What the hell was she doing? Tadj’s pulse rocketed as he spotted Lucy vaulting onto the back of a half-wild Arab pony. He yelled a warning, but, leaning low over the animal’s neck as it broke into a flat-out gallop, she couldn’t hear him.
And she accused him of taking risks!
Quitting the race, he wheeled his horse around and chased after her. The track was long and full of riders; so many that the youths whose job it was to hang the gourds could hardly keep up. Just as he reached her, Lucy seized a gourd, spun her pony around, and flashed past him. Brandishing the prize high in triumph provoked ear-splitting cheers from the crowd. She might be a stranger in their midst, but she was their champion tonight, and her surprise win had made her the spectators’ favourite. Not his, he thought grimly as he urged his horse to catch up with hers. Seizing Lucy around the waist, he lifted her onto his galloping stallion, which provoked another round of cheers. Not surprisingly, Lucy was distinctly unimpressed.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ she yelled at him in fury.
‘Saving you from yourself,’ he retorted grimly as he tightened his grip. Taking her back at a steady canter to the pony lines, he dismounted and carefully lifted her down.
‘I don’t know what you think you’re playing at,’ she said, throwing him off. ‘I knew what I was doing. That was just an advanced version of the games we used to play when I was a child on the farm.’
‘And were you pregnant at that time?’ he remarked coolly.
‘Don’t you dare suggest I’d take risks with my baby,’ she warned as he led her away.
‘Well, you’re not playing games on my watch,’ he said, adding, ‘especially not dangerous games,’ as he escorted her back to her tent.
‘Why not? Aren’t rowdy games an appropriate pastime for your mistress?’ Before he could answer, she added hotly, ‘There were plenty of other women taking part—as well as children.’
‘My interest is you—and you, in case you had forgotten, are pregnant.’
‘Really? I’m your only interest? You could have fooled me,’ she snapped. ‘You ignore me most of the time, unless a particular type of carnal hunger strikes you, of course.’
‘Which it never does for you,’ he fired back, realising as he did so that, while no one could make him laugh like Lucy, no one could rouse every one of his carefully contained emotions as she could. He had never felt this heated before. Lucy’s safety, and that of their child, were paramount.
‘So, is it because I’m a woman that you object to my riding in the games, or because I’m your woman?’
‘Because you’re pregnant!’ he roared, seemingly unable to get his point across.
‘So now you care?’ she mocked.
Pregnancy hormones, he thought as her eyes welled with tears. Upbeat one minute, she was on the edge of an emotional meltdown the next. He’d been doing some reading, as well as investigating, since Lucy had catapulted back into his life, and recognised the signs. ‘Of course I care,’ he insisted, then realised he was shouting. He never lost control—ever. Consumed by frustration, he snatched the sabre out of her hands, and tossed it to a waiting attendant.
‘I’m pregnant, not sick,’ she insisted as he ushered her inside the tent.
‘You’re a damn nuisance,’ he spat out. ‘What if you’d been hurt?’
‘You could send me back as damaged goods,’ she flashed, her eyes welling again, ‘and recruit a new mistress.’
‘Now you’re being ridiculous,’ he insisted with an impatient gesture.
‘Am I?’ she flared. ‘You bring me here with one thing in mind, which is to be your official mistress. Knowing I wouldn’t agree, you trump up excuses about some job or other—anything to get me here.’
‘Which should tell you how much I care.’
‘It tells me you’re a complete control freak.’
‘And what about you?’ he argued. ‘Deceit got you here, and has carried you through this far. Am I supposed to think better of you now?’
‘I don’t care what you think,’ she railed, her voice shaking. ‘I did what I had to.’
‘You do care.’ Grabbing her arms, he held her still. ‘You care too much, which is why you’re always trying to please everyone.’
‘And failing miserably, I suppose.’
He couldn’t bear to see Lucy hugging herself defensively. ‘Yes,’ he confirmed. The truth might be harsh, but it was preferable to how they’d handled things so far.
‘All right,’ she said. Straightening up, she lowered her arms. ‘I will stay, but only on mutually acceptable terms.’
He dipped his head to stare into her eyes. ‘You’re setting terms now?’
‘You bet I am,’ she told him. ‘What’s so funny?’ she asked. ‘Just because you’re not used to people standing up to you, doesn’t mean I’m willing to fall in line. I need to work to support myself and the baby, but I’m extremely keen to learn as much as I can about our child’s heritage, which is why I want to stay on in Qalala—at least while I’m on holiday from college.’
‘So, being with me has nothing to do with your decision?’
Frowning deeply, she remained silent.
Shaking his head slowly, he stared into Lucy’s fierce and determined eyes. She was as stubborn as he was. ‘You are, without doubt, the most annoying woman I have ever met.’
‘I would hate to come second,’ she said.
‘No chance of that.’ Nudging her inside the tent, he dismissed their attendants. ‘Sit,’ he instructed.
‘Sit yourself—or am I to be lectured like a child?’
Anything but a child, Lucy was a beautiful woman, who was carrying his baby, and he could think of no better mother. How to cope with Lucy’s spirit was a question for another day, but did he want to clip her wings? Could he offer her enough to make it worth her while to stay? Money didn’t interest her, so for once in his charmed life he wasn’t sure. ‘As I mentioned on the flight here, I have a proposition for you—and it’s something that doesn’t hang on you becoming my mistress.’
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ she said.
‘Allow me to pause while I take in your compliment.’
‘So, what is it?’ she said, green eyes narrowing with suspicion.
‘I’m offering you a job as part of my team in the sapphire division. You’d be paid the same as everyone else. Anything else is up to you.’
‘And, what would the job entail?’
‘Designing an exhibition for the best of the jewellery. I want to create a heritage museum here on site, as well as a touring exhibition.’
‘Quite a small job, then,’ she said dryly, but there was a distinct glint of interest in her eyes.
‘Quite insignificant,’ he agreed, acting stern.
‘I’d be a tiny cog in a huge wheel,’ she said thoughtfully.
‘Correct. But each cog has something unique to offer, and, without it, the smooth running of the machine cannot be guaranteed.’
‘You put it so persuasively,’ she observed dryly.
‘That was my intention,’ he confessed with the hint of a smile.
‘Are you serious?’ she asked. ‘I mean, this is like my dream job.’
‘Never more so. Why waste your education?’
‘If I agree, you can’t treat me as if I’m made of glass.’
‘I won’t hesitate to pass an opinion,’ he warned.
‘And neither will I,’ she countered with spirit.
‘I would expect nothing less of you.’ And, done with talking, he brought her into his arms.
‘You’ve got a cheek.’
‘Yes,’ he murmured. ‘And you have a beautiful body.’