“Hold on,” Talib cautioned her as he gave the camel the command to kneel so they could disembark. He couldn’t contain his chuckle when PJ grabbed at his arms in order to keep from being tossed from the animals back as it knelt in the sand.
They made short work of removing their supplies from the camel, and PJ watched as Talib expertly, and efficiently pitched a small tent in the sand. Shaking her head, she commented, “Done this a time or two?”
Talib looked up at her in the moonlight, “Once or twice. When Khalil and I were younger, we imagined ourselves treasure hunters. We were always taking off into the desert on some excursion.”
“How old were you?” PJ asked, helping to spread the carpet out on the floor of the tent for padding.
“Twelve. Thirteen maybe.”
“And they let you go into the desert on your own?” she asked surprised.
Talib laughed, “Not hardly. Since Khalil and Kamal were heirs to the throne, they were never
without at least one palace guard apiece. Most of the time we were outnumbered two to one on our excursions, but the guards knew how to give us our space and would never interrupt us unless we asked, or were endangering ourselves.”
“Sounds a little claustrophobic.”
“Not when that is all you know. Miss Malone’s child will grow up the same way. Threats can come from anywhere and lack of privacy is a small price to pay to ensure one’s safety.”
“I guess. Well, at least it keeps people like me in a job.”
Talib smiled at her, “Come, let us try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to require all of our focus and wits.”
PJ agreed, and quickly fell asleep. Her exhaustion didn’t even allow her to dwell on the fact that the man who had wrapped her in his arms to share his warmth was hotter than any man she’d ever been with. Just the memory of his kisses from earlier had her heart speeding up and her body ready to go. She let the memory of their small interlude carry her into sleep.
Talib held PJ close to his chest, curving his body around her back and sharing his body heat with her to ward of the chill. As sleep claimed him, he smiled as thoughts of the next time they shared a bed began to materialize in his mind. He made a mental list of all the things he wanted to do to her delectable body. Sleeping would definitely not be the highest priority at that time. If it even made it onto the list at all. No, next time he was this close to PJ, he definitely didn’t see them getting much sleep. And she’s going to tell me what her initials stand for. I wonder if Slade could be bribed to give up that bit of information?
Chapter 13
“Rise and shine, you two,” came Carlos’s voice over the com unit.
PJ started to stir, only to realize that Talib had his arms banded around her tightly. She started to move only to feel the solid evidence of his body’s reaction to her nearness against her buttocks.
“Talib?” she questioned softly.
“I heard,” came the mumbled reply. When she started to move once again, Talib tightened his arms around her, whispering in her ear, “Hold still unless you wish to start this morning by giving your teammate an earful.”
PJ became as still as a statue, “I’d rather not, if you don’t mind. Exhibitionism was never my style.”
“Mine either.” Talib placed a tender kiss upon her cheek and then hugged her close a moment before pushing her away from him and rising to his feet. “We hear you, Carlos. Give me an update.”
“The target started moving around about ten minutes ago. From the pictures I’m getting, I think there might be a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” PJ inquired, not liking the sound of Carlos’s voice.
“Our man seems to be a little agitated this morning.”
Talib looked at PJ as she slipped her shoes back on before inquiring, “What aren’t you saying?”
“Man, stay calm, but it looked like he backhanded her pretty good.”
“What?!” Talib roared, muttering beneath his breath in a fury of Arabic that PJ had no Brock of understanding.
She watched him as she spoke to Carlos, “He hit her?”
“Yeah, the bastard.”
“Did she get back up?” PJ asked, wanting to know if they now had a seriously injured captive to rescue.