Diamond in the Desert
‘Our money men are already swarming on Skavanga Mining, and we need you on the ground to reassure everyone that the changes don’t mean catastrophe,’ Raffa was saying.
‘What about Tyr?’ And the grand reunion he had been planning for Britt.
‘Tyr can’t be there—’
‘What do you mean, Tyr can’t be there?’ He cursed viciously. Having Tyr in Skavanga in person would have softened the blow for Britt when she discovered Tyr’s golden shares had swung the ownership of the company into the hands of the consortium. But now—how was he going to explain Tyr’s absence without betraying Britt’s brother as he had promised faithfully not to do?
He had to get back to Skavanga Mining right away to sort this out—and he could only do that without Britt’s newly discovered emotions getting in the way, which meant returning to Skavanga without her. Thankfully, his jet was always fuelled. ‘I’ll be there in fourteen hours,’ he said, ending the call.
Glancing at Britt, he knew there was no time to waste, and by the time he had woken her and explained as gently as he could about Tyr coming into the equation it could all be over in Skavanga. This was one emergency she would definitely want to be part of, but it was better if he prepared the ground first, and then sent the jet back for her.
* * *
She woke cautiously and her first thought was of Sharif. She didn’t want to wake him as it was barely dawn. The first thin sliver of light was just beginning to show beneath the entrance to the tent. She stretched luxuriously, and, still half asleep, reached out to find him...
The empty space at her side required she open one eye. The initial bolt of surprise and disappointment was swiftly replaced by sound reasoning. He must have gone riding. It was dawn. It was quiet. It was the perfect time of day for riding. Groaning with contentment, she rolled over in the bed of soft silken cushions, and, clutching one, nestled her face into it, telling herself that it still held Sharif’s faint, spicy scent. He’d held her safe through the night, and the pleasure they’d shared was indescribable. The closeness between them was real, and she was content, a state she couldn’t claim very often. This encouraged her to dream that one day they might work side by side to create something special, something lasting, and not just for Skavanga, but for Kareshi too.
She stilled to listen to the muffled sounds of the encampment coming to life for another day. She could hear voices calling somewhere in the distance and cooking vessels clanking against each other, and then there was the gentle pop and fizz of the water in her bathing pool as it bubbled up from its warm underground source. Everything was designed to soothe the senses. Everything was in tune with her sleepy, mellow mood. She wasn’t too warm or too cold, and her body felt deliciously well used by a man who made every day a special day, an exciting day.
Yes, she was a contented woman this morning, Britt reflected as she stretched languorously on her silken bed, and she couldn’t ever remember feeling that way before—
She jumped up when the phone rang.
‘Leila?’
She sat bolt upright. When her younger sister called it was invariably good news. Leila didn’t have a grouchy bone in her body and had to be one of the easiest people in the world to get along with, and Britt was bursting to share the news about her growing closeness with Sharif. ‘It’s so good to hear your voice—’
An ominous silence followed.
‘Leila, what’s wrong?’ Britt realised belatedly that if it was dawn in the desert it was the middle of the night in Skavanga.
‘I don’t know where to start.’ Leila’s voice was soft and hesitant. ‘We’re in trouble. You have to come home, Britt. We need you.’
‘Who’s in trouble? What’s happened?’ Britt pressed anxiously. Her stomach took a dive as she waited for Leila to answer.
‘The company.’
As Leila’s voice tailed away Britt glanced at the empty side of the bed. ‘Don’t worry, I’m coming straight home.’
She was already off the bed and launching herself through the curtains with her brain in gear. ‘Hang on a minute, Leila.’ Grabbing a couple of towels from the stack by the pool, she wrapped them around her and ran to the entrance of the pavilion where she saw a passing girl and beckoned her over. Smiling somehow, she gestured urgently for her clothes, before retreating back into the privacy of the pavilion.
‘Okay, I’m here,’ she reassured her sister. ‘So tell me what’s going on.’