since he came of age? And four kidnapping attempts? Why do you think he maintains a security force that rivals the U.S. Secret Service?”
“I didn’t know he did,” Sabrina said faintly. She suddenly felt icy cold. “Why would anyone want to kill Alex?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sabrina! Because he’s Alex Ben Raschid, of course,” Donahue said wearily. “You can’t wield that much power without stepping on a few toes along the way. Not to mention his position as the next ruler of Sedikhan. Old Karim has been ill lately and it’s just a matter of time until Alex takes total control there as well. It’s only logical that any group hoping to topple Alex’s family from power would pick a time like now to do it. If anything, security should be tightened, not eliminated entirely as Alex is doing, on the island.”
“I see,” Sabrina said slowly. She moistened her suddenly dry lips. “Then of course that’s what you’ll have to do. I have no objection to security men on the island. I’m sure Alex will change his mind when you tell him how urgent you feel the arguments are for their being there.”
“Fat chance,” Donahue said ruefully. “Alex doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to and it’s obvious he wants to keep you very much to himself.” Then, as his keen eyes raked over her pale, strained face, he reached out and covered her hand, giving it a firm, reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry, hon, I’ll find a way of protecting him, even if it means anchoring the yacht offshore and ringing the Folly with a small flotilla!”
She bit her lip. “You’re sure?” She felt a surge of almost fierce protectiveness, along with chilling panic, at the thought of Alex in danger. Nothing could happen to Alex. She wouldn’t let it. It was ironic that both David and Alex, whom she loved in such different ways, should be able to inspire this same maternal ferocity.
“I’m very sure,” he said comfortingly. “And don’t forget, in the general run of events Alex is more than capable of taking care of himself. I made damn sure of that.”
“That’s right, you did,” Sabrina answered, the tight coil of fear loosening a trifle. “Thank God for that!” She gave him a grateful smile. “And thank you for keeping him safe all these years, Clancy.”
His blunt face was gentle as he gazed at her searchingly for a long moment. “So the running is all over.”
“Yes, the running is over,” she answered simply. “I never should have bolted in the first place. I told you it wasn’t my way.”
“I hope it works out for you, kid,” Clancy said softly, his blue eyes kind.
There was a mellow ping and the seat-belt light glowed over the cockpit door. It was followed immediately by the whine of the jet engines. Donahue hurriedly fastened his seat belt and checked Sabrina’s before settling back in his chair.
“We have forty minutes,” he said, a curious smile on his face. “I think that should be just about enough time for me to tell you about a fascinating place I have a hunch you’ll be visiting soon. It’s a country that’s half space-age technology and half Arabian-nights fairy tale. It’s a land called Sedikhan and the first time I saw it I said to myself …”
EIGHT
“THIS IS YOUR room,” Alex said briskly, throwing open the door and preceding Sabrina into a guest room with lush, deep, sea blue carpet. He crossed to the double bed in the center of the room and tossed onto the aqua satin spread the small suitcase containing the clothes he’d purchased at the airport. “I’m just down the hall in the master suite.” He cast a glance at the gold watch on his wrist. “It’s only a little after four. Would you like to go for a walk and explore the island a bit before we scrounge in the kitchen for something for dinner?”
“What?” she asked, bewildered. Her room? She’d assumed they’d be sharing a room. Alex certainly hadn’t impressed her as the type of man who’d be content to occupy his own bed and visit her when the mood struck him. He was much too possessive. “Oh, yes, that would be very nice,” she agreed politely.
“Fine,” he said tersely, not looking at her as he turned and strode quickly to the door as if eager to escape. “Suppose I meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes then?” The door closed behind him.
She stared blankly at the door for a long moment before she moved slowly toward the bed, opened the pigskin suitcase, and pulled out a pair of white shorts and a yellow cotton suntop. What on earth was the matter? Alex had acted so cold and had practically run out the door.
Now that she thought about it, he’d been curiously remote and stilted from the moment they’d changed aircraft at Houston. She really hadn’t noticed it at the time, assuming he was just absorbed in the mechanics of flying the helicopter. Then, too, she’d been excited at her first glimpse of this lovely, tropical island and the enchanting hillside villa built entirely of gleaming gray stone. But there was no doubt in her mind now that something was definitely wrong. Alex’s cool rejection of her had been far from subtle.
As she automatically stripped off the cream pants suit and dressed in the shorts and suntop, her mind gnawed at his strange behavior. It just didn’t make sense. She couldn’t believe Alex could change so radically from the passionate lover of this morning. She scoffed at the very notion that the thrill of the chase was over and he could have lost interest. She thrust her feet into white strappy sandals. Alex’s mood was totally incomprehensible.
Her expression must have reflected her uncertainty and dismay when she came down the stairs, for Alex’s face darkened in an impatient frown as he stood in the foyer watching her. “You’re looking at me as if I were Bluebeard incarnate,” he said roughly. His glance went over the snug white shorts and low-cut blouse moodily. “And you haven’t got on enough clothes.”
Sabrina’s mouth fell open and for an instant she could only gape at him. “It must be almost ninety degrees outside, and if you’ll recall, you’re the one who chose my entire wardrobe for our stay on the island.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him belligerently. “Which, I might add, seems to be comprised principally of very scanty shorts and tops and a bikini that would make a Bourbon Street stripper blush.”
“I know,” he said gloomily. “I chose them before I decided …” His voice trailed off. “Oh hell, I guess you’ll have to wear them.” He grabbed her elbow and hustled her hurriedly toward the front door. “Come on, I’ll show you around the island.”
If she’d had any thoughts of a leisurely amble around this tropical paradise, she would have been rudely disillusioned. Alex behaved as if he were in training for the Boston Marathon as he bustled her out of the house and down the palm-borde
red path to the beach. He gave her a brief and concise history of the island, lending it all the color of a stock report. The only time he allowed her to stop was to examine the exterior of the small, stone cottage in the cove, which, he told her, Honey and Lance Rubinoff occupied when they visited the island. Even then he flatly refused to allow her to enter the cottage, and the marathon was on again.
By the time they returned to the house, Sabrina’s cheeks were flushed, not only by the sun and their rapid pace but in angry exasperation. There was no possible excuse for Alex to behave so churlishly. When he showed every indication of continuing his sterile, guidebook tour in the house, starting with the terrace, she decided she’d had enough.
She skidded to an abrupt stop and jerked her elbow away from his firm hold. “Okay, Alex, I’ve had it!” She marched to the gray stone balustrade bordering the flagstone terrace and levered herself so that she was sitting on the wide ledge. She planted her hands firmly on her hips. “I’ll be damned if I’ll stand you treating me as if I were some kind of plague victim. If you’ve changed your mind about wanting me here, you only have to say so. I don’t need any demonstration like the one you’ve just put me through.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, frowning like a sulky little boy. “You said you wanted to see the island.”
“Don’t play dense, Alex,” Sabrina gritted between clenched teeth. “We both know you’ve been acting very peculiarly since we arrived on the island.”
“Maybe a little,” he admitted moodily. “Give me a little time and I’ll get a handle on it.”
“Alex, we only have four days,” she protested impatiently. “What in the world is wrong with you?”
He was across the terrace in four swift strides. “Damn it, this is what’s wrong!” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his steel-hard arousal and held it there. “I want you. I’m aching like hell and it’s promising to be a permanent state of affairs where you’re concerned.”
An instant of shock was quickly superseded by relief that made her almost weak with reaction. Good Lord, was that all? Her hand gently moved over the warm hard length of him. “I don’t see anything wrong there,” she said softly, her other hand moving to the buttons of her suntop. “Why didn’t you tell me? I think we can take care of that problem fairly easily.”
He closed his eyes, his hips thrusting forward against her hand and his lean face taut with an almost pained delight. “Sabrina, don’t do that,” he choked hoarsely. “You’re killing me.”
If it was killing him, it was with pleasure, Sabrina thought tenderly, noticing the color suffuse the bronze darkness of his cheeks. He was so beautiful like this, with a look on his face that was so strong, yet oddly vulnerable. Her hand moved in a more aggressive caress and he gave a groan, quickly followed by a shudder through his entire body. “Sabrina!”
Then he was jerking desperately away from her, his eyes flicking open. He hurriedly drew back from her as if she really did have the plague. “No, damn it!” he said emphatically. “I’m not going to do it. Stay away from me, Sabrina!” His dark gaze was drawn compulsively to her breasts which were almost entirely revealed by the half-buttoned suntop. “And cover up!”
“You seem to be saying that to me quite a lot,” Sabrina said bewilderedly, her hands automatically drawing the blouse closed. “At this rate, you’re going to give me a complex.”
“And you’re going to drive me stark, staring insane,” Alex said, drawing a deep breath. “I’m definitely not made for the celibate life.”
“Celibate?” Sabrina asked dazedly. “Who’s asking you to be celibate? What about all those lovely things you were going to teach me?”
“I changed my mind,” he said tersely, and then, as her eyes widened in disbelief, he continued quickly, “only for the next couple of days.” His lips twisted wryly. “I don’t think I can hold out any longer than that.”
“Why would you want to hold out at all?” she asked blankly. “There can’t be any question in your mind about my willingness on that score.”
There was a glint of warm tenderness in Alex’s eyes. “No, I’ve no doubt about you, love. You’re the most beautifully responsive woman I’ve ever known.”
“Then why?”
“It’s because we’re so damn good together,” he said simply. “Like I said, I seem to be in a permanent state of arousal whenever I so much as have a fleeting thought about you. The minute I take you to bed, there’s every possibility we’d spend the rest of the time together making love.” He shook his head, his lips tightening. “Pleasurable as that might be for both of us, at the end of four days you’d get out of that bed and walk away. The only things I’d have taught you about me and about yourself would be purely physical. I can’t afford that, Sabrina.”
“So it’s celibacy for both of us?” She chuckled, her eyes dancing. Alex’s struggle to keep himself from taking her most definitely had a funny side. Then her smile faded, to be replaced with a poignant tenderness. No, it wasn’t funny at all. It was sweet and tender and a little sad.
“Until we establish those other levels of communication you said were so important to you,” he said sternly. “And no amount of seduction on your part is going to change my mind.”
“I told you this morning you weren’t alone in this,” she said gently, her face glowing with a loving tenderness that caused the man watching her to inhale sharply. “Why won’t you believe me? Instead of treating me as if I were an enemy out to undermine you, why couldn’t you just discuss it with me? You know, I believe your reasoning seems quite sound.”
His dark eyes flickered warily. “You do?”
“I do,” she answered softly. Much as she hated the thought of any postponement of her physical relations with Alex, there was something very appealing in the idea. She would learn all she could of this multidimensional man, whose personality seemed to be gradually capturing every corner of her heart.
“And if you’d told me the problem, I would have helped,” she added. “That’s what caring is all about. Don’t you know that?”
“I haven’t had much experience in that area,” Alex answered, his gaze intent on her face. “Perhaps you can teach me that, too.”
“Perhaps.”
If example could teach him, then Alex should prove a very good student, she thought mistily. Sometimes the love she felt for him seemed to be literally radiating out from her, like a glowing sun.
She slipped from the balustrade to the flagstone terrace, her hands swiftly buttoning her blouse. “Now, if we’re to start off this platonic friendship properly, it would be a good idea if I got out of these clothes. Where did you say your bedroom was? Oh yes, just down the hall from mine.”
“My bedroom?” he asked blankly.
She chuckled. “Don’t worry, Alex, I’m not about to force myself into your bed. I just thought I’d raid your closet and try to find something to wear that was a little less revealing than these clothes.” She crossed the few feet separating them and gave him a light, loving kiss on the lips. “You see, there’s no way I’d ever want you aching or uncomfortable even if it’s with desire for me.” She kissed him again. “And that’s caring, too!” She turned and walked swiftly toward the French doors that led to the lounge.
“Sabrina.”
She turned at the door, her eyes inquiring.
“Do you play chess?” Alex’s expression was so beautifully tender that at first she couldn’t pull her gaze away from it to comprehend his words.
Then she frowned in puzzlement. “Not very well. I don’t really have the sort of logical mind it requires. Checkers are more my game. Why?”
“I just thought we should have something to occupy us for the next two days,” he said, smiling. “Checkers it is, then.” As she turned once more to the door his voice was a husky murmur behind her. “Thank you, Sabrina.”
“For what?” she asked over her shoulder.
“For caring, love, for caring.”
&nb
sp; “Alex, just one more,” Sabrina pleaded. “I haven’t got any shells with this lovely lavender pink. One more won’t hurt.”
“That’s what you said about the sand dollar,” Alex said, trying to frown sternly at her. “You must have gathered at least two hundred shells this afternoon. Why do you have to have that one?”
“But this one has such a beautiful—”
He held up his hand. “Okay, okay.” He untied their makeshift knapsack and gestured resignedly. “Throw it in with the rest. I must be getting soft. Not only do I let you take the shirt off my back to carry your loot, but I find myself conned by a red-haired brat who has all the appeal of Huckleberry Finn.”
“Huckleberry Finn was very appealing,” Sabrina protested, placing the shell in the knapsack and watching contentedly as Alex once more knotted the ends. “He’s my favorite Mark Twain character. He had such a spirit of adventure.” She made a face as she looked down at her less-than-elegant apparel, comprised of a pair of Alex’s jeans she’d rolled up to her knees to wade in the surf, and a blue shirt whose tails were flapping about her thighs. “I can see your point though.” She sighed ruefully. “I think I may have gone overboard on toning down my sex appeal. You’d have to be a child molester to see anything attractive about me at the moment.”
He straightened and slung the bundle over his shoulder, his muscles rippling like burnished copper in the late afternoon sunlight. “Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled, his dark eyes twinkling. He reached out and gave her ponytail a teasing little tug. “You definitely have something you didn’t have when we arrived at the island day before yesterday.”
“I do?” Sabrina asked warily. She’d discovered that at times Alex could exhibit an almost puckish sense of humor. “And what is that?”
“Three freckles across the bridge of your nose,” he said, touching one with the tip of his finger. “And a better knowledge of the game of checkers.”