‘I didn’t come here to quarrel, Khalil.’
‘Why did you come here, then?’ He pushed aside a stack of papers and leaned back against the desk, his eyes cool and steady on hers. ‘If it is to ask if I have had any word from your father, I have not.’
‘No.’ She touched the tip of her tongue to her lips. ‘No, I—I didn’t come for that, either.’
‘What is it, then?’ He frowned, pushed back the sleeve of his shirt, and looked at his watch. ‘I have much to do, and little time to spare.’
You arrogant s.o.b., Joanna thought. You impossible, imperious bastard…
‘Well? What was so important that you saw it necessary to push past my man and disgrace him?’
She ached to tell him that it was she who had been disgraced, from the minute she’d walked into the Oasis Restaurant almost a week ago. But she had a plan, and she was going to make it work.
‘I’ve been thinking about something we touched on the day you took me to Adaba—’
‘Nothing that happened that day is worth discussion,’ he said, his face hardening. He leaned away from the desk. ‘Now, if that’s all—’
‘I told you that I was bored, sitting around and doing nothing,’ Joanna said quickly. He looked at her, and she forced herself to smile politely. ‘Surely, you can understand that.’
‘I have granted you the freedom of the grounds,’ he said. ‘And the use of my library.’
‘Oh, yes. You’ve been very generous.’
His eyes narrowed, and Joanna groaned inwardly. Don’t overdo it, she told herself. The man may be arrogant, but he’s not a fool.
‘Then what more do you want of me?’ His look hardened. ‘If you have come to ask to spend time with Lilia, I must tell you that I have changed my mind about permitting it. I do not think you would be a good influence on her.’
Joanna’s chin lifted. ‘No,’ she said evenly, ‘of course not. She’s much better off in your company.’
His eyes flashed to hers and she smiled pleasantly. After a moment, he nodded stiffly towards the shelves that lined the walls.
‘There are more books here, but I doubt if they would be to your liking. However, if you wish, I will tell Rachelle to bring you—’
‘Thank you. But I’ve enough to read. I need to do something active.’
‘Rachelle takes you walking each afternoon.’
Like a pet dog on a leash, she thought. ‘Yes,’ she said evenly, ‘she does. But I need more activity than that.’
His lips drew back from his teeth. ‘I wish I could help you, but, unfortunately, we haven’t much to offer in the way of parties or discos.’
‘Exercise,’ she said, hoping he couldn’t hear the sharp edge of anger in her voice. She gave him another stiff smile. ‘That’s what I’m talking about. I’m not used to sitting around, Khalil. When my father and I are in New York, I work out at a gym.’
‘I know this will astound you,’ he said, his eyes cold, ‘but somehow I’ve not got around to having a Nautilus machine installed.’
Oh, how pompous he was, how arrogant…
‘I didn’t think you would have,’ she said pleasantly.
‘Well, then—’
‘When my father and I are on our ranch outside Dallas, I ride.’
‘Ride?’ he said, his brows angling up in his otherwise expressionless face.
‘Yes. We have horses, and—’
‘You?’ He laughed. ‘On a horse?’
‘What’s so funny?’ she said, the carefully drawn smile slipping from her face.
Khalil shook his head. ‘Nothing much. I was just remembering how you couldn’t tell the front of my horse from the rear.’
‘I was upset.’
‘Not as upset as Najib,’ he said, chuckling. ‘He must have thought he was—’
‘I don’t give a damn what that miserable black beast thought!’ Joanna slammed her hands on her hips. ‘He’s not a horse, he’s—he’s a creature come straight out of a nightmare.’
‘Like his owner,’ Khalil said, very pleasantly.
‘Yes! Exactly like…’ She stared at him, horrified. ‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘No, I didn’t mean—’
‘Stop this farce, Joanna!’ His smile vanished; the stony look settled on his face again and he rose to his full height and glared at her. ‘I am not for a moment going to believe that you have suddenly turned into a sweet-tempered lamb when we both know that what you are is a sharp-toothed vixen. Tell me what it is you want, and be quick about it.’
Joanna nodded. ‘All right. I was quite serious when I said I was going crazy with boredom and just as serious when I said I like to ride. Don’t look at me that way, Khalil! I was too upset the night you brought me here to think straight, about getting on and off your horse or anything else.’
He nodded curtly. ‘Perhaps.’
‘It’s the truth! I didn’t have any trouble the other day, did I? I didn’t need you to tell me how to handle the mare.’
He scowled. ‘She is docile.’
‘I can ride, I tell you. And I came here to ask you to let me ride an hour a day, to—’
‘It is out of the question.’
‘Why?’ Joanna folded her hands in front of her so he wouldn’t see them tremble. If he denied her this… ‘Why?’ she repeated. ‘I do know how! If you don’t believe me, you can take me out yourself the first time, you can watch me—’
‘No.’ He swung away from her so she couldn’t see his face and walked around the desk. ‘I’m much too busy to waste time in your company, Joanna.’
The sharp words knifed into her breast, although surely what she felt was anger at his insolence, not pain at his dismissal.
‘I wouldn’t expect you to.’
He looked at her and smiled. ‘Do you really think me so stupid, that I would let you ride by yourself?’
‘What I thought was that you could let me ride with an escort.’
‘It’s impossible.’ He sat down behind the desk, bent over some papers, and began rifling through them. ‘Now, if you’re done—’
‘Why is it impossible?’
Khalil looked up. ‘Because I said it was.’
‘You could let me ride the mare—heaven knows the only thing she’d do is plod along obediently beside my guard’s horse.’
‘Joanna—’
Desperation made her do what she’d promised herself she would never give him the satisfaction of doing. Her eyes grew shiny with unshed tears, her mouth trembled, and when she spoke, her voice did, too.
‘Please,’ she whispered, ‘Khalil, please! I’ll—I’ll die if I have to sit around like a caged bird.’
Her words drifted away and she fell silent, hating herself for having thrown herself on his mercy, hating herself even more for the real wave of despair that suddenly threatened to overwhelm her. Why was looking at him, seeing that coldness in his eyes, so agonising?
She swung away. ‘I’m sorry I’ve wasted your time.’
His chair scraped against the floor. She heard the sound of his footsteps coming towards her, felt the weight of his hands on her shoulders.
‘Joanna.’ He turned her towards him. ‘Look at me.’ When she did, he frowned down at her. ‘Is it so terrible here for you?’
‘Of course it is. How do you think it feels to be a captive?’
‘Yes.’ His voice was low. ‘That is what you are, Joanna. My captive.’
Their eyes met. A soft sound rose in Joanna’s throat as she looked into the dark blue depths of his eyes. He was right. She was his captive. She belonged to him.
There was a sudden tension in the room. Her heart began to race. She remembered how he’d kissed her in the meadow, how he’d drawn her down into the soft, sweet grass, how the heat of his mouth and the heat of the sun had seemed the same…
She stepped back before he could reach for her. ‘I know what I am.’ Her voice was cool and steady, although her heart was still pounding. ‘And if you are half the great humanitarian y
ou claim to be, I think it’s time you considered my feelings and not just your own.’
Khalil’s mouth thinned. ‘Is that what you think this is about?’
‘I’ve no wish to argue the issue, Khalil. I came to ask a favour of you. Will you let me ride, or won’t you?’